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 Will there ever be a Pokemon game with a great storyline? 
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Pokemon Ranger
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The game with the best storyline at the moment is probably Mystery Dungeon (haven't played all of them but there were twists and shocks.. like when the real bad guy was Gengar OMG) but Im wondering if you reckon there would ever be a Pokemon game with characters that develop and stories with big climax points and scenes that tug at your emotions. I think the main games would always be targeted mainly at newcomers to the series, so the best chance this has of happening is through a spinoff or something.

Basically what I'm asking is: don't you think Pokemon would be a great game if the battling mechanics stayed the same but there was something to keep you hooked onto playing. Even a plot like Mystery Dungeon I think would work really well. So you can still explore and stuff it's just there's required dialogue to go through etc.. missions you have to complete. I would love such a game but I don't think it will ever happen.

PS: I know I titled my topic Will there ever be a Pokemon game with a great storyline? but after typing this out I figured my answer will probably be NO. But I still want to hear what you guys think about what I said with Pokemon mixing up with a proper story.. and if so what story would you like to see?

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Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:19 pm
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Wasn't it "supposed" to be BW? I remember thinking it was totally ridiculous that magazines like Famitsu were tripping over themselves to hand BW a perfect score because it had a "good story." Frankly, I didn't and still don't Gamefreak has good enough writers to make a compelling story along the lines of the better installments of Final Fantasy. They actually tried with BW's story and honestly I think it still felt short, although I guess I give them credit for trying. They handled N and Ghetsis alright enough, but Team Plasma ironically were played as too much of a black and white villainous role when they should have been a gray area, and Cheren and Bianca were, to put it bluntly, annoying.

I think one massive block that Pokemon has is the idea that the main character is a proxy for the player. It really kind of limits character and story development when your lead character is static for the entire game. To go back to the "better Final Fantasy" example, the main characters of Final Fantasy VI -- Terra, Locke and Celes -- were all fully-realized and developed people with story arcs and you were able to get behind them during their challenging times and root for them during their victories. It's kind of hard to feel the same about Red when he's basically a cardboard cut-out who doesn't talk, doesn't go through any real adversity and whom we don't even have the most basic details of backstory.

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Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:31 pm
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Pokemon Master
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I can agree with Frost here, Final Fantasy are doing an amazing job on storylines. And personally, I think that the storyline is the most important thing in a video game. But let's face it... main pokemon games storylines are just terrible. It's boring, nothing interesting, you just collect badges, pwn antagonists and destroy the league. That's all. They could at least put load of sidequests, longer storyline, some stuff that slow you down. (And I'd actually like pokemon to grow slower, since I can level up a pokemon to lvl 100 in less than a week.)

Also, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is my second favorite game. The storyline is awesome for a pokemon game, the gameplay is great, and it's actually hard! Even with my lvl 100 Salamence, I can still get defeated in monster houses, when I'm unlucky. Also, there is an infinite amount of little quests, tons of sidequests, it took me 45 hours to finish the game. And there is still alot to do! Recruit Kecleon, legendaries, every Pokemon. Find rare items, like the banana or tight belt, or special HM like Wide Slash. And there is even another great Mystery Dungeon: Sky-Darkness-Time. Not as good as Blue and Red, but still really good. (....Gates to Infinity was really disappointing....)

So yea, they really need to improve the main games, because as soon as you finish the game, there's nothing to do. And they use the Battle Frontier/Subway AND some random contests to fill this huge hole. They should stop focusing on the graphics I guess, it doesn't improve anything.

My favorite game: https://www.choiceofgames.com/dragon/
There is no graphics, almost no gameplay, only a storyline. So why is it my favorite game? Because I can use my imagination.

So what main pokemon games need?
-Better and longer storyline
-More sidequests and little things to do. (What about exclusive items and Pokemon, really hard to obtain?)
-More areas to explore.
-Imagination (I have no idea how they could add this, since graphics took such a huge place in these games)

So this is my opinion. Feel free to agree or disagree. ;)

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Fri Jun 14, 2013 9:40 pm
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Pokemon Ranger
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I don't really remember BW's story but I remember N's farewell thing after you beat him at the E4, and I think that sort of stuff is a step in the right direction. I mean the DS has 2 screens it's almost like wasted potential.

BUT when the BW2 trailer came out I was for a few days because I thought the story and hence the tension generated would be worth looking forward to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2SA4GyXb2U especially when Emboar started flaring up at whatever Elesa said, but then a few days later the English dub came out and the dialogue turned out to be the same old cliches. Admittedly though I haven't played BW2 so I have no idea how that plotline eventually played out.

Pokemon Special is another series I've enjoyed thanks to the character development.

So I guess what most of us are hoping for is a game where you play as a character, not as yourself.

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Sat Jun 15, 2013 9:29 pm
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Trivia Champion
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The best story for a Pokemon game, that I'm aware of, is Black/White 1. I won't say it was a great plot, but it was a good one. Exploring characters and giving them depth (N in particular) was, as was said, a solid step in the right direction.

Mystery Dungeon 2 actually had a better story than #1. On top of which, PMD1 did not have an actual bad guy (Gengar is nothing more than a troublemaking child); PMD2 did. (The extra episodes for Explorers of Sky explore the plot further.)

I'm not sure why they did what they did for Black/White 2. It's kinda going back to what it was before, but there wasn't much plot to speak of (at all) and most of it didn't make sense without an understanding of BW1. It had better gameplay value, for sure, but not plot.

Pokemon, sadly, does not go for good plot. They go off past successes and failures and choose what works. We do not play Pokemon for the plot. We play it for the game engine and collecting critters. We do this because we know there's no way that Pokemon can actually make an amazing plot. That is why I was pleasantly surprised at BW1. The game had an actual plot. Sure, it bordered on fantasy (hero and villain juxtaposition), but it is still better than all the half-baked nonsense done before.

I'm still waiting for the game where getting badges isn't mandatory, but rather one of several choices that can be made.

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Sun Jun 16, 2013 9:15 pm
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Ace Trainer
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Generation 5 definitely took it to the next level and had a lot of new characters with interesting personalities and Team Plasma will probably be the most interesting villainous team for me since Kanto's Team Rocket (Jessie, James, and Meowth are a tough act to follow). It was definitely a step in the right direction but honestly I think most players are still greatly intrigued just by battling competitively, catching Pokemon, and beating all the other trainers in game. That doesn't really require much of a storyline but hopefully Generation 6 continues Generation 5's boost in storyline.

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I'm still waiting for the game where getting badges isn't mandatory, but rather one of several choices that can be made.


Probably the first time I ever heard something like that. What's so bad about getting the badges? It's always fun getting past the gym leaders and then going to the Pokemon League. On that note, maybe in a future Pokemon game after you complete the main story, the Pokemon League becomes more of a Tournament format like in the anime. I think a lot of fans would enjoy something like that.


Tue Jun 18, 2013 12:08 pm
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vaporterra wrote:
Probably the first time I ever heard something like that. What's so bad about getting the badges? It's always fun getting past the gym leaders and then going to the Pokemon League. On that note, maybe in a future Pokemon game after you complete the main story, the Pokemon League becomes more of a Tournament format like in the anime. I think a lot of fans would enjoy something like that.

Wait...seriously? This is the first time you've heard that? What rock have you been living under? I have heard many MANY people complain about the path from the game being linear and unchanging. It is always 'get all 8 badges, defeat the evil team, and beat the Champion'. There's no other option you're allowed to pick.

Okay, so getting badges is fun. But what about people who just want to participate in contests? who just want to collect and catch 'em all? who just want to build up their secret base into the best bachelor pad the world has ever seen?

As it stands in the games, badges are prerequisites to those goals, not in whole, but definitely in part. Badges control where you go. Badges control what you can do. Why can't there be another system for people who don't care about the Pokemon League, who just love Pokemon for who they are, not for how many names they can take? From a plot standpoint, this makes sense - you've seen the NPCs who just do nothing but contests.

Why can't you do the same, and be extended the same rights and privileges (usually in regards to travel) that people with all 8 badges can have? I can have all Master Rank Ribbons acquired, and the upper level of Lilycove Museum full of my portraits, but I still can't go to the next city without beating up Team Aqua.

Do you see where I am going with this?

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Tue Jun 18, 2013 12:37 pm
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Ace Trainer
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Quote:
Wait...seriously? This is the first time you've heard that?


Yes I've heard countless times that the whole "beat your rival, get 8 gym badges, beat the bad guys, become champion" is getting old and a lot of people are hoping something different comes along, but not often have I heard people saying that they wish they didn't have to collect the badges at all. I hope that makes a bit more sense. I can live with beating 8 gyms and collecting badges each game, that has always been enjoyable for me, but they can still do something differently. Maybe in addition to battling, you have to win a minigame like the ones in the Pokemon Stadium games or the Pokemon Dream World to earn your badges? Maybe there's a town that you can't get past without winning at least one contest? Maybe at the very least there's somewhere like 9-12 badges, or maybe just 6 badges in favor of other prerequisites before facing the Pokemon League. Pokemon Contests, Pokestar Studios, Pokemon Musicals, Safari Zones, Bug Catching Contests, and the Pokeathlon all have people that love participating in those events, but I don't think people want to do exclusively those things and ditch the Gym Battles.


Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:08 pm
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I agree with DNA. They could take the game a lot further by giving the player more options. They've thrown in all these cool things that you can do, but they're all just a way to get new Pokemon or new items to help you get the gym badges and beat the evil villains and then defeat the champion. What if I don't care about becoming the champion? Maybe I want to do just contests or become a movie star! Or maybe I want to open my own business or start a day care or something like that. I'm not expecting such things because it's a Pokemon game, not an Elder Scrolls game, but it's nice to dream. xD

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Tue Jun 18, 2013 5:59 pm
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Quote:
Yes I've heard countless times that the whole "beat your rival, get 8 gym badges, beat the bad guys, become champion" is getting old and a lot of people are hoping something different comes along, but not often have I heard people saying that they wish they didn't have to collect the badges at all. I hope that makes a bit more sense.

Ah, okay.

The "make badges not mandatory" is just taking the thought of "choosing a path besides beating the gym leaders" to its logical conclusion. I just cut straight to the point when I said that.

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Tue Jun 18, 2013 10:52 pm
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