Pokémon Needs to get Back to Its Roots

Pokémon used to be pretty simple. Go from place to place, catch wild animals in tiny balls, fight gym leaders, complete the Pokédex and, I presume, get laid. No other reward would be worth it.

There was a complexity behind how simple it was. Hardcore fans could compare statistics while the rest of us refused to level up our Pikachu with a thunder stone.

There were no massive storylines, no systems on top of systems on top of systems, and it was better for it. The glory days of Red/Blue and Gold/Silver really show the beauty of it.

As Pokemon Legends looks set to change Pokémon all over again, I send out this plea to Nintendo: don’t forget us old guys. We’re ready to return.

Pokémon Legends

Yes, I’m old. Yes, I haven’t played a new Pokémon game with any dedication in nearly ten years.

I am no expert on the series. I was when I was ten years old, but that was twenty years ago. Why did I stop? Because it all got so bloody complicated.

Black and White – the last I played all the way through – had so many modern features it amazed me. The camera was all wrong, the Pokemon were strange and the multiplayer features didn’t require a dedicated wire. It’s important to note that it wasn’t a bad game – far from it. I got a lot of use out of it. But it wasn’t the same.

And I put this down to my changing tastes. That’s okay. Sometimes the games you loved as a kid don’t hold up.

Then I booted up Pokemon Red as a Christmas treat and my limited gaming time has been Kanto-focussed ever since. That game is still entirely my jam. The Pokemon are cute and memorable, the areas fun to explore, the story interesting without being overwhelming (or too anime)…

This isn’t the first time this has happened. I haven’t played a Dynasty Warriors game since 8 – a title I appreciated but which I felt was a little too bulky for its own good. I figured I’d grown out of bashing thousands of people over and over again.

So imagine my surprise when I platted Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires and loved every second of it.

The Good Old Days

The truth is that these franchises keep evolving, and that’s not a bad thing. But every time they change or slightly more complex, people get left by the wayside.

Maybe I’m not the target audience for Pokemon any more. I’m probably not the audience for Dynasty Warriors either. That’s fine. I have enough to play and if the biggest fans of these franchises are happy, who am I to complain?

There are millions of people just like me who grin with nostalgia every time Pokemon gets mentioned and, unlike twenty years ago, we have money. Have your new huge open world RPGs with third person action elements. Have Pokemon sneak up on you, or appear on the map. Keep as many Pokemon in a single battle as you want and share XP as widely as you’d like.

All I’ll asking for is to be remembered. Like World of Warcraft Classic, there are generations of people ready to come back. Give me a Pokédex, give me a rival I can name after my wife and give me a top down view – I’ll pay anything you like.