What genre is Pokemon?

[Jabberwock xeno]

It's a monster collection game, just like Spectrobes, digimon, and the like, it's it's own genre.

 

[Leg End]

orwellian dystopic science fiction with a tinge of lovecraftian flavour

You win. Everything.

OT: JRPG Fantasy Realistic Gotta Catch 'em All with a hint Metric Fuckload of MEMETIC WIN.

 

[Nelson McCulloch]

I'm going to go with.......fantasy.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

It's part of the relatively small monster hunter/collector genre. Part of why it's such a big name is that it has so little competition within the genre. But I'd love to see a more mature take on the genre, not that I don't enjoy pokemon games, just I think that something really cool could be done with the genre if someone took a chance with it.

 

[silversnake4133]

It's a fever dream that Ash is having while in a coma after being struck by lightning. Either that or it's a game for little kids that encourages kleptomania, dog-fighting, puppy mills, and slavery. :3

But, eh, what the hell, IT'S POKEMON!

 

[GodofCider]

Japanese Role Playing Game.

 

[Atticus89]

I'm gonna say that it's not an RPG but an action-adventure game.

You're a young man who leaves home with nothing but a trusty companion that breathes fire, a Potion from your computer, and an urge to kill bugs and birds on the outskirts of some city you've never been to.

its a turn based rpg. Based soley on the game mechanics.

I guess the last sentence wasn't funny enough.

 

[Josh Stancea]

Wrong. All totally wrong. The reason pokemon is such a hit (the original obviously) is because it doesn't limit itself to mere role playing techniques.

Pokemon is a Strategy-Turn based JRPG (Fantasy) action adventure with a little bit of button mashing if you know what I mean.

 

[Emiscary]

Mon games are a subdivision of turn based strategy peppered with some collecting/sightseeing elements. As it turns out the particulars of the Pokemon's franchise's turn based strategy game based on convoluted wild cock fights (The feathered kind with claws, not the slippery kind with hair) works pretty well.

 

[BiggyShackleton]

It's basically a turn-based dog fighting game mixed with a gambling sim.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Okay, so we all know that pokemon is an RPG. But what genre is the story? Is it sci-fi, or maybe fantasy? I never really thought about it before, but now I can't stop wondering about it.

It's a fantasy, strategy-RPG for kids. The RPG bits are self evident (catch Pokemon, adding them to your party of 6. Fight as them to level up. Level up to gain new abilities). The strategy bit is geared more towards kids and, beginners (fire types beats grass type, beats water type, beats rock type, beats electric type, etc). As for the fantasy, it takes place in a world where children leave home between the ages of 10 and however the Hell old you are in Black/White on a quest to become your country/territory/providence's Pokemon Master. You do this by capturing and battling animals that control elemental powers and having them battle the ones owned by other people who have similar aspirations.

Not all Fantasy needs trolls and elves after all. Electric mice and, flower-dinosaurs are pretty damned fantastic in my opinion.

Edit: This may have been posted twice...if so, my mistake.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Pokemon is, gameplay wise, a twist on the first few Final Fantasy games. There are many gameplay changes of course, but at it's core that's what it is.

As for the genre, I would say it's a fantasy JRPG, but there wasn't really anything like it when it came out.

Close, but no cigar. It's actually a clone of the first few Dragon Quest games.

Proof:

Even the idea of capturing monsters to fight with you was done first in a Dragon Quest game. No, I don't mean Dragon Quest Monsters on the Gameboy Color; I mean Dragon Quest V on the SNES, which had monster capturing and raising as an option for filling out your party.

Edit: As for the thematic genre of Pokemon, instead of getting into the "is it sci fi or fantasy?" argument over the thousandth property, why not just say it's speculative fiction? That covers both Scifi and Fantasy. If you want to include Horror, we can even call it "genre fiction."

 

[Strain42]

A world where monsters use elemental powers, sounds pretty fantasy oriented to me. Story wise at least.

Pokemon is, gameplay wise, a twist on the first few Final Fantasy games. There are many gameplay changes of course, but at it's core that's what it is.

As for the genre, I would say it's a fantasy JRPG, but there wasn't really anything like it when it came out.

Close, but no cigar. It's actually a clone of the first few Dragon Quest games.

Proof:

Even the idea of capturing monsters to fight with you was done first in a Dragon Quest game. No, I don't mean Dragon Quest Monsters on the Gameboy Color; I mean Dragon Quest V on the SNES, which had monster capturing and raising as an option for filling out your party.

Edit: As for the thematic genre of Pokemon, instead of getting into the "is it sci fi or fantasy?" argument over the thousandth property, why not just say it's speculative fiction? That covers both Scifi and Fantasy. If you want to include Horror, we can even call it "genre fiction."

But (correct me if I'm wrong here) Megami Tensei came long before Dragon Quest did, so it's not like Dragon Quest invented the concept of monster taming either. (Sorry if that's not what you were trying to say)

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Wrong. All totally wrong. The reason pokemon is such a hit (the original obviously) is because it doesn't limit itself to mere role playing techniques.

Pokemon is a Strategy-Turn based JRPG (Fantasy) action adventure with a little bit of button mashing if you know what I mean.

I just realized this was a thread necro, anda first post. For future reference, please don't revive old threads like this; February 2011 is most definitely old enough to start a new thread over.

MisterGobbles, if you're reading this, I apologize for quoting you on something so old.

 

[LilithSlave]

jRPG.

Modern fantasy.

There's not much to even differentiate the genre of story in Pokemon from Persona.

Both are in the "modern fantasy" and "jRPG" or "console style role playing game" genre.

There's even a wikipedia entry for it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_fantasy