As we all know, the Pokemon franchise has a great number, and variety, of fans. There are competitive players, casual players, fans from gen 1, series beginners, children, adults... We can see that GF is working hard to please all of its fans, with new mechanisms like Pokemon Refresh and more strategic battles, eg. against Totem Pokemon. However there's a limit in how much you can do in one game, as request from different type of players don't always agree with each other.
Meanwhile, another longtime series facing the same issue, Fire Emblem, gave us one answer to it: FE Fates, a pair of games of which one provides challenging experience for seasoned fans while the other contains more casual gameplay for new fans.
Actually I've played neither of them and don't know if it worked as expected, but I think it's a good idea which suits Pokemon also. Here's what I expect.
The more challenging version targets players aiming for competitive play. It is a real journey to mastery in battling. All tutorials on gameplay basics are optional since players are expected to be familiar with them. Every gym leader excels at one battle style rather than a type, and gives you practical suggestions so that players will be competitive-ready after beating the game. Breeding and training Pokemon are relatively easier so players can focus on strategy rather than repetitive things.
On the other hand, the casual version is more like a relaxing vacation where players enjoy travelling and playing with their Pokemon. You experience the unique custom and culture in the region (like in Alola), participate in activities like contest, train Pokemon in mini-games (I mean, something more intresting than shooting balloons). Compared to their equivalents in the challenging version, things are not as convenient but more enjoyable.
As for the story, it happens in two nearby regions (or two parts in a region). Multi-region setting can lead to some difficulties, but come on many people have been expecting it for a long time.
One of them consists mainly of plains where most people live in cities. Pokemon battle is popular just as, if not more than, basketball is in the US. People battle with Pokemon, some of which are even professional players, or keep them as pets, but few work alongside them as technology usually works better. There are protected areas where nature is preserved and parks that imitate natural environments but almost everywhere else is heavily influenced by human activities. The challenging version protagonist starts as a student just graduated from trainer school (so people assume you know the basics) and as most of their classmates, aims for the league champion.
The other is mountainous with few cities. People there mostly prefer a more traditional lifestyle closely related to nature and Pokemon, but it also means inconveniences and having to work harder. Each town or village has its own characteristic and tradition and even Pokemon Centers are different but still easily distinguishable from other buildings. Like in sun & moon, the protagonist in the casual version has just moved to the region and starts their journey to experience the unique culture.
The two regions contrast with, and complement each other, so they have close connections in tourism, specialties, etc. They show people two diffrent ways human can coexist with nature, both are successful to a certain extent, but neither satisfies everyone as people have different preferences. The evil team poaches and smuggles rare Pokemon between the two regions.
While the protagonists briefly visit the other region to stop the evil team, they get to travel across the other region to discover other charms of Pokemon / to improve their battling skill in the postgame <delete>sold separately as dlc</delete>.
What do you think about or do you have better ideas? Let's discuss here!
(I'm not a native speaker so please tell me if something is not expressed clearly and properly, thanks.)
Meanwhile, another longtime series facing the same issue, Fire Emblem, gave us one answer to it: FE Fates, a pair of games of which one provides challenging experience for seasoned fans while the other contains more casual gameplay for new fans.
Actually I've played neither of them and don't know if it worked as expected, but I think it's a good idea which suits Pokemon also. Here's what I expect.
The more challenging version targets players aiming for competitive play. It is a real journey to mastery in battling. All tutorials on gameplay basics are optional since players are expected to be familiar with them. Every gym leader excels at one battle style rather than a type, and gives you practical suggestions so that players will be competitive-ready after beating the game. Breeding and training Pokemon are relatively easier so players can focus on strategy rather than repetitive things.
On the other hand, the casual version is more like a relaxing vacation where players enjoy travelling and playing with their Pokemon. You experience the unique custom and culture in the region (like in Alola), participate in activities like contest, train Pokemon in mini-games (I mean, something more intresting than shooting balloons). Compared to their equivalents in the challenging version, things are not as convenient but more enjoyable.
As for the story, it happens in two nearby regions (or two parts in a region). Multi-region setting can lead to some difficulties, but come on many people have been expecting it for a long time.
One of them consists mainly of plains where most people live in cities. Pokemon battle is popular just as, if not more than, basketball is in the US. People battle with Pokemon, some of which are even professional players, or keep them as pets, but few work alongside them as technology usually works better. There are protected areas where nature is preserved and parks that imitate natural environments but almost everywhere else is heavily influenced by human activities. The challenging version protagonist starts as a student just graduated from trainer school (so people assume you know the basics) and as most of their classmates, aims for the league champion.
The other is mountainous with few cities. People there mostly prefer a more traditional lifestyle closely related to nature and Pokemon, but it also means inconveniences and having to work harder. Each town or village has its own characteristic and tradition and even Pokemon Centers are different but still easily distinguishable from other buildings. Like in sun & moon, the protagonist in the casual version has just moved to the region and starts their journey to experience the unique culture.
The two regions contrast with, and complement each other, so they have close connections in tourism, specialties, etc. They show people two diffrent ways human can coexist with nature, both are successful to a certain extent, but neither satisfies everyone as people have different preferences. The evil team poaches and smuggles rare Pokemon between the two regions.
While the protagonists briefly visit the other region to stop the evil team, they get to travel across the other region to discover other charms of Pokemon / to improve their battling skill in the postgame <delete>sold separately as dlc</delete>.
What do you think about or do you have better ideas? Let's discuss here!
(I'm not a native speaker so please tell me if something is not expressed clearly and properly, thanks.)