Mature Pokemon?

[Flip]

Pokemon celebrated its 15th Anniversary in Japan this year, and the series will soon be unveiling its 5th Generation of games in just under two months. Many fans are excited for the next installment, but I think none more so than the original fans from back in the days of RBY. Following a series for 15 years is a big achievement and a huge symbol of the dedication the fans have to this series. Pokemon is huge.

Reading forums recently, I read a post that alarmed me just a little bit. Written by somebody I can assume who was much younger than I am, the poster was complaining about the elitist and chiding way in which older fans from the "RBY days" talk about newer Pokemon fans and the new generations. Essentially, their point was that while the fans grow older they become more cynical and nostalgic for the games they grew up with, while the newer fans (this poster included) had the benefit of newer, more "complete" games. RBY "sucked" and was a terrible game, while 3rd and 4th gen evolved the series into a better metagame and improved experience for younger gamers. Older fans won't be playing the games for much longer and, therefore, are not "true" fans anymore, because the games they played no longer exist and are "moot" for the modern gamer.

Now this got me thinking... Pokemon is over a decade and a half old. There are many of us, now, who grew up with the franchise and are now becoming adults and, possibly, even parents. Yet we continue to fawn over the franchise and follow the games to an almost religious nature in some cases (look at Smogon sometime ;p). Is it time for Pokemon to grow up too? Should Game Freak and Nintendo decide to give the older fans something they can enjoy on their own level?

I understand there have been product lines, such as the "Pokemon 151" t-shirts, that were aimed toward adults. There are also plenty of comedic, nostalgic, and ironic products out there in the West for older fans (go to any convention or drop by a site like Halolz and you will understand what I mean). Pokemon has now reached "cult" status amongst the older crowd, while it remains a popular franchise for younger gamers. But can it continue to survive in this way, split between two separate fanbases with their own ideas and wishes about Pokemon?

What I am asking of you guys is to decide what you think about the matter at hand. Does Pokemon belong as a children's game? Should it be updated and "matured" to meet the older fanbase in much the same way games like Metroid and Final Fantasy have been? Or is it okay surviving the way it is, catering to both tastes at the same time?

Then, after that thought, in what ways COULD Pokemon be "grown up"? A more detailed and traditional RPG outing (Final Fantasy, Star Ocean, Last Remnant, etc.)? A fancier and more gritty anime? Pokemon models and sex toys? (XD) Please... share your thoughts!

[Spud]

Not safe for work or anything for that matter, shield your eyes.

[Johans Nidorino]

(Is this year the 15th anniversary? I thought it'd be 2011)

The Game Freak staff has said that stuff like the Battle Frontier should appeal the older players who grew up playing the original games and want to feel the spice of challenge and I think it does a good job in that regard. I think something that would be cool is a really big "second round", where you begin your adventure from scratch (not including the Pokémon, which would remain stored), just more challenging.

I think Pokémon has matured a little, like it or not. The plots in the games and anime have become more epic and the legendary Pokémon have reached the status of deities. The playable characters look a bit older in this generation (while in the anime, they continue creating new, young main characters, meaning the anime won't change its aim for at least 4 more seasons).

[8bitretroshit]

But can it continue to survive in this way, split between two separate fanbases with their own ideas and wishes about Pokemon?

Yup. Because people keep buying it anyway.

Really the only way they can appeal to the '151 only' crybabies is to release a Wiiware Pokemon game where they go Megaman 9 style and make a new adventure with the same monochrome RBY graphics and only feature the first 151 monsters

(Actually that'd be pretty cool and I'd totally buy that)

[kirbychu]

I wouldn't. I'm always totally turned off by the spinoffs that don't include all the monsters.

"It's the same game, only with less variety!!!!" Fun.

[Flip]

Aug 1, 2010 15:29:18 GMT -5 8bitretroshit said:

But can it continue to survive in this way, split between two separate fanbases with their own ideas and wishes about Pokemon?

Yup. Because people keep buying it anyway.

Really the only way they can appeal to the '151 only' crybabies is to release a Wiiware Pokemon game where they go Megaman 9 style and make a new adventure with the same monochrome RBY graphics and only feature the first 151 monsters

(Actually that'd be pretty cool and I'd totally buy that)

It would have to include all the mons to be worth anything in my mind, and beside: even if we're all older, we do have our faves from Gens 2, 3, and 4.

I've always wanted a tactical RPG using Pokemon. It would be a lot of fun and might actually expand the mythos and give us some reliable non-shitty human characters to play. Why haven't we seen a medieval Pokemon world, for example?

[Johans Nidorino]

Aug 1, 2010 17:27:15 GMT -5 Flip said:

I've always wanted a tactical RPG using Pokemon. It would be a lot of fun and might actually expand the mythos and give us some reliable non-shitty human characters to play. Why haven't we seen a medieval Pokemon world, for example?

With hollowed Apricorns instead of Poké Balls? ;D

[Shrikeswind]

I don't see how Pokemon today isn't maturing. In the beginning, Satoshi Tajiri created the world. The world was flat and devoid of dimension, and man had to think of their own plot. Then Tajiri said "Let there be plot!" and it was so. This has been the basis of the Pokemon world for the last 15 years. It started with a team with no real goal, then one with a minimalist plot of getting back to the old days, then one with a more fleshed-out but poorly planned scheme, then one where the villain knew full well the consequences and followed through with them anyways. Each game has brought us a richer experience in plot, though in my opinion after Generation 2 we lost the ability to project. For example, from the first generation people have always been squealing about the evil that is Pokemon, drawing parallels that actually make sense, and yet I've created a way to describe Pokemon as a spiritual journey. You can take the individual Pokemon and, as we frequently see, make them fit in a variety of different worlds, from a world full of Eldritch Abominations to one where everything's cute and fluffy to a realist world. You don't speak in a Pokemon game, so you are fully capable of projecting your own personality onto your character. There is nothing in Pokemon that isn't mentally customizable except the plots, and even then this wasn't always the case, in Generation 1 there really was just the basic plot of going through the world, fighting a villain team with no known motive, catching monsters and trying to become the greatest trainer in the land. Is it mature? If you want it to be. Is it for youngsters? If you want it to be. That's the charm that is Pokemon.

[Johans Nidorino]

The day ESRB needs to rate Pokémon as cartoon violence rather than mild cartoon violence, that would be interesting.

Yes, that could mean a fighting game like Super Smash Bros. with Pokémon, a real-time battling game that obeys the contact or non-contact property of moves, etc.

Think of Leech Life, Wrap, Guillotine, stuff like that. Guillotine is never literal (it's just a choking attack in other media), but it sure would look be violent enough.

[Shrikeswind]

Or when I finally hear a canon "Pika Pika, mother-fucker." NEVER shall I have a doubt in my mind that Pokemon is awesome again.

[8bitretroshit]

Aug 1, 2010 16:47:23 GMT -5 kirbychu said:

I wouldn't. I'm always totally turned off by the spinoffs that don't include all the monsters.

Aug 1, 2010 17:27:15 GMT -5 Flip said:

It would have to include all the mons to be worth anything in my mind, and beside: even if we're all older, we do have our faves from Gens 2, 3, and 4.

To be honest I'd only totally buy that because of the style I just described. Because retro graphics and chiptune music make me jizzzzzzzzz

Plus if it was developed by another company with a sense of humour they'd make fun of RBY's shitty coding. Like having NPCs give you hints that 'leech seed + poison does double damage!' or actually have a harmless, uncatchable MISSINGNO appear in the game as a secret easter egg.

[Shrikeswind]

Preferably owned by a trainer who you actually have to speak to in order to fight. Preferably a trainer named Error. And Missingno must have Ice moves.

See, this can keep going, but the argument for why you can't even get him in your PokéDex would drive people nuts.

[TV Eye]

I'd like a Pokemon game similar to Digimon World...but better. Cleaning up shit and feeding them is so tedious and boring, and the fights in Digimon World were so mindless.

But a wide open world with different environments that you could explore, while being involved in actual fighting is something I'd like to play.

[Johans Nidorino]

Aug 1, 2010 22:07:06 GMT -5 8bitretroshit said:

Because retro graphics and chiptune music make me jizzzzzzzzz

They should include retro sprites for Pokédex entries in newer games. Just like the foreign language feature they introduced in the last generation.

[Koopaul]

*looks at the original post* Eh? Who is this brat who claims I won't be playing Pokemon in the future? For Christ sakes I still watch Disney movies!

I don't think I'll ever change.