Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
Famitsu recently interviewed director Shigeru Ohmori, taking over the reins of director once more after Masuda passed that torch to him with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, as well as Junichi Masuda himself who is serving as the producer. Nintendo Everything translated the interview (they're still allowed here, right? Only source I've found who has translated the interview) and there's some interesting bits.
Full article below, but I quoted some of the most important bits in terms of reflecting the changes we've seen, and can expect, with Sun and Moon.
Nintendo Everything
My thoughts...
So far Sun and Moon has pretty much done nothing wrong in my eyes, the only worry being that it looks like it might be a tad on the easy side once more (but perhaps that may be a good thing for those coming in from GO?) and I wish some of the older Pokemon models were spruced up a bit since we still seem to have the constantly flying Pokemon, but otherwise it looks like a very solid experience. So far they've brought back and seemingly expanded major features from Gen VI such as Riding Pokemon, Character Customization, and Pokemon-Amie (and hopefully we'll also see them do more with Flying Battles and Inverse Battles), the graphics have seen a decent improvement in terms of creating a nicer world to explore and judging by the map there's a lot of diversity in the areas we'll be traveling to, and though some may disagree I've found the majority of New Pokemon pretty interesting---at the very least we've seen a lot of unique Abilities possessed by the New Pokemon to make them feel fresh.
That being said, if you think about it we're still in the dark about a lot of Sun and Moon. Past Generations introduced a major city to show off in the pre-release cycle, BW having Castelia and XY having Lumiose, yet with Sun and Moon we've yet to see much of any city though some fans may see this as a positive due to how those big cities often ended up being quite clunky. We've also more importantly haven't seen anything about Gym Leaders, with rumors about Gyms being axed in favor of "Island Trials" (mentioned during a Treehouse Quiz at E3) which seem to involve taking on the Tapu Pokemon like Tapu Koko perhaps. And we still don't really know what's up with those bracelets. In fact the whole news cycle this time around has been a bit too much focused on showing off New Pokemon, now I love New Pokemon, that's the best part for me always and I'm thrilled it looks like we could see more this time around than Kalos' smaller amount, but I would like to know a bit more about what this game will bring to the table in terms of changing the flow of the adventure. The Rotom Dex seems like we might be getting some sort of Yokai Watch-style quests (which is something I've wanted the mainline games to do since Pokemon Ranger did it), and really let's be honest Pokemon can indeed benefit from borrowing some ideas from Yokai Watch without losing its identity, so we'll see.
I really hope they address the situation with Mega Pokemon soon to. Like I'm mixed because I don't necessarily love Megas, but I don't quite hate them either and think the biggest problem with them were how awkward they were utilized in Generation VI where you barely encountered any in the single player when they would've made pretty cool and challenging boss encounters especially in the post-game. I also think I'd be a tad disappointed if they just left the current Mega Pokemon in and abandoned the idea, which would leave things rather unbalanced when so many of the "classic" ones (which I'd now say is Gen I-III since they all have remakes) have them compared to like, eight from Gen IV and up?
Full article below, but I quoted some of the most important bits in terms of reflecting the changes we've seen, and can expect, with Sun and Moon.
On Ohmori directing a New Generation said:When Ohmori became a director for the first time with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, he felt it was both hectic and interesting at the same time, because he could make a game as he wished. When there were talks of him becoming a director for Sun and Moon, he wondered if he could really do it, because when it comes to a brand new game, there are many things that must be considered, including the world setting and the new Pokemon. He has worked hard and believes that Sun and Moon will be very interesting.
On Sun and Moon's new engine said:It may be hard to notice from the gameplay footage, but they used a new visual engine for this game, totally different from what was used in X and Y, which allowed them to represent things more leisurely as well as showing trainers all the time during battles.
On choosing Hawaii said:When asked why the new region is based on Hawaii, Masuda said that the Pokemon World Championships have been held several times there, and he thought that its a very energetic land. It has seas, volcanoes and waterfalls, and also has a lot of rainfall compared to most of America.
When discussing with dev staff about choosing a region, there was an opinion to properly cherish the energy of life from humans and Pokemon. Then Hawaii was suggested as a motif for a region that can reconsider the living creatures that appear in Pokemon series, and that suggestion was accepted.
Regarding the simplicity of the New Pokemon said:They want players to understand a Pokemon by observing their movements in game footage. For example, (the grass starter) Rowlet may have a simple design in its still images, but it can do things like tilting its neck, or its body thinning down when fainting. Even though there are not too many design lines, they think they could generate interest and charm as a living creature with such movements.
The Battle Royal said:For example, theres a really strong trainer that cant be beaten in ordinary battles. But with the rules of Battle Royal, even the strongest trainer doesnt always win. Even with weak Pokemon, a trainer could still win with a proper strategy. Things like deciding which Pokemon to attack, or trying to read other players strategies by looking at their faces will be fun.
The rules of Battle Royal make it hard to gang up on someone. The battle ends when all three Pokemon owned by a trainer faint. So when a player wants to win, they will have to prepare some tactics. If someone becomes too dominant at the start, they will end up becoming everyone elses targets, so it may be wise to appear like youre only the second strongest. The dev team thinks this could produce a very strategic gameplay.
On QR Codes said:Another new feature introduced is the usage of QR codes. They have been used before in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for Secret Bases, but they want children to have more links with the real world. When they thought they couldnt play Pokemon outside, they discover scannable QR codes all around the world, which becomes a new way to play.
By scanning all kinds of QR codes, they can check out information on Pokemon, and some types of QRs will even register Pokemon locations. However, the excitement of catching said Pokemon will still have to be done in the game.
QR code integration was also done in the Pokemon Ga-Ole arcade (Japan) which started operating on July 7, but it will be the first time a mainline Pokemon game on handhelds will have direct linkage with a Pokemon arcade game.
Regarding Pokemon GO said:They are also considering linkage with the smartphone app Pokemon GO which came out earlier this month. However, Masuda said that Pokemon GO is a game about catching Pokemon by walking all around the world. And even with the same Pokemon species, they have different appearance methods and catch rates in Sun/Moon. If they are to link the two games, they have to do it in a way that doesnt break the balance of either game and even end up making both games boring. They still need to find an interesting idea that could make both games more interesting.
On Zygarde said:Zygardes 50% Forme was the result of a properly thought design, but Masuda thinks the 10% and Perfect Formes also have interesting looks. Looking from the development side, when they saw the finished looks from the design team, they were surprised by the results.
Zygardes Perfect Forme has very flashy moves, that everyone cannot wait to use them in battles.
Nintendo Everything
My thoughts...
So far Sun and Moon has pretty much done nothing wrong in my eyes, the only worry being that it looks like it might be a tad on the easy side once more (but perhaps that may be a good thing for those coming in from GO?) and I wish some of the older Pokemon models were spruced up a bit since we still seem to have the constantly flying Pokemon, but otherwise it looks like a very solid experience. So far they've brought back and seemingly expanded major features from Gen VI such as Riding Pokemon, Character Customization, and Pokemon-Amie (and hopefully we'll also see them do more with Flying Battles and Inverse Battles), the graphics have seen a decent improvement in terms of creating a nicer world to explore and judging by the map there's a lot of diversity in the areas we'll be traveling to, and though some may disagree I've found the majority of New Pokemon pretty interesting---at the very least we've seen a lot of unique Abilities possessed by the New Pokemon to make them feel fresh.
That being said, if you think about it we're still in the dark about a lot of Sun and Moon. Past Generations introduced a major city to show off in the pre-release cycle, BW having Castelia and XY having Lumiose, yet with Sun and Moon we've yet to see much of any city though some fans may see this as a positive due to how those big cities often ended up being quite clunky. We've also more importantly haven't seen anything about Gym Leaders, with rumors about Gyms being axed in favor of "Island Trials" (mentioned during a Treehouse Quiz at E3) which seem to involve taking on the Tapu Pokemon like Tapu Koko perhaps. And we still don't really know what's up with those bracelets. In fact the whole news cycle this time around has been a bit too much focused on showing off New Pokemon, now I love New Pokemon, that's the best part for me always and I'm thrilled it looks like we could see more this time around than Kalos' smaller amount, but I would like to know a bit more about what this game will bring to the table in terms of changing the flow of the adventure. The Rotom Dex seems like we might be getting some sort of Yokai Watch-style quests (which is something I've wanted the mainline games to do since Pokemon Ranger did it), and really let's be honest Pokemon can indeed benefit from borrowing some ideas from Yokai Watch without losing its identity, so we'll see.
I really hope they address the situation with Mega Pokemon soon to. Like I'm mixed because I don't necessarily love Megas, but I don't quite hate them either and think the biggest problem with them were how awkward they were utilized in Generation VI where you barely encountered any in the single player when they would've made pretty cool and challenging boss encounters especially in the post-game. I also think I'd be a tad disappointed if they just left the current Mega Pokemon in and abandoned the idea, which would leave things rather unbalanced when so many of the "classic" ones (which I'd now say is Gen I-III since they all have remakes) have them compared to like, eight from Gen IV and up?