What do Game of Thrones, Captain Marvel, and Pokemon Sword and Shield have in common?
Volatile fans.
Earlier this year disgruntled Free Folk demanded the final season of Thrones be remade to their liking. Captain Marvel was review bombed on Rotten Tomatoes after prickly viewers were upset by comments Brie Larson made. Finally, even months before it had the best US launch of any game in the series, a large minority of players harboured a burning hate for Pokemon Sword and Shield.
What had these Poketrainers apoplectic? Sword and Shield are the first games in the series not to feature every Pokemon. Traditionally, after beating a Pokemon game's final bosses -- think the Elite 4 -- you'd get a National Pokedex that would allow you to capture, trade and use any Pokemon from preceding games.
That's not the case in Pokemon Sword and Shield. These games restrict you to 400 Pokemon, less than half of the 890 species that have been introduced across all eight generations of Pokemon games. That's right. Only 400.
After beating Pokemon Sword and Shield and becoming the Gelar region's champion, I am here to tell you shocking news: Sword and Shield are the best Pokemon games in nearly two decades partially because there are "only" 400 Pokemon. For the first time since Pokemon Gold and Silver, new Pokemon are the most fun thing about a new Pokemon game.
Hear me out.
When Pokemon Red and Blue came out there were "just" 151 Pokemon. Catching 'em all was an effort but doable for enterprising completionists. Then Gold and Silver, the best Pokemon games of all time, came along. An absorbable amount of new creatures were introduced, you could now breed Pokemon and get de-evolved critters like Pichu, and existing favorites got inspired new evolution forms.
The Pokemon formula was fleshed out in a way that was exciting, not overwhelming. But since then Pokemon games have become overwhelming. From 2000 through to 2018, from Gold and Silver to Ultra Sun and Moon, we went from 251 to 807.This is fantastic news for avid Poketrainers who are keen to catch 'em all no matter the cost. But it hampers the fun for other players.
There are two key trade-offs for the ever expanding list of Pokemon. First, the prospect of capturing every single creature becomes a turnoff. As a goal, it's impossibly daunting. Second, the Pokemon designs become less spirited. The more existing Pokemon there are, the harder it is to design news ones that stick out in a good way and the easier it is to design ones that stick out in a bad way.
Hello, I’m anus. I’m a software engineer living in Miami, FL. I am a fan of technology, design, and programming. I’m also interested in web development and innovation. You can read my articles@:- Mcafee.com/activate
