In recent years, the Pokémon franchise has come under scrutiny from a number of its fans. Newer releases have led many fans to become disappointed with the rushed and underwhelming final products. Other fans are still happy with the franchise, but may voice concerns with other parts of the game. Overall, Pokémon as a series desperately needs some kind of shakeup.
But with all the problems with Pokémon, which ones are the most significant? And which ones can feasibly be fixed? While it’s unreasonable to expect serious changes to the core gameplay, specific elements can be critiqued and changed. This list will document some of the biggest blunders with the franchise currently, along with some very general fixes that could be made.
10 Only One (Easy) Difficulty
Fans will be quick to remind critics that Pokémon is a game designed primarily for kids. However, that doesn’t mean the fanbase is all kids; there are plenty of adult fans of the franchise as well. It’s also easy to say that Pokémon is not known for difficulty, and that’s true enough. However, the lack of even a difficult option makes it harder to enjoy the series without self-inflicted rules.
The easiest way to go about fixing this is to add various difficulties. Romhackers have done a solid job implementing (usually) reasonable challenge into Pokémon games, so taking a page from them would be a good start.
9 Dual Releases To Catch ‘Em All
As the series goes on longer and longer, “catching them all” has more become a goal of just completing the regional Dex. However, GameFreak still manages to get away with dual versions and splitting up the roster just enough that it’s annoying. Players cannot locally find every single Pokémon without owning two versions, which is unreasonable.
It’s unrealistic for GameFreak to not use a model that works business-wise. However, this problem could be fixed by just offering trades within one version of the game to get the other version’s exclusive Pokémon.
8 The “Third Version” Problem
Since the success of Pokémon Yellow, almost every single region had an enhanced version of its title released within the same generation. The only exception would be Pokémon X&Y, which is strange because that game could have certainly used a third version. The third version more or less is the complete experience of the game, and it forces players to either buy the same game twice or just wait for a release that may or may not happen.
GameFreak could just make the best version the first go around, but that’s unlikely. The best way this problem can be alleviated is to make the third version something like a sequel rather than a re-release. Black 2 and White 2 are the ideal enhanced versions.
7 Rushed Releases
This has been a major critique of the series for a while, but became obvious with Ultra Sun and Moon. The games are fine, but the fact they released so soon after Sun and Moon made them feel unnecessary at best. Sword and Shield promised a lot, but they weren’t able to deliver on everything fans (and likely they) wanted. The deadlines have always been rough for GameFreak, and it hurts the franchise overall.
Fortunately, with them using DLC to sustain Sword and Shield’s lifespan, the next title is undergoing a much longer development cycle. Fans wouldn’t mind waiting an extra year for a new release if the release is really good.
6 Wasted Spin-Off Potential
In terms of spin-offs, Pokémon has taken the mobile market by storm. There are a number of mobile games that are surprisingly solid, if somewhat predatory. Pokémon GO especially has grown into an experience that’s unironically better than the mainline games. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t more potential there. Franchises like Pokémon Ranger or the Shadow Pokémon games could definitely use new installments.
The solution here makes sense: want to spend more time on mainline games? Use spin-offs to fill the void of releases. It would also allow GameFreak and other developers to experiment in ways they can’t in mainline titles. It’s a win-win.
5 Gimmicks Galore
Now, onto the game mechanics themselves, there are a lot of sizeable issues. As a competitive game, Pokémon has always been not-so-great. The overpowered gimmicks that keep getting added just make the experience worse as a whole. Mega Evolution, despite how overpowered it could be, was cool in the fact it gave less viable Pokémon a place in the metagame. Z-Moves were interesting at times and could be played around with. Dynamax, on the hand, is so bad it was quickly banned by Smogon.
GameFreak should honestly just scale back the gimmicks for the next release. Experimentation is fine, but it’s definitely worth trying to focus on something that is easier to balance and doesn’t break the meta. They could just spend time iterating on an idea instead of scrapping it.
4 Underwhelming Mini-Games
This may just be for the casual, single-player fans, but the mini-games in recent releases have been more miss than hit. In older titles, there were a variety of side activities to give the player something to do aside from grinding. Contests, the underground, the Pokéathlon, and other fun mini-games provided a nice break. The mandatory mini-games like Mantine Surfing just aren’t nearly as interesting.
It would be interesting to see GameFreak developers work on these side projects within the mainline games. The fact Pokémon contests didn’t get to stick around is just sad for the fans that did enjoy it.
3 Narratives That Could Be More
This is another gripe that mostly relates to casual play, but narratives have gone down in quality since Black 2 and White 2. They aren’t necessarily bad, but they’re certainly uninspired. Sword and Shield, for all of its problems, has an amazing cast of characters that are just under-utilized. It’s just a shame.
Part of this could be that GameFreak is afraid of overwhelming a young audience. However, kids are smart. They understand plenty about the world, and can enjoy deeper stories as well as adults.
2 Weak Post-Game Content
Here’s one of the biggest problems with the series currently: there is no post-game content. The series has started doing some post-game narrative content, which is fun but not really a replacement for a meaty post-game. The Battle Frontier is something beloved by fans of older titles, and gives some reasonable single-player challenge for those who like raising Pokémon, but not online battles. The fact that it’s gone is definitely rough.
There’s no easy solution for this other than “just add the Battle Frontier back.” And they should; the Battle Tower is fun, but it gets old. Some variety would absolutely be appreciated in the post-game.
1 The Crutch of Nostalgia
This is one that fans have trouble accepting. Pokémon, as a series, is submerged in nostalgia. It makes sense that they appeal to older fans by using Pokémon the older fans love. However, in a roster of nearly one-thousand unique creatures, it hurts to see some get obviously favored over others. For example, Charizard is absolutely nowhere near as vital to the series as GameFreak thinks it is. There’s been enough Charizard to go around, it’s time to stop.
The best way to combat the over-reliance on nostalgia is to just work on creating something that stands on its own. Make a game that’s incredible without the pedigree of the franchise. Only then will GameFreak be free of their Charizard curse.
NEXT: Pokémon: 10 Amazing Pieces Of Charizard Fan Art
