The Last Poster Wins [v31]

[Neo Emolga]

Yeah, most games back then didn't have karma/reputation things going on and moral choices usually didn't have too many consequences. It was mainly pounce the baddies, beat the bosses, win the game kind of thing.

It wasn't really until Genesis/SNES era that you started to see things like that going on, like "minimize civilian casualties" or single good/evil choices here and there that made the difference between a good ending versus a bad one. But then when Playstation and N64 came along, yeah, then there were plenty of games that had these kinds of systems really put into full swing.

Would be interesting to see a slightly more mature Pokemon game have something like this going on.

[Voltaire Magneton]

A mature Pokemon game sounds nice to me too. Heck, I'm surprised they dropped the die-word in Legends Arceus.

[Chakramaster]

Imagine an even more mature PMD game. They've already pushed the boundaries with some like GTI.

[Noblejanobii]

Yeah it's a shame they couldn't go further with that but GtI got sooooo much backlash at the time (and continues to) that I doubt they ever would even if the more mature tone isn't what drew them criticism.

[Neo Emolga]

GtI just felt like it was missing a lot of things. The personality quiz and the wide arrangement of Pokemon you could be were definitely missing big time and to a lot of PMD fans, that a major loss (PSMD did it right where the quiz result was purely optional). And there was that... ugh... one mission at a time thing that was just frustration-inducing. I almost ALWAYS do my missions in big batches in the same location, so that was a big bust and felt very inefficient.

As a big HOWEVER, the storyline had some decent twists and it had some pretty good music, also. And it had Emolga as a major supporting character with a fantastic personality. So honestly, it wasn't the greatest PMD game, but it wasn't bad and I enjoyed it from start to finish, but yeah, I didn't really go into any of the post-game stuff. I pretty much shelved it after the ending and moved onto the next game.

[Chakramaster]

That was one of the biggest busts to me. The one mission at a time thing. It would tell you over and over "hey, take a break!" While limiting how many missions you can take on at once. You gotta talk to Azumarill to tell her what mission you're going on. Doesn't matter if you have 2 more there. It's only one at a time. The hunger not being there was okay, but felt odd having been used to it.

No personality quiz was a major loss. Of course I didn't loss my Pikachu, but so many others lost theirs and it just didn't make up for it with only Gen 5 stuff. Every character was awesome though. Yes, Emolga is included of course.

The darker story tone with a great soundtrack was enough to pull the attention though. At first I thought it beat out Explorers, but took time to look back and eh. Wasn't the best. After I got the Meloetta jukebox I quit playing. Was the most annoying the to unlock, having one mission at a time. But I did it. It's half the reason I don't wanna reset the game.

[Neo Emolga]

PSMD had an interesting storyline, too, but it took a while to get going and the pacing just felt pretty slow.

With that game, I wasn't too crazy about the looplets and emera thing. The standard item setup was fine in previous games while that looplet thing just felt more gimmicky. But it did a lot other things well, although yeah, I finished that one and didn’t really do any post-game stuff either. I never checked but I'm hoping I didn't miss anything major. PMD2 had a huge chunk of additional storyline content even after finishing the main storyline arc.

[Chakramaster]

Yeah PSMD relied far too heavily on you getting and using the Looplets and Emera you find and create. The Emera only lasting during that dungeon then poof into nothing. If you didn't use it'd you weren't gonna be that strong. You'd be at a disadvantage really. Main thing post game wise was (and honestly shouldn't be a spoiler at this point, but for safety sake). PSMD SPOILER:

Spoiler:

only really thing is getting your partner back.

The pacing was like 9 Chapters of setup and yeah...that's slow xD. Even if you're first stuck in a town because you're just a "kid" in that world stuck going to school. Once things kick in it was nice. Especially when you meet Jirachi. xD

Oh man and yes, PMD2 had such a deep postgame. It's like a true ending. Then Sky just expanded on it all with Special Episode 5. Things could've gotten even worse!

[Voltaire Magneton]

The extra stuff from PMD Explorers of Sky are the best! I love thr Shaymin Village and the Spinda Bar. And the Special Episodes too! Extra lore is always nice.

[Neo Emolga]

PMD Sky is EXACTLY how all "special edition" games should be handled, because there was so much more to it and it added many extra levels of enjoyment to an already amazing game. And it would be totally awesome if they remade it, but I would welcome a new PMD game as well. It's been a while since PSMD and I'm sure there's a lot of people getting the desire to dive into a new one.