Many consider "Generation II" of Pokémon to be the highlight of the pocket monster series, and indeed it does represent the perfect point between depth and convolution, the moment before Pokémon became needlessly complicated and required fifteen spreadsheets in order to maximize its potential. Did you know that Silver and Gold were intended to be the last in the series, too?
"I worked with the assumption that after we put out Gold and Silver, my work as far as Pokémon was concerned would be done," explains Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara. "I didn’t intend to make any more Pokémon titles. I even thought that once we entered the twenty-first century, it would be time for me to do something else entirely.
"I remember that when Gold and Silver were released, I felt like a burden had finally been lifted from my shoulders. We’d had our sights set on the finish line of Gold and Silver for so long, and now that we’d finally completed the major series running right through from Red and Blue, I felt I could say to Tajiri-san: 'I’ve fulfilled my duty!'"
Of course, Pokémon just kept making money, so GameFreak just kept making games, right?
HeartGold and SoulSilver, the remakes of these classic games, are due in stores tomorrow. We're playing it right now for a review, and I'll get that written as soon as I stop building my shrine to Ekans.
Iwata Asks [Nintendo.co.uk via GoNintendo]
Contest:
9:00 AM on 03.13.2010
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Alas.
At the rate there going, there may be nothing to improve on in Generation V.
...and I think that there are a lot of people like me, who never made it over to the third generation. I guess we experienced Pokemon the way it was intended. :D
A new series with brand new 150 pokemon, (and that's it!!) would be welcomed though. With crazily opened arms.
[Commenting on the success of the games]
"No, it didn’t turn out to be the finish line! (laughs) Once we’d released Gold and Silver and it was selling even faster than Red and Green, I couldn’t very well get off the ride halfway through saying: “Nice work everyone. Good luck from here on in!"
Arboc=Cobra backwards
Muk=___ backwards
@ sprldr - It's not just Nintendo. Activision has probably released more Guitar Heroes in the last 5 years than Pokemon games ever, SE has put out more than 13 Final Fantasy games, etc. People like familiarity, which is obvious when you look at the sales of something like God of War 3 compared to Darksiders/Bayonetta/Dante's Inferno. Hell, God of War 3 might outsell all three combined for all I know.
Anyway...I'm ready to see the series laid to rest. I just can't keep playing the exact same battle system over and over for this long.
Gold/Silver, however, had some of the best. And it was practically two games in one!
I don't think it's possible for me to stay away from this game. Hell, even with how much I generally didn't like Diamond/Pearl, I still played it. And then I played Platinum for a bit as well.
I'm pretty sure I'm a Poke-Addict.
I'm not addicted to poking things, I just don't know how to get the accent over the "e."
Pokémon!
(in windows, Hold alt and press 0233 on your numpad for the accented-e.)
That said, I'm going to be the skulky looking adult in the corner of GAME next week trying to download the event Arceus to both my copies of Pearl and Platinum, while the children are having fun with balloons and face paints.
Or simply hold Alt Gr and press E. So much fun.
Generation 2 had a lot of things going for it, but it was also unbalanced and introduced some of the most useless monsters in the series.
If they would have stopped then, the community would cry out "What happened to Pokemon? We want more of it!".
How it stands, people cry out "There's too much Pokemon! Stop making them!".
And if they stop NOW, people will revert back to wanting more.
Sometimes I just feel sorry for developers.
TL:DR = If it makes money it will be milked until it's dry and dead, it's an industry practice.
They need to do something different. I'm sure it will sell just as well, if not better since it could attract all the people who are repulsed by the similarity (namely myself).