Very wary of the changes to the look and the new pokemon, I prepared myself to be disappointed, but I couldn't help but hope my gut feeling was right. I might be alone on this but when I played Pokemon Blue when I was 8 I couldn't stop playing. My friend Paul and I would sit together in his garden, playing side by side (when we played at home we organised specific checkpoints which we'd reach in preparation for the next session.) The feeling of wonder and total absorption in the game is something I haven't felt since then. I didn't think I could recapture that kind of immersion without revisiting old titles like Pokemon Blue, Monster Rancher or Digimon World (All adventures with Paul!)
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| Well, I didn't look quite this bad... but very close |
What am I banging on about? My point is that this is the feeling I'm getting with Gamefreaks newest offering! I actually caught everything I saw because it was cute or interesting or looked strong. Knowing nothing about the new world and the new monsters makes me as inexperienced and full of wonder as the 8 year old me obsessively raising my Pidgey on my original Gameboy back on Paul's garden swing.
I imagine that this game might appeal to newcomers a lot more than the previous versions have, but for me it's all about the nostalgia. The pixellated close up of your pokemon's rear is quite dissapointing and I feel like the pace of battles is a little slower than I would have liked, but overall I can't really complain. There are plenty of new pokemon to get to grips with and the story is much more engaging (so far.) The Team Rocket/Magma/Aqua/Galactic equivalent- Team Plasma- seem to be less of a joke and the issue of animal rights has finally been brought up like the giant Donphan in the room! (Looks like an elephant.. No? Give me a break, I'm tired)
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| Ok so they LOOK ridiculous |
I do apologize for raving on about it like a giddy 8 year old, but honestly, that's how the game makes me feel. It's horrifying to write that because it makes me sound like a grade A loser and general freak, but I can't help being taken back to my first encounter with the pokemon games when I play Pokemon White. I do take comfort in the fact that at least one person will share this feeling of childish joy with me and refrain from discretely deleting me from Facebook. Thanks Neil.And in case you were wondering... Snivy
DannyDarko
I was wondering when this would crop up. Seeing your excitement yesterday I just knew there would be a post. Having not played the game yet I can't really voice my opinion. Although I imagine I will get as giddy as you have (if not worse because of that annoying fanboy inside of me) and even though I think most of the new PokeMon look ugly, I thought the same of Gen 3 and 5 and now I love them unconditionally (Seems sad seeing that in text :/ ) I'm quite shocked at the sales figures so far... but then again... it IS PokeMon.
ReplyDeleteIts allright Dan!
ReplyDeletePersonally i love the feeling of being a little lost on the game, because once you have played on of the previous games you know what the Pokemon are going to be like on next game that comes out. starting the game with no clue what each one is going to be like or what it does makes the game exiting again.
I discovered in london over this week after pissing about on the london underground for three hours attempting to visit every stop round the city that about %50 of the people who travel on it play
Pokemon! so overall we are not geeks, were just big wigs in the wrong city.... ok.. were geeks.
I love that Pokemon has the ability to make you this happy! I don't know how I feel about MORE new pokemon. I think im one of the sad few who wish I could just play one of the original games but in the new format, with the better graphics. I don't particularly appreciate change! But i'm sure once you get used to all the new names and strengths and abilities it will be a very accessible game. I find that it gets boring very quickly though!
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