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Fredrik · Jul 31, 2011

In an attempt to get myself updated on the DS (bought a 3DS this summer, my first DS ever) I have gone through metacritic buying just about anything with high scores, even though some of the games honestly looked like crap to me.

One of those games were Pokemon.

I say Pokemon, without specific title because I have done my best to totally ignore anything Pokemon since it's first iteration. Simply because I thought it was for kids. That's what it looked like, people talked about it like that, and kids seems to like Pokemon, so. And I never even bothered reading a review. I mean it was for kids, right? Why would I care?

So believe me when I say that I was a bit sceptical booting up Pokemon SoulSilver, my first Pokemon ever, yesterday.

5 hours later, batteries completely run out, I'm sitting there grinning from ear to ear like a kid on Christmas Eve...

What the...?
This is actually good?!
I mean... What?! I can't believe this! It's frickin awesome! I love it!
And I've missed out on it for like what, 10 years?! Just because I thought it was just for kids!

And about kids, can kids even play a game like this?! I mean judging by my first 5 hours this isn't exactly simple... it's pretty much a very stats driven turn-based RPG. Why is it so heavily marketed to kids? And why is it marketed in a way that adults might not even try it out for a minute in 10 years??

Edit: Not only is it fun and deep (from the look of it after playing 5 hours at least), it looks great too! Reminds me of Zelda ALTTP.

Salsa · Jul 31, 2011

eh, its alright

welcome, say goodbye to your life

added_time · Jul 31, 2011

the series doesn't change much but every game is pure magic.

-Pyromaniac- · Jul 31, 2011

This topic is extremely weird. Pokemon is definitely amazing though.

Boney · Jul 31, 2011

You went for soulsilver first?

odd choice, but great nonetheless.

oh and you'realreadydead.jpg

Piercedveil · Jul 31, 2011

Pokemon is amazing. 80 hours played on my White version so far.

the madman · Jul 31, 2011

Well, as someone who has felt lukewarm about every Pokemon game since Crystal, and still has bought every gen. except Black/White, I don't feel the same way.

Play a few iterations and you'll notice that they become very much of the same thing over and over again. Literally every version since Crystal, I have gotten through exactly four gym bosses before I realize, "Wait, I've done this before. I'm bored." And never play again.

(Hence, I refrained from purchasing Black or White).

Forkball · Jul 31, 2011

Pokemon is simple and charming enough for kids, but it has a lot of appeal for hardcore RPG/adventure fans as well. There is a ton of content in each game and very few RPGs reward exploration as well as Pokemon. Not to mention, every entry in the franchise is worth playing and range from masterpieces (Gen II, Gen IV) to at worst still pretty damn good (Gen III).

flintstryker · Jul 31, 2011

Honestly the only gen of Pokemon that i didn't like too much was Diamond/Pearl when i played those I thought I was finally getting tired of the series, that of course changed when I played Black which is frigging awesome.

MasterShotgun · Jul 31, 2011

The key to its success is that it's very simple on the surface. It's very accessible for anyone who wants to play. You don't really have to pay attention to stats in order to beat the campaign. Stats mainly come into play if you want to develop the best team possible and battle other people.

Plus having cute mascots never hurts.

Gilgamesh · Jul 31, 2011

I got back into Pokemon with White after not playing the series since Silver. Great games.

_Alkaline_ · Jul 31, 2011

Thread is kinda sad actually. You just know this "I won't play it because it's just for kids" mindset is held by so many others out there.

And yes, Pokemon is awesome. You'll probably find though that your first Pokemon is your favourite. Not because it's your first, but because you bought Silver which is factually the best Pokemon game

except for Black/White which I haven't played yet but apparently are pretty good

.

sixteen-bit · Jul 31, 2011

I'm playing Pokemon Yellow right now.

It feels like a fan romhack to make Red/Blue more like the anime show.

Not sure I like it.

Boney · Jul 31, 2011

I missed the entire GBA generation, both gen 3 and the remakes. Got back in with Diamond and loved it, and then grabbed Platinum, loved it more, SS and I got bored with it and loved White, but I still gotta chug along the post game content.

Tunavi · Jul 31, 2011

OP should say Late to the childhood

CoffeeJanitor · Jul 31, 2011

Because the marketing has made it an absolute juggernaut on the market.

But yeah, Pokemon is fantastic. you picked a great starter title in SS. You would be surprised at how deep the gameplay mechanics actually are.

ciD_Vain · Jul 31, 2011

I'm glad to see you've manned up enough to try out Pokémon. Please tell me you haven't brushed off games like Super Mario Galaxy as well because Mario is teh kiddie

ThatObviousUser · Jul 31, 2011

OK, now look up effort values.

But seriously I almost sort of feel a sense of pride playing Pokemon in public. Dudebros don't know what they're missing.

Duxxy3 · Jul 31, 2011

The only pokemon game i ever finished was the TCG game

Karl2177 · Jul 31, 2011

Last one I played was Silver. Been meaning to pick up SoulSilver to maybe bring in some nostalgia trips.

Red · Jul 31, 2011

I've sunk over 500 hours of my life into Pokemon. Most played is Silver, with 200+ hours alone.

BuggyDClown · Jul 31, 2011

Can't wait until Pokemon 3DS is made so I have an excuse to buy a #DS. Also just got the pokemon mangos, pretty sweet.

Valnen · Jul 31, 2011

Andrex said:
OK, now look up effort values.

Exactly what I was thinking. This game can actually get pretty deep when you really start min/maxing. It's possibly the only RPG with a truly fun competitive battle system IMO. I really wish Nintendo would make a console version with full online, or even an MMO, but that'll never happen.

Nix · Jul 31, 2011

How the hell does a person go their whole life without playing Pokemon!? Ever!? Boggles the mind.

Glad you started with Superior Silver OP. Don't bother getting red or blue and go straight onto the next iterations. If you want to make up for lost time, I'd say get one from each generation. Saphire, Diamond, the works man. Although, I find training a team in each one is exhausting because of the amount of emotional worth I put into each one. Same with RPG's.

ThatObviousUser · Jul 31, 2011

Crunched said:
I've sunk over 500 hours of my life into Pokemon. Most played is Silver, with 200+ hours alone.

Just on the DS games it seems I've spent 834 hours on Pokemon...

Metroid Killer · Jul 31, 2011

Crunched said:
I've sunk over 500 hours of my life into Pokemon. Most played is Silver, with 200+ hours alone.

I played HeartGold for 700+ hours last year (edit: wait, make that last year again)...

I'm in the camp that overdoses on a pokemon game and has to wait a decade before the pkmn hunger strikes again (thus only played Red and HeartGold + a few spinoffs).

ThatObviousUser · Jul 31, 2011

Metroid Killer said:
I played HeartGold for 700+ hours last year...

I'm in the camp that overdoses on a pokemon game and has to wait a decade before the pkmn hunger strikes again (thus only played Red and HeartGold + a few spinoffs).

You're like the only one who has completed the Pokeathlon. I got pretty close, but I had to end my dreams of completing it when I transferred everything over to White...

Metroid Killer · Jul 31, 2011

Andrex said:
You're like the only one who has completed the Pokeathlon. I got pretty close, but I had to end my dreams of completing it when I transferred everything over to White...

heh yeah got everything in there. For a bunch of simple mini-games I actually enjoyed them a lot, could even stand toe to toe againt Pokemon Stadium's mini-games.

Tenck · Jul 31, 2011

Pokemon is such an awesome series. Don't ever think that just because a game looks like it's for kids means it will be bad.

Also, wait until you get into the competitive scene of Pokemon. It's by far one of the most complicated things yet the most rewarding thing when done correctly. Also go to the WiFi tower (or whatever it's called) in Superior Silver and go to the floor that lets you download replays of battles. I had so much fun doing just that.

TacticalFox88 · Jul 31, 2011

Gen V takes a nosedive in terms of their designs, where Gen 1 still remains king

ThatObviousUser · Jul 31, 2011

TacticalFox88 said:
Gen V takes a nosedive in terms of their designs, where Gen 1 still remains king

I liked most of Gen 5's designs. Gen 4 is still king IMO though.

vicissitudes · Jul 31, 2011

There's a reason they call it Superior Silver

I like Gold better though, suck it haters

Zzoram · Jul 31, 2011

Pokemon is always a great JRPG. The formula does get a bit repetitive if you play them all, but if you only play Pokemon once every ~4 years it's always super fun.

For most kids, Pokemon is probably their first RPG and what gets them into the genre.

Tenck · Jul 31, 2011

Zzoram said:
Pokemon is always great. The formula does get a bit repetitive if you play them all, but if you only play Pokemon once every ~4 years it's always super fun.

I play them every year and I'm always having fun =/

fernoca · Jul 31, 2011

Well, that's what you get for ignoring something becuase you thought it was childish.

Same way around that time, people loved jumping around screaming that "Nintendo games are for kiddies".

Zzoram · Jul 31, 2011

Tenck said:
I play them every year and I'm always having fun =/

I don't doubt that. I just personally choose not to play it to often because it preserves the magic.

billy beane · Jul 31, 2011

I find Pokemon the best when you take a long break between them; keeps the series fresh for me.

ThatObviousUser · Jul 31, 2011

fernoca said:
Well, that's what you get for ignoring something becuase you thought it was childish.
Same way around that time, people loved jumping around screaming that "Nintendo games are for kiddies".

Nah, Pokemon far predated that meme. If we're going by the GameCube era at least.

KenOD · Jul 31, 2011

Fredrik said:
I say Pokemon, without specific title because I have done my best to totally ignore anything Pokemon since it's first iteration. Simply because I thought it was for kids. That's what it looked like, people talked about it like that, and kids seems to like Pokemon, so. And I never even bothered reading a review. I mean it was for kids, right? Why would I care?

Once one gets over that foolish mindset of "it's for kids, I'm not a kid, I don't want it", there is a huge amount of enjoyable media out there to enjoy. So many great games targeted toward kids, but enjoyable to those older.

And about kids, can kids even play a game like this?! I mean judging by my first 5 hours this isn't exactly simple... it's pretty much a very stats driven turn-based RPG. Why is it so heavily marketed to kids? And why is it marketed in a way that adults might not even try it out for a minute in 10 years??

Kids are smarter then most people think, they absorb knowledge like sponges. As long as things are easy for them to get into and understand the idea of (battle, get stronger, higher numbers good, catch them all) it can be incredibly complex and still be playable for them. Pokemon is a wonderful example of this and I do applaud them for making such a rich game with so many technical aspects anyone can play. Well, most everyone. Hell if I'm ever going to be able to get into the series due to all those hidden stats, 700+ creatures, emotions and time of day required evolutions, etc. that provide too daunting a task for me to start on.

ThatObviousUser · Jul 31, 2011

KenOD said:
700+ creatures

There's "only" 649 Pokemon, as of Black and White.

Not counting different forms...

Mengetsu · Jul 31, 2011

Iv must have crushed well over 1000+hours in the last 10 years iv played the series...It's good stuff for sure.

Piercedveil · Jul 31, 2011

This thread makes me want to go play.

Tenck · Jul 31, 2011

Duxxy3 said:
The only pokemon game i ever finished was the TCG game

Missed this post.

Glad you finished that game. It's one of my favorite Pokemon games (even though it's just about cards)

dc89 · Jul 31, 2011

Ahh Pokemon. PokeGAF is cool. My favourite thread has to be the Pokemon Art Thread.

Fredrik · Jul 31, 2011

Nix said:
How the hell does a person go their whole life without playing Pokemon!? Ever!?

I don't know!!

It's not that I'm a "dudebro" gamer or anything, I love Nintendos games, I hate first person shooters, I simply just thought Pokemon was strictly for kids. I'm 35 though so I was already an adult when Pokemon came along, maybe that's why I missed it, it never really seemed to be for me. The first time I noticed Pokemon was when I saw a TV serie, that was definitely marketed at kids, which didn't help much. It's weird that I haven't even bothered reading reviews though, from the look of it at metacritic, they always get high review scores.

Nix said:
Glad you started with Superior Silver OP. Don't bother getting red or blue and go straight onto the next iterations.

That's good to hear, I just picked one, don't know what sets them apart really. And I have Pokemon White waiting for me too.

Haven't booted that one up yet though, I thought I should play them in the order of their release.

(Off Topic - I have plenty of other "old" DS games waiting for me too, all bought after metacritics "recommendation", Dragon Quest IV and IX among others, another game serie that I have never touched before. It certainly seems like I have missed out on quite a lot. I got Professor Layton and the Lost Future too, my first Layton game. Yes, I really liked that one too. Sigh, getting a DS this late is going to be expensive... )

Marda · Jul 31, 2011

Good times playing Pokemon on my brick Game Boy. My mother actually stopped letting me play Pokemon because a kid in 3rd grade put a knife to my neck over Pokemon Silver, he was expelled and my mom was floored... Instead of blaming the kid she blamed the game, sadly. I stopped playing after Platinum, contemplated picking up SS but gave my DS to my brother when his broke; I think I'll get a 3DS after the price drops but I'm not sure if I want to get SS/HG or B/W first?
---

Glad you gave it a chance TC, the less prejudice against Pokemon the better

Don't go back to the older games unless you're really into retro or you just want try 1st gen stuff (pokemon).

Red · Jul 31, 2011

Fredrik said:
I don't know!!
It's not that I'm a "dudebro" gamer or anything, I love Nintendos games, I hate first person shooters, I simply just thought Pokemon was strictly for kids. I'm 35 though so I was already an adult when Pokemon came along, maybe that's why I missed it, it never really seemed to be for me. The first time I noticed Pokemon was when I saw a TV serie, that was definitely marketed at kids, which didn't help much. It's weird that I haven't even bothered reading reviews though, from the look of it at metacritic, they always get high review scores.

The show was awful. The games are much better, in every way.

ThatObviousUser · Jul 31, 2011

White is going to blow your mind~

Fredrik · Jul 31, 2011

Tenck said:
Pokemon is such an awesome series. Don't ever think that just because a game looks like it's for kids means it will be bad.

Also, wait until you get into the competitive scene of Pokemon. It's by far one of the most complicated things yet the most rewarding thing when done correctly. Also go to the WiFi tower (or whatever it's called) in Superior Silver and go to the floor that lets you download replays of battles. I had so much fun doing just that.

I would but I can't get the WiFi to work. It seems to have it's own Wireless settings within th game, it's not using the 3DS ones that works perfectly fine. You can only have WEP decryption but I have WPA2. Very annoying.

Tenck · Jul 31, 2011

Fredrik said:
I would but I can't get the WiFi to work. It seems to have it's own Wireless settings within th game, it's not using the 3DS ones that works perfectly fine. You can only have WEP decryption but I have WPA2. Very annoying.

Aw man that really sucks then. Well you could try Youtube. I'm sure I've seen some with commentary. Those are great because they show you exactly what a competitive player thinks and does when battling.

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