but it's called an opinion.
True. They do require a bit more strategy than your average, non-metagame styled game. But did they find the stories hard to decipher?That's true, but the Mystery Dungeon games also appeal to a much smaller/different audience. Many people I know have not enjoyed those games and I've even had friends offering their games to me for free. My young siblings found them to be difficult and totally stopped playing.
But yea, I can agree, they always have the same Pokemon and they're always very weak, it almost feels pointless. But imagine being a kid again, you're either going to get overpowered or you're going to feel like a strong trainer. But I agree, we've dealt with this for many years, they could at least deviate from the standard formula just a little bit.
But saying that you play Pokemon D/P for the storyline is like saying you play Monster Hunter for the storyline.