The Problems with Pokemon Sun & Moon · 12:35am May 14th, 2017
If you are an actual fan of Pokemon and not a fucking genwunner, you've more than likely played Pokemon Sun and Moon. I would assume Moon because it is without a doubt the superior version, but that's beside the point.
I absolutely love these games with a passion, no joke! I love all the new innovations GameFreak made to make this game an enjoyable experience for us long-time players to sit down and appreciate, such as getting rid of the movement grid in past generations, making a fully 3D world and, of course, new Pokemon for us to discover with friends who have been with the series since 20 years ago. While I don't think they match up to the majesty that is Black and White, they're still good games.
And that's just the issue. They're good games, just not great ones.
Even I can admit when Black and White had its flaws, but good golly gosh do people look over the problems with these games. I get they're super nostalgic and they helped people get back into the series, but like Fire Emblem Awakening the games suffer too much from eager fans loving them too much to see their shortcomings. It's like the problem with Tharja where people love her because she's hot when in reality she's a horrible human being that doesn't learn from her mistakes. Like seriously.
I want to remind everyone that I far from hate these games; I literally just said I absolutely love them. But I'm allowed to point out when something isn't right, especially when it comes with these games.
Here are three problems I found while playing Moon!
Spoiler warning for those precious few who haven't played these games yet!
The Characters
Because I was having a lot of fun training up my fucking ghost owl, I didn't pay TOO much attention to the story I was presented with. This is mainly because I honestly couldn't give a shit about it.
This isn't a fault of my own, mind you! This is entirely the game's fault, and I'll tell you one very important reason why: in RPGs, the narrative relies on the characters withing the story to invoke and advance the plot. This is true for any story because characters make the world go round, but it is imperative in RPGs to have good characters or the story is moot.
That's not to say the characters in Sun and Moon are bad. Far from it, actually! Kukui, Lillie and Gladion are some of the best characters Pokemon has had in years thanks to their personalities and screen-time throughout the game. And let's just use that phrase "screen-time" again because it's important to what I have to say next. Are you ready? Are you sitting down for this one? Ladies and gentlemen, I am about to crash your world:
STORY- CENTRIC CHARACTERS IN SUN AND MOON DO NOT GET ENOUGH SCREEN-TIME FOR ME TO CARE ABOUT THEM.
Take Professor Burnet, for example. We meet her after we beat the Grass-type trial and she introduces herself as Kukui's wife. Lillie tells the player that Burnet was like the mother she never had because her own mother was a douche-bag. Wow, it sounds like Burnet could really give a lot to this story! I wonder how she's going to incorporate that actually intriguing part of her into the story. Long story short, she doesn't. She shows up once and then one final time right before you fight Olivia and that's it. Other than the ending scene, she has no other involvement with the story. What a missed opportunity.
She isn't the only character guilty of this. I actually like Plumeria as a character, despite the fact she shows up so little in the actual game. You fight her once before Olivia, another time after Acerola's trial and that's it. She does show off her personality a bit more after seeing the player and Lillie trying to get back Lusamine from Ultra Space, but you never fight her again until Title Defense or the Battle Tree in Sun. Also, here's a bit of trivia for you! Did you know that despite the fact Team Skull and pretty much Gen 7's entire theme is Family, Plumeria and Guzma never share a scene together? Yeah, their models are never seen together whatsoever! Not even in the Battle Tree since Plumeria is Sun-exclusive and Guzma is Moon-exclusive. How am I supposed to believe they share a tight bond when they're never in the same place at one time. Like what the fuck?
But the worst offender of this is Molayne who shows up half-way through the story, he tells you he's the Trial Captain's cousin, battles you and is never mentioned in the main story ever again. That's just a fucking waste. Could have used that spare data to add a few new Pokemon into the mix, y'know?
The Difficulty Level
Everyone complains that Pokemon X and Y are too easy and ORAS is even worse. To that I say "Turn off the EXP-Share you cock-sucking douche-bag", but I find that even in Sun and Moon it's not that difficult to match or even overlevel your foes.
I am not a huge fan of overleveling my Pokemon, which is partly why I dislike "Let's Players" who overlevel and give nothing engaging for viewers to watch. The only reason people stick around is probably to watch people's reactions to certain events, but even that gets boring after a while. Underleveling your Pokemon is the only way to play Pokemon if you ask me, which is why I love YouTubers like The Tree's Apprentice and Chuggaaconroy. However, Sun and Moon goes above and beyond with how easy they can be sometimes.
While I appreciate new and powerful additions to the roster of monsters, wild Pokemon can now match trainer Pokemon levels and then some. What's the point of training new Pokemon to get stronger if you already have strong Pokemon to begin with? This is why I like Pokemon games like Heartgold and Soulsilver because they force you to EARN your Pokemon's levels. When you earn them, you feel accomplished and rewarded for your hard efforts. Here you start off with already powerful Pokemon to use at your disposal. This insult on your intelligence and capability to do anything is expanded on further when you realize most trainers have only one Pokemon with them ever.
One could give the argument it helps battles move faster, but I would immediately retaliate with "Fuck you, it's not a Pokemon battle if it's one monster against six others". However, nowhere else is this more prominent than in Team Skull. Don't get me wrong, Team Skull is a gem and I love them, but Christ almighty even Team fucking Flare had more than one Pokemon max! And I get the point of them is that they're not supposed to be threatening, but even just an extra Pokemon would make it SEEM like a tougher fight is at hand. This easiness from trainers is so bad that the big bad boss of Team Skull itself, Guzma, who is supposed to be actually powerful, has two Pokemon. They aren't even all that good Pokemon! But that's a rant for another day.
The difficulty in Pokemon Sun and Moon is a joke. It's a sad day when I'm just trying to give myself a challenge and I purposefully have to avoid trainers so I can keep my Pokemon's levels below literally everything else. Not that I have to try to avoid trainers; trainer positions are so fucked that you could just walk in front of them and they wouldn't notice. Give me more battles I HAVE to go through, goddammit! Give us challenge mode from Black 2 and White 2 again!
The Beginning
So... remember that joke I made in my Persona as explained by someone who doesn't know Persona blog?
Alright, so besides the... PAINFULLY long opening that puts Pokemon Sun and Moon's opening hours to shame, what about the actual RPG element?
Yeah, that one. I wasn't joking in that joke.
Jesus Christ, could the opening hours of Sun and Moon be ANY longer? Let me break it down for you guys who don't fully understand what I'm talking about. First you get some plot which is fine I guess, then Professor Kukui barges into your home and you have to follow him up a hill where he talks about the standard Pokemon bullshit you've heard tons of times in the past. Then you save a stupid cloud of space dust from a bunch of asshole Spearow (Disclaimer: I actually fucking love Cosmog) and you meet Lillie the walking plot device (Disclaimer: I actually fucking love Lillie). After that's all good and done after what feels like an hour you finally get to choose your starter Pokemon.
But no, wait! The starter Pokemon actually has to choose YOU instead, so you have to watch an overly long cutscene that plays out the same every single time where the starter inches towards you and you pick it up all Lion King style before you even get a chance to see its nature and stats, let alone get to name it. And god help you if you're a competitive player like me and want a different nature starter and forgot to save right after rescuing Nebby or its watching even MORE cutscenes again before you finally get to choose your starter again.
It was later I discovered Melemele Island is simply a test of endurance to see how long you can last before blowing your brains out from pointless monotony. This monotony is further exemplified when you get to the Trainer's School. The school in literally every other game is a location either totally optional to enter or, if it is required plot-wise, is very brief in the story. This is to give newer players a chance to learn about Pokemon and gives veteran players a chance to just play the fucking game. But in Sun and Moon, attending the Trainer's School is mandatory for the plot. You have to battle five trainers who all teach you about how different game mechanics work and there's a graduation ceremony at the end that celebrates your victory with learning shit, which I feel is just insulting to anyone playing the game.
Man, for a game that's basically a love letter to 30+ year-old fans of Pokemon, GameFreak really didn't consider the 30+ year-old fans of Pokemon all that much, did they?
I will admit that once the ball that is the story starts rolling in your adventure, it REALLY starts to roll right into strained parent/child relationships, mistrust, misuse of power and so much more. But those first few hours on Melemele are brutal and will actually test your patience, especially if you're a veteran and competitive Pokemon player such as myself.
And yes, Kukui teaches you about how to catch Pokemon despite the fact you have done it so many times in the past.
Thanks for reading!
If you have counterarguments, I would love to read them to be quite honest. I want to find new ways to love Sun and Moon because I truly do love these games! I'm just tired of GameFreak's bullshit in catering the games to a younger audience which extinguishes almost any form of fun veterans could have had playing a Pokemon game.
Please bring back challenge mode in the Diamond and Pearl remakes, GameFreak. Why did you remove it in the first place? Everyone loved it so goddamn much.
talk about the post game is shit
The beginning didn't really bother me, well, except for the damn school. You actually make a good point about the characters, I never really noticed. Now what I really want is the GSC post game.
Yeah. If there is a sequel to these games, I hope they expand upon the characters.
4531663
But I didn't mind the post-game though? True it wasn't as expansive as previous titles where you get to explore new territory and discover brand new Pokemon, but it was certainly a lot better than X & Y's post-game. While I adore Emma and Looker's father/daughter relationship, there wasn't enough of a threat for me to appreciate it more. Xerosic comes back and manipulates Emma. There is SO much more to it than that, but for sake of time that's the gist of it.
Sun and Moon brought along Looker's dark past dealing with horrible monstrosities known as Ultra Beasts and how they killed a good friend of his. Plus you get an inside look at the lore between the Mega and Regular dimensions and how they intertwine with each other, as well as piece together various unresolved issues in ORAS. And you actually get to capture and use those Ultra Beasts accompanied by a kickass battle theme!
And just to give you something to do, Sun and Moon lets you explore the rest of Poni Island before you even think twice about the Ultra Beast story. New Pokemon, tougher trainers, Dratini! It's all great! Again, not as good as some other post-game areas, but because GameFreak tried to jam a huge game on the 3DS clearly meant for the New 3DS I'd say they did a pretty good job keeping us invested. And don't even get me started on all the sidequests and Title Defense challenges you can do afterwards. For example, with the Pokedex being so small in this game it's a nice incentive to try and get every single monster in your library.
4532219 what about the last legendary
4531794
That would be amazing, dude. Being able to explore another region after the main game? That's crazy! But how much can you jam on a 3DS before it explodes? You'd have to upgrade to a New 3DS to do that and many people, myself included, still don't have one.
Mainly because I'm poor and unemployed.
4531818
Or just a sister game. When was the last time we had a sister game? Oh yeah, back in Gen 4.
#sinnohconfirmed
4532222
Like I said: new Pokemon.
4532228 but they basically made it impossible to catch without a master ball
4532229
That's just about every single legendary Pokemon, pal.
Also not sure what catching it has to do with my argument.
4532235 your argument is valid
4532223 Yeah, there were a lot less Pokémon to catch back in the day, so we had room. Not to mention there were only two regions at the time. Maybe a console game where you pick your starter region and explore all of them? Also, as far as I can tell, the only difference between a 3ds and a New 3ds is extra buttons and Amiibos.
4532242
You're not wrong but you're not entirely right either. At first glance the New 3DS does have more buttons which makes camera problems in previous titles moot. However, inside the New 3DS is a system core with a MUCH higher functionality than the 3DS, meaning it can run bigger games much faster than the 3DS ever could and run smaller games at a beautiful 60fps at all times. It's fucking amazing.
I've been waiting for a price drop so I could finally play Xenoblade Chronicles 3D and actually play Sun and Moon the way it was intended. So far no luck, and it doesn't help I wasn't joking about being unemployed right now. Still looking for a job, but the fact my mom wants to take 80% of whatever pay I get it discourages me from seeking one out. Her intentions are pure; save up for college. But I'd like to have full control over my money and what I do with it.
Besides, she knows I'm old enough to make decisions on my own. I'm not going to waste all my money on video games if that's what she's concerned about.
Sorry, that got off topic REAL quickly.
4532253 Nah dude, it's cool. Still, 80% is a bit much. Try negotiating a set amount of money, cause trust me, your first job is NOT going to pay well. Though if there's a Wal-Mart nearby, they've bumped their minimum wage up to 9 dollars an hour. Or at least it is here in the states.
4532256
In Canada, student minimum wage is 10 bucks an hour. Any job I get I would be getting at least 90 to 100 dollars every week.
4532257
You lucky little bastard. I was at 7.25 for 3 years. Well, on the bright side, you can afford to try and avoid retail.
So what if I liked Gen1!?If I had to make a comment as to what game I felt gave me a fine Pokemon experience along with a good overall story, I'd have to go with the Pokemon Coliseum and XD games(particularly the second one); Especially if you play both as many elements from the first appear in the second while still making the story and adventure feel brand new despite the many identical locations due to that 5 year time skip. It helps that you likely end up seeing the same people multiple times to move things along, so they tend to leave more of an impression.4532897
Genwunners are people who solely believe that Gen 1 was the best and all other generations either pale in comparison or don't exist. If Gen 1 is your favorite but you're still open to other generations, you're NOT a genwunner.
And don't have to tell me twice, man! I own XD and it's one of my favorite Pokemon games ever. Completed it twice as of now.
Can't believe I forgot to comment on this when I first read it, my bad old friend. Anyway, as someone who fell in love with Pokemon again thanks to this game, I agree and disagree with these points:
1) The characters, I actually felt were some of Pokemon's best. It felt like an actual RPG to me, in terms of it's character. Sure they were cliche, but I preferred them to any character in the previous Pokemon games.
2) The difficulty level was obnoxious at somepoints, I admit it. But I actually admit to finding it quite refreshing. I was reasonably challenged throughout, though as an older player, I'm not exactly sure if that's a positive thing for younger players. Though I will say the whole concept of "Reinforcements" was not exactly an idea I enjoy, as it made battles FAR more tedious then necessary.
3) Beginning is definitely slow, though I admit to not noticing it as much, considering my favorite RPG of all time is essentially tutorial for the first hour or two. Still, I do think Gamefreak could have found a better balance between tutorial and getting you into the action. At the very least, GIVE US THE OPTION TO SKIP OVER THE CATCH POKEMON TUTORIAL!
All that said, I do think Sun stands as my second favorite Pokemon game of all time, and I haven't even jumped into the post game yet!
Now you've inspired me, maybe I should do a "Problems with Persona 5 blog" Because I can think of QUITE a few. I'll probably link you when I do, even though I know your not interested in the series.
4533004 I figured about the whole Genwunner thing, and my only regret nowadays is that my GC stopped working, so I've been missing out on XD and a bunch of other sweet games.
4533152
No problem, man. You were busy and I respect that. Actually you remind me that I have to comment on someone's story; I forgot to the other day since I was busy with homework.
Thanks for countering my points, man! I want to love these games as much as possible, but some shortcomings prevented me from fully enjoying them. I LOVE the Alola region and I love exploring every corner of it, almost as much as I loved exploring Unova and Sinnoh. But that's just me being nostalgic.
Please link me to that blog! I don't check my feed as often as I should so I miss out on a lot of things from friends.
4533991
Dude, that sucks! Do you have a Wii? It's compatible with GC games.
4534016 Never could afford one. New gen consoles are beyond my reach until I can get a job and a steady budget.
I might not have considered it earlier, as such any problem, being a Pokemon lover.
4534581
I like to play Pokemon Sun with my friends, not really a fan of Pokemon Moon. A friend of mine has a collection of all the Pokemon Series video games console. He shopped online all of them at a decent discounted price. We all gather on the weekends and enjoy the great gaming experience on the Nintendo 3DS.