I thought there was something in the dance I had to spot and that the idle screen was just that, an idle screen.

I feel like the trail was supposed to be a joke...

You did that too? A risk of being too clever, I suppose.

same here.

Omg same

This part took me so long because I thought the hiker was totally irrelevant too!

I used to get excited when I'd find a fresh copy that someone didn't already write in and do the puzzles and stuff.

My daughter gets them now as a present from her grandma (my mom). She has me read her all the stories and then we do the hidden images puzzle. It's awesome and something from my own childhood that I enjoy doing with her.

Highlight magazines first introduced to me to the PC disks. coming from a low income family, it began in me an urge to seek out PCs back in the early 90's as a toddler.

Highlight magazines and "I Spy" books were and still are the best.

But the problem lies in how simple it is. I shouldn't feel patronized by the game when it makes everything so easy that I breeze through what is essentially a gym battle. I remember playing Emerald for the first time and not being able to get past the psychic twins. I just failed over and over and over. But when I finally did it, I felt like heaven. This game had none of that.

I did too. I thought, "Well other than this guy hanging out, they're all exactly the same." I didn't think it would be THAT obvious.

Well at least extra EXP is nice?

This would have been okay if every trial didn't end up being a funny breather.

I legit thought the hiker was a trick question. I felt really, really dumb.

To be fair, exchanging gym battles that could occasionally be slightly difficult with jokes defeats the whole purpose of Pokemon. The challenges were all a bit too easy, but this one was a joke

Yeah, i actually failed the first tell the difference one believe it or not, when the hiker popped up it actually made me laugh outloud. It was genuinely hilarious.

I know I laughed like an idiot through the entire trial, I'll tell you that.

If this was the purpose of the tasks, then that's just a waste of time. If they want to put puzzle elements into your game (which would be great), then make real puzzles. If you want to waste my time, just show a funny cutscene.

Gyms > Trials

I'm glad you can look past it. First pokemon game that I have not finished. Too much hand holding and pointless intrusive dialogue. I think there's a good game in there but I'm not willing to sit through it all.

Yeah, honestly I felt the same way. I mean, I thought this trial was hilarious. I actually laughed at it. I don't know, maybe I just don't expect as much of a challenge in the Pokemon games as other people.

... Lord Jaraxxus, is that you?

Came here to post this...

YOUR ARROGANCE WILL BE YOUR UNDOING

First time I played Blue I didn't know the layout of Cerulean Town, so I ended up wandering toward the bridge and got killed by Gary before I found the Pokemon Center. I blacked out and woke up ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

There were literally 3 different occasions where I cleared a string of enemies, healed myself up, went to the next room and somebody had healed me. Great. Thanks a lot

I've been going back playing some of the older games, I have blacked out quite a number of times because I keep forgetting that the rival isn't going to instantly heal your Pokémon after you fight

Trying to play Gold without using a Pokecenter is pretty hard - and that did have post-rival healing. Now it's so damn friendly.

I at least found Sun better than Omega Ruby.

Managed to beat the Elite Four in Omega Ruby without using a Poké Center or rest house. At least that made it a fun challenge :D

I honestly don't care about the surprise heals, just saves the tedium of using potions or walking back to a pokecenter.

I don't understand the complaints about the last couple gens being too easy. The only real challenge I can think of in the earlier games was rollout spam which seems more like a hard level check than anything else.

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The Ghost Trial was awesome though.

Yeah. In all honesty of all the "changes" they did to the formula, the whole trials + totem Pokemon was just....bad

I would have preferred challenging the trial captains than just goofing around doing irrelevant stuff. They could have just made them use the whole totem Pokemon for their main Pokemon and done.

Instead we got Hiker David, and it became the best trial in the game.

It really was. The group I play with STILL gets the occasional chuckle from phrases like "GO, my Hiker!"

I'm with you on this, when I first saw his stupid face pop up on my screen I had to put my ds down I was laughing so hard

Fucking hell I hate trainers having just 1 pokemon. Or the god damn ELITE FOUR having anything less than 6 pokemon. It's insulting. Instead of having 5 trainers with 1 pokemon each, how about 2 trainers with 3 each?

Every time I think about playing Sun again, I think "Eh ... maybe I'll play Pokemon X or Alpha Sapphire instead. No, I don't really want to play one of those either. So ... do I play Fire Red or Emerald (my favourites) again for the 21st time and keep hoping the next game they make will actually be interesting ...?"

A bit hyperbolic because S/M had some neat ideas and Pokemon (Alolan Muk and Araquanid have joined my favourites) and the DexNav from ORAS is one of my favourite features ever introduced in a Pokemon game--only to be removed next-gen sigh--but the best games IMO are FRLG, Emerald, and HeartGold/SoulSilver. ALL THREE OF THESE ARE (technically, in Emerald's case) REMAKES OF EARLIER GAMES.

I yearn for a new title that is actually challenging (not necessarily difficult in the Totem Pokemon sense, design the game better don't just throw stat bonuses on over-leveled opponents and call it a day) where the story isn't less interesting than a Final Fantasy rip-off with even more cut-scenes. Give us engaging characters with more personality than "my mom is a horrible woman" and "I am physically incapable of not smiling", a plot that makes sense (Gen II had the best IMO, exploring the fallout of Rocket collapsing), places worth exploring interesting enough to make me want to, and Pokemon I actually care enough to explore and find.

I bring up the Sevii Islands a lot on this sub because I think they're one of the best things GameFreak ever put into a Pokemon game; pretty long post-game content, a different generation's pokemon introduced into that game, a novel and well designed series of new areas to explore with their own trainers and story to them, and a couple Strength puzzles that didn't take 2 seconds and no real thought to solve. I will grant that the braille thing was a little weird, and I'm still annoyed that Emerald didn't have trade options with FRLG, but the Sevii Islands were a great addition to a terrific remake of the original games which I feel surpass the original RBY in basically every sense.

I think BW2 were the last games to actually have respect for the player's intelligence.

Exactly. Hell, I find these newer games insulting for the kids playing Pokemon for the first time and its this easy. I personally believe that kids today are way smarter then when we were kids with Red & Blue (I was like 7-8). Red & Blue did not hold your hand at all. It was pretty much "Beat the gyms and catch Pokemon, do it you little shits" and that was it, the game told you nothing and we still figured it out.

The games have been getting easier and easier

Not really. You can literally beat the original game with basically a single nidoking. Not only that, that's the most efficient way to beat the game.

The games aren't getting easier, you're just less bad.

Honestly I can't even play games before gen 5 anymore because the qol fixes are too nice. Item finder is super obnoxious before that.

Pokemon has never been some super challenging game, you know? Everyone acts like the earlier gens were SO HARD, when it's not as if the actual AI was programmed to be any more difficult (in fact the AI in the earlier gens is probably worse than it is now). Back then, there were less pokemon to be had, so there were not as many options for type coverage, which made picking your starter more important in the beginning-game, and therefore made more of a challenge if you picked a starter who was weak to the first few gyms.

Also, with no exp. share or anything of that nature, grinding was more important and so the 'challenge' would come from you being under-leveled, not from the skill of the AI outplaying you.

The only difference in recent gens (as far as battling goes) has been the EXP. Share, (Which, btw, YOU CAN TURN OFF. YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE IT AT ALL.) and more frequent automatic healing and other things meant to improve convenience, which I can understand them wanting to do.

There are certain other things I do kind of miss from older games, like the exploration puzzles and whatnot, but besides those things, I think people need to realize that the older pokemon games were not these incredible titans of RPGs that were meant to bring you to your limits as a videogamer. People just remember them that way because they played them when they were younger and stuff was more challenging to them as kids. Now that we're all adults, obviously, these games are not going to be the most taxing RPG's ever played. In fact, they were hardly ever that difficult at all, barring a few battles here and there, and the challenge that was there was just artificial difficulty and forced grinding, which is no better than the games of today being too easy.

Now, this isn't to say that I don't think they should try and make the games a little tougher in future installments, but if they did, I would rather they actually try to design the games to be more challenging, through better AI and stuff, and not just giving every single trainer 6 pokemon and raising the levels of everything by 10 or 15 levels. That would not be true difficulty, and it wouldn't be very fun either.

Though, personally, I wouldn't mind either way. It's not as if I play Pokemon expecting it to be like a Fire Emblem or Atlus game, like people here seem to. I expect a relaxing, and enjoyable journey through a colorful and exciting world.

Damnit, I'll continue your rant. I desperately trudged through the game thinking that once I beat the elite four I would be done with the relentless cut scenes and could actually begin playing the game like a Pokemon game, but then there were like five cut-scenes following the elite four (not an exaggeration) before I turned the game off forever. I've never seen a story ruin an otherwise great game this badly.

Pokemon games don't need a story at all! Red/Blue pretty much had nothing. Gold/Silver pretty much had nothing. Those were phenomenal games. They didn't need literally hours of explanation of every little thing either. Pokemon is rooted in culture enough that everyone playing the game knows you're supposed to "catch them all" and defeat the elite four, but surprise, there's a fifth champion. If you design you game good enough I don't need someone telling me where to go all the time, what buttons to press, how to use items, etc. It should be easy enough to figure all that out yourself. The game just insults your intelligence hours on end.

I bought the game in April before spring break as something to do on my 8 hour plane rides to vacation. I've played 1 and half hours so far, and I've had ample time. It's just so boring, I've barely played anything, it's all hand holding so far.

I'm not sure, I dabble in Pokémon fan games and instead of flowing into the next cutscenes you have to grind into them which becomes sooo tedious very fast.

Granted some are a lot harder than they should be and GameFreak could balance it better but younger kids that play this may find the difficulty annoying...

I was under the impression that the trial was supposed to be a joke. It made me laugh.

That "trial" was the most I've ever laughed at a pokemon game ever. I'm happy they put that in the game.

I don't remember much of the Salazzle fight, but I don't remember feeling like I breezed through it, either. My team at the time was Torracat, Rockruff, Pikachu, and a Trumbeak I kept around for emergencies until I got my permanent team of six. But the Totem is easy if you use a strong enough Hydro Vortex. I remember I didn't have a Water-type because I wanted to use only 7th Gen Pokemon for my first run (I counted Alolan forms as 7th Gen Pokemon), and the only viable option that fit that mold was Wishiwashi, which is my least-favorite Pokemon because I still can't wrap my head around it conceptually (seriously, where does it call the other Wishiwashi from to form the school?! Especially if you're not anywhere near a body of water?!)

Or do what you already do and talk to everyone.

This. That scene made me go, "Okay, fine, no other gag in any pokemon game or episode can top this. None."

I noticed S&M seem to have more gags than any of the other games (excepting X&Y cause I hadn't played), and I appreciate that attempt to keep things lighthearted.

i havent played pokemon since blue/red but do plan to get sun soon, but i have to say i love your work

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Toucan sam? Is that supposed to be funny?

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Yup

Yeah... I understand one or two scientists or nurses out in the field (or caves) to heal you up... But almost one per route (including Lily) is a bit overboard.

Need is a strong word. I thought that I NEEDED to play Other M. I was mistaken.

Exactly. There was personality in this

I disliked the amount of cutscenes, but that was about it. TBH people take the game way too seriously, I enjoyed the goofiness of it. Though, the games could benefit from a "how experienced of a player are you?" setting. It's fine to target kids with the games, we all understand that, but at least let the vets skip some of the BS/training-wheels. SuMo is way more exciting without expshare or any amount of level grinding.

I'm still gonna get the next generation since every game so far has been awesome except for a few annoying things, but holy shit Game Freak, come on. Most of your players started 20 years ago. Most pokemon fans are grown ass adults. Understand where your money is coming from and cater to us!

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Uh...

Important question; Do you remember being born?

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You shouldn't take pokemon so seriously. It was literally just a joke.

You face Jaraxxus, Eredar Lord of the Burning Legion

It needs a toggle. One mode holds your hand and prompts for everything, the other just lets you get on with it.

You should try playing Pokemon Colosseum or XD for the Gamecube. They're the only games that switched up the gameplay and provided a grittier story.

Gym "puzzles"? Come now, let's not kid ourselves here.

All of the trials are a let down. Pokemon has become stupidly easy since X/Y

This trial game was kind of a let down IMO, I wanted more of a challenge

fixed it for you

The entire game was a let down

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exp share

Everyone complained about the exp share only being on on Pokemon. Then it was for the whole team and people still whine.

Player Character - sees a woman's collection of frozen Pokémon corpses

Player Character - :)

Turn the Exp share off...? I agree with most of what you said here, but that's a problem you can resolve yourself.

Hang on a minute, there wasn't that much to do endgame in any pokemon game. This one had the Battle Tree, Battle Royales, and the UB quests. No games had that much more aside from maybe Emerald. If you want a lot of endgame, you breed and play competitive. That's the point of this series of games.

Also, the S.O.S. system primarily exists for endgame purposes. It's used for hunting high IVs, shinies, hidden abilities, and some rare encounters, as well as EV training. Also level 11 Salamence.

Turn off the EXP share if it bothers you so.

I got neither and had no problem with it.

I used Kadabra + Confusion and destroyed Salazzle pretty easily.

Nope. Still easy.

It's dorkly man. They're a popular webcomic

Pretty much the same, but I wear glasses and don't sometimes lose my nose.

Gym puzzles were somewhat challenging to solve. Trials don't even require any thinking.

Amen. When I heard that they were getting rid of gyms for the trial challenges, I was bummed out. Gyms are awesome but I was still open to the idea for the challenges. I assumed it would be harder then the gyms (Which to be fair, are normally a cake walk as long as you know what your doing). Boy was I wrong. The "Challenges" are by far the easiest thing we have ever done in a Pokemon game (and that's saying a lot).

But it was funny

One is shadowed under his body. At least that's what I'm getting since it's not just his show that is black

Yes, there is. No, that doesn't make the game not worth playing. Most of the trial challenges are subpar but I for one think that a lot of the game's design (both new Pokémon design and island design) is really beautiful and is a big step forward for the franchise. If you like exploring in Pokémon games, this game is, in my opinion, great for that, though I do wish some of the game's earlier water levels were more diverse. There's a ton more nooks and crannies to find with rare Pokémon stashed in places to reward adventuring (my favorite of these is that on the first island you can find a Salmence, though it is comically under leveled). Additionally, capturing Pokémon is actually a challenge for once, as some Pokémon have very specific discovery conditions and there's a lot of low appearance rates (yet again that's also a problem sometimes when everything good is 1% find rate). The story is also better than most, but come on, you don't play Pokémon games for the story. The game definitely has its flaws, but I think it's worth buying and I don't really agree with the level of hate people are giving it.

Yes. There is. And yes, one of the levels of the challenge literally throws in a hiker just like the post says.

Yes, the "puzzles" are quite easy, but the battles can be challenging depending on your team. That to me is what counts. It's better than X/Y that's for sure.

Surely this many people aren't oblivious enough to not get that it was supposed to be a gag?

Same with the anime.

Guess you're only allowed to play them.

Pokemon games were not that hard. They have never been that hard. Any difficulty from the games back then was mostly artificial difficulty, or purposeful obtusness making things unclear. The only reason you remember them being hard was because the games were appropriately challenging for a young child. As an adult, you really shouldn't be struggling with a pokemon game.

I remember when I was a kid and pokemon games were hard.

I don't understand the complaining. Times have changed, and you are technically too old to be playing Pokemon.

Its designed for ten year-old players, and Gamefreak has stated they are facing direct competition from other handheld gaming platforms (i.e phones). So of course they have to compete by making something equally appealing to their target audience.

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I personally liked this gen's mon designs. Also it's kind of odd that you want people to not like this game.

Now I just want to see people agree that this last gen had the weakest mon designs, that Alola was a linear lackluster region and that Hau / Gladion are bad writen and cringy.

That's gonna take a while, considering how wrong you are.

There's a Pokemon that is Keys.

There's a Pokemon that is Voltorb, but also a mushroom so it makes less sense.

There's a Pokemon that is literal garbage.

Pokemon designs have been kinda weak for a few gens now.

Umm no. People can like what they please. I dislike gen 5 but I don't "wait for people to realize Im right". It's a lot of people's favorite gens and that's great. People can enjoy things you dislike and see things you find bad as good. Get over yourself

Indeed. How dare you have a dissenting opinion!

if todays 10 year olds are this dumb, the world is over.

I feel like some people happened to have good match-ups against the harder totems and tended to underestimate their average difficulty. Sunny Day Lurantis was no joke, but it was if you picked Litten. Popplio was obviously no good, and Rowlet/Dartrix are weak to the Trumbeaks despite their other advantages.

So was red and blue, but the difficulty difference is huge.