The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A is being widely considered a pleasant surprise. Most of us went into this week’s Pokemon Presents expecting updates for a handful of mobile efforts (which sadly did happen) before Game Freak crashed onto the scene with another mediocre remake. Black and White making a return in a similar form to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl was expected, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:or the reveal of Let’s Go Johto, which was my personal wish given how much ℱI loved the first🎉.
But after the botched release of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Scarlet & Violet and the general decline in quality we’ve had from the series outside of spin-offs, fans weren’t out of pocket for expecting the worst. Game Freak could ꩲhave easily tossed something together and penned it for December with hardly any consideration for quality, but it doesn’t seem to be doing that this time around. Z-A most likely will act as a Nintendo Switch 2 ꦺlaunch title, while also coming to the original Switch with reduced graphics and performance. Not dissimilar to Breath of the Wild on the Wii U.
Pokemon Z-A Shouldn’t Be A Rare Exception For A Series This Popular
I hate that we’ve reached such a low point for Pokemon’s quality that something that doesn’t look like complete ass (despite no gameplay) on the surface is a rare surprise, especially considering how it continuꦏes to be the biggest media property on the planet. Regardless of how poorly received a certain game is, it is still bound to sell millions and dominate the conversation even as fans drag it through the mud. Because, for some godforsaken reason, we need our Pokemon fix.
Now I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the biggest Pokemon fan here at TheGamer, but I remain in the loop when it comes to each new release thanks to a mix of nostalgia and necessity. It reached a breaking point with Scarlet & Violet though, a game which was so creatively bereft and rushed in execution that I had no way to look at it other than with disdain. The DLC was decent and clawed bac🍸k some ground, but this du♑o of games will always be looked back on as a low point for the series, and internally, I hope that Game Freak took the feedback hard and strive to create something better in the wake of its failure.
Pokemon deserves better, and ever since the series transitioned to the Switch, it doesn’t feel like the studio has left behin🌳d decades of habits that come from developing exclusively for portable systems. It has proven to be a very different landscape, and it’s hard to believe the Switch is home to an open world epic like Tears of the Kingdom but struggles to render Pikachu at 15 frames per second.
Why Do Modern Pokemon Games Keep Going Wrong?
The quality of Pokemon games is even more apparent when other parts of the ecosystem are going from strengt☂h to strength. The trading card game is more popular than ever, while the anime has entered a new era where it finally leaves Ash behind. Pokemon Concierge is also a massive hit on Netflix, and seeks to depict this universe in a way we’ve never really seen before. Other areas of the property are taking risks, ones the games have rarely been able to take or commit to when they’re developed so damn quickly.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Legends: Arceus was a step in the right direction, whil✅e Scarlet & Violet delivered a full open world for the first time, but the creative vision in both games is neutered. We looked through mediocrity in search of positives, bargaining with whatever we could, even if things could and should be so much better. While I won’t get my hopes up until I see more asiꦅde from a teaser trailer that showed no gameplay, I hope Pokemon Z-A is Game Freak taking time and allocating more resources to a new vision that it can push as far as it can go.
Set to take place in the confines of Lumiose City in an 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:undisclosed time period, this pitch alone is enough to convince me that Game Freak is pushing the boat out, or at least willing to experiment with 🅷the series in a way that doesn’t boil down to merely battling trainers and catching Pokemon. I know that’s largely the point, and has been for decades, but this need not stop the series from trying something new, from subverting our expectations and trying everything it can to change what it means to ✃be a Pokemon game in 2025.
I once said that nothing will change for Pokemon if we keep on buying millions of copies in spite of their quality, but there is now a small c🍸hance that I was wrong, and even with its continued success, Game Freak is taking a step back and trying to change for the better.
Pokemon deserves that much, and so do the fans. I’ll be watching Z-A from the sidelines and crossing my fingers it marks a serious change for a s𓂃eries that means so much to so many. If not, then I guess there’s alway💝s next time.
