Aw shit- Here we go again. Time for me to rebut and deconstruct another well-intentioned, but misguided take. In light of recent updates for Scarlet and Violet; an article on Nintendo Life was posted suggesting that Pokémon needed a rival to show them up. It is because of that article that I am now writing my own instead of having this done in their comments section. I will be referring to the author with the alias Miguel O'Hara to protect their identity. Let's just say there's little chance of "stealing some of Pikachu's pie" when others would only have crumbs and a sheen of filling to go after. Here's why Pokémon rivals rarely last, and why alternatives would be more realistic goals.
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| Dramatization of a would-be "rival" trying to go after Pokémon. |
In addition to the usual including quotes when relevant, I would like to establish that I do believe there's room for more than one successful title in a given genre. There's room for Mario and Sonic. There's room for Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. There's room for Zelda and Horizon. At the same time, I will also establish that there's only so much room in a given landscape. The market was already quite saturated with content when the series first came out; today it's even more so. This isn't even that much of a hot take for an opinion; but whenever I do decide to do this, I always comeback at people like Miguel with logic and objective fact.
That will be readily apparent in this piece, so let's begin.
Quote: "When Pokémon Sword and Shield brought Pikachu and friends to a home console for the first time in all-new mainline Pokémon game, I remember many – myself included – excused the game’s faults. I attributed the exclusion of hundreds of Pokémon, some textures and animations straight out of the GameCube era, and an absurd, unfinished narrative to Game Freak’s lack of experience designing a fully 3D, semi-open world. Surely, I thought, one of the most renowned gaming series in history would get it right next time. And to some extent they did with Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I still consider it the best Pokémon game since Black 2 and White 2."
All right, Miguel- I'm going to overlook the fact that you started one of your sentences with "and" (putting my degree to good use a year later) along with the hackneyed arguments that got old before any of the games you mentioned even launched. Maybe it's just my stance as a retro gamer, but flashier tech rarely; if ever automatically equals a better game. Let's just say that there's plenty of reasons why Tears of the Kingdom was the game I was hoping Forspoken would be. I'm also among those who is appreciating the Gamecube more and more over time; so I will merely reaffirm my dislike for the word "excuse" and
raise you a Jaguar CD and an N-Gage.
I will state that Legends Arceus is my favorite game of 2022 (followed closely by The Artful Escape), and I can see its impact even as one of the most ardent defenders of Generation VIII (I stand by having them as my favorite game of 2019). Many of its elements can also be seen Paldea-
which will make a good segue into my next reply.
Quote: "However, ambitious as it was, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is, by most metrics, an inferior game to Sword and Shield. Technical problems the team has apologized for and issued patches for still persist six months after release. The DLC will come suspiciously late in the year, and we’ve seen nothing outside of a few key art images. Pokémon HOME integration was announced, and then unannounced, then announced again. Whole tournament results got wiped out by glitches."
Even as someone who was unable to enter the recent Ultra Cup tournament and was amused by the situation around v3.0 of Home; I will once again play the role of Darkrai's advocate. I only docked a single point off the launch build of SV compared to the other main Switch titles; which still makes it an easy 4 out of 5. I also cannot claim to speak for anyone else; but I experienced relatively few issues at launch and next to no persistent problems as of v1.4. I would also like to point out that the lack of a concrete release date is not an issue unique to the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero; nor the lack of details.
Everyone 1-2 Switch just got stealth dropped this month, after all.
For all the comparison to the devs pulling a Cape Fear, only rake I see so far is Miguel. I'm also not buying the "undercooked" narrative in a landscape where the Gollum game can get released in a far less stable condition (note: I never knew what to expect from that game, but no one expected it to be that bad). It's what comes next that really inspired me to write this.
Quote: "Game Freak and The Pokémon Company needs a rival to keep them honest. A Blue to their Red. A Gary Oak to their Ash Ketchum. Someone to push them to do better, to innovate rather than regress, a game that makes people say, “Why play Pokémon when I can play 'Other Creature-Collecting & Battling Adventure' instead?” After all, Pokémon's custodians have no incentive to make a technically watertight game when they continue to break sales records regardless. Unfortunately, Pokémon’s one-time rival Digimon is a shadow of its former self. Smaller titles, like the recent Cassette Beasts or the superb MMO Temtem (both of which I reviewed and enjoyed) add refreshing ideas and innovations to the genre, but these games challenging Pokémon is akin to a level 22 Charmeleon going up against a level 80 Mewtwo."
Nice idea, but it's not really that simple at all. I can argue against multiple points made here alone. The sales status they have alone would enable them to make the updates as watertight as Flex Seal. I have no formal opinion on Cassette Beasts; but if someone in the indie sphere wants to make something just because they can; I won't stop them. I never considered Digimon a rival, I tended to file it somewhere in between a companion piece and worthy opponent. As for Temtem, I didn't consider it a threat. Instead of making hour-long clickbait videos like some unnamed parties, I predicted (correctly) that it would get lost in the shuffle between Splatoon 3 and
TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection.
Quote: "Such a game would have to have a massive publisher behind it with an established fanbase. If Epic’s Fortnite threw 150 critters to find and capture as you built/danced/shot around the island as Spider-Man, for example, Pokémon’s Chief Operating Officer Utsunomiya might get a little sweat on one of his stylish outfits. Pearl Abyss’ DokeV – remember that fever dream of a trailer? – might surprise us all whenever it eventually releases. Atlus’ Persona 5 Royal targets a completely different, and much more mature, market."
OK, maybe it's because of how much I've been listening to Jimquistion in between writing; maybe it's because of my own writings I'm working on, but I highly doubt that would be the case as Miguel believes. The battle royale market is so stuffed that I don't see a mons-based one happening, nor do I trust Epic in being able to deliver it. I also wouldn't be so quick do discount Persona (or the main Shin Megami Tensei games) when they're proof a mature-targeted title can work. As for DokeV- what I found out about Pearl Abyss did not inspire confidence. On top of the company doing some pretty shady stuff with Black Desert Online; the proposed blockchain elements of their new game singlehandedly killed any potential interest I might have had in the title. This won't be the only instance it comes up here either.
Before I continue, it's highly doubtful that what Miguel is proposing would get any perspiration or any reaction at all from Takao. The Pokémon Company has a history of rarely, if ever acknowledging other titles in the space; which is something not seen from many in the industry. Even if fans often do otherwise, it's the same reason why Coke typically doesn't clap back at Pepsi; or why McDonald's typically doesn't respond to salty takes from BK, KFC or Wendy's.
Quote: "I’d go so far as to say that Capcom's own monster-battling game, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, is superior to every Pokémon game on the Switch. However, as of right now, there’s still no word on a third entry. Maybe a Monster Hunter Stories 3 will shake things up on a future Nintendo console."
Hard disagree- not only was the first Stories a massive flop (selling less than a million copies worldwide and only turning a profit via mobile ports); but the sequel is nowhere near the level of quality Miguel is suggesting. Though I was hoping Capcom would delay the game like they did with Monster Hunter Rise (which is the MH game I would recommend instead), my experience with the demo of Stories 2 was far buggier and more broken than BDSP or Generation IX. The framerate was noticeably worse than titles I played in the PS1/N64/Saturn era; and the gameplay was far too simple for my taste. The only thing I really enjoyed was making my hunter look like Pit from Kid Icarus with the character customization. The moment I found out the day-one and day-zero updates were larger than the base game; I decided against playing it at launch in favor of the Skyward Sword remaster instead. Whatever is planned for the proposed successor to the Switch; I'd honestly rather have a port of Monster Hunter World instead
(I'd even take a cloud version on the existing system).
Quote: "That leaves us with the surprise announcement from this past weekend: Square Enix is making new Dragon Quest Monsters. It has the potential to be the perfect Pokémon rival – the game that makes everyone say, “Wow, I wish Pokémon did this.” Not much younger than Pokémon itself, DQM has a similar storied history to build upon and, importantly, a massive company to support it. Both games also have you collecting hundreds of monsters while batting in gyms/arenas. Breeding, adventuring, great tunes – all the hallmarks of the genre are there. While both Dragon Quest Monsters and the main series haven’t traditionally sold well outside of Japan, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age changed that; both critically and commercially, it surpassed its predecessors around the world. Sure, the last few Monsters games haven't left Japan, but if Square Enix can bring the quality of Dragon Quest XI to the monster-rearing series, it could make fans, critics, and most importantly The Pokémon Company take notice."
This mindset left me baffled. Miguel seems to omit the reason why the last few Monsters titles weren't exported was because they weren't that well-received and didn't sell well in Japan either. Plus, I never particularly cared for DQ; even less for DQM. Someone let me try their copy during a long bus ride to school- it didn't even last 15 minutes before I gave it back to them.
Moreover, you're really expecting consistent quality from Square-Enix right now? The people who won't admit NFTs are a bad idea even after the collapse of FTX and the market cratering for cryptocurrencies? The company who, even with the quality of recent Final Fantasy and DQ titles; lost millions on Marvel's Avengers before selling off Crystal Dynamics and tossing the title into Vormir? The ones who got people buzzing about a potential Parasite Eve revival that turned out to be a P2E title nobody wanted? You sincerely have no idea who you're talking about, do you; Miguel? Honestly hope that FFXVI is as good as they're boasting (I have my doubts), but I'm very worried about them going down the same road Konami did in the previous decade. Suffice to say, I don't have the same confidence any of the parties he mentioned will notice anything but dysfunction for the time being.
Quote: "And lest I forget: the legendary Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame is responsible for the monster designs, which range from the iconic Slime to the absolutely amazing Sham Hatwitch. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather raise a Hacksaurus than a Haxorus. All this might read like I want Pokémon to fail. On the contrary, I want one of my favourite gaming series to improve rather than succeed while delivering the bare minimum. Despite my criticisms, I put hundreds of hours into Sword and Shield collecting every single Pokémon. Scarlet and Violet completely lost me after the credits rolled, though."
I too have logged hundreds of hours into Generation VIII; plus I refer you to my previous pet peeve of starting sentences with "and," Miguel. Call me crazy, but I don't think the Slime has the same status of iconic from Square-Enix as Sephiroth; or from Toriyama as Goku. I submit that Haxorus could likely eat Hacksaurus and use its weapon for a toothpick. Sham Hatwitch also sounds like off-brand canned meat, and the design doesn't really do a lot for me. Even though I don't really listen to Ed Sheeran that much; I still think "Celestial" is a good song; and I am currently going for 100% completion of the Pokédex. I was also never under the impression Miguel wanted it to fail. The idea it isn't improving also is one I'm not buying: that isn't how game development or product development work. The impression I do get is one that has elicits the response: "Sir, this is a Wendy's."
Quote: "Pokémon needs to be better. To grow and innovate rather than flounder and stagnate even if it won’t stop selling well. Boycotts and online complaints (like the previous 900-ish words) will have little effect on Game Freak and The Pokémon Company all the time the games break sales records. They will continue delivering games that are the equivalent of a Garbodor dressed up to look like a shiny Celebi. Only a true rival can make a difference. And as of right now, the next Dragon Quest Monsters adventure might be the rival the Pokémon games, and its fans, desperately need."
No, Miguel- I don't need or want DQM; nor do I aim to speak for the fanbase even if you personally want that. Not only do I not believe a rival will have any impact on the series, ones that have been pitched as such rarely last solely on that selling point for any kind of video game franchise or genre. The rhythm game was once a smash success, but marginalized itself only after a few years. Mascot platformers are littered with the also-rans of those who sought to follow in Sonic's tracks. For every MMORPG that became part of the landscape like World of Warcraft, FFXIV and Star Wars: The Old Republic; there are scads of games that are only a memory. The "live-service" business model's days may very well be numbered outside of bigger names such as Destiny 2, in light of the many titles going dark this year alone.
In this specific sphere, Monster Rancher maintains a cult following these days; but I never expected them to be on the same order of magnitude. Baten Kaitos is only just now getting remastered; and I certainly hope that Bandai Namco doesn't mess it up like with the launch of the Tales of Symphonia remaster. Custom Robo has been underground for a while now; with no new titles since Custom Robo Arena on the DS (was very glad to see the early titles on the JP feed of N64 Online). Yo-Kai Watch was being primed as a rival by many; but it never rose to that status. Trust me, there'll be another time for that. So, as someone who sees the current state as a Gholdengo rather than the monsters Miguel mentioned;
here's why a more realistic goal would not be a rival, but an alternative.
By design, setting someone up as a rival would mean anything less would be a disappointment. It's only marginally less a recipe for failure than making something an "X killer." You may have dismissed the idea, but SMT and Persona have grown their audience specifically because it works an older-skewing alternative; and it helps SMT predates many other titles in that space. I would go so far to say it's my favorite alternative. Ni No Kuni has also managed to find its audience, even with the blight of the mobile spinoff that became a breeding ground for cryptobros. Even games that don't have mons as a focus can implement them in interesting ways (the MAGs in Phantasy Star Online are an example I like, I especially enjoy how some breeds become classic Sega consoles). They never set out to try to take down the biggest IP in the world, they just release entertaining games and let people make their own judgment. I think that might be best for what Miguel suggested- not rivals, but alternatives.
Anyway, this wasn't something I was planning on; but I think it's a worthwhile experiment that should help with what I have lined up next. That's all for now, and I will see you all again soon.
