evkl's commentary

HGSS wrapup: Fun but ultimately unsatisfying

evkl

, 15th June 2011 at 09:58 PM (189 Views)

So I just grabbed my 16th badge and HM08 today. I know there's a bit more of the game to be played, but I was fundamentally disappointed by HGSS. There was this weird time in Kanto where I was at this tipping point where I didn't have the power to beat Sabrina, because Espeon just Calm Minded and then roasted me. So I had to re-run the E4 twice and took on Erika and I think one other gym to level up. Then I beat Sabrina and just absolutely ran over the entire rest of Kanto in about an hour. Sabrina, Misty, Brock, Blaine, and Blue all fell SO quickly. There was no challenge, and while my team is balanced and I'm a competent battler there was really no challenge; my team methodically dismantled everybody.

Probably my biggest gripe about the game is its speed and the lack of any real challenges. Especially in Kanto--as I said, Sabrina was the only real wall/impediment. And it didn't seem like anything else was even really trying to stop you. Erika's entire gym could've been handled by my Arcanine. Misty could've been rolled by Meganium alone. Same with Brock. Blaine was owned by Slowbro. Blue was just a matter of tactical switching a few times. Victory was methodical and complete, but unsatisfying.

Is Black and White better? I really hope so, because I remember how awesome I felt Gold was when I first played nearly a decade ago. And I feel pretty empty playing HeartGold now. So, what gives? Am I getting old, or is the franchise easy and uninventive?

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Comments

SharKing - 15th June 2011 10:02 PM
None of the Gym Leaders in B/W have more than 3 Pokemon, and there's almost no new challenges (aside from level-spikage) post-game.
Ivysaur - 15th June 2011 10:12 PM
Glad I'm not the only one who was disappointed with HGSS. It's certainly not just you.

Even with remakes, GameFreak doesn't cater to the older audience. Children are an ever-lasting and self-replenishing resource. The need to innovate and impose a challenge with your games doesn't exist, at least not to the degree as some other series', because your targeted audience never diminishes; and yet with every installment, the people in that demographic change. The children who make up the primary audience of the Pokemon games aren't used to the mechanics, characters, and regions we are; everything is new to them.

Unless animated battles and new Pokemon absolutely excite you, Black and White won't fare much better. The familiarity isn't there with the region or characters, but is there with the mechanics and the level of difficulty. All things said and done, HGSS were fun, but empty. BW is an improvement, but barely.

*done rambling*
evkl - 15th June 2011 11:00 PM
I suppose a big part of the problem is that the metagame is out there. But I want a satisfying in-game experience too. Realized after re-reading my post that I used a lot of the same cliches over; this was a quickly-written blog. But the frustration is there for me. It's annoying to have a team that isn't even that good (Ampharos, Meganium, Arcanine, Gengar, Slowbro, Golem) just absolutely dismantling everything like I was playing on easy mode.

Glad to know I'm not alone.
The Fighting Misty - 15th June 2011 11:16 PM
You do realize the original Gold/Silver was barely a challenge either? This is a case of growing up, and realizing what you have are mostly nostalgic memories.

HGSS wasn't worse than the original GS (of course it was updated and improved), but you're not getting the same feeling out of it because you were a kid when GS came out, now you're not.
Ivysaur - 15th June 2011 11:18 PM
Originally Posted by Gliscor'd

You do realize the original Gold/Silver was barely a challenge either? This is a case of growing up, and realizing what you have are mostly nostalgic memories.

HGSS wasn't worse than the original GS (of course it was updated and improved), but you're not getting the same feeling out of it because you were a kid when GS came out, now you're not.

It's true GS wasn't challenging, but it *was* innovative. And it featured a new region, Pokemon, and game mechanics. HGSS did neither.