Pokémon Gen 10 Games Have An Important Lesson To Learn From Scarlet & Violet, But It Has Nothing To Do With Its Open World

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet may have gotten a lot wrong at launch, but beneath all the bugs, glitches, and somewhat questionable game design were some truly exceptional ideas. In fact, Scarlet and Violet manage to get a lot right that previous Pokémon games have always struggled with. While its open world isn't exceptional, there is a delightful quality to its exploration, and while it doesn't have the strongest characters individually, when they come together, they make for the series' most memorable cast. Warning. This article contains spoilers for the ending of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's base game.There are, therefore, a lot of lessons that the Gen 10 Pokémon games can learn from Scarlet and Violet, both good and bad. In order for the Gen 10 games to avoid failing, they need to take Scarlet and Violet's best qualities as much as they must avoid their worst. Namely, Scarlet and Violet's very best feature, something that I feel is often overlooked, must be used heavily in the Gen 10 Pokémon games; otherwise, they risk falling into the same trap as all of their predecessors. Gen 10 Pokémon Needs To Copy Scarlet And Violet's Ending It Is By Far The Best Part Of Those Games Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's ending is easily the best part of the game. Of course, those who've played the DLC will know that the adventure carries on even after the base game's credits roll. However, before players even reach Kitakami or Blueberry Academy, they first must come up against an AI-controlled version of the Pokémon professor they've been talking to the entire game, one that ultimately turns on the player after they attempt to switch off its time machine, the same one that has been bringing all of the Paradox Pokémon to the region. This ending isn't just a cinematic spectacle, one filled with amazing music, a great boss fight, and enough twists and turns to make even M. Night shiver, it is also preceded by a very different style of gameplay as the player, accompanied by three companions, explores a new area largely filled with aggressive Pokémon. Here, it doesn't feel as if the player should catch them all, but rather that these Pokémon are more akin to enemies in a JRPG, and the companions following the player as they run around helps cement this feeling. Related Pokémon Legends: Z-A Having Real-Time Action Battles Should Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Gen 10 Combat Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces a new battle system to the franchise that will likely prove to be extremely influential on future titles. There are a lot of terrible Scarlet & Violet features that the Gen 10 Pokémon games need to leave firmly in the past, but this ending is not one of them. In fact, the style, tone, and pacing of this ending, coupled with its many narrative innovations - at least within the Pokémon franchise - such as having meaningful companions, more cinematic sequences, and making Pokémon feel more like enemies than friends that need to be caught, should serve as the blueprint for the Gen 10 Pokémon game's narrative. Pokémon Narratives Have Suffered For Too Long They Usually Aren't The Focus I know that the general sentiment around Pokémon narratives is that they don't need to be particularly impressive so long as the surrounding gameplay is fun enough, but I find that somewhat frustrating. Pokémon has the potential to tell truly great and inspired stories, and, in a handful of instances, has come close. Black and White's core narrative goes in interesting directions, but is let down by the limited presentation afforded by the DS. Similarly, Sun and Moon have a relatively strong narrative hampered by the limitations of the 3DS. However, beyond those few examples, the Pokémon games have almost always had terrible stories delivered in the most bland and boring way possible. This is largely because, for a very long time, Pokémon has felt outdated, its lack of voice acting or good cutscene direction making it feel like a game from several generations ago. When the likes of Final Fantasy 7, Chrono Trigger, and Xenogears from the 90s are surpassing the narratives of modern-day Pokémon games, you know there's something wrong. With the impressive power of the Switch 2, Game Freak should be more ambitious with its storytelling, taking inspiration from not just other games within this genre, but also the iconic Pokémon anime that has been surpassing the games in terms of storytelling for decades. It isn't like Game Freak is incapable of telling relatively decent stories, as even their spin-off game, Little Town Hero, is fairly interesting, full of life, charming characters, and humor. Nintendo also has a lot of strong support teams, like Monolith Soft, who are well-versed in telling good stories and who could always collaborate with Game Freak. Yet, despite all of this talent, the Pokémon games continue to squander their narrative potential for seemingly no reason. With the impressive power of the Switch 2, Game Freak should be more ambitious with its storytelling, taking inspiration from not just other games within this genre but also the iconic Pokémon anime that has been surpassing the games in terms of storytelling for decades. If there is just one thing the Gen 10 games must abandon, it is the terrible storytelling that has plagued the series for nearly three decades now. Gen 10 Pokémon Should Be Inspired By JRPGs Their Stories Should Feel Epic As aforementioned, Game Freak could always look to JRPGs for inspiration on how to tell a cinematic narrative within Pokémon's framework. This has actually happened before with Pokémon Colosseum, a game many regard as the series' attempt at aping Final Fantasy. That game was extremely well-received, although somehow it remains an underrated Pokémon spin-off that more people should definitely play. While the Gen 10 games can't go in quite that direction, Scarlet and Violet have certainly laid a more modern JRPG-inspired groundwork for it to build on. Introducing voiced cinematic cutscenes, side quests, and companions that you build meaningful relationships with would go a long way in making Pokémon not only a more interesting experience, but one that a new type of audience may gravitate towards. It would also help it stay on top of the creature collector competition, which has slowly begun beating Pokémon at its own game by implementing all of the key features that it is missing. Related Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Achieved Something Magical With Legendaries That I Desperately Want Again For Gen 10 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s handling of its Legendaries was truly incredible, and I sincerely hope that the Gen 10 Pokémon games copy its formula. Pokémon Legends Z-A isn't adding a lot of these much-needed features, but if Nintendo makes the Gen 10 games Switch 2 exclusives, then they could be the first games in the mainline series to break expectations and tradition and do something unexpected, bold, and new. They could take the series in a fresh new direction, one that still appeals to a younger audience, while also offering a more nuanced experience, not unlike Monster Hunter Stories, and akin to what Pokémon Scarlet and Violet had attempted, at least in their closing moments.

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