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Anyone else disappointed by Pokemon Sun / Moon? (Spoilers obviously)

Z

ZSaberLink

Media Create Maven
I beat Moon recently, and while I'm sure this is blasphemy to some, I honestly preferred X / Y better. I felt like the pacing in Sun / Moon was pretty inconsistent, and that the trials were pretty short and unsatisfying. I liked that they made changes in general, but I feel like they really didn't implement them all that well.

Personally I owned and played Red, Yellow, and Silver when they released, played a couple of the later games on emulator (played through Sapphire, Pearl & like 4 gyms of Black), and really got back into the series with X/Y. Not to say this entry didn't have its upsides though.

What I liked and disliked personally:

+ Having fully formed character models
+ Good use of camera angles
+ Replacing HMs with ride pagers (although I didn't like the ride music for Tauros...)
+ Having different Pokemon in different patches of grass
+ The initial Pokemon variety available on Melemele (1st) island. This died down after a while though and just became lots of Wingulls and Yungooses (and their evolutions) :/
+ The character designs in general (Team Skull, main character, etc.)

- I didn't enjoy the trials (except maybe the Ghost one, and Totem wishiwashi was a cool idea). They were just SUPER short, and honestly just not really entertaining or even challenging. The totem Pokemon were decent themselves, but honestly if you had the right Z-crystal in certain ones, they were downright easy.
- Didn't like the pacing until midway through the 3rd island, where it suddenly becomes a battle fest and the entire plot of the game happens all at once. Seems really uneven.
- PSS from X / Y made me feel like part of a community, Festival Plaza really lost that charm by being buried in a menu.
- Pokemon calling for help obviously. It just always happened at very inopportune times (sometimes fought 11 of the same pokemon while trying to catch one) and was just frustrating.
- Missed having a big city to explore with a lot of things to do. Getting rewarded with the random creepy ghost girl in X/Y in Lumiose City was pretty fun.
- The music was very underwhelming to me. (apart from the grand trial theme, seafolk village & gladion's theme imo) - I liked a large part of X/Y's soundtrack enough to even buy it lol
- Very little happening in terms of routes or even events in between the first 5-6 trials.
- Very linear (until pretty late in the game) with any chance of exploring blocked by Pokemon doing random things...
- Team Skull grunts are just so horribly useless, and at least to me, not really entertaining either.

Thoughts?
 
N

Not

Banned
It's my favorite Pokémon game since Red and Blue. Just removing HMs would have done it for me, but all the other stuff like the great characters, effectiveness labels, cool new Pokés, and other features made it SUPER enjoyable
 
H

HawthorneKitty

Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
Gyms were super boring and trainers were just fodder
Pokemon calling is great for EV and IVs.
Lumiose is shit.

Lusamine is the best,
 
P

Primethius

Banned
I'm disappointed in Sun/Moon but not entirely for the same reasons. I think there weren't enough changes and I'm just kind of burnt out on Pokemon now.

Some of the changes also made it frustrating to play. The extra focus on story pretty much killed my interest late game. No, I don't give two shits about you Lillie. Please leave me the hell alone and spare me the rudimentary anime character arc.
 
B

Brazil

Living in the shadow of Amaz
It's the best game in the series, IMO. The lack of gyms made the experience feel fresh.

I just want them to add more variety to the trials moving forward. Have more stuff like the third trial.
 
F

Finale Fireworker

Member
Been playing Pokémon games since Red in 1998.

Sun and Moon make most other Pokémon games look like terrible garbage, especially the other 3DS games.

Were Sun and Moon not as good as they were, I would have probably left the series behind. It has reignited a twenty year love affair that was definitely on the ropes.
 
P

PSqueak

Banned
Personally i thought they should have made the UB quest be part of the main plot rather than post game quest.
 
M

Maxinas

Member
purseowner said:
I'll agree with the calling for help thing, but that's about it.

Best Pokémon game since Colosseum.
Click to expand...

The Calling for Help and festival plaza were the big negatives for me, but i agree with this post in that Sun/Moon are the best pokemon games since hg/ss imho.
 
H

Hackworth

Member
- PSS from X / Y made me like part of a community, Festival Plaza really lost that charm by being buried in a menu.
- Pokemon calling for help obviously. It just always happened at very inopportune times (sometimes fought 11 of the same pokemon while trying to catch one) and was just frustrating.
Click to expand...
I really liked Moon, but these two were irritating to me.

If Pokemon had a very low chance of calling for help except in specific situations (like Adrenaline Orbs) then I'd be happier with SOS.

Now I remember, having SOS exclusive pokemon was pretty annoying too.
 
Z

ZSaberLink

Media Create Maven
Not said:
It's my favorite Pokémon game since Red and Blue. Just removing HMs would have done it for me, but all the other stuff like the great characters, effectiveness labels, cool new Pokés, and other features made it SUPER enjoyable
Click to expand...

I did like the effectiveness labels. Forgot about that.

Its Quite Toasty said:
I can mostly agree with everything other than the slight against the Skull grunts. You are such a bone head dude.
Click to expand...

Haha. I did like their design and their hand signs and all. I just got annoyed by them all being samey (I liked Guzma though).

Brazil said:
It's the best game in the series, IMO. The lack of gyms made the experience feel fresh.

I just want them to add more variety to the trials moving forward. Have more stuff like the third trial.
Click to expand...

The third trial was my least favorite tbh lol. I think the trial idea, if implemented better, could be a lot of fun though.

PSqueak said:
Personally i thought they should have made the UB quest be part of the main plot rather than post game quest.
Click to expand...

I didn't get around to doing that. Sounds like it's fun?
 
C

CreeperBlocks

Banned
The only thing I didn't like about Sun and moon was the lack of content in the post game.

There's a battle league and that's about it.Stuff like Safari or something new would've been interesting. It's a bare bones Pokemon game.

Maybe that rumoured 3rd version on Switch will have more content.
 
P

Permanently A

Junior Member
It seems downright ridiculous to me that pokemon can call for help and use a move in one turn. They should do one or the other, not both.
 
B

brinstar

Member
I was mixed about it. I liked it overall, and it felt like it had much more effort put into it than X/Y, but I wish there was more going on between the routes and more environment variety.

I'm wasn't completely sold on the trials replacing the gyms either-- they were fun but they never felt like they were better than gym battles.

But the game had great characters and I really enjoyed the story. I guess overall my opinion would be that it was cool but I wish there was more-- more Pokemon, more diverse areas, more enemy trainer types, etc.

I think the game would've benefited more by being on stronger hardware.

Also fuck the SOS mechanic lol

EDIT: Another thing, this isn't really a critique of the game itself, but I hated how the marketing for S/M basically revealed every single thing in the game.
 
R

rucury

Banned
I very much disliked the English localization. Found it awkward too many times. Other than that, I thought it was amazing, especially the music. Exp Share always off and no unnecessary grinding made it a fun challenge.
 
Z

ZSaberLink

Media Create Maven
brinstar said:
EDIT: Another thing, this isn't really a critique of the game itself, but I hated how the marketing for S/M basically revealed every single thing in the game.
Click to expand...

What did you think the marketing revealed that shouldn't have been? Final evolutions of starters and stuff?
 
Z

zewone

Member
Yep. Very disappointed.

So much so I won't buy another Pokemon game again.

The game is too easy and uninteresting. They still aim the game for kids. It feels like "My First RPG".
 
M

MegaManTrigger

Banned
I was very positive about it during the week of release, but as time goes by and the "shiny toy" effect wears off, I can't see this as anything better than passable bordering on overrated.

- The story while better than XY is still lacking in a few areas. People praised the ever living bejeebus out of character interactions and development, but that's mostly shallow. Any kind of development that Lillie experiences is still tied to the MC, so it's not really development.
- Team SKull is
obviously a pawn for much bigger things
, but they could have been more compelling. I keep comparing them to GF's best team to date, Team Plasma and I'm left dissatisfied with how mundane and by-the-numbers Team Skull is.
- The region as a whole was unique though it suffers from a lot of pacing issues mainly because the game loves to intervene with its story instead of allowing the players to explore. In fact, there isn't much exploration to do since the region's design is very handholdy.

The holy triangle for me remains unbeaten: HG - Black/Black 2 - Emerald

brinstar said:
EDIT: Another thing, this isn't really a critique of the game itself, but I hated how the marketing for S/M basically revealed every single thing in the game.
Click to expand...

It's been a trend ever since XY, and something I think GameFreak really ought to stop doing. Part of this might be tied to them thinking that people aren't interested in exploring, but as I've said many times, they need to stop assuming the biggest demographic is kids + mobile users.
 
M

MindCollizion

Member
This has been the first iteration I do not finish. Maybe I've just outgrown the games, but I did find the game lacking exploration despite taking you to various islands.
 
N

NinjaCoachZ

Member
The SOS system is absolutely terrible and the pacing is pretty wack, especially towards the beginning. Overall though I think S/M are fantastic and a third version has the potential to be the all-time best Pokemon game. For the first entry in a new gen I think S/M are the best of the bunch.
 
Z

ZSaberLink

Media Create Maven
NinjaCoachZ said:
The SOS system is absolutely terrible and the pacing is pretty wack, especially towards the beginning. Overall though I think S/M are fantastic and a third version has the potential to be the all-time best Pokemon game. For the first entry in a new gen I think S/M are the best of the bunch.
Click to expand...

Um, but isn't it the 2nd new entry on the 3DS?
 
M

MegaPanda

Member
Yes, I'm pretty disappointed. I'd say I'm 80% done but I don't have much desire to finish it. Z-Crytals are lackluster and I'm turned off from trying to catch new pokemon since I don't want to get trapped in a terrible SOS battle. I actually think I like X/Y better.
 
B

brinstar

Member
ZSaberLink said:
What did you think the marketing revealed that shouldn't have been? Final evolutions of starters and stuff?
Click to expand...

Well the starters leaked so early I guess I was indifferent to that. But pre-release they showed:

Nearly every new Pokemon: Not only was the amount of new Pokemon lower than usual (more than X/Y but not by much) but they showed a high percentage of them. Did we need Vikavolt's entire evolutionary line at once? Or Mudsdale? Or Palossand? I don't think you even discover a Pokemon that wasn't showed before release until Island 2. Then there's the guardians and Ultra Beasts, which don't even show up until endgame, so their appearance in the marketing feels even more bizarre. They even rushed to show off Necrozma the week of release and it's like, why? Which brings me to my next point:

Stuff that doesn't happen until late or postgame: From following the trailers and stuff I thought the UBs and other island guardians would have more of a role during the main quest. Turns out a lot of stuff they showed off wouldn't be til postgame, so it seemed like an odd decision to roll so much of it out. Red and Blue's appearance would've been a cool surprise as well.

Overall as someone who followed the marketing for S/M, it ended up making like 75% of the game feel like stuff I had already seen. It's frustrating to me that we finally have global releases for these games but now they insist on baring it all before release and not leaving much for the players to discover.
 
D

dreamlongdead

Member
Sun and Moon have some pretty big flaws, and you are on point with most of them. Only things I really disagree on are the music and region. The music is great and memorable. Lumiose and Castelia City are abominations. I think exploration is very satisfying during the main game, though the final island feels rushed.

XY made some important contributions to the metagame, but it was rock bottom for me as a single player experience. I never want to touch XY again, while I actually would start over on Sun/Moon because it is that good of an experience.

I can't start over because of time, and I would never override my file after all I've done. Sun and Moon proved that my big disappointment with XY wasn't related to series fatigue at all.

I like reading minority opinions, because it is interesting to see a game from a different perspective, though.
 
X

xochipiltontli

Member
I ended up liking Sun, but the beginning's endless cutscenes/tutorials really made me consider selling it. Calling for help is the most annoying mechanic ever, super training going away kind of sucks, and the Festival Plaza is a horrible substitute for the PSS (the menus are just awful in general in this game). I also wasn't really much of a fan of any of what felt like 10 new Pokemon (a few gen 6 Pokemon grew on me and I ended up liking most of gen 5's offerings, but that wasn't really the case for this one), and the game was extremely linear.

On the other hand, I liked the general feeling of the game, kind of reminded me of the more science-y and organic vibe of first gen instead of the overly dramatic 3000 year old war laser space immortal guy mythos of X/Y. The story isn't great and can be annoying at times, but they at least kind of tried this time around. The visuals are a huge upgrade from last gen, IV training being a thing is a blessing, HMs not being a thing is also fantastic. Effectiveness labels too. In terms of general game feel it felt significantly more modern than any Pokemon game before it.

I wouldn't say S/M are the best games in the series, but they're good.
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
I think the games got one patch since release (might be remembering it wrong) - did they change the rate of pokemon calling or does it still happen way too often?
 
T

True Fire

Member
XY are still worse, but SM were some of the worst Pokemon games. Zero respect for the player's time. It was a chore to finish.
 
K

Kyrios

Member
Enjoyed my way all the way through the story but I have no desire to go back to it after beating it. I have all of the mainline Pokemon games save for Black and White 2, and Sun is my least played Pokemon game and it'll probably stay that way.
 
F

Forkball

Member
I loved Sun/Moon, but I will also contend that overall XY was a better game. I agree with almost all of your points, the exceptions being I liked the Skull grunts and thought the music was fantastic.

I would say Sun/Moon's two biggest flaws are its linearity and the lack of the PSS. Every island is basically just a big loop, and the game actively blocks you from exploring it during the story. Yes, each island does have its own nooks and crannies, but you would completely miss them unless you backtracked because the game railroads you to a point. In XY, when you got to Luminoise City, you so many routes opened up and the city itself was a huge place you could explore freely. Yes, eventually you would hit a roadblock that directed you back to the story, but you were still able to at least get a hint at what might await.

The PSS was one of the most underrated features in XY. Being always online really felt like a pseudo Pokemon MMO. I loved getting random battle and trade requests, not to mention O Powers and how swift it was to trade Pokemon. The Festival Plaza is so cumbersome to use and even something like trading with friends is a ridiculous hassle.

Sun/Moon does have some advantages over XY for sure. Some of the QoL changes are incredible (IV box checking and the move effectiveness information). Poke Pelago is also great for EV training if you aren't in the mood for grinding, and Sun/Moon has a more robust post-game with one of the best areas in the game to explore. Not to mention the story and characters in Sun/Moon were among the best in the series and one of the big reasons I'm excited for Stars is to see what happens to them next.

I think Sun and Moon is a refreshing experience that would appeal more to non-Pokemon fans who are tired with the formula. But if you are looking for a perfection of the formula, XY is better in my eyes.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
I was enjoying the game, but it doesn't give the player any free reign to do much of anything. The ways places you aren't supposed to go are blocked off are much less natural than early Pokemon games. They gradually got bigger as you were able to use a new item or HM to clear new routes. Sun and Moon is just "I gotta take care of this Tauros," "We're not going there yet!" or those barricades that make no logical sense whatsoever within the game world. Makes the world feel more lazily put together.

And so many cutscenes. So much dialogue. So many Pokemon constantly calling for help when you don't want it.
 
B

Bowlie

Banned
I loved SM for all the QoL additions it brought to the series, but to me is the least replayable game of them all. Those first few hours are so slow and linear that I don't think I'll want to do that again.

Also, I think there was only one non-starter Fire Pokémon; type distribution was strange.
 
A

AlexFlame116

Member
Man some of you people are bonkers. I loved this game. Possibly my second favorite of all the games next to Gold and Silver (HeartGold and SoulSilver). The story was different, the characters were awesome, and the music was incredible. Plus Lillie, she's amazing. I already beat Moon and just started on Sun.

I do agree that the SOS mechanic was kinda dumb at times. Stop calling for help Wishiwashi!!!

But I understand that you guys have your own opinion.
 
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