(remake = older pokemon game, basically "copy-pasted" into a newer (then current) generation. Meaning it has updated graphics and all the features/mechanics that were added/changed since. A minor amount of new content is added as well.)
In my view, ORAS was one "remake" too many. HGSS was already close to being unnecessary, and the only real justification was that it was guaranteed to sell a ton, and with a real stretch the fact that there was no Johto in the current compatible generations (since trading forwards got cut-off between gen 2 and 3 for technical reasons).
While one of the main reasons for making FRLG was to reintroduce ~80% of the old Pokemon, neither HGSS or ORAS were necessary to make their "native" Pokémon obtainable, as GF has figured out a plethora of ways to make as many non-regionaldex Pokémon as they want available in whatever game they please (swarms, radar, postgame areas, postgame legendary encounters, spin-offs, global link, etc..), as well as all games since RS being forwards compatible. Which is why we now have Pokemon originating from 2 different Hoenn regions (ones from RSE and ones from ORAS)
The core reason why I say ORAS was the one that crossed the line however, has to do with time.
The first problem with the current concept is the widening gap between original and remake:
FRLG came out 8 years after Red&Green.
HGSS came out 10 years after Gold&Silver.
ORAS came out 11 years after Ruby&Sapphire.
The second part is the fact that FRLG were part of gen III, the generation of RS, meaning that FRLG, the remakes, were just as outdated as RS, and this makes the whole thing absurd, since the story that hasn't been told for the longest time now, is once again the story of Gen I (followed by IV and II).
So, just continuing on with a pair of bland DP-remakes (updated copy-paste, with a rushed Platinum episode tacked onto it and an ad for a never returning Battle Frontier) ignoring this issue, would be way too lazy and uninspired (and also less profitable than any remake so far).
I don't know what Gamefreak has in plan regarding this (well okay, I do, they re-released GenI on VC so they could milk that nostalgia once more, but this time without even having to make a new game and also having the "can't experience genI"-part covered.), but here's what I'd do to adress this. I'd ditch this kind of remake concept altogether, and instead start releasing either "spiritual remakes" or actual "sequels" in their stead, meaning new entries in the series that simply happen to play in the same region/s. Either changing some of the story to make it more modern or interesting/fresh, or have a completely new story instead, with tons of nostalgic references to the original.
With VC extending GenIs "life", as well as them having the same option for GenII, by simply releasing GSC on VC in a while, they got the first 3 gens covered for a few years, brining us to Sinnoh as the next in line for a return in some form. So why not start the "change" there, and not release Omicron Pearl and Tau Diamond (or whatever the adjectives would be), but make 2 NEW games taking place in Sinnoh instead? Heck, with how small the 6th generation was in terms of new Pokemon, they could throw some new ones in such a game as well (rather than just some Mega evolutions) and call it its separate generation while being more like a second half to generation IV that we only just now find out about. It'd be similar to how BW2 expanded BW1 (especially if 50 or so of the 153 GenV Pokémon were kept away before and introduced only with BW2), but taken even further, taking place more than a decade after DPt story-wise, with any returning characters having aged, and some of them returning in important roles, including the old protagonist etc.
Note: I'm not saying I didn't like the remakes we've had so far, or that I wouldn't get excited if we get new ones announced some day. I'd still get and enjoy DP-remakes even if they didn't do anything radical with the remake formula, especially in the case of DPt, as Sinnoh is pretty much my favourite region. But that's also why I wish even more that they'd get a more interesting treatment than the previous 2 sets did.
So basically, the thread is about discussing the current remake concept (as defined above for example) and whether we would still want/like more of them, have something similar but different take their place in future instead, or whether they should just focus on making new games without these nostalia-cash-in distractions every generation.
If you would like to see gamefreak change how they handle these kind of entries, how or what would you want them to do differently?
And since GenIV would be the next in line, it makes sense to focus on that in examples..in other words:
How should DP(t)-remakes be handled differently from the previous remakes, if at all?
In my view, ORAS was one "remake" too many. HGSS was already close to being unnecessary, and the only real justification was that it was guaranteed to sell a ton, and with a real stretch the fact that there was no Johto in the current compatible generations (since trading forwards got cut-off between gen 2 and 3 for technical reasons).
While one of the main reasons for making FRLG was to reintroduce ~80% of the old Pokemon, neither HGSS or ORAS were necessary to make their "native" Pokémon obtainable, as GF has figured out a plethora of ways to make as many non-regionaldex Pokémon as they want available in whatever game they please (swarms, radar, postgame areas, postgame legendary encounters, spin-offs, global link, etc..), as well as all games since RS being forwards compatible. Which is why we now have Pokemon originating from 2 different Hoenn regions (ones from RSE and ones from ORAS)
The core reason why I say ORAS was the one that crossed the line however, has to do with time.
The first problem with the current concept is the widening gap between original and remake:
FRLG came out 8 years after Red&Green.
HGSS came out 10 years after Gold&Silver.
ORAS came out 11 years after Ruby&Sapphire.
The second part is the fact that FRLG were part of gen III, the generation of RS, meaning that FRLG, the remakes, were just as outdated as RS, and this makes the whole thing absurd, since the story that hasn't been told for the longest time now, is once again the story of Gen I (followed by IV and II).
So, just continuing on with a pair of bland DP-remakes (updated copy-paste, with a rushed Platinum episode tacked onto it and an ad for a never returning Battle Frontier) ignoring this issue, would be way too lazy and uninspired (and also less profitable than any remake so far).
I don't know what Gamefreak has in plan regarding this (well okay, I do, they re-released GenI on VC so they could milk that nostalgia once more, but this time without even having to make a new game and also having the "can't experience genI"-part covered.), but here's what I'd do to adress this. I'd ditch this kind of remake concept altogether, and instead start releasing either "spiritual remakes" or actual "sequels" in their stead, meaning new entries in the series that simply happen to play in the same region/s. Either changing some of the story to make it more modern or interesting/fresh, or have a completely new story instead, with tons of nostalgic references to the original.
With VC extending GenIs "life", as well as them having the same option for GenII, by simply releasing GSC on VC in a while, they got the first 3 gens covered for a few years, brining us to Sinnoh as the next in line for a return in some form. So why not start the "change" there, and not release Omicron Pearl and Tau Diamond (or whatever the adjectives would be), but make 2 NEW games taking place in Sinnoh instead? Heck, with how small the 6th generation was in terms of new Pokemon, they could throw some new ones in such a game as well (rather than just some Mega evolutions) and call it its separate generation while being more like a second half to generation IV that we only just now find out about. It'd be similar to how BW2 expanded BW1 (especially if 50 or so of the 153 GenV Pokémon were kept away before and introduced only with BW2), but taken even further, taking place more than a decade after DPt story-wise, with any returning characters having aged, and some of them returning in important roles, including the old protagonist etc.
Note: I'm not saying I didn't like the remakes we've had so far, or that I wouldn't get excited if we get new ones announced some day. I'd still get and enjoy DP-remakes even if they didn't do anything radical with the remake formula, especially in the case of DPt, as Sinnoh is pretty much my favourite region. But that's also why I wish even more that they'd get a more interesting treatment than the previous 2 sets did.
So basically, the thread is about discussing the current remake concept (as defined above for example) and whether we would still want/like more of them, have something similar but different take their place in future instead, or whether they should just focus on making new games without these nostalia-cash-in distractions every generation.
If you would like to see gamefreak change how they handle these kind of entries, how or what would you want them to do differently?
And since GenIV would be the next in line, it makes sense to focus on that in examples..in other words:
How should DP(t)-remakes be handled differently from the previous remakes, if at all?
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