Is Let’s Go impossible to Nuzlocke?
This question and more was recently asked to Nuzlocke creature Nick Franco.
In case you do not know who Nick Franco is, he credited for creating and popularizing the Nuzlocke style. This style of gameplaying in Pokemon games involves catching the first Pokemon that you see on the route. If that Pokemon faints then the players needs to release it. The game is over when the player’s character has blacked out. Franco’s comic started with him playing a copy of Ruby version and eventually FireRed version. Currently Fraco is portraying his White version playthrough in his Nuzlocke comic, Pokemon: Hard Mode.
Destructoid recently asked Franco what were his thoughts of Pokemon Let’s Go. They mostly asked if the latest additions to the Pokemon franchise make it impossible to use Nuzlocke rules. That is because it is impossible to following the “Catch the first Pokemon that you see on a route” rule. That is because you need to catch Pokemon in order to level up and grind your Pokemon. Below is Franco’s response.
“I think the experience Let’s Go offers is not especially conducive to being Nuzlocke’d, but if the player wanted they could accomplish something functionally similar. Because catching Pokémon is so important to Let’s Go, you have to do away with the ‘only catch the first Pokémon in each area’ rule.”
Franco isn’t dismissing the idea of being able to Nuzlocke Let’s Go. Though he is suggesting that perhaps it is best to drop the “Only Catch the First Pokemon in Each Route” rule. Instead, he is suggesting that you can keep the idea of a Nuzlocke. This can be done by simply releasing or stop using a Pokemon if it faints. Another option could be to (or make it an option) use the first Pokemon that you see and catch on every route. That way you can keep to the spirit of the Nuzlocke rules.
One thing to note in the interview, Franco did give his thoughts on the recent games. Especially on how they work with Nuzlocking. Below is what he said.
“Ignoring more drastic shifts like Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, the biggest change to attempting a Nuzlocke challenge in newer Pokémon games is the lower difficulty. For me, it was always more important that the challenge made playing the game interesting rather than challenging (after all, there are many ways you could make the experience harder,) and I think it still accomplishes that for the player. Still, it’s undeniable that the added difficulty is important to many players, and some of that is noticeably diminished in the newer games.”
Nuzlocking is there to make the Pokemon game interesting to play. If playing the game becomes harder and that is what players find interesting then that is good. Though difficulty from the Nuzlocke shouldn’t be a problem from Franco. He has notice that the newer Pokemon games have diminish in the recent games.
This was later brought up when Franco was asked about other Pokemon features. In particular, features which Nuzlockers had to avoid to keep true to the Nuzlocke spirit. That way they can maintain a level of difficulty within the game. In particular, Pokemon Refresh/Amie.
“I haven’t played Let’s Go yet, but in Generation VII one feature I’ve mostly ignored is Pokémon Refresh. I messed with it initially in my run because, well, it was fun to pet the Pokémon. But as soon as I realized the benefits of the feature were making an already fairly easy run even easier, I decided to abandon it.”
Franco is referring to the fact that if you raise the affection level of your Pokemon. By doing this, you will unlock certain in-battle benefits. Some of these benefits include your Pokemon dodging an attack or surviving an attack that would knock the Pokemon out. Both of these benefits go against the spirit of a Nuzlocke.
You can click here to read Destructoid article and interview with Franco. They even talk to some Nuzlocke players and asked about their opinion on the recent Pokemon games and how their difficulty has affected the chance to Nuzlocke the games.
