I know remakes are going to be a thing forever, but what are your thoughts on games using the same region, but with an entirely different plot, and entirely new Pokemon. For example, before Let’s Go P/E was revealed, there were all these wild rumors about a Kanto Region in the future with all new Pokemon, Gorochu, submerged Pallet Town, a snake legendary, etc.
I dunno that I have “thoughts” on it, exactly. It’s a thing you could do. I mean, it’s a thing Black and White 2 did, and those games are pretty well regarded in the fan community, from what I’ve seen (there probably isn’t much merit in using an existing region and deliberately keeping no connections at all to the previous plot – if you’re not using the background, then the freedom of a new setting is probably more valuable). I don’t think it’s necessarily better or worse than setting a game in a completely new region; the latter gives you a blank slate for developing new ideas and themes, and the former emphasises continuity. I honestly do think there is a lot to be said for the blank slate, but sometimes having a pre-existing developed setting with dense lore and history can also be useful for storytelling – that’s why fan fiction is a thing. I probably wouldn’t do a whole new generation’s worth of Pokémon designs for a new game set in an existing region, though.
I never heard these rumors but this idea seems like a pure nostalgia grab and nothing more. If the story and Pokemon are entirely different, using the same region serves no purpose other than to try to appeal to older fans through that nostalgia. It’s like what they’ve done with Charizard the past few gens. It was the only starter to get two mega evolutions (and only one of two Pokemon to get two). It was the only starter to get an gigantamax form (before the upcoming DLC) as well as the partner of the latest champion. The only Pokemon that seem to receive more attention are Pikachu and (maybe) Eevee. Using Kanto in a completely new game, unconnected to the previous games, is the same sort of tactic as making Charizard the partner of Leon. Which I guess isn’t beyond Game Freak, but at that point they may as well just have it be a full remake. And that point applies to any region.
Either way, I’m more for creating new regions than reusing old ones, unless there’s a good reason to.
LikeLike
What if the region has some unexplored stuff that you want to learn more about? Like Kalos with the Chamber of Emptiness, the Ghost Girl, the Hoopa criminal organization and Lysandre’s backstory? Or Johto with Celebi’s time travel and the mystery of the Ruins of Alph?
LikeLike
Honestly can we just let Kanto be at this point. It is overdone and there are so many far better Pokemon regions. It is also a pretty Boring region (not really its fault, it was created with serious technical limitations but look at Kanto’s routes for example- most of them are just straight lines). Also we played through Kanto so many times now. Either redesign Kanto a bit (like move the timeline few years past Gold/Silver and give Kanto new routes and towns like you did with Unova) or just let it rest.
LikeLike
Hear, hear!
LikeLike
I think this is an interesting question. Now that I’m thinking about it, XY’s plot would probably have been better if it were done in a pre-existing region instead of a completely new one, considering it emphasized discovering new evolutions to older Pokémon (notice how none of the Gen VI Pokémon are able to Mega Evolve, Diancie aside?). Hell, it wouldn’t have been out of place in Sinnoh, considering Rowan’s field of specialty is actually Pokémon evolution. And with how mythologized some Mega forms are (cf. Mega Rayquaza), discovering Mega Evolution in a region with the most outright cosmic themes would have been rather fitting.
LikeLike
I want to see a new Johto game with an actual lore-based storyline. There’s a bunch of interesting lore in Johto: the Bell and Burned Towers, the legendary beasts, the Radio Tower having once been a holy site, the Ruins of Alph and the Unowns, the Sinjoh Ruins, and Celebi. Each thing is individually interesting if you look for it, but why not have a storyline that actually uses all of it?
LikeLike