Let me just get this out of the way, I've recently played and finished Pokemon Y and thought it was great fun. The mechanics and visuals are better than ever, and mega evolutions will make the game more interesting in the meta level.
With that said, I was utterly bored by the story. I didn't feel invested in the plot and aside from enjoying the look of the new areas, I could care less about the world's 'lore'--such as it is.
So how can a series such as Pokemon evolve (pun unintended) into a more interesting set of games?
Personally, I think Game Freak kinda screwed themselves with how they've shown the Pokemon world thus far. The games have all been about becoming the region's best Pokemon trainer and defeating the region's evil organization. Everything else seems to be secondary: the other characters, the world set up, and even the world's history seems to be in service of this. This is great for making the player feel awesome, but (I think) it greatly retards the franchise from ever growing in its narrative complexity or depth.
An opposite example that comes to mind it Monster Rancher, a similar franchise involving training your own monsters. However, the difference (especially in the tv series) is that the player is a bit player in a greater story. The world of Monster Rancher is an ancient one full of sadness, loss, regression, and ultimately hope.
By establishing its own history in a cohesive way, it allows for the believability of its creatures and characters. Thus, it ties the weight of a historical narrative to its lore.
Pokemon does none of that.
Sure you have movie and game lore talking about god pokemon and original pokemon, but it undermines itself through bizarre pokedex entries, many many lore inconsistencies, and everyone essentially living in some utopia revolving around Pokemon. Hell, after playing a bunch of games from the franchise I still have no idea what exactly a Pokemon even is.
Anyways, those are my thoughts. I'm curious to read your opinions on the subject weather they agree with mine or not.
Short version: Pokemon may never get the more mature game some fans desire because series' creators are too focused on empowering the player instead of world building. Even if they made the switch, it may be too late meaning they'd have to do a full on reboot.
PS. Another series (at least its tv incarnation) that did it right was Digimon. The later seasons were incredible.
With that said, I was utterly bored by the story. I didn't feel invested in the plot and aside from enjoying the look of the new areas, I could care less about the world's 'lore'--such as it is.
So how can a series such as Pokemon evolve (pun unintended) into a more interesting set of games?
Personally, I think Game Freak kinda screwed themselves with how they've shown the Pokemon world thus far. The games have all been about becoming the region's best Pokemon trainer and defeating the region's evil organization. Everything else seems to be secondary: the other characters, the world set up, and even the world's history seems to be in service of this. This is great for making the player feel awesome, but (I think) it greatly retards the franchise from ever growing in its narrative complexity or depth.
An opposite example that comes to mind it Monster Rancher, a similar franchise involving training your own monsters. However, the difference (especially in the tv series) is that the player is a bit player in a greater story. The world of Monster Rancher is an ancient one full of sadness, loss, regression, and ultimately hope.
By establishing its own history in a cohesive way, it allows for the believability of its creatures and characters. Thus, it ties the weight of a historical narrative to its lore.
Pokemon does none of that.
Sure you have movie and game lore talking about god pokemon and original pokemon, but it undermines itself through bizarre pokedex entries, many many lore inconsistencies, and everyone essentially living in some utopia revolving around Pokemon. Hell, after playing a bunch of games from the franchise I still have no idea what exactly a Pokemon even is.
Anyways, those are my thoughts. I'm curious to read your opinions on the subject weather they agree with mine or not.
Short version: Pokemon may never get the more mature game some fans desire because series' creators are too focused on empowering the player instead of world building. Even if they made the switch, it may be too late meaning they'd have to do a full on reboot.
PS. Another series (at least its tv incarnation) that did it right was Digimon. The later seasons were incredible.
