Voltrox747 said:
I'd like to point out here that I do not consider anything done in a game that isn't legitimately difficult to be fun or worthwhile. Basically, anything that might possibly fall under the label of "grinding" will instantly turn me away from a game. I am only interested in the strategy, so the longer it takes me to bring a new group of Pokemon up to a competitive state, the less likely I'll be to play it beyond the story mode. If I'm going to win a match, I want it to be because of the initial Pokemon/moves I chose and the way I used them, not because I spent more time beating up on the computer than the other guy did. Generally, the reason you should feel good about putting a ton of hours into something is that you, personally, got better at it. Fighting a bunch of easy battles to make the numbers attached to your characters go up is not the same thing.
I know this is a big part of Pokemon and RPGs in general, and I'm willing to accept a certain amount of it if the game is good for other reasons, but the thread title was about winning me back, so all I can say is that leveling a Pokemon to 100 is a lot less cool and awesome to me now than it was when I was 13. What I would enjoy now is to have a menu in which I can pick whatever Pokemon I want (at max level/stats), with whatever moves I want (that they are allowed to learn) and have a match with someone who can do the same so I can play with the strategic aspects without spending days raising new Pokemon every time I want to try out a different team.
Also, I was under the impression that shiny Pokemon had better stats. I don't mind it if it's just a cosmetic thing.
Yeah. The game isn't difficult, which is one of my personal gripes with it. It's way too easy to push through the game through leveling your starter alone, an HM slave, and maybe one or two "meats" for in-combat revives and pots for your beefed up starter. I really don't know why the gym restrictions don't hamper you enough to keep you from leveling far above your competition. Hell, I did it in Red with Charmander who was countered completely by the first two gyms, and didn't have no goddamn Metal Claw like he does in FireRed.
Grinding is.. a grind. I can't argue when it comes to taste like that, as it's certainly not for everyone. Personally, I'm someone who actually likes to grind. Working towards a goal no matter how repetitive or how arbitrary it is. I certainly don't need more than half the gold I do on WoW, but log on to dick around on the AH more than actually do anything in game to inflate my internet dollars simply
because. I think this is why I can appreciate this aspect of play or feel indifferent, but I understand if someone else can't. If all else fails, it's common for people to just AR their Pokemon if they don't want to put that effort in.
There has to be a line. What you want, to me, is screaming instant-gratification. That philosophy is already ingrained more into the Western market and focus these days. Everything is absolutely accessible and people are already on an equal playing field, minus skill. That's certainly not a bad one, but you're taking a game based around TRAINING and COLLECTING monsters. Oh, difficulty isn't an issue, and it's tedious and arbitrary, but it is what it is. Under the context of the thread, it's fair though.
I just wish that people would not condemn something that can't fulfill their taste by design and rather than wish doom on it, just not be concerned at all. Sorry if that leaked into here a bit as it's not totally the thread focus, but a lot of hate or reasoning comes from it.
Also, you're right about shinies. Like, 10 years ago. They used to have higher IVs than a normal Pokemon, bringing in their sometimes tacky color palette swaps. Now, they are purely cosmetic because of how stupidly luck-based it is.
Voltrox747 said:
Actually, I'd probably enjoy an electronic version of the card game more than the main series anyway, assuming I could start with all the cards and focus on learning how to use them well. Obviously the CCG fans would never allow that. Many of the major card games out there look like games I could get into, but the "collectible" part always ruins it for me.
Well, it didn't start with all the cards, but there weren't enough at that time where that would hamper you. The game did have a pretty respectable leveling curve, if I remember correctly, as it would teach you the basics and get steadily difficult later on. It still had a collect-focus like the main games. You had to go out and beat certain people, think like gyms, as well as challenging the general populace standing around. You start out with, I believe, two basic decks, but earn additional cards through winning against opponents and can't make your own when you understand the game better. For some reason, I don't think I ever beat this game. I was like, ten years old and I think it was a bit too difficult for me, as I could never guarantee a win.
I'd love to go back at it again with all the new variety of cards instead of bringing out the old GB one.
