Ah, sword and shield. What was once one of the most anticipated game sets of 2019 (or the only expected set as no other games are releasing in a set) has now turned into a minefield of anger and vitriol. With all that anger and disappointment in mind, today we’re looking at ten different things that sword and shield could take sooner Pokemon games to maybe win back some of those angry fans. Let’s go.
ten The simplistic designs of Red And Blue
When it comes to more recent Pokemon that have been added to the National Dex (rip), one of the words that comes to mind is “over-engineered”. While not all new Pokemon have this distinction, the Alola Crew certainly has a few that fit the bill perfectly.
The fact that red and blue are on such primitive hardware is partly what led to this decision, but the original 151 had clean, simple designs. Yes SwSh taking anything from the original games, it’s to ensure that the Galar region is home to a nice mix of complex and simple Pokémon. Complex is one thing, oversized is another.
9 The wealth of gold and silver content
Among the many marvelous treasures that Gold and silver The entire Kanto region was available to explore after the Elite 4 was defeated. SwSh don’t need an entire second region to play (but please also do yes), having a similar amount of content to play would make the games stand out for the series. Sure, a Battle Tower is fine, but give us something more than that. Maybe accidentally drop all Sinnoh in the game by accident? Whoops?
8 Version differences between Ruby and Sapphire
One of the defining characteristics of the third generation of Pokémon was the markedly different (still similar, yes) stories that the two versions told, with the most prominent evil team being swapped between the two versions.
While we’re already seeing this style followed with the introduction of the gym leaders exclusive version, the introduction of even more content in this vein would certainly make us all fools go out and buy both versions of SwSh.
7 Diamond and pearl design
With the jump to DS hardware, Diamond and Pearl made a number of great improvements to the Pokemon formula. However, one big aspect of Sinnoh that is often overlooked is the fantastic design of the area as a whole. While the design of the area itself is excellent, the atmosphere and music are a big part of what made these games so memorable. If only an ounce of the creativity found in Diamond and Pearl the design is in SwShwe have a great game on our hands.
6 The history of black and white
The story of Pokemon Black and White was far more important and compelling than any story before it had been. The characters had full arcs, the evil team wasn’t necessarily pure evil, everyone had motivations that made them feel real.
SwSh leaning into that and making smart, creative decisions with the story would go a long way in the eyes of fans of the games.
5 Graphic jumps of X and Y
X and Y shot at Pokemon full 3D series for the first time, and games haven’t looked back since. The character models had larger heads than the Bratz dolls. It was a wonderful time. If the Game Freak team took the time to really focus on the graphical prowess of SwSh before its release, it could turn beautiful games into mind-blowing games. Use the full power of the hardware you are currently working with with Game Freak, the opportunity is too good to miss.
4 The sun and the moon go off the beaten path
sun and moon were weird games. There was a sandcastle Pokémon, an old man flew into space at the sight of a Lunatone, there were no rules. One thing that sun and moon did was buck series conventions.
The area was actually made up of several small islands and there were no gymnasiums. the SwSh developers need to keep this in mind and make sure titles don’t end up being too formulaic.
3 black and white isolation
Serving as a soft reboot for the series, Black and white completely separated themselves from the rest of the series, with the region and Pokémon being quite unique. SwSh could take that idea and really make Galar its own region.
The massive amounts of throwbacks to previous generations we still get in Pokemon games could be reduced in SwSh. We all know that the entire Kanto region will be among the returning Pokemon, but leave it at that.
2 Emerald’s Side Content
The regional title of Hoenn Pokemon Emerald was filled with all sorts of things to do off the beaten path. There were tons of minigames (many of which were multiplayer), contests, and the Battle Frontier, to name a few.
With a bit of luck SwSh’s The Galar region is filled to the brim with content for players to explore, story-wise or not. With a new price of $60, these games are worth it. At the very least more interesting than Let’s Go! It was a $30 game and we all know that.
1 Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire post-game content
Now say what you want Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (soulless money grabs that weren’t very good), but the titles post-game content was just fantastic. A brand new post-game story segment that explained the massive mysteries of the Pokemon universe? Oh my god yes! The Delta episode alone is enough to make the third generation of remakes great games in their own right. With a bit of luck, SwSh’s post-game content has great story missions and stuff (battlefrontierbattlefrontierbattlefrontier) for players to enjoy.
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