>>57495184see, when you put it like that the progress actually does look impressive. it's only when you compare modern Pokemon games to other modern console games that they start looking like trash. if the bottom were still on a handheld only, they would be fine, but now it has to play with the big boys. GF kept progressing, they just never made the quantum leap needed from handheld to console.
not many other studios have had to make a leap like that, in fact off the top of my head Pokemon is pretty much the only major series that began exclusively handheld and has since become console flagship titles. when you think about it from that perspective, the problems they've had with the last few games make a lot more sense. not that I'm excusing it, they really should have just hired more experienced devs but still.
if Nintendo had never stopped making separate handhelds and consoles, I bet they would have just kept on making handheld games forever. I wonder how differently modern Pokemon would be received in that world.
