Black & White

[Mustardear]

because if you honestly think a fiery horse is more creative than a giant magnetic Easter Island statue slash Mario, there is something wrong with you

Wow, I thought everyone except me hated Probopass!

As for the actual topic, I wold hate it if they changed the battle system. Real time strategy is slowly taking over turn based battle systems and for me that's a real shame. I like to be able to do estimates and calculations between turns rather than having to panic as I quickly choose an attack.

Also, since they are changing the perspective of the battle, does that mean that they have to change then animation for every move? This worries me, and I'll tell you why. You guys know Final Fantasy Tactics A2, right? The thing that annoyed me so much was the amount of recycled animations (Holy Blade, Holy Strike, Exorcism etc.). If that happened to Pokemon, I would be annoyed. And considering the release date, I might have to be prepared to be annoyed.

 

[Butterfree]

*shrug* I don't exactly like Probopass, but it is just so damn stupid when people always pull it out to support their argument that "Game Freak are running out of ideas". You can think it's ugly or unappealing or stupid-looking all you want, but uncreative? Come on! Any five-year-old can think of something that looks like Ponyta or Rapidash or Dewgong or Seel or Pidgey. But Probopass? The designs have been getting more creative and outlandish over the years, not less. You don't have to like that - I'm personally very fond of the animalistic designs of the first generation - but people keep trying to pretend their opinions are totally objective by slapping the "uncreative" label on everything they don't like, whether that makes any sense or not.

 

[Elliekat]

My biggest expectations plot-wise are:

- The evil team is smarter than Teams Magma and Aqua (especially Magma),
- The evil team has a cooler outfit than Team Galactic.

 

[Dannichu]

I'm personally very fond of the animalistic designs of the first generation - but people keep trying to pretend their opinions are totally objective by slapping the "uncreative" label on everything they don't like, whether that makes any sense or not.

Has the animal:non-animal ratio decreased over the gens? I'm genuinely curious.

 

[Karkat Vantas]

Team Yin and Team Yang are out on the loose, and they're gonna go capture Yinix and Yangax, the Yin/Yang Pokemons and take over the world! Uh oh, looks like it's up to a ten-year-old to stop them!

...why is everyone expecting the plot to be revolutionary? We're basing all our conclusion on the names alone, and we haven't seen a single thing of interest yet.

I will be very sad if they introduce a Light-type. Very, very disappointed. Unless it's light as in photons and lightbulbs, in which case it's cool.

Also, the fire-type starter will be a whale just to piss me off.

 

[#1 bro]

Then the They Changed It Now It Sucks crew are far, far louder than It's The Same Now It Sucks crew? ... Who cares?

no, no, no. i'm saying that every pokemon game has basically been a remake of r/b/y. some of the "traditions" like the whole "professor tree", "rival", "three starters", "eight gyms + five final bosses", "evil team fought until just before the eighth gym", are just unnecessarily repeated. plus there's the fact that the battle system has never really changed either. to be honest game freak has changed almost nothing since the originals.

to be honest the pokemon battle system is kind of boring - the only reason i like pokemon is for the creatures and the world, not the gameplay. if they put in as much effort into a brand new pokemon rts, or a pokemon action game, as they do the main series games, then said game would probably be the best game ever made.

 

[Dannichu]

to be honest the pokemon battle system is kind of boring

I love the Pokemon battle system! Then again, I love pretty much any battle system where I can just put the console/controller down halfway through, go make a sandwich, and some back and not be dead. I'm easy to please like that.

 

[Tailsy]

no, no, no. i'm saying that every pokemon game has basically been a remake of r/b/y. some of the "traditions" like the whole "professor tree", "rival", "three starters", "eight gyms + five final bosses", "evil team fought until just before the eighth gym", are just unnecessarily repeated. plus there's the fact that the battle system has never really changed either. to be honest game freak has changed almost nothing since the originals.

to be honest the pokemon battle system is kind of boring - the only reason i like pokemon is for the creatures and the world, not the gameplay. if they put in as much effort into a brand new pokemon rts, or a pokemon action game, as they do the main series games, then said game would probably be the best game ever made.

Of course they're essentially a remake of the original games. When you make a sequel to a game, it's most likely going to bear quite a resemblance to the original. It's how sequels work - it's not a problem, imo, and if it is then it's a problem almost any video game sequel has. The formula is going to be the same because fans tend to want to play a cool new version of a game that they loved the first time around, not something completely different. It's not really very realistic to expect them to do an about-turn on a winning formula.

And what :( Turn-based systems are awesome. I agree with Danni - I get distracted easily and turn-based means I don't die halfway through googling obscure mental disorders or something. That and I panic with real time battle systems!

 

[#1 bro]

Of course they're essentially a remake of the original games. When you make a sequel to a game, it's most likely going to bear quite a resemblance to the original. It's how sequels work - it's not a problem, imo, and if it is then it's a problem almost any video game sequel has. The formula is going to be the same because fans tend to want to play a cool new version of a game that they loved the first time around, not something completely different. It's not really very realistic to expect them to do an about-turn on a winning formula.

fair point, but pokemon is much, much worse about this than any other video game series I could name. this is why pokemon games have been receiving lower and lower scores in game magazines/websites since the g/s/c days - people are simply tired of seeing the same things rehashed.

And what :( Turn-based systems are awesome. I agree with Danni - I get distracted easily and turn-based means I don't die halfway through googling obscure mental disorders or something. That and I panic with real time battle systems!

it's not so much the fact that it's turn based - i like games like advance wars or fire emblem that are turn based. it's just that the pokemon gameplay involves very little strategy or thought during the actual main quest of the game. when i was playing through hg/ss, my pokemon pretty much used one attack each, and my role was limited to just mashing A. pokemon battling only involves real strategy if you're really hardcore and play wi-fi matches using a team with carefully thought out movesets and held items, but if you want to get to that point you have to EV train your pokemon which is just the most boring godawful thing. so yeah.

 

[Tailsy]

fair point, but pokemon is much, much worse about this than any other video game series I could name. this is why pokemon games have been receiving lower and lower scores in game magazines/websites since the g/s/c days - people are simply tired of seeing the same things rehashed.

Can't say I disagree with your first point, but uh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokemon_red_and_blue#Reception_and_legacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokémon_Gold_and_Silver#Reception
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokémon_Diamond_and_Pearl#Reception

They seem to be gaining about the same scores, unless I've suddenly developed an inability to read! Looks like the formula still works... (you know, hence why this forum is so active.)

 

[Butterfree]

it's not so much the fact that it's turn based - i like games like advance wars or fire emblem that are turn based. it's just that the pokemon gameplay involves very little strategy or thought during the actual main quest of the game. when i was playing through hg/ss, my pokemon pretty much used one attack each, and my role was limited to just mashing A. pokemon battling only involves real strategy if you're really hardcore and play wi-fi matches using a team with carefully thought out movesets and held items, but if you want to get to that point you have to EV train your pokemon which is just the most boring godawful thing. so yeah.

That's not so much a problem of the battle system as of the scenario design - what makes it like that is that the opponents you're facing, especially in G/S/C and by extension HG/SS, are not high-leveled enough to pose a proper challenge even to a player who just follows the storyline and doesn't level-grind. The battle system can provide a greater challenge just fine even in-game if you employ some of the various possible methods of restricting your own power, such as by rotating teams to keep your levels down, using a monotype team, etc.

 

[#1 bro]

Can't say I disagree with your first point, but uh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokemon_red_and_blue#Reception_and_legacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokémon_Gold_and_Silver#Reception
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokémon_Diamond_and_Pearl#Reception

They seem to be gaining about the same scores, unless I've suddenly developed an inability to read! Looks like the formula still works... (you know, hence why this forum is so active.)

oh, well, i guess you're right on this aspect. i thought i had noticed a downward trend, but i guess not.

 

[zeKieranator]

I personally think that B/W will introduce a Light-type legendary for white.

Oh, wait! Dragon/Dark and Dragon/Light legendaries. Perfect.

I actually played this up as an April Fool's joke, telling people that Pokemon SunBeam and StarLight were announced. And what do we get two weeks later?

 

[#1 bro]

That's not so much a problem of the battle system as of the scenario design - what makes it like that is that the opponents you're facing, especially in G/S/C and by extension HG/SS, are not high-leveled enough to pose a proper challenge even to a player who just follows the storyline and doesn't level-grind. The battle system can provide a greater challenge just fine even in-game if you employ some of the various possible methods of restricting your own power, such as by rotating teams to keep your levels down, using a monotype team, etc.

that's true, i suppose. even so, the battle system is incredibly simplistic. if there was a pokemon game, the gameplay of which involving a) legitimate strategic thinking or b) a fair amount of action, (and, of course, no dumbing down the complexity of the whole system like pokemon rumble) it would literally the best game ever created. right now, the pokemon RPGs are still incredibly fun, but think how much better they could be.

edit: ok so i just thought of something. black and white will be coming out very close to the end of the ds's lifespan, right? by the time they come out, the 3ds will already be out or be very close to coming out. so that means that any hypothetical Grey, PowerRuby, and SpiritSapphire versions will almost definitely be released on the 3ds - which seems weird. who ever heard of the third version of a pokemon series coming out on a different platform than the first two? perhaps gen V will be a minor, "stepping-stone" generation, consisting of two games and maybe only 80 or so new pokemon, and then two years later or so gen VI will come out for the 3ds and be a big deal. just something to think about... :\

 

[Butterfree]

who ever heard of the third version of a pokemon series coming out on a different platform than the first two?

Um, everybody who was around for Crystal? Gold and Silver were released for the Game Boy but with the Game Boy Color in mind, while Crystal was exclusively for the GBC. This could very possibly be a similar deal.

 

[Autumn]

I personally think that B/W will introduce a Light-type legendary for white.

Oh, wait! Dragon/Dark and Dragon/Light legendaries. Perfect.

I actually played this up as an April Fool's joke, telling people that Pokemon SunBeam and StarLight were announced. And what do we get two weeks later?

Why does everyone always try to say that the next gen will announce a Light type? We don't need a Light type. If it weren't for the Psychic imbalance in the first generation we never would have gotten a Dark type in the first place. I hate it when people go on about "olol we need light type and sound type and food type because nintendo are totally going to make them even though there is no pressing need to :D!"

 

[Not Meowth]

food type

Snorlax type change anyone?
However I do feel strongly that something needs to be done to stop the Poison type being so pointless and being super effective over nothing other than Grass. Like making it supereffective over Bug or Water or something. (or food). I like the poison-type but have never ever felt the need to teach any of my team Poison typed moves.

So, what kind of tree do you guys think the professor will be named after? Probably something seven letters long. The professor names seem to increase in length by two characters after every two generations so far. But then I can't think of many widely-known trees with seven-lettered names offhand. Professor Redwood maybe? Plus there are still lots of good five-letter trees that haven't been used.

I wonder about stupid things.

 

[Shiva64]

Well, if they stick with just 5 letters, it might be Maple. It would be... likely. I mean, we have Oak, Elm, Birch, and Rowan. I've never heard of rowan trees, but the rest I know of are commonly known trees. So it'd make sense for it to be Maple.

But if they do go the 7-letter route... Redwood or Dogwood.

*shrug*

 

[Chopsuey]

Well, if they stick with just 5 letters, it might be Maple. It would be... likely. I mean, we have Oak, Elm, Birch, and Rowan. I've never heard of rowan trees, but the rest I know of are commonly known trees. So it'd make sense for it to be Maple.

But if they do go the 7-letter route... Redwood or Dogwood.

*shrug*

They are Rowanwood trees. Maybe we'll get 'Professor red'?

...or we might just get 'Professor Willow'. Or 'Professor Crabapple'. :P

 

[Shiva64]

They are Rowanwood trees. Maybe we'll get 'Professor red'?

...or we might just get 'Professor Willow'. Or 'Professor Crabapple'. :P

According to wikipedia, they're called rowans or mountain-ashes. And even doing a google search, it pretty much confirms it.

I say Maple would be the best choice overall.