One small mechanic that for me made following Pokémon so special was the ability to talk to your Pokémon at any point. I loved how their emotions and what they would feel would change depending on so many factors. they even reward you for doing this with the leaf crown
Gen 5 had no excuse not to include following but X/Y had that awesome roller skating mechanic in which it'd be really awkward to have your pokemon chasing after the player
I disagree! In heartgold/soulsilver, there were limitations, like when you use the bike, you don’t have your Pokémon following you. This is the exact same scenario as the roller skates. Gen 6 graphically wouldn’t have been able to manage following Pokémon, or it would’ve been heavily restricted to a handful of monsters. Bear in mind, X/Y were their leap to 3D, so something like following Pokémon was unnecessary. I agree with gen 5 for the most part, all the new gen 5 Pokémon have overworld sprites which could’ve been used, but memory would be my only concern as the new fluent gen 5 sprites likely took up a bigger portion of memory space on the cartridge. The fact that the 2nd versions akin to RSE and FRLG, DPP and HGSS, in black and white 2 didn’t change the sprites of Pokémon (whereas the 3rd versions/ remakes almost always changed the sprites) makes me assume that these took a while, accounting for all 649 Pokémon at the time so were reused in the sequels. As for reusing the gen 4 overworld sprites, on the surface I think that’s reasonable except lighting and art style changed massively from gen 4 to 5, so I imagine those would look out of place.
@@Just_Shaun: While there almost certainly would have been technical limitation trying to add fully rendered 3d models for following Pokémon in gen-6, I really wish people would stop describing X/Y as a "jump" to 3d. Pokémon had already been using fully 3d maps for both Gens-4&5 too. Heck, even if the Pokémon were still 2d sprites in those games, all of in-battle attack effects were also rendered as 3d animations.
@@Just_Shaun this is actually a really great opinion, and I agree with pretty much everything you say here. The roller skates are similar to the bike, the difference is in XY you're basically ALWAYS using them because they're the default method of movement in those games. Putting aside how graphically it would have been quite difficult, even if they tried you'd basically never see the pokemon following you since the roller skates are pretty much always on unless you're in a building or something.
Its not like they didn't want to do it,they couldn't because the devs had a budget and time constraints to work under.Alot of people just seem to ignore this.
My biggest issue with how it is implemented in SV is that: 1. Anything else is completely overshadowed narratively by Koraidon/Miraidon. Most of the time you will be riding one of them and not seeing whatever Pokemon you want to follow you. 2. Almost every interaction puts them back inside their ball and it eventually gets so cumbersome to take them back out that I just don't feel like doing it again every time. 3. They can fall so far behind you that they just return to their ball. I get not every Pokemon is fast, but if Wailord doesn't have to be actual size in battle then they don't have to be actual speed in the field.
It really comes down to these points for me. It's a feature that, ironically, works less effectively in a 3D, open-world game. Fully-rendered Pokémon clipping through terrain, screwing with the camera, and teleporting around during any minor interaction is more immersion-breaking than 2D sprites that follow the player via a simple grid-based movement system. Unlike HGSS, it's not seamless in the 3D games. It's more of a hassle than anything, and breaks up the flow of gameplay. It works so elegantly in HGSS because it HAS no effect on gameplay, so it only has to succeed at being a purely cosmetic feature.
Scarlet and violet have this feature. My biggest gripe is that not all pokemon can keep up, which annoys me to no end I love having pokemon follow me, it just needs to be done well
i wouldn't mind the speed differences if the majority of pokemon matched your speed, but i swear there isn't a single pokemon in the game that keeps up perfectly with your default running speed. some get close, but they're either slightly too slow or slightly too fast. you either have to adjust the speed you run at so they can keep up, or deal with them constantly catching up to you, stopping, then catching back up again
Interesting perspective. I think the mechanical aspects are not to be dismissed, but I get the point that there is something unique about the ways you can interact with your Pokémon. Two things I want to add: In HGSS, your partner Pokémon could be seen using their HM moves. I think this adds to the uniqueness because Pokémon movesets are also customizable. So not only did you get to travel with your Pokémon, you got to see it do its thing in the overworld. You wouldn't get that by using an HM from a Pokémon that is not outside its ball. Since we no longer have HMs or field moves generally, this is no longer an option. In Let's Go, you also had the partner Pikachu or Eevee, which was not only a following Pokémon but one you could customize the appearance of (making it more unique), use it use field moves and at one point event control directly (giving it a tangible role in your adventure beyond battles). This particular relationship was limited to only one Pokémon, but it was very effective.
Yeah I loved all the little interactions between the partner in the let's go games--those titles are so underrated!! And I have a secret message about HMs in the description to this video 😉 I am so glad I had a clip of my Feraligatr using strength to show here. The CHOICE you have to make with an HM move and how that impacts other choices was always such a cool thing in older Pokemon games
No, I'm pretty sure it is just the mechanical implementation that's the problem. That's why no one complained about how it worked in the Let's Go games, because it was more functionally immersive. The fact a few select Pokémon could be ridden instead of follow was just nice a bonus. This should be especially apparent because it's not EVERY following Pokémon people complain about in the new games, only those who are so janky it breaks immersion. The idea that the unique map sprites was ever part of it is ridiculous, because every Pokémon also always had unique back sprites which also "distinguished" the way the player sees their own team as opposed to enemies. And yet, it's not like the switch to universal 3d models ruined that supposed "uniqueness".
Yes. This. It's hardly about the uniqueness. Although it helps it's simply just that I want the Pokémon to follow me. Not lag behind and catch up. Not run past me. Just stick to my side. IDC if it's weird to have a tiny bug Pokemon be able to match my running speed, I just want to be able to explore with my mons keeping up. IDC if there are other trainers with the exact same mon in the overworld or in battles. I want the one I chose to be my partner in and out of battle. We all got to have our own version of Ash's Pikachu in HGSS with a Pokemon of our choosing and I wish that became a standard in the series
Full on customization is basically impossible with the amount of pokemon there are, but maybe they could introduce an accessory for your team, like a dog collar or a bandana like in mystery dungeon. You could customize the color and the pattern of the accessory, that way you’d still have a choice. But adding just this tiny bit of customization would set your pokemon apart from the ones in the overworld and other NPC’s, while also rewarding you to have a new pokemon in your team just to see how they wear your accessory. Like I’d take the time to catch and add a Dhelmise or Klefki to my team just to see how they’d wear a bandana
Fully agree with this, even if it was just like a little emblem type badge you could design or something, the sense of agency that it would give you would be like, yes, this is MY Pokemon.
Digimon basically did this. In Digimon world re digitize and in hacker's memory you can get accessories like funny hats to put on your digimon. Each Digimon has a designated spot for the accessories
HartGold and SoulSilver pokemon followed right behind you and in newer games they are too slow and can't keep up, even if they are a fast pokemon they can't keep up and they just end up despawning
@@madnessarcade7447: not really, the map design emulated the look of the old Kanto grid, but the movement was otherwise completely freeform. There's no reason the same following/riding system couldn't have worked in the other Switch generation games.
On the Scarlet/Violet part: I actually really like it from a gameplay perspective, but it also does something cute. I have NO idea how to trigger it, but sometimes your Pokémon will trot back to you and do loops happily around the player and that's just-my heart melted when I saw that! So stinking cute!
For me it's 100% about the janky execution, honestly. If they were just able to keep up with me in Scarlet & Violet, I'd be fully happy no complaints 10/10, but I think I get your point.
It's such an interesting thing that I've never thought about before. That the following Pokemon animations are wholly unique for HeartGold and SoulSilver because they aren't the same as the battle sprites or the party sprites.
I prefer the HGSS following mechanic the most as well, because the sprite works are unique and fit into the chibi perspective. You can really fill in the interaction with the pokemon with your imagination. The pokewalker and the photographer adds to the narrative of traveling with your pokemon. I actually find the following sprites... immersive, not realistic at all, but seeing pokemon in the overworld and interacting with them... gives a sense of companionship perhaps. Mechanically LGPE implemented following mechanic the best. The pokemon are more to scale and have more unique animations, but they do get in the way of traversal sometimes. Onix and snorlax move rather slowly for instance. It's certainly more realistic but you also see the same wild pokemon in the overworld. I feel like it's harder to project or personify the pokemons in 3D models shared with wild pokemons.
Are you mistaking gen 5 from gen 4? The way you say optional, makes me assume that you’d like to have the option to turn off following. Otherwise you’d have just said I wish gen 5 had the Pokémon following feature.
@@oyeh8908 They also had lots of the sprites for gen 5 done already due to that dream forest thing where the pokemon waits there so you can catch them
I think itd be great for 3D games to give you the option of having smaller pokemon sit on your chatacter's shoulder or something, but other than riding pokemon or having small ones sit on your shoulder, I think having your pokemon follow you around in 3D is just going to be janky.
Having new animations for all these Pokémon is what really makes this hard in 3d. It might be easier to have designated accessory spots programmed for Pokémon like hats, but that still feels rather insurmountable. It would bring that specific nature you want though.
This is dramatically overthinked. Everything he said is true but about uniqueness of every save file for everybody. With following pokemon issue is simple - in modern games they simply don’t match players speed.
So I'm a little late, but I really enjoyed this video! I appreciate the emphasis on immersive storytelling and how following Pokemon contribute to this. I do have some thoughts: 1. I wouldn't dismiss the importance of the graphics & the lag. If I'm running across the screen and my Pokemon can't keep up with me or alternatively they're outpacing me, this pulls me out of the story and has me thinking about how "wow... they didn't do this well." and i want to see my Pokemon reflect their speed in the walking animation for sure, but then that brings me to my second point. 2. Let's Go deserves a bit more credit. While I do agree that there likely could have been more Pokemon with unique riding abilities, every Pokemon had a unique way of traversing the overworld. Graveler would tuck in and roll. You got to see Electorb's goofy smile as it rolled around. The jolly happy frog leaps that Venusaur took behind you. The effort put into walking animation in this game made every Pokemon still feel unique even if it didn't have the ability to aid you in traversal. 3. I have always felt that they should have just replaced HMs with the natural abilities of the Pokemon, and I think that kind of overlaps with your idea. Instead of some weird flying contraption or taxi that I can't think too hard about without breaking the immersion for me, why not just have any Pokemon with wings (that's big enough) be able to fly you around? We saw this in Let's Go and I want to see it expanded upon. Have any Pokemon that's big enough be a ride Pokemon for water traversal. Any Pokemon with sharp talons be able to cut. You follow? And expanding on what Pokemon can do, like using fire to light a dark area, or using Ice to solve puzzles sounds BRILLIANT. 4. I think if you combined this with giving the Pokemon their personalities back, you wouldn't need to give every individual Pokemon a unique thing to do. You can instead see how your Pokemon performs the same task as opposed to another one you could've chosen. And it would be ESPECIALLY helpful if they made puzzles that could be solved more ways than one. Like using your river example: being able to use an Ice type to freeze path, a choppy boi to make you a log bridge, or the good ol' surfing option. Hopefully, with the games moving more and more toward the open-world dream we've all had, we'll start seeing more stuff like this! But yeah I really thing you're onto something, so - keep up the good work! ^^
No wonder people liked the Pokemon Lets Go games. Haven't played them, but just what you showed even with the disclaimer that it's only a few Pokemon. That's amazing. They actually did unique animations for a bunch of Pokemon that's pretty cool. Adds the layer of finding them all even.
Let's Go def had the best following mechanic, at least in 3D. HGSS's implementation is peak, but Let's Go rivals it, IMO. The stylization and the way HMs are incorporated gives HGSS a leg up in some ways, and I think it's a much more essential aspect of HGSS than Let's Go. The way that the pokemon interact with some environments in Let's Go is wonderful too, like how grass types may sometimes bask in the sun peeking between the trees in Viridian forest. On the other hand, HGSS's use of HMs and the way you get to actually see your Pokemon jump in front of you and use the move is just the best. Oh, that note about the sprite being unique to the following mechanic, that they appear nowhere else in the game, and that other players have likely never seen it- that's an incredible detail, it's so true.
I do think Pokemon has kind of come up with a solution to this partially. It will just depend on how they will implement this in the future. The Syncro Machine. If in the future, instead of having pokemon just follow you, you could also BE a pokemon and traverse the region, do puzzles, and more, I think that could solve the conundrum of Following Pokemon not feeling special.
But honestly in HGSS other than the sprites looking good how does it win out against LGPE, every pokemon gets the same reactions in HGSS, at least in LGPE at least it kind of feels for every pokemon it seems a bit different, Gonna have to disagree on this front
You've then got me thinking that the following sprites are unique to following, they can be designed as such to maximise cuteness/coolness/friendliness or whatever you think the player wants to feel when they look at their little bud
I feel like your partner Koraidon/Miraidon accomplished most of those points within Scarlet/Violet, and the game even goes as far as taking them from you near the end so you feel the impact of their abscence both gameplay-wise and narrative-wise, surprised that didn't get a mention. Overall I agree! I think having a set of field abilities distributed between the pokemons could help like what you suggested. And while there are a thousand species, if the devs can focus mainly on the hundred or so pokemon families you find in the main games that would be plenty. Something exclusive to post-games or trades would be special enough on its own just by virute of how unavailable they normally are. So what's always there, has to standout in some other form. Having some pokemon create paths for you, spot items, or even revive the pickup ability but making it more specific with animations (like the growlithe example you gave) AND rewards. Maybe the only Pokemon that can naturally find a Leftovers in the ground would be a munchlax, for one. Or they can help increase the odds of finding certain pokemon. You'd think walking around with a partner Zangoose, it'd have a keen eye for finding wild Serviper lying around and it would warn you of them. I think the Pokemon Ranger games had features like this for traversal abilities.
I like the idea of what you're suggesting with Koraidon and Miraidon, but because you don't really choose them, nor are they on your battling team, I don't really see them the same way. You choose a Pokemon and their functionality is in battling, but that choice, to go on adventure with them, is dramatized with the following. The specificty and uniqueness of that choice is showcased across every playthrough. Koraidon and Miraidon is a binary and, even that binary, represents very little change. Koraidon always felt like a traversal mechanic first, and a Pokemon second, to me.
You are missing the forest for the trees. While the overworld sprites were entirely original, they were not made that way for the sake of being unique, it was a result of the technical limitations. Just like how the entire world is put in a grid based plane, requiring the player to input the rest with their imagination, so were the following Pokemon. However this isnt strictly a negative, this accommodation allowed for the slower Pokemon to follow the player without breaking immersion as theyre always going to be exactly 1 square behind you. The real appeal of the mechanic was how it was implemented to make use of all those limitations. Whenever you began a battle, rather than throwing a Pokeball, your Pokemon would run in front of you to fight. Bigger Pokemon would return to their Pokeball when inside a building. More than existing alongside you in the overworld, they were designed to genuinely feel like an active character in your journey. The issue with it in modern games is that rather than solve existing problems with the newer innovations more were created in their place while also failing at implementing the basics of the HGSS version. In Sword & Shield it was quite literally an afterthought and Scarlet & Violet had its own idea on what it wanted to do with Pokemon in the overworld. All the Pokemon in 3D have had unique emotion animations since XY, from happy to upset and anger. But with their implementation in SV being almost entirely mechanical, there is little room for these to exist as the focus.
I think you are confusing my point. When you say, "While the overworld sprites were entirely original, they were not made that way for the sake of being unique," it sounds like you are arguing that I am trying to articulate WHY Game Freak made them that way. I don't care about author's intention. I am saying the sprites simply ARE unique and I am arguing the effect that has on the player. Further, I know the sprites literally are unique because they had to be given the technical scope, but the alternative choice is not to have re-used sprites, it's to have no sprites at all. But again, I am interested in the effect--not the reason. Second, "The real appeal of the mechanic," is just not something I subscribe to. It's a piece of fiction and we all receive and interpret things differently. There's no "real" appeal. Finally, it's interesting how you make the point that "All the Pokemon in 3D have had unique emotion animations since XY," almost as if you actually agree that having unique qualities makes something impactful and memorable--so I am kinda laughing that you don't think that applies to overworld sprites in HGSS just because it's ~actually~ a technical limitation. And, as I said in my video, I like how the unique sprites dramatize the adventure part of Pokemon--the literal exploration of an unknown terrain--and, for me, stuff like unique emotions doesn't perform that function in the same way--it's not as impactful for me.
I think Pokémon games should implement Overworld Moves or OMs as a separate set of abilities from battle moves. Have every Pokémon have at least two actions that they can perform on the overworld that aren't limited by the four moves they can use in battle to solve puzzles and unlock optional content. Like how they implemented Pokémon abilities in Gen 3 onward as something separate from a Pokémon's battle moves. This would negate people's complaints about HMs "forcing" them to teach their Pokémon certain battle moves and provide more uniqueness in exploring the world with your Pokémon.
I think you could give them special following behaviors. Like so pokemon dig and find items like you mentioned but also my that Growlithe could keep you warm in cold terrain or use a controlled fire to burn down a cut tree in the way or light torches in cave, while your Gogoat is able to be ridden, move heavy obstacles for puzzles, help grow berries faster,smash through evil base doors and climb up steep inclines to give you shortcuts on mountains. Like a handful of overworld interactions that could be shared amongst all the pokemon would work wonders, you could even them little difference, surfing on your Sharpedo would be super fast, but hard to steer compared to surfing on a Samurott, which would be slower but youd be able to smash through rocks and control alot easier. of course, making pokemon aime an on the go version so maybe after doing an action, you could give them a treat and pet them.
What you want is Pokémon ranger, at least functionality-wise. They also don't have to look unique, the Mystery Dungeon games proofed that, your team looks the same as any of the same species you can find in the overworld, yet it still feels special. Although maybe the uniqueness there came from the little character arts whenever they were talking that gave them a bit more personality.
On the note of Scarlet and Violet Following Pokemon, in addition to their functionality of gathering items for you and battling wild pokemon also actually hold a really important role in Shiny Hunting in the overworld. They refuse to battle Shiny Pokemon, something that's made more important by the fact that there is no more shiny sound in Scarlet and Violet upon one spawning so if you're not sure if a pokemon is shiny you'll find out for sure when your following Pokemon refuses to attack it and you can save in front of it before starting an encounter. You can get attached to the Pokemon you used to Shiny Hunt a Pokemon.
I think another small thing that would enhance the following mechanic in newer games would be the ability to add accessories to your 'mons. Giving your big scary Pokemon a little pink bow (for example) or something would add charm, attachment and specificity to your personal Pokemon.
I actually love the "jank" of following pokemon not matching your speed, it makes each species feel a little different because they can only locomote in their own way. I think it can be really fun to go around with a favourite pokemon and match *their* pace for a while, taking in the world from their perspective for a bit.
Personally, I feel like in the 3D games the trick would be less about a mechanical uniqueness and more about making your following pokemon feel like they have some kind of unique personality. Giving the pokemon some kind of simple unique animation that sets them apart from the ones in the wild would go a long way. Take cues from the anime with stuff like how Ash's Pikachu rides on his shoulder, Miblim rides in Liko's hood, Hogator likes singing, etc. It's always a tough solve with stuff like this and modern Pokemon because the scope of making every Pokemon feel unique is so massive. Great video,!
Honestly I think my main gripes with modern following Pokémon is mainly how they move and the fact that so many Pokémon in bdsp were just too slow to keep up
Imma be real, it helps that they weren’t mechanically broken in HeartGold. I just found them a hassle in the 3d entries I played (I did not play let’s go no scizor). The pokemon didn’t fall behind and unceremoniously return to its ball (SV). They didn’t get stuck on terrain (BDSP). They weren’t locked to a paid dlc that I didn’t buy (SWSH).
Honestly your explanation of different Pokémon having different ways of finding items and other points of interest reminded me a lot of Pokemon Ranger, where each Pokemon had a “field ability”. I.E. Venusaur and Gligar had the ability to cut things, Shelgon could ram into things to move them around, Rampardos could crush boulders, etc., and I think something like that would be really cool for the main series. Just give each Pokemon like, 1-4 unique “triggers” out of a list of maybe twenty at most, and make overworld spots that Pokemon with that trigger will interact with. That way, maybe your Onix will dig a tunnel for you to find a hidden cave area, but your friend’s Drillbur will do the same thing, so you’re not making an obscene amount of content 90% of players will never see, but the unique ways each Pokemon does those things will be memorable enough to stand out to each player. Plus, it’d also be the new HM/Ride Pokemon stand-in; you could use your own Feraligatr to surf around or break rocks without having to dedicate its entire moveset to it
As someone whose two defining traits are being a writer and being a pokémon fanatic, this video was perfect for me. Can’t wait to see what else you’ve got!
I remember always checking out the following sprite when getting a new Pokemon in Heart Gold, especially Pokemon from other games that you cannot catch there. A lot of them look so cute. Also have you ever seen Ledyba and Ledian? No, thought so. They look great. Edit: It's also funny how you mention looking through a photo album, considering HG/SS let you take group pictures of your party and see how much the party grew over time, all of them with their unique following sprite.
Love the idea of having specific things your following Pokémon can do in the overworld to add uniqueness. My idea would be something a little more cosmetic which would be allowing you to customize the appearance of your Pokémon so that the Squirtle following you with the bright green sunglasses and the backwards baseball cap is the only Squirtle that looks like that, adding back that uniqueness. I think being able to dress up your Pokémon would give totally new life to the following feature. The dream of course is that they do the Let's Go thing hut with every Pokémon instead of a handful.
I kinda hope this is what I think it is about. Just started the video. edit: Oh that's a bit different! I suppose that is true in regards to HGSS. When you talk with them over time they will have certain reactions or moods with your trainer. It's very topical but charming. My main issue with the follow mechanic in SwSh DLC is that they don't keep up with your character consistently or are just very slow. It's jarring. I haven't played SV for the obvious reasons but always hear great things for the most part.
Something that, interestingly enough, the Cobblemon mod for Minecraft does achieve. An addon lets you ride different pokemon to run, swim and fly like Let's Go, sure, but for tiny pokemon you can also put them on your shoulder as you journey! The Shoulder Mount list includes pretty common early mon as well, like Ralts, Zigzagoon, Roggenrola, as well as niche picks like Zorua, Sableye and Charcadet. They have unique poses only seen in this state, very cute.
I also want to point out that in the Let’s Go games, not only can you ride certain pokemon, and not only are all pokemon able to keep up amd stay going at a standard rate, (which makes this mechanic actually useable vs the crap in both ScarVi and SwSh), but they also interact with the environment. Your non-ride pokemon will often find hidden items that your player character cannot find without them, but also they run over to the bush where that item was hidden. They sometimes react to certain locations in cities and towns with little dialogues. You can talk to them at any time to learn how they feel, and that feeling is often directly influenced by the current environment, like seeming spooked in Lavender Town. It not only gives the following pokemon unique behaviors that make them feel different from the random wild creatures, but also makes it easy to think of the creature as your own companion, enjoying the journey's highs and lows alongside the player. In ScarVi, when a pokemon picks up an item, it just walks over the same sparkle your player can pick up and the item appears in your inventory. There's no animation or any indication the pokemon stopped to grab this specifically for you. And when you talk yo your pokemon, they always play the same little animation with no change based on environment or HP level or anything. The only thing that makes them feel like they're really a part of your journey is the auto battles, where they play the dame animation repeatedly to mow dow every enemy in a given direction. Still better than the nothing SwSh gave, but still too limited for a player to feel that personal connection with their creature. I think this feature is less about player choice and more about the core message of the franchise- Pokemon are supposed to feel like they're your companions and friends. That they want you to succeed and love to help out, and that their personalities are unique and individual. That's why I think Let’s Go implemented the mechanic the best, while HGSS is still in second (they still have the talking mechanic with unique environmental reactions, and them following at a constant pace being the best factors). When your pokemon is constantly getting sent back to its ball because it's too slow or stopping because it's too fast and that's the only mecanic, its not only too annoying to use but also makes your pokemon feel more like a lame accessory than like your actual beloved companion.
Did you know Yo-Kai Watch 2 and Yo-Kai Watch 3 are monster collector JRPGs for the Nintendo 3DS where any monster whose medal you acquired will be able to follow you? Did you know those games made it so the monster DOESN'T need to be the first monster in your party to be the monster of your choice that follows you like how Pokemon usually does it? Ain't that just a great way to give the player all kinds of choices?
This is why I think every evolution line should have an exclusive something. If every Pokémon is to truly be unique, it should show in combat wether it be an exclusive ability, move, or even something as simple as having the highest base stat in a type. Sadly most Pokémon aren’t so lucky.
This is such an interesting point, and it never even crossed my mind. But thinking back to my first playthrough of soulsilver (my first pokemon game)...yep, I remember the over-world Typhlosion model way more than the battle one. Clever!
While I don't disagree that adding unique over world animations would definitely add to the experience of following Pokemon I still wish my little tumbleweed kept up with me just a little bit. Or letting me hold it over my head while I run like it's a big beach ball
If you are looking for another idea for a video about narrative design in Pokémon, take the modern usage of the EXP share, for example. In previous games, you developed your own stories raising your Pokémon with thought and intention. Now, you only need to have them in your party. You can completely ignore the majority of your team and plow through the games. I believe this decision by Gamefreak is as unpopular as it is because it removed a core element of Pokémon storytelling from the games.
I think the issue is more simple, both 2D and 3D games are stylized representations of an idea the anime more closely captures and like many things 2D can get away with a more abstract and bare bones presentation than 3D like old towns with 2 houses, ok in 2D but very off if 3D. Static stiff pokemon glued behind, ok in 2D but too lifeless in 3D
I had Kangaskhan trailing behind me in Soul Silver behind me so much, it actually became one of my favorite Pokemon. It was my very first level 100 Pokemon, and I spent so much time knocking out Rapidash in a specific area to get to that point. To this day, she still has a pretty unique and definitely non-meta moveset, and I do not care. I like it the way it is.
Something that I was surprised that you didn't emphasize was how HeartGold and SoulSilver allowed you to talk to your Pokémon, to which they'd give you different responses based on their health, the location, and even sometimes give you an item they found. That for me was my favorite aspect about following Pokémon. Like, sure, I may not get an all new model for when they're following me, but I could still love to be able to learn more aspects of my Pokémon's personality and how they react to the environment than what we have in Scarlet and Violet, which only allows them to give a brief animation and yell out their cry.
Woah! You are literally describing a new version of old HM moves. As you said, imagine if you see a body of water and your ice type pokémon would freeze the water and make a little path for you. On the other side, there would be an item or a collectible to make you feel rewarded on that discovery. It doesn't need to be anything mandatory but it would really make the player feel that following pokémon would make their game feel more unique and special.
I have a living Pokédex that I'm building, and in this collection I made sure to keep just one Pokémon from every playthrough that I've done. I have my Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza from my first ever Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald playthroughs sitting in my Pokémon Home right now. I have similar things from all my games through all the generations since then. I cherish them.
Let's not forget the cameras in HGSS. From a narrative standpoint, it's incredible to be able to see how your team progresses through the story in a such an organic fashion. That feature made a real image out of my imagination.
my preferred preference is an organized by two different things first one would be size and if the Pokemon can be ride upon mainly for travel for large size Pokemon but for small size they can be put on the shoulder or head like in Pokemon go. depending on their type increases the chances of certain type of items to occur, and some unique scenarios while some Pokémon are following you the weather could change or if you had used the move to change the weather. is one preferred outcome if they implemented. in some of the concept art of other games I like the concept of putting clothing and artwork on our Pokémon to distinguish them from others. in the future being stuck in one particular game would be slightly disappointing part of it is already inevitable because they don't want to make the games too big and I don't blame them I just prefer that it be interactable with home as well that way the Pokémon themselves can enjoy the journey with me as well and I don't feel like part of it is missing.
Not sure if you have already dove into the shin magami sensei stories yet.. but honestly I think that could be great for you style of content. Metaphor refantazio’s story needs to be dissected by someone with the salt for it. I look forward to watching more of your stuff, thank you and definitely subbed.
Another aspect of HGSS's following Pokemon make make each specific journey unique is that the following Pokemon react to the environment, and quite often Pokémon will react to an environment differently depending on their type or even species.
Partly it's the ballooning size of the roster that makes updating the feature to be more unique much more difficult. There are now about a thousand pokeys and programming them would be a challenge even for a mega corp like them Palworld shockingly does it better but they have the benefit of having asmaller starting roster of monsters so they can make them more unique and useful to the player.
Genuinely curious, not trying to attack--did you watch the video and come to this conclusion? I played HGSS for the first time this year and feel like my reasoning and criticism is pretty sound. What fell flat for you?
Mainly the reason why following pokemon don't look the same in the newer games is because the top-down world map and the battle areas have become the same They're both 3D and use the same 3D models, which means that they can't make the pokemon fit the style of the characters on the map anymore Gamefreak really needs to make another 2D pokemon game, with HD 2D graphics (not pixelated!!) instead of using 3D models
Not necessary following Pokémon, but imagine if in the next Pokémon game every single Pokémon had a quest (like Legends Arceus’s quest system) that you could find in the world and participate in to either obtain that mon or get exclusive rewards. Like for example helping a charmander that’s stuck in the rain and receiving them as a reward
It's crazy how repeatedly Gamefreak has botched following pokémon, just have it so you can set one of your party pokemon to follow you, 90% of pokemon will just follow behind you a short distance, they can neither be too slow nor too fast, they all follow at the same speed, some special pokemon have unique following mechanics like riding on your trainer's shoulder or in their bag, for example Pikachu or pokemon who wouldn't reasonably be able to move much like cocoon pokémon or small pokémon like baby pokémon or pokémon like Pincurchin or Pyukumuku. Some areas like inside buildings disable following pokémon but they automatically reactivate once you leave. With Pokémon games having limited pokédexes there's no reason why Gamefreak can't include this as they don't even need to add unique following mechanics for every pokemon, just a few specific ones in the game that would need it while all the other ones just function the exact same.
I feel like you've really gotta understand that if the pokemon isn't keeping up with your walking pace, it's not consistently on screen, and if it's not on screen it can't do anything narratively because it effectively isn't there. The jank aspects of the feature actively hold it back from doing what you want it to do, so yes I would actually still argue the issues in implementation are the biggest problem.
I actually believe Let's Go handled following Pokemon better than HGSS, as they allow you to ride on several Pokemon that actually affects travelling along with the following Pokemon function. The only problem with Let's Go following Pokemon is it only has 153 Pokemon, less than the 493 Pokemon in HGSS.
In the mystery dungeon games your main 2 pokemon got little scarfs on. made me never elvolve them because the evolutions would loose them but i could imagine something like this on following pokemon. let me equip them with different colored scarfs or something. So that you never know how iwll this specific pokemon wear a scarf. I mean many of them just got a neck but many also dont. maybe on some the neck is too big so they put it on their ear or something.
They should give us legendaries that we can ride on at the beginning of the game. And they can surf fly and climb walls for us so that we can travel anywhere with them. And they can make it so that we need to feed our pokemon sandwiches to upgrade them. And they should make our legendary pokemon wait until the end of the game before we get to use it in battle. P.S. GEN 9 HAD THE BEST FOLLOWING POKEMON EVER!
I seriously don't get that *this* is the part where Pokémon suddenly want to randomly be realistic lol. Like, why did they make so many of them slower than you default walking speed? It seriously breaks the immersion and goes against the whole concept of following Pokémon in the first place. Like when I send my Pokémon out, I don't want them to repeatedly teleport back to me or immediately go back into their ball because I decided to go faster than molasses. No, I send them out so we can explore the region together! It's really funny that all of the Pokémon that you specifically evolve by walking with them in Paldea too are slower than you too. Meaning that to evolve them, you're supposed to tiptoe everywhere. I think a good solution would be to make it so most Pokémon are around the same running speed as you. With most of the slowest only slightly trailing behind you. They could also make exceptions for specific Pokémon that are supposed to be really fast or really slow. Like Doduo or Slowpoke where they're significantly faster/slower than both you and other following Pokémon
Scarlet and violet just tossed uniqueness out the door all around tbh. No clothing changes, reused items, backdrops, and sound bytes from sword and shield, the raids look pretty much the same, the terrestrial pokemon all just wear the same boring weird looking crowns... but in raids they are also in a dynamax format. I don't hate the game... I love pokemon... but I see the development focusing more on money making and less on player experience in recent years. It's a big corporation, so it's always going to be the case... but it's too lazy at this point. It's gotta listen to the fan base and stop gaslighting us into thinking things we previously had are one offs or not able to be implemented. 🤷♂️
That's what was so great about Palworld. Every Pal had a niche for working at base, and that moment you realize the cute grass monkey can actually do agriculture and help you out that way is magical.
Let's Go Pikachu Eevee is obviously second place and we need to let that game shine for the places that it actually mattered instead of just being negatively biased on every little thing... We need to be ACCURATELY critical of GameFreak, and to downplay what Let's Go does is a horrible idea. It's arguably better in this regard than HGSS because of ride followers and sky encounters too, but I just think the DS had been more consistent lol
Personally as someone who started in gen 2 I always thought following Pokemon was a kinda neat novelty but not much beyond that. I never understood why people made such a big deal out of it instead of what are in my opinion more interesting features like Safari Zone, Game Corner, etc.
following pokemon was my actual least favorite and what I believe to be the worst part of HGSS. I hate that it's limited to the front of your party, and that giant pokemon like legends aren't actually to scale. I don't get why the community meatrides HGSS so hard when they're mediocre games
This is an interesting criticism to me-because everything in the 2D Pokémon games, especially features like Following Pokémon, is meant to be a representation rather than a literalization of reality. These abstractions serve as a function of storytelling and gameplay design, allowing space for player imagination to fill in the gaps. For example, buildings in the games aren’t to scale, and towns themselves are functional abstractions of what a full town might contain. Similarly, when you cut down a tree with HM Cut, it’s not meant to suggest you’re cutting a single tree-it represents clearing a dense forest boundary, something that would otherwise be impassable. Even something as iconic as tall grass-where Pokémon of wildly varying sizes and shapes appear-isn’t meant to be taken literally. The mechanics and visuals prioritize gameplay flow over realism. So, the idea that Following Pokémon in HGSS don’t work because they aren’t to scale feels consistent with how the games as a whole handle these kinds of visual abstractions. Could it be that your frustration with this feature might stem more from a general dislike of HGSS? If so, do you think that’s influencing your perspective here, even though this video isn't about the quality of the games as a whole and only focuses on just one feature?
@ my main criticism is just that I don’t like that I can’t pick who’s following me. You do make a great point that my criticism isn’t exactly fair when you consider the sizes of buildings and the sprites battling each other etc, it’s never been literally to scale. That said, I wish I could have a low level Aipom always follow me with an exp share attached in the back, rather than be forced to use my lead, which makes me more likely to criticize the sprites that Im not trying to have out of the pokeball. It always made me feel restricted when pokemon is supposed to be a form of expression. So I’m glad BDSP and Let’s go let you choose which pokemon is outside of the ball, regardless of party position. Also, yes, I do dislike HGSS overall. I think the level curve is just horrendous. I think I’d still feel that way even if following pokemon did offer me the features I wanted back then. It’s just a bit of a slog of a game. Thank you for the lengthy reply btw! Nice to have a convo with the creator.
LOL, you made me realize more specifically why I've always been the "why do you all care about following Pokémon, there's less bland things I want the devs to focus on" guy ruining the hype for the feature. I'll agree that HGSS is where it oozes incredible charm and stands out as a very fun touch of Pokémon-specific customization that is there for the entire experience (it was still a pixelart Pokémon game after all!), but even there, it felt so cosmetic that it had me curious to see if it will ever be revisited with some kind of depth to it.... and my mind always goes to the topic of HMs and overworld interactions as the place Gamefreak should be looking at... which is funny, because I've also seen the Pokémon community cherish the end of HMs in ways that I'll never understand lol
I think that if all HMs had at least some kind of use in battle people would have hated them less. Nobody ever really complains about surf and fly, its the HMs like rocksmash or whirlpool that soured people on them. No other RPG I've ever played makes you permanently* hinder a party member's performance to progress. It lead most players down a path of narrative dissonance where many early gen games talk about how pokemon are partners and not tools, but you likely had a party slot specifically dedicated to a pokemon you were using as a tool that only knew HM moves. *(I say permanently in that gen 1 had no move deleter and, even in gens where one exists, getting back whatever you gave up for that HM slot is usually a task in and of itself. Even just being able to overwrite HMs without needing to meet a specific NPC would've done a lot to fix this, as well as infinite use TMs if they had been introduced earlier)
One small mechanic that for me made following Pokémon so special was the ability to talk to your Pokémon at any point. I loved how their emotions and what they would feel would change depending on so many factors. they even reward you for doing this with the leaf crown
Gen 5 had no excuse not to include following but X/Y had that awesome roller skating mechanic in which it'd be really awkward to have your pokemon chasing after the player
I disagree! In heartgold/soulsilver, there were limitations, like when you use the bike, you don’t have your Pokémon following you. This is the exact same scenario as the roller skates. Gen 6 graphically wouldn’t have been able to manage following Pokémon, or it would’ve been heavily restricted to a handful of monsters. Bear in mind, X/Y were their leap to 3D, so something like following Pokémon was unnecessary.
I agree with gen 5 for the most part, all the new gen 5 Pokémon have overworld sprites which could’ve been used, but memory would be my only concern as the new fluent gen 5 sprites likely took up a bigger portion of memory space on the cartridge. The fact that the 2nd versions akin to RSE and FRLG, DPP and HGSS, in black and white 2 didn’t change the sprites of Pokémon (whereas the 3rd versions/ remakes almost always changed the sprites) makes me assume that these took a while, accounting for all 649 Pokémon at the time so were reused in the sequels. As for reusing the gen 4 overworld sprites, on the surface I think that’s reasonable except lighting and art style changed massively from gen 4 to 5, so I imagine those would look out of place.
@@Just_Shaun: While there almost certainly would have been technical limitation trying to add fully rendered 3d models for following Pokémon in gen-6, I really wish people would stop describing X/Y as a "jump" to 3d.
Pokémon had already been using fully 3d maps for both Gens-4&5 too. Heck, even if the Pokémon were still 2d sprites in those games, all of in-battle attack effects were also rendered as 3d animations.
@@Just_Shaun this is actually a really great opinion, and I agree with pretty much everything you say here. The roller skates are similar to the bike, the difference is in XY you're basically ALWAYS using them because they're the default method of movement in those games. Putting aside how graphically it would have been quite difficult, even if they tried you'd basically never see the pokemon following you since the roller skates are pretty much always on unless you're in a building or something.
@@Hydrainait’s literally false, 3D has been there since 2003 with 3D cave backgrounds in RSE
Its not like they didn't want to do it,they couldn't because the devs had a budget and time constraints to work under.Alot of people just seem to ignore this.
My biggest issue with how it is implemented in SV is that:
1. Anything else is completely overshadowed narratively by Koraidon/Miraidon. Most of the time you will be riding one of them and not seeing whatever Pokemon you want to follow you.
2. Almost every interaction puts them back inside their ball and it eventually gets so cumbersome to take them back out that I just don't feel like doing it again every time.
3. They can fall so far behind you that they just return to their ball. I get not every Pokemon is fast, but if Wailord doesn't have to be actual size in battle then they don't have to be actual speed in the field.
I hate number 3 , it just a An inconvenience.
I would argue that with Nr. 3 some Pokémon would hover weird over the ground, if they did that
But they do anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter
It really comes down to these points for me. It's a feature that, ironically, works less effectively in a 3D, open-world game. Fully-rendered Pokémon clipping through terrain, screwing with the camera, and teleporting around during any minor interaction is more immersion-breaking than 2D sprites that follow the player via a simple grid-based movement system. Unlike HGSS, it's not seamless in the 3D games. It's more of a hassle than anything, and breaks up the flow of gameplay. It works so elegantly in HGSS because it HAS no effect on gameplay, so it only has to succeed at being a purely cosmetic feature.
Scarlet and violet have this feature. My biggest gripe is that not all pokemon can keep up, which annoys me to no end
I love having pokemon follow me, it just needs to be done well
i wouldn't mind the speed differences if the majority of pokemon matched your speed, but i swear there isn't a single pokemon in the game that keeps up perfectly with your default running speed.
some get close, but they're either slightly too slow or slightly too fast. you either have to adjust the speed you run at so they can keep up, or deal with them constantly catching up to you, stopping, then catching back up again
Interesting perspective. I think the mechanical aspects are not to be dismissed, but I get the point that there is something unique about the ways you can interact with your Pokémon. Two things I want to add:
In HGSS, your partner Pokémon could be seen using their HM moves. I think this adds to the uniqueness because Pokémon movesets are also customizable. So not only did you get to travel with your Pokémon, you got to see it do its thing in the overworld. You wouldn't get that by using an HM from a Pokémon that is not outside its ball. Since we no longer have HMs or field moves generally, this is no longer an option.
In Let's Go, you also had the partner Pikachu or Eevee, which was not only a following Pokémon but one you could customize the appearance of (making it more unique), use it use field moves and at one point event control directly (giving it a tangible role in your adventure beyond battles). This particular relationship was limited to only one Pokémon, but it was very effective.
Yeah I loved all the little interactions between the partner in the let's go games--those titles are so underrated!!
And I have a secret message about HMs in the description to this video 😉 I am so glad I had a clip of my Feraligatr using strength to show here. The CHOICE you have to make with an HM move and how that impacts other choices was always such a cool thing in older Pokemon games
No, I'm pretty sure it is just the mechanical implementation that's the problem. That's why no one complained about how it worked in the Let's Go games, because it was more functionally immersive. The fact a few select Pokémon could be ridden instead of follow was just nice a bonus.
This should be especially apparent because it's not EVERY following Pokémon people complain about in the new games, only those who are so janky it breaks immersion.
The idea that the unique map sprites was ever part of it is ridiculous, because every Pokémon also always had unique back sprites which also "distinguished" the way the player sees their own team as opposed to enemies. And yet, it's not like the switch to universal 3d models ruined that supposed "uniqueness".
I disagree. I always found it fun to check what the overworld sprite looked like when I caught/evolved one in HGSS.
Yes. This. It's hardly about the uniqueness. Although it helps it's simply just that I want the Pokémon to follow me. Not lag behind and catch up. Not run past me. Just stick to my side.
IDC if it's weird to have a tiny bug Pokemon be able to match my running speed, I just want to be able to explore with my mons keeping up. IDC if there are other trainers with the exact same mon in the overworld or in battles. I want the one I chose to be my partner in and out of battle. We all got to have our own version of Ash's Pikachu in HGSS with a Pokemon of our choosing and I wish that became a standard in the series
Full on customization is basically impossible with the amount of pokemon there are, but maybe they could introduce an accessory for your team, like a dog collar or a bandana like in mystery dungeon. You could customize the color and the pattern of the accessory, that way you’d still have a choice. But adding just this tiny bit of customization would set your pokemon apart from the ones in the overworld and other NPC’s, while also rewarding you to have a new pokemon in your team just to see how they wear your accessory. Like I’d take the time to catch and add a Dhelmise or Klefki to my team just to see how they’d wear a bandana
Fully agree with this, even if it was just like a little emblem type badge you could design or something, the sense of agency that it would give you would be like, yes, this is MY Pokemon.
Digimon basically did this. In Digimon world re digitize and in hacker's memory you can get accessories like funny hats to put on your digimon. Each Digimon has a designated spot for the accessories
Oh great idea for that!
HartGold and SoulSilver pokemon followed right behind you and in newer games they are too slow and can't keep up, even if they are a fast pokemon they can't keep up and they just end up despawning
True but wouldn’t it look a little weird if the Pokémon moved at the exact same time you move in 3D?
@@THGMR-ox7sd theres still a way to make it keep up with you and look natural but game freak will never put that amount of effort in their games
@@Xile179: The fact they actually got it right in Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee proves as much.
@@THGMR-ox7sdthey got it right in LGPE so no excuses
@@madnessarcade7447: not really, the map design emulated the look of the old Kanto grid, but the movement was otherwise completely freeform.
There's no reason the same following/riding system couldn't have worked in the other Switch generation games.
On the Scarlet/Violet part: I actually really like it from a gameplay perspective, but it also does something cute.
I have NO idea how to trigger it, but sometimes your Pokémon will trot back to you and do loops happily around the player and that's just-my heart melted when I saw that!
So stinking cute!
For me it's 100% about the janky execution, honestly. If they were just able to keep up with me in Scarlet & Violet, I'd be fully happy no complaints 10/10, but I think I get your point.
Not to mention they gave Pokemon multiple unique sprites in HGSS through the photo spot feature
wait those aren't just the following sprites?
Oh maybe. I just assumed they were different because they seemed more detailed but that might just be because they're bigger
It's such an interesting thing that I've never thought about before. That the following Pokemon animations are wholly unique for HeartGold and SoulSilver because they aren't the same as the battle sprites or the party sprites.
I prefer the HGSS following mechanic the most as well, because the sprite works are unique and fit into the chibi perspective. You can really fill in the interaction with the pokemon with your imagination. The pokewalker and the photographer adds to the narrative of traveling with your pokemon. I actually find the following sprites... immersive, not realistic at all, but seeing pokemon in the overworld and interacting with them... gives a sense of companionship perhaps.
Mechanically LGPE implemented following mechanic the best. The pokemon are more to scale and have more unique animations, but they do get in the way of traversal sometimes. Onix and snorlax move rather slowly for instance. It's certainly more realistic but you also see the same wild pokemon in the overworld. I feel like it's harder to project or personify the pokemons in 3D models shared with wild pokemons.
I wish the Pokémon following you feature was optional in Gen 5
Yeah, would have been a cool feature in like Black 2 and White 2 to differentiate them more from the originals
Are you mistaking gen 5 from gen 4? The way you say optional, makes me assume that you’d like to have the option to turn off following. Otherwise you’d have just said I wish gen 5 had the Pokémon following feature.
It was probably planned, if that following Mienfoo tease in Humiliau City is anything to go by.
@@oyeh8908 They also had lots of the sprites for gen 5 done already due to that dream forest thing where the pokemon waits there so you can catch them
I think itd be great for 3D games to give you the option of having smaller pokemon sit on your chatacter's shoulder or something, but other than riding pokemon or having small ones sit on your shoulder, I think having your pokemon follow you around in 3D is just going to be janky.
In Pokémon Go some buddy Pokémon automatically sit on your shoulder on your trainer screen. While some others are held in your hands
They can be meaningful sure but they've gotta keep up too, I'm not waiting around for a Meltan to catch up man
we simply must give Meltan a bicycle
@@JakeSteinbergor Running Shoes
I enjoyed Scarlet and Violet Let's go feature.
Also how brave of you showing The Ice Cave
Having new animations for all these Pokémon is what really makes this hard in 3d. It might be easier to have designated accessory spots programmed for Pokémon like hats, but that still feels rather insurmountable. It would bring that specific nature you want though.
This is dramatically overthinked. Everything he said is true but about uniqueness of every save file for everybody. With following pokemon issue is simple - in modern games they simply don’t match players speed.
So I'm a little late, but I really enjoyed this video! I appreciate the emphasis on immersive storytelling and how following Pokemon contribute to this. I do have some thoughts:
1. I wouldn't dismiss the importance of the graphics & the lag. If I'm running across the screen and my Pokemon can't keep up with me or alternatively they're outpacing me, this pulls me out of the story and has me thinking about how "wow... they didn't do this well." and i want to see my Pokemon reflect their speed in the walking animation for sure, but then that brings me to my second point.
2. Let's Go deserves a bit more credit. While I do agree that there likely could have been more Pokemon with unique riding abilities, every Pokemon had a unique way of traversing the overworld. Graveler would tuck in and roll. You got to see Electorb's goofy smile as it rolled around. The jolly happy frog leaps that Venusaur took behind you. The effort put into walking animation in this game made every Pokemon still feel unique even if it didn't have the ability to aid you in traversal.
3. I have always felt that they should have just replaced HMs with the natural abilities of the Pokemon, and I think that kind of overlaps with your idea. Instead of some weird flying contraption or taxi that I can't think too hard about without breaking the immersion for me, why not just have any Pokemon with wings (that's big enough) be able to fly you around? We saw this in Let's Go and I want to see it expanded upon. Have any Pokemon that's big enough be a ride Pokemon for water traversal. Any Pokemon with sharp talons be able to cut. You follow? And expanding on what Pokemon can do, like using fire to light a dark area, or using Ice to solve puzzles sounds BRILLIANT.
4. I think if you combined this with giving the Pokemon their personalities back, you wouldn't need to give every individual Pokemon a unique thing to do. You can instead see how your Pokemon performs the same task as opposed to another one you could've chosen. And it would be ESPECIALLY helpful if they made puzzles that could be solved more ways than one. Like using your river example: being able to use an Ice type to freeze path, a choppy boi to make you a log bridge, or the good ol' surfing option.
Hopefully, with the games moving more and more toward the open-world dream we've all had, we'll start seeing more stuff like this! But yeah I really thing you're onto something, so - keep up the good work! ^^
No wonder people liked the Pokemon Lets Go games.
Haven't played them, but just what you showed even with the disclaimer that it's only a few Pokemon.
That's amazing. They actually did unique animations for a bunch of Pokemon that's pretty cool. Adds the layer of finding them all even.
Let's Go def had the best following mechanic, at least in 3D.
HGSS's implementation is peak, but Let's Go rivals it, IMO. The stylization and the way HMs are incorporated gives HGSS a leg up in some ways, and I think it's a much more essential aspect of HGSS than Let's Go. The way that the pokemon interact with some environments in Let's Go is wonderful too, like how grass types may sometimes bask in the sun peeking between the trees in Viridian forest. On the other hand, HGSS's use of HMs and the way you get to actually see your Pokemon jump in front of you and use the move is just the best.
Oh, that note about the sprite being unique to the following mechanic, that they appear nowhere else in the game, and that other players have likely never seen it- that's an incredible detail, it's so true.
I do think Pokemon has kind of come up with a solution to this partially. It will just depend on how they will implement this in the future. The Syncro Machine. If in the future, instead of having pokemon just follow you, you could also BE a pokemon and traverse the region, do puzzles, and more, I think that could solve the conundrum of Following Pokemon not feeling special.
I think the uniqueness in newer games are marks, size, things like that.
Character customization, too!
I love marks!
But honestly in HGSS other than the sprites looking good how does it win out against LGPE, every pokemon gets the same reactions in HGSS, at least in LGPE at least it kind of feels for every pokemon it seems a bit different,
Gonna have to disagree on this front
1:30 Certainly not, it's gotta be LGPE. It's one of the better implemented things in the game.
KEEP WATCHING!!!! 😂😂😂
@JakeSteinberg Yeah I kept watching after leaving that comment lol.
You've then got me thinking that the following sprites are unique to following, they can be designed as such to maximise cuteness/coolness/friendliness or whatever you think the player wants to feel when they look at their little bud
lgpe managed to do the following pokemon right in 3d
I feel like your partner Koraidon/Miraidon accomplished most of those points within Scarlet/Violet, and the game even goes as far as taking them from you near the end so you feel the impact of their abscence both gameplay-wise and narrative-wise, surprised that didn't get a mention.
Overall I agree! I think having a set of field abilities distributed between the pokemons could help like what you suggested. And while there are a thousand species, if the devs can focus mainly on the hundred or so pokemon families you find in the main games that would be plenty. Something exclusive to post-games or trades would be special enough on its own just by virute of how unavailable they normally are. So what's always there, has to standout in some other form.
Having some pokemon create paths for you, spot items, or even revive the pickup ability but making it more specific with animations (like the growlithe example you gave) AND rewards. Maybe the only Pokemon that can naturally find a Leftovers in the ground would be a munchlax, for one. Or they can help increase the odds of finding certain pokemon. You'd think walking around with a partner Zangoose, it'd have a keen eye for finding wild Serviper lying around and it would warn you of them.
I think the Pokemon Ranger games had features like this for traversal abilities.
I like the idea of what you're suggesting with Koraidon and Miraidon, but because you don't really choose them, nor are they on your battling team, I don't really see them the same way. You choose a Pokemon and their functionality is in battling, but that choice, to go on adventure with them, is dramatized with the following. The specificty and uniqueness of that choice is showcased across every playthrough. Koraidon and Miraidon is a binary and, even that binary, represents very little change.
Koraidon always felt like a traversal mechanic first, and a Pokemon second, to me.
You are missing the forest for the trees. While the overworld sprites were entirely original, they were not made that way for the sake of being unique, it was a result of the technical limitations. Just like how the entire world is put in a grid based plane, requiring the player to input the rest with their imagination, so were the following Pokemon.
However this isnt strictly a negative, this accommodation allowed for the slower Pokemon to follow the player without breaking immersion as theyre always going to be exactly 1 square behind you.
The real appeal of the mechanic was how it was implemented to make use of all those limitations. Whenever you began a battle, rather than throwing a Pokeball, your Pokemon would run in front of you to fight. Bigger Pokemon would return to their Pokeball when inside a building. More than existing alongside you in the overworld, they were designed to genuinely feel like an active character in your journey.
The issue with it in modern games is that rather than solve existing problems with the newer innovations more were created in their place while also failing at implementing the basics of the HGSS version. In Sword & Shield it was quite literally an afterthought and Scarlet & Violet had its own idea on what it wanted to do with Pokemon in the overworld.
All the Pokemon in 3D have had unique emotion animations since XY, from happy to upset and anger. But with their implementation in SV being almost entirely mechanical, there is little room for these to exist as the focus.
I think you are confusing my point.
When you say, "While the overworld sprites were entirely original, they were not made that way for the sake of being unique," it sounds like you are arguing that I am trying to articulate WHY Game Freak made them that way. I don't care about author's intention. I am saying the sprites simply ARE unique and I am arguing the effect that has on the player. Further, I know the sprites literally are unique because they had to be given the technical scope, but the alternative choice is not to have re-used sprites, it's to have no sprites at all. But again, I am interested in the effect--not the reason.
Second, "The real appeal of the mechanic," is just not something I subscribe to. It's a piece of fiction and we all receive and interpret things differently. There's no "real" appeal.
Finally, it's interesting how you make the point that "All the Pokemon in 3D have had unique emotion animations since XY," almost as if you actually agree that having unique qualities makes something impactful and memorable--so I am kinda laughing that you don't think that applies to overworld sprites in HGSS just because it's ~actually~ a technical limitation. And, as I said in my video, I like how the unique sprites dramatize the adventure part of Pokemon--the literal exploration of an unknown terrain--and, for me, stuff like unique emotions doesn't perform that function in the same way--it's not as impactful for me.
I think Pokémon games should implement Overworld Moves or OMs as a separate set of abilities from battle moves. Have every Pokémon have at least two actions that they can perform on the overworld that aren't limited by the four moves they can use in battle to solve puzzles and unlock optional content. Like how they implemented Pokémon abilities in Gen 3 onward as something separate from a Pokémon's battle moves. This would negate people's complaints about HMs "forcing" them to teach their Pokémon certain battle moves and provide more uniqueness in exploring the world with your Pokémon.
The Switch games have WAAAAY too many issues like this, implementations that are just lazy and half-baked.
I think you could give them special following behaviors. Like so pokemon dig and find items like you mentioned but also my that Growlithe could keep you warm in cold terrain or use a controlled fire to burn down a cut tree in the way or light torches in cave, while your Gogoat is able to be ridden, move heavy obstacles for puzzles, help grow berries faster,smash through evil base doors and climb up steep inclines to give you shortcuts on mountains. Like a handful of overworld interactions that could be shared amongst all the pokemon would work wonders, you could even them little difference, surfing on your Sharpedo would be super fast, but hard to steer compared to surfing on a Samurott, which would be slower but youd be able to smash through rocks and control alot easier. of course, making pokemon aime an on the go version so maybe after doing an action, you could give them a treat and pet them.
What you want is Pokémon ranger, at least functionality-wise.
They also don't have to look unique, the Mystery Dungeon games proofed that, your team looks the same as any of the same species you can find in the overworld, yet it still feels special. Although maybe the uniqueness there came from the little character arts whenever they were talking that gave them a bit more personality.
On the note of Scarlet and Violet Following Pokemon, in addition to their functionality of gathering items for you and battling wild pokemon also actually hold a really important role in Shiny Hunting in the overworld. They refuse to battle Shiny Pokemon, something that's made more important by the fact that there is no more shiny sound in Scarlet and Violet upon one spawning so if you're not sure if a pokemon is shiny you'll find out for sure when your following Pokemon refuses to attack it and you can save in front of it before starting an encounter. You can get attached to the Pokemon you used to Shiny Hunt a Pokemon.
It’s because they actually follow you. In general 8 or 9 if you have too much distance they return to the ball
I think another small thing that would enhance the following mechanic in newer games would be the ability to add accessories to your 'mons. Giving your big scary Pokemon a little pink bow (for example) or something would add charm, attachment and specificity to your personal Pokemon.
I actually love the "jank" of following pokemon not matching your speed, it makes each species feel a little different because they can only locomote in their own way. I think it can be really fun to go around with a favourite pokemon and match *their* pace for a while, taking in the world from their perspective for a bit.
Personally, I feel like in the 3D games the trick would be less about a mechanical uniqueness and more about making your following pokemon feel like they have some kind of unique personality. Giving the pokemon some kind of simple unique animation that sets them apart from the ones in the wild would go a long way. Take cues from the anime with stuff like how Ash's Pikachu rides on his shoulder, Miblim rides in Liko's hood, Hogator likes singing, etc. It's always a tough solve with stuff like this and modern Pokemon because the scope of making every Pokemon feel unique is so massive.
Great video,!
Honestly I think my main gripes with modern following Pokémon is mainly how they move and the fact that so many Pokémon in bdsp were just too slow to keep up
Imma be real, it helps that they weren’t mechanically broken in HeartGold. I just found them a hassle in the 3d entries I played (I did not play let’s go no scizor).
The pokemon didn’t fall behind and unceremoniously return to its ball (SV). They didn’t get stuck on terrain (BDSP). They weren’t locked to a paid dlc that I didn’t buy (SWSH).
Honestly your explanation of different Pokémon having different ways of finding items and other points of interest reminded me a lot of Pokemon Ranger, where each Pokemon had a “field ability”. I.E. Venusaur and Gligar had the ability to cut things, Shelgon could ram into things to move them around, Rampardos could crush boulders, etc., and I think something like that would be really cool for the main series. Just give each Pokemon like, 1-4 unique “triggers” out of a list of maybe twenty at most, and make overworld spots that Pokemon with that trigger will interact with. That way, maybe your Onix will dig a tunnel for you to find a hidden cave area, but your friend’s Drillbur will do the same thing, so you’re not making an obscene amount of content 90% of players will never see, but the unique ways each Pokemon does those things will be memorable enough to stand out to each player. Plus, it’d also be the new HM/Ride Pokemon stand-in; you could use your own Feraligatr to surf around or break rocks without having to dedicate its entire moveset to it
As someone whose two defining traits are being a writer and being a pokémon fanatic, this video was perfect for me. Can’t wait to see what else you’ve got!
I remember always checking out the following sprite when getting a new Pokemon in Heart Gold, especially Pokemon from other games that you cannot catch there. A lot of them look so cute.
Also have you ever seen Ledyba and Ledian? No, thought so. They look great.
Edit: It's also funny how you mention looking through a photo album, considering HG/SS let you take group pictures of your party and see how much the party grew over time, all of them with their unique following sprite.
Love the idea of having specific things your following Pokémon can do in the overworld to add uniqueness.
My idea would be something a little more cosmetic which would be allowing you to customize the appearance of your Pokémon so that the Squirtle following you with the bright green sunglasses and the backwards baseball cap is the only Squirtle that looks like that, adding back that uniqueness. I think being able to dress up your Pokémon would give totally new life to the following feature.
The dream of course is that they do the Let's Go thing hut with every Pokémon instead of a handful.
I kinda hope this is what I think it is about. Just started the video.
edit: Oh that's a bit different! I suppose that is true in regards to HGSS. When you talk with them over time they will have certain reactions or moods with your trainer. It's very topical but charming.
My main issue with the follow mechanic in SwSh DLC is that they don't keep up with your character consistently or are just very slow. It's jarring.
I haven't played SV for the obvious reasons but always hear great things for the most part.
Something that, interestingly enough, the Cobblemon mod for Minecraft does achieve. An addon lets you ride different pokemon to run, swim and fly like Let's Go, sure, but for tiny pokemon you can also put them on your shoulder as you journey!
The Shoulder Mount list includes pretty common early mon as well, like Ralts, Zigzagoon, Roggenrola, as well as niche picks like Zorua, Sableye and Charcadet. They have unique poses only seen in this state, very cute.
I also want to point out that in the Let’s Go games, not only can you ride certain pokemon, and not only are all pokemon able to keep up amd stay going at a standard rate, (which makes this mechanic actually useable vs the crap in both ScarVi and SwSh), but they also interact with the environment. Your non-ride pokemon will often find hidden items that your player character cannot find without them, but also they run over to the bush where that item was hidden. They sometimes react to certain locations in cities and towns with little dialogues. You can talk to them at any time to learn how they feel, and that feeling is often directly influenced by the current environment, like seeming spooked in Lavender Town. It not only gives the following pokemon unique behaviors that make them feel different from the random wild creatures, but also makes it easy to think of the creature as your own companion, enjoying the journey's highs and lows alongside the player.
In ScarVi, when a pokemon picks up an item, it just walks over the same sparkle your player can pick up and the item appears in your inventory. There's no animation or any indication the pokemon stopped to grab this specifically for you. And when you talk yo your pokemon, they always play the same little animation with no change based on environment or HP level or anything. The only thing that makes them feel like they're really a part of your journey is the auto battles, where they play the dame animation repeatedly to mow dow every enemy in a given direction. Still better than the nothing SwSh gave, but still too limited for a player to feel that personal connection with their creature.
I think this feature is less about player choice and more about the core message of the franchise- Pokemon are supposed to feel like they're your companions and friends. That they want you to succeed and love to help out, and that their personalities are unique and individual. That's why I think Let’s Go implemented the mechanic the best, while HGSS is still in second (they still have the talking mechanic with unique environmental reactions, and them following at a constant pace being the best factors). When your pokemon is constantly getting sent back to its ball because it's too slow or stopping because it's too fast and that's the only mecanic, its not only too annoying to use but also makes your pokemon feel more like a lame accessory than like your actual beloved companion.
Did you know Yo-Kai Watch 2 and Yo-Kai Watch 3 are monster collector JRPGs for the Nintendo 3DS where any monster whose medal you acquired will be able to follow you? Did you know those games made it so the monster DOESN'T need to be the first monster in your party to be the monster of your choice that follows you like how Pokemon usually does it?
Ain't that just a great way to give the player all kinds of choices?
This is why I think every evolution line should have an exclusive something. If every Pokémon is to truly be unique, it should show in combat wether it be an exclusive ability, move, or even something as simple as having the highest base stat in a type. Sadly most Pokémon aren’t so lucky.
This is such an interesting point, and it never even crossed my mind. But thinking back to my first playthrough of soulsilver (my first pokemon game)...yep, I remember the over-world Typhlosion model way more than the battle one. Clever!
While I don't disagree that adding unique over world animations would definitely add to the experience of following Pokemon I still wish my little tumbleweed kept up with me just a little bit. Or letting me hold it over my head while I run like it's a big beach ball
If you are looking for another idea for a video about narrative design in Pokémon, take the modern usage of the EXP share, for example. In previous games, you developed your own stories raising your Pokémon with thought and intention. Now, you only need to have them in your party. You can completely ignore the majority of your team and plow through the games. I believe this decision by Gamefreak is as unpopular as it is because it removed a core element of Pokémon storytelling from the games.
I think the issue is more simple, both 2D and 3D games are stylized representations of an idea the anime more closely captures and like many things 2D can get away with a more abstract and bare bones presentation than 3D like old towns with 2 houses, ok in 2D but very off if 3D. Static stiff pokemon glued behind, ok in 2D but too lifeless in 3D
I had Kangaskhan trailing behind me in Soul Silver behind me so much, it actually became one of my favorite Pokemon. It was my very first level 100 Pokemon, and I spent so much time knocking out Rapidash in a specific area to get to that point. To this day, she still has a pretty unique and definitely non-meta moveset, and I do not care. I like it the way it is.
Something that I was surprised that you didn't emphasize was how HeartGold and SoulSilver allowed you to talk to your Pokémon, to which they'd give you different responses based on their health, the location, and even sometimes give you an item they found. That for me was my favorite aspect about following Pokémon. Like, sure, I may not get an all new model for when they're following me, but I could still love to be able to learn more aspects of my Pokémon's personality and how they react to the environment than what we have in Scarlet and Violet, which only allows them to give a brief animation and yell out their cry.
Woah! You are literally describing a new version of old HM moves. As you said, imagine if you see a body of water and your ice type pokémon would freeze the water and make a little path for you. On the other side, there would be an item or a collectible to make you feel rewarded on that discovery. It doesn't need to be anything mandatory but it would really make the player feel that following pokémon would make their game feel more unique and special.
I have a living Pokédex that I'm building, and in this collection I made sure to keep just one Pokémon from every playthrough that I've done. I have my Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza from my first ever Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald playthroughs sitting in my Pokémon Home right now. I have similar things from all my games through all the generations since then. I cherish them.
Let's not forget the cameras in HGSS. From a narrative standpoint, it's incredible to be able to see how your team progresses through the story in a such an organic fashion. That feature made a real image out of my imagination.
Well, I think that the best follower pokemon system is in Pokemon let's go Pikachu/Eevee
my preferred preference is an organized by two different things first one would be size and if the Pokemon can be ride upon mainly for travel for large size Pokemon but for small size they can be put on the shoulder or head like in Pokemon go. depending on their type increases the chances of certain type of items to occur, and some unique scenarios while some Pokémon are following you the weather could change or if you had used the move to change the weather. is one preferred outcome if they implemented. in some of the concept art of other games I like the concept of putting clothing and artwork on our Pokémon to distinguish them from others. in the future being stuck in one particular game would be slightly disappointing part of it is already inevitable because they don't want to make the games too big and I don't blame them I just prefer that it be interactable with home as well that way the Pokémon themselves can enjoy the journey with me as well and I don't feel like part of it is missing.
Let's go did following pokemon the best imo
The Books are back! I was needing new recommendations, this is great!
This is such a thoughtful consideration about a feature that I've never even thought about. Another JS banger
Not sure if you have already dove into the shin magami sensei stories yet.. but honestly I think that could be great for you style of content. Metaphor refantazio’s story needs to be dissected by someone with the salt for it.
I look forward to watching more of your stuff, thank you and definitely subbed.
Another aspect of HGSS's following Pokemon make make each specific journey unique is that the following Pokemon react to the environment, and quite often Pokémon will react to an environment differently depending on their type or even species.
Partly it's the ballooning size of the roster that makes updating the feature to be more unique much more difficult. There are now about a thousand pokeys and programming them would be a challenge even for a mega corp like them
Palworld shockingly does it better but they have the benefit of having asmaller starting roster of monsters so they can make them more unique and useful to the player.
Nostalgia brained
Genuinely curious, not trying to attack--did you watch the video and come to this conclusion?
I played HGSS for the first time this year and feel like my reasoning and criticism is pretty sound. What fell flat for you?
Mainly the reason why following pokemon don't look the same in the newer games is because the top-down world map and the battle areas have become the same
They're both 3D and use the same 3D models, which means that they can't make the pokemon fit the style of the characters on the map anymore
Gamefreak really needs to make another 2D pokemon game, with HD 2D graphics (not pixelated!!) instead of using 3D models
Didn't know RL Stine had made a youtube account! Lol. Great content.
13:33 that sounds like the HM system from previous games😂
Not necessary following Pokémon, but imagine if in the next Pokémon game every single Pokémon had a quest (like Legends Arceus’s quest system) that you could find in the world and participate in to either obtain that mon or get exclusive rewards. Like for example helping a charmander that’s stuck in the rain and receiving them as a reward
It's crazy how repeatedly Gamefreak has botched following pokémon, just have it so you can set one of your party pokemon to follow you, 90% of pokemon will just follow behind you a short distance, they can neither be too slow nor too fast, they all follow at the same speed, some special pokemon have unique following mechanics like riding on your trainer's shoulder or in their bag, for example Pikachu or pokemon who wouldn't reasonably be able to move much like cocoon pokémon or small pokémon like baby pokémon or pokémon like Pincurchin or Pyukumuku.
Some areas like inside buildings disable following pokémon but they automatically reactivate once you leave.
With Pokémon games having limited pokédexes there's no reason why Gamefreak can't include this as they don't even need to add unique following mechanics for every pokemon, just a few specific ones in the game that would need it while all the other ones just function the exact same.
I feel like you've really gotta understand that if the pokemon isn't keeping up with your walking pace, it's not consistently on screen, and if it's not on screen it can't do anything narratively because it effectively isn't there. The jank aspects of the feature actively hold it back from doing what you want it to do, so yes I would actually still argue the issues in implementation are the biggest problem.
It works well in HG/SS because they look adorable. In 3D is not the same. Some pokemon are so slow I can't walk with them in normal speed.
I actually believe Let's Go handled following Pokemon better than HGSS, as they allow you to ride on several Pokemon that actually affects travelling along with the following Pokemon function. The only problem with Let's Go following Pokemon is it only has 153 Pokemon, less than the 493 Pokemon in HGSS.
In the mystery dungeon games your main 2 pokemon got little scarfs on. made me never elvolve them because the evolutions would loose them but i could imagine something like this on following pokemon. let me equip them with different colored scarfs or something. So that you never know how iwll this specific pokemon wear a scarf. I mean many of them just got a neck but many also dont. maybe on some the neck is too big so they put it on their ear or something.
They should give us legendaries that we can ride on at the beginning of the game.
And they can surf fly and climb walls for us so that we can travel anywhere with them.
And they can make it so that we need to feed our pokemon sandwiches to upgrade them.
And they should make our legendary pokemon wait until the end of the game before we get to use it in battle.
P.S. GEN 9 HAD THE BEST FOLLOWING POKEMON EVER!
I thought I was subscribed, but apparently I was subscribed to your other account also called Jake Steinberg?
Following Pokemon was ok in Scarlet & Violet, good but not great.
Incredible video, subbed!!
Pokemon yellows version of following pokemon is also 1 to 1 of hg/ss just you could only use pikachu
I seriously don't get that *this* is the part where Pokémon suddenly want to randomly be realistic lol. Like, why did they make so many of them slower than you default walking speed? It seriously breaks the immersion and goes against the whole concept of following Pokémon in the first place. Like when I send my Pokémon out, I don't want them to repeatedly teleport back to me or immediately go back into their ball because I decided to go faster than molasses. No, I send them out so we can explore the region together! It's really funny that all of the Pokémon that you specifically evolve by walking with them in Paldea too are slower than you too. Meaning that to evolve them, you're supposed to tiptoe everywhere.
I think a good solution would be to make it so most Pokémon are around the same running speed as you. With most of the slowest only slightly trailing behind you. They could also make exceptions for specific Pokémon that are supposed to be really fast or really slow. Like Doduo or Slowpoke where they're significantly faster/slower than both you and other following Pokémon
I love too see people JUST as passionate about pokemon as i am
Scarlet and violet just tossed uniqueness out the door all around tbh. No clothing changes, reused items, backdrops, and sound bytes from sword and shield, the raids look pretty much the same, the terrestrial pokemon all just wear the same boring weird looking crowns... but in raids they are also in a dynamax format. I don't hate the game... I love pokemon... but I see the development focusing more on money making and less on player experience in recent years. It's a big corporation, so it's always going to be the case... but it's too lazy at this point. It's gotta listen to the fan base and stop gaslighting us into thinking things we previously had are one offs or not able to be implemented. 🤷♂️
I actually don't like that the following pokemon sprites were exclusive to that mechanic.
That's what was so great about Palworld. Every Pal had a niche for working at base, and that moment you realize the cute grass monkey can actually do agriculture and help you out that way is magical.
Let's Go Pikachu Eevee is obviously second place and we need to let that game shine for the places that it actually mattered instead of just being negatively biased on every little thing... We need to be ACCURATELY critical of GameFreak, and to downplay what Let's Go does is a horrible idea. It's arguably better in this regard than HGSS because of ride followers and sky encounters too, but I just think the DS had been more consistent lol
I agree--which is why I give Let's Go its flowers in this very video!
thank you for pointing out the obvious years late👍👍
remember to like and subscribe
It's the lack of something 😔
Pokemon diamond and pearl, Pokemon hgss and lets go imo. It was great in them
I actually think Lets Go has the best following Pokemon considering you can ride some of them
Instead of following pokemon, id rather them just keep the pla mechanic of taking mons out of the balls for photos for all future mainline games.
LGPE had the best by far… HGSS doesn’t compare at all.
Personally as someone who started in gen 2 I always thought following Pokemon was a kinda neat novelty but not much beyond that. I never understood why people made such a big deal out of it instead of what are in my opinion more interesting features like Safari Zone, Game Corner, etc.
Keyword is optional
following pokemon was my actual least favorite and what I believe to be the worst part of HGSS. I hate that it's limited to the front of your party, and that giant pokemon like legends aren't actually to scale. I don't get why the community meatrides HGSS so hard when they're mediocre games
This is an interesting criticism to me-because everything in the 2D Pokémon games, especially features like Following Pokémon, is meant to be a representation rather than a literalization of reality. These abstractions serve as a function of storytelling and gameplay design, allowing space for player imagination to fill in the gaps.
For example, buildings in the games aren’t to scale, and towns themselves are functional abstractions of what a full town might contain. Similarly, when you cut down a tree with HM Cut, it’s not meant to suggest you’re cutting a single tree-it represents clearing a dense forest boundary, something that would otherwise be impassable.
Even something as iconic as tall grass-where Pokémon of wildly varying sizes and shapes appear-isn’t meant to be taken literally. The mechanics and visuals prioritize gameplay flow over realism.
So, the idea that Following Pokémon in HGSS don’t work because they aren’t to scale feels consistent with how the games as a whole handle these kinds of visual abstractions. Could it be that your frustration with this feature might stem more from a general dislike of HGSS? If so, do you think that’s influencing your perspective here, even though this video isn't about the quality of the games as a whole and only focuses on just one feature?
@ my main criticism is just that I don’t like that I can’t pick who’s following me. You do make a great point that my criticism isn’t exactly fair when you consider the sizes of buildings and the sprites battling each other etc, it’s never been literally to scale. That said, I wish I could have a low level Aipom always follow me with an exp share attached in the back, rather than be forced to use my lead, which makes me more likely to criticize the sprites that Im not trying to have out of the pokeball. It always made me feel restricted when pokemon is supposed to be a form of expression. So I’m glad BDSP and Let’s go let you choose which pokemon is outside of the ball, regardless of party position.
Also, yes, I do dislike HGSS overall. I think the level curve is just horrendous. I think I’d still feel that way even if following pokemon did offer me the features I wanted back then. It’s just a bit of a slog of a game.
Thank you for the lengthy reply btw! Nice to have a convo with the creator.
dramatizing
LOL, you made me realize more specifically why I've always been the "why do you all care about following Pokémon, there's less bland things I want the devs to focus on" guy ruining the hype for the feature.
I'll agree that HGSS is where it oozes incredible charm and stands out as a very fun touch of Pokémon-specific customization that is there for the entire experience (it was still a pixelart Pokémon game after all!), but even there, it felt so cosmetic that it had me curious to see if it will ever be revisited with some kind of depth to it.... and my mind always goes to the topic of HMs and overworld interactions as the place Gamefreak should be looking at... which is funny, because I've also seen the Pokémon community cherish the end of HMs in ways that I'll never understand lol
I think that if all HMs had at least some kind of use in battle people would have hated them less. Nobody ever really complains about surf and fly, its the HMs like rocksmash or whirlpool that soured people on them. No other RPG I've ever played makes you permanently* hinder a party member's performance to progress. It lead most players down a path of narrative dissonance where many early gen games talk about how pokemon are partners and not tools, but you likely had a party slot specifically dedicated to a pokemon you were using as a tool that only knew HM moves.
*(I say permanently in that gen 1 had no move deleter and, even in gens where one exists, getting back whatever you gave up for that HM slot is usually a task in and of itself. Even just being able to overwrite HMs without needing to meet a specific NPC would've done a lot to fix this, as well as infinite use TMs if they had been introduced earlier)
First (I guess)