It bothers the hell out of me when I hear people complain about something without proposing a way to fix it. Case I point: Pokémon. For those that have grown up with this legendary series im sure you can attest to hearing the words “ stagnant” or “re-hash” thrown around with each new Pokémon release. For the most part my ideas are for that ever looming “true console Pokémon game” that gamers have yet to see. I have spent far to much time thinking about these matters while devouring the newest Pokémon DS games Soul Silver-Heart Gold. Here are my thoughts…

How to up the visual immersion without losing the charm of the series~
The main reason I feel the developers are afraid to really up the graphical ante in the Pokémon series is fear. They are afraid of somehow losing the games “charm” with a grand jump in visual presentation. I agree that this is possible, but the solution is simple. The anime style that fits the series so perfectly could easily be brought to life with cell-shading. Just look at how amazing the legend of Zelda:wind waker looked stylistically, and that was a GameCube game. Simply by taking that visual approach you can keep the “charm” that the series is legendary for. A realistic looking pokemon game would be a tad creepy in my humble opinion..


Battle system in 3d:Final Fantasy 12 style~
When the games finally take that jump toward a fully realized world (as mentioned above) I believe a battle system similar to FF12 would be the best approach.

Putting aside personal opinions of the actual final fantasy 12 game.. I am just asking you to focus on the games combat system. Although resembling an MMO the game allowed the player to freely explore a vast world and seamlessly flow into battle while approaching each monster wandering the world map. Also much like how your party followed you in final fantasy 12( up to 4 members), your Pokémon would follow you in this game. Up to 3 creatures would traverse behind your main character and the battles would unfold as you approached an enemy.

When I imagine exploring a fully realized Pokémon world in this way….i can see it all so clearly working in perfect harmony. That upbeat Pokémon exploration music hanging in the air as you travel across the now lush and detailed routes between towns in search of the many different Pokémon. This would also give the creators a chance to create a full eco system and have the Pokémon feel much more alive than simply running into them through random battles. Imagine coming into a sunny valley to find to ryhdon battling it out for territory…or traversing in a small boat in the open sea and witnessing a gang of sharpedo tear apart another vessel ( all while trying to capture one)..speaking of which….

Capturing Pokémon~
Through placing the HP BAR of the main Pokémon you are focused on at the top of the screen this could open up many interesting tactics for catching Pokémon ( one of the core components of the Pokémon series) and by possibly introducing a gambit-esque( also FF12) way of setting up your party’s attacks before battle ( squirtle:tackle, Pickachu:paralyze, Drowzee:sleep) you could really have some interesting ways of getting the jump on wild Pokémon and weakening them for capture.


As far as the music goes....i think that’s one of the easier pieces of the puzzle.
Nintendo has always been masters at finding ways to incorporate the music in the best reimagining’s of their most famous series ( metroid prime is a good example). Also with so many pokemon games in existence…Nintendo has a gargantuan pool of tunes to sift through and grab the best of the best for their poke epic.

Ah but what about the story you ask? Well Pokémon games really DON’T have a story. You travel from one town to the next defeating the best Pokémon trainers. That’s basically it, however the Pokémon anime (television show) as silly as it often was, found interesting ways to give the Pokémon universe a fairly interesting story. Nintendo could possibly capture the essence of the television shows ideas through short anime cut scenes that told the story of a new Pokémon hero….there are so many cool things they could do with this setup. I would love to see them hand the story portions over to a team that takes an ambitious approach to the “Pokémon champion” narrative…..and creates their own unique twist on the series.



I’m not necessarily proposing a complete re imagining of the series….just a way to flesh out the amazing foundations Nintendo already has in place. It may take a few years to complete…but the wait would be far worth it. Perhaps I spend for too much time thinking about these sort of things in my head……it just kills me when I feel like there is so much untapped potential just waiting to be unearthed. Who knows maybe im wrong and Nintendo is feverishly working away at a game much like this right now in the depths of secrecy.

Until then ill just have to be content with the addicting re-hash that the portable series has become for better or worse.

would love your thoughts if your a frustrated fan of the series...