While comparing gameplay in older and newer releases, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet fans expressed a desire to see previous battle animations return.
Game Freak’s latest venture into the Pokemon universe, Scarlet & Violet, will hit stores this coming November for the Nintendo Switch.
Those who pick up Pokemon Scarlet will work alongside an all-new character, Professor Sada. Pokemon Violet players, on the other hand, can expect to team up with Professor Turo, Sada’s counterpart.
But in looking forward to the franchise’s next generation, some fans have also taken it upon themselves to reflect on the past.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet fans miss the series’ old animations
MortonShekelstorm posted a video on Reddit comparing battle animations in 1998’s Pokemon Stadium to those featured in Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! from 2018.
In the older title, the battling monsters came equipped with detailed offensive and defensive animations. Snorlax is seen flopping to the ground in dramatic fashion after performing a Mega Kick, for example.
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Meanwhile, the animations in Let’s Go, Pikachu! look comparatively rudimentary at best. Pikachu jumps a couple of times to denote damage dealt against an opponent. And the opponent merely staggers back in response.
“Why are people okay with this?” the Redditor asked in the thread, which has since received more than 15,000 upvotes.
While some Pokemon faithful contend that larger rosters probably contribute to the loss of detailed animations, others like BladePactWarlock point to the absence of creative forces such as HAL Laboratories and Genius Sonority.
The likes of SummonerRed believe Pokemon’s modern developers won’t put in the extra effort, “because they know they don’t have to because they have won media.”
Of course, hopeful Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players would love to see high-quality animations return to the series. Fans will have to determine for themselves whether Game Freak reaches that bar when Scarlet & Violet arrive on November 18.