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Pokemon: what's the appeal?
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Author:  Krisp [ Tue Aug 17, 2010 8:55 am ]
Post subject:  Pokemon: what's the appeal?
So at work, I talk about video games all the time with my co-worker. We're into the same stuff - retro NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, and N64. However, I still consider my favorite video game series of all time to be Pokemon. He's 29 years old and says he doesn't understand how Pokemon got so popular and why it still exists. Granted, he's never PLAYED a Pokemon game, so he doesn't hate it, he just wants to know why I think it's so fun. It got me thinking...why is Pokemon so much fun? Trying to explain it in one sentence is just too difficult.

Pokemon came to the US when I had just turned 10, so I guess growing up with it kinda helps. Nostalgia is definitely one of the factors. I guess it was just something EVERYONE had to like whether it was actually a fun game or not; it was cool back then. So why do I still play it? I'm not really sure, I just think it's so much fun catching monsters and raising them. You can customize them and level them up. You can nickname them. Essentially, they are your virtual friends. I never played the games for the storyline or crap like that, it's all about battling and the Pokemon. You can do pretty much anything with your 6 empty slots, you can use one special type or try to counter every strategy possible and use a variety. You never beat the game. It's not like Mario where you finish the castle in world 8-4 and you're done; you're NEVER the best battler and there is ALWAYS someone out there who is better.

I'm not a huge fan of RPGs, but Pokemon is definitely something unique. There's loads of **** to do, complete the pokedex, collect items, play contests, level up, battle frontier, you're never finished and making big plans for the future is always fun.

Walmart had a Madden tournament last Saturday, and I told my co-worker I thought it was a shame they picked such a crappy game for a tournament. I told him I thought Pokemon was a much better choice, and he replied with "Madden is more popular blahblahblah better game etc." It was kind of hard not to roll my eyes and explain to him that Pokemon is a hundred times more popular, but I didn't feel like arguing with him.

So what makes this game fun for you?
Author:  Browners [ Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
For me it started out as my friends had Red and Blue, they let me have a go and I thought it was a good game. I was a little later to the 'fad' so I got Yellow, played through the game and once the game was played though we regularly battled and that's what I find fun, more the battling and the strategy than the story, I just got back into the games after a number of years away. Might get Platinum to pass the time until B&W come out.
Author:  rex09 [ Tue Aug 17, 2010 11:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
Well, i usually have more to do when i play throught the storyline, since my brother quit after he finished emerald. since i have no wifi, there's not battling or anything for me. but what attracts me to pokemon... i'd have to say, it's the fact that your team is your team; you put work and sometimes (if you're sappy like i am) a little bit of love into your pokemon, and at the "end' you have a finished product that you can be proud of. every team is unique, and there are so many combinations.... then there's the fact that pokemon also requires a little strategy and planning, a thing which i enjoy in games. so, POKEMON FTW. screw football games. i'm gonna go raise a monster on a kid's game!! :mrgreen:
Author:  ArcaNineTales [ Tue Aug 17, 2010 7:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
The reason I've stuck with pokemon is simply because it grows up with you just as you grow up with it. What I mean is that it was fun to have 4 Raticates, a Pidgeot and a Charizard 10 years ago, because no one really cared how many times you lost to Brock or how long it took you to beat the E4. Pokemon was COOL and something simple that everyone could understand and enjoy. <-- Keep in mind I was about 4-5 years old at the time.

Then, as the series progressed, the newer understandings of EV's, IV's, breeding, etc. made pokemon battling a more intricate and sophisticated game that actually required critical thinking. I couldn't grow out of pokemon like I would a sweater, because there was so much more than I initially thought, and as I continued to play, I continued to discover new things... It was like a never-ending treasure hunt that helped me remain a child at heart.
Author:  LeoTheLion [ Fri Aug 20, 2010 1:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
Part of what appeals to me is comparing my team to my friends'. I have a few friends who play Pokemon too, and we talk about it in school sometimes, so it's kind of fun to share new ideas, and then to raise a team to beat your friends.

Appeal: "Dude, I just made this Honchkrow! Check it out:..."
Author:  ilmrik [ Sat Aug 21, 2010 7:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
ArcaNineTales wrote:
Then, as the series progressed, the newer understandings of EV's, IV's, breeding, etc. made pokemon battling a more intricate and sophisticated game that actually required critical thinking. I couldn't grow out of pokemon like I would a sweater, because there was so much more than I initially thought, and as I continued to play, I continued to discover new things... It was like a never-ending treasure hunt that helped me remain a child at heart.

aye, and you can always choose at which level you play it, I never really felt like learning the "competitive battling" etc cuz I felt it was toomuch work, but that still leaves you with lesser teambuilding to create battle tower teams etc, not to mention just being a challenge for the younger ones down the street that don't get comp batteling either.
you can just make your own game basically which is a huge selling point that covers almost all age groups/interest groups.
+ I mean little firebreathing monsters facing of against dinosaurs what's not to like :-)
Author:  Galar [ Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
I've always been a big fan of the fantasy and RPG genres, so it's no surprise that Pokemon appeals to me so much. Taking care of magical creatures that will fight for you, packed with an arsenal of the most diverse items and different kinds of special powers, it all sounds like a very neat idea. Not to mention the fact that most Pokemon are very original on their concept, reflecting elements of our own culture. Besides, talking/funny animals have always scored very high on my characters-design hobby, so that add bonus points to the franchise.

I also enjoy the many different ways the franchise/fandom is perceived by the fans. I've read so many inspiring theories on how things work in the Pokemon world (like, evolution, or the pokeballs, or the PC system), and seen so many great artwork, from overly-realistic to adorably-cartoony, that it only adds to my love for the series. All the speculations, all the funny things people com up with, it's all a lot of fun.

I never really played the games for the storyline either, but solely for the fact of catching the monsters and training them, giving their names, battling with other kids and their own monsters, and all of that, as Krisp mentioned. Indeed, it's a never-ending game, because there's so much you can do. True, there's a "the end", but it doesn't really exist if you know how to "benefit" from all the possibilities the games may offer.

So, to me, it's mostly the creative aspect of the franchise, and the many ways it can "unfold". For instance, a few years ago, nicknaming my Pokemon wasn't enough; I had to give each one of them their own backstory, artwork and personality, as in "creating an original character after a model". It's the role-playing and character-creating that appeal to me the most, but, as I've said, it's not all.
Author:  BarnOwl [ Sat Aug 21, 2010 2:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
I do love the "adventure" and "role-playing" aspects of it. As others have said too, it's really a never-ending story - even after you beat the bad guys, you can continue your adventure as much as you want. Besides . . . it's FUN!
Author:  Lawence Codye [ Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
The appeal with pokemon for me most likely would be the variety of different pokemon you can have with you on your journey I mean that alone gives this game good replay value then there is...that's really it for me I mean the Battle Frontier can be fun but it ain't done right enough to be & I used to like legendary pokemon but they have become so predictable as of recent Generations that they no longer appeal to me & they also seem even more powerful compared to pokemon that aren't legendary then before so...basically I only enjoy all the freedom of choice in companions & nothing more...
Author:  Savage Hunter [ Mon Aug 23, 2010 5:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
Well, to be honest theres so many reasons its hard to think of them all at one point. But creating my team and starting with a Pokemon that you know is yours. Unless you have the creepiest stalker ever theres almost nobody who has the same exact Pokemon as you. Your Squirtle (Or other) is yours, and no one else's, so its the satisfaction of ownership, as well as, you come to rely on your Pokemon after a while spent with them. I've been playing Pokemon for quite a while now, and so it also has a nostalgia effect. Also, its childish, lets face it being an adult sucks, your responsible for kids, taxes, mortgage, maintaining a job, possibly trying to maintain a relationship, making sure not to piss off your friends or others, so its nice to come back to the child you once were, when you were carefree. Its like, I started playing all my Zelda games again because it brings me back. I loved my childhood, and the future is uncertain, so coming back to something you know you enjoyed and you know you will enjoy is comforting. So in the end, I guess its all based on, "why did you like it as a kid?" And thats why I like it now. Because its changed and stayed the same.
Author:  ScaleyJones [ Mon Aug 30, 2010 3:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Pokemon: what's the appeal?
The way I got into pokemon is when I was little there was a huge PokeCraze for pokemon at my Elementary school. So I bought the game (Fell into Peer Pressure, oh well!) and I took to very well. It turned out that I had I mind for strategy and tactics that really gave me an extra umph to my game. So each new generation gave a new challenge, which I conquered and continued to prosper. That is how I took to pokemon, and I didn't know it went so deep until I discovered this site.
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