Hello you horrible lot, this is the ThespianHunter Blog. Where I chat shit about games, films, table top games and a whole bunch of useless crap we call entertainment. I am your Pokemon Master ThespianHunter. GET OUT YOUR BALLS!!!!!
The Pokemon Franchise
It may shock some of you to know, that I was a child once. When I was about 5 year's old my uncle exposed my fragile mind to The Nintendo Game Boy and my life was changed forever. Incapable of any form of serious technicolour, the Game Boy featured some famous games that have changed our gaming world for all time. Such games include Mario World, Tetris and Mega Man II. The Game Boy was arguably the most popular portable Gaming Device at the time and has paved the way for handhelds including the Nintendo DS and the Playstation Vita. Without the Nintendo Game Boy I hedge a bet that gaming wouldn't be the same. Soon games were released that were capable of pushing to colour spectrum from just the black and green to different shades. With the release of the Super Nintendo the extra processing power allowed for one other colour to be added .
Soon my parents observed how much fun I was having playing Mario World and Tetris and as a result brought me my own Nintendo Game Boy.
One fated game was the legendary Pokemon Red (and Blue). Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo in Japan 1996, the game eventually made its way into Europe and onto my Game Boy. I can safely say even to this day I have only completed ONE Pokemon Game and Red wasn't it but I played the shit out of it. The difference between Red and Blue was purely what colour it was. In Japan where the game was originally released Pokemon Green was available and added no difference in colour other than which is the classic green screen we all remember.
One fated game was the legendary Pokemon Red (and Blue). Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo in Japan 1996, the game eventually made its way into Europe and onto my Game Boy. I can safely say even to this day I have only completed ONE Pokemon Game and Red wasn't it but I played the shit out of it. The difference between Red and Blue was purely what colour it was. In Japan where the game was originally released Pokemon Green was available and added no difference in colour other than which is the classic green screen we all remember.
Pokemon was an interesting take on the JRPG of which Final Fantasy made its homestead. The difference being that the player had a huge selection of different Pokemon he could capture and add to his squad of monster battling bad asses (to a maximum of 6 at a time.) One of the games tag lines was "gotta' Catch them all and players were encouraged to capture and evolve through gaining XP by battling other Pokemon, beating trainers to get money and then buy more Pokeballs so the circle of animal cruelty 101 could continue
The original Pokemon Games offered a possible 150 Pokemon to collect and battle and, if you had a connector, battle against your friends to dispute who was the ultimate Pokemon Trainer.
The games received a HUGE amount of positive review both from critics and gamers. And so, like a Daemon Prince spewing out from the warp, the Pokemon franchise was born.
And that's not even all of them!
Soon the Pokemon Anime was born, staring Ash who must ,as the thousand of children before him, travel around the world collecting Pokemon and Pokemon badges and proving to them all that he was the greatest of them all. Every so often there would be a touching tale of friendship and its importance and other typical story lines covered in Anime's but really the under lying story was "KICK THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYONE EVER!" Which got repetitive come the second series. But alas theirs over 5 series of Pokemon... all including the "I GOTTA KICK THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYTHING" story line. Which, for a while at least, is kinda interesting but gets really boring really quickly. However kids keep watching them, so they must be alright... maybe I'm just old. These were then followed by a number of movies which were used the basically be series finals and ... well.... we'll get to them.
After a number of episodes were made the Trading cards were released. These homed on the different mechanics that make the Game Boy games interesting. You may have a level one Pokemon in your hand that has no evolution stage and can hold its own pretty well however requires a lot of energy to use or a Pokemon that starts really weak, but ever a length of time can become very powerful as you draw evolutions.
After a number of episodes were made the Trading cards were released. These homed on the different mechanics that make the Game Boy games interesting. You may have a level one Pokemon in your hand that has no evolution stage and can hold its own pretty well however requires a lot of energy to use or a Pokemon that starts really weak, but ever a length of time can become very powerful as you draw evolutions.
The Trading Card Game was very interesting and is still very popular today. I still have my first edition Fire deck which I'm pretty sure would still kick ass.
Since then, Nintendo 64 games have been released, a hoard of Pin ball games and even a "rail shooter" which involves the player having to take pictures of Pokemon.
So there's your whistle-stop tour of what Pokemon is, but the question is, what do I think of it? Am I a raving Pokemon manic? or am I as slow as a slowpoke? Well, as quick as a Quickattack, lets get to it.
FIRSTLY! THE GAMES!
As some of you may know, I still dip into playing the occasional Pokemon game I play a few ROMS here and there. (considering Pokemon Blue in peak condition can set you back $120)however... they're alright I guess. I mean, I can remember me being far more into them and wanting to try and capture them all. But it's game play is really repetitive. Furthermore as you go through the generations you still see the original 150 even in some of the latest games. Why? Well, the newest games have come under critic with the fact that a lot of the new Pokemon are kinda crap... Example? This Fucker here!
What is it you ask? This my followers is a Vanillish. Its, you guessed it, a fucking ice-cream! "ah but this is obviously a weak level One Pokemon" Well... no. This is a second evolution level 35-47 Pokemon.
WHO THOUGHT THAT THING WAS GOOD?!
I'm sorry, but when you present a fucking ice-cream as a "new and cool Pokemon" Don't be surprised if you get some complaints. It defiantly seems that the different Pokemon types is being diminished and one wonders how long they can keep this series going. As much as I like the expansion of an IP, in my opinion Pokemon is dying a slow death. There either needs to be some new breath breathed into the series otherwise we may see it die.
But that's not my only problem with the games. I take a very strange cynicism towards the slowly growing competitive scene the game is receiving. Yes ladies and gents, where we can have gladiatorial arenas and have Pokemon tournaments.
WHO THOUGHT THAT THING WAS GOOD?!
I'm sorry, but when you present a fucking ice-cream as a "new and cool Pokemon" Don't be surprised if you get some complaints. It defiantly seems that the different Pokemon types is being diminished and one wonders how long they can keep this series going. As much as I like the expansion of an IP, in my opinion Pokemon is dying a slow death. There either needs to be some new breath breathed into the series otherwise we may see it die.
But that's not my only problem with the games. I take a very strange cynicism towards the slowly growing competitive scene the game is receiving. Yes ladies and gents, where we can have gladiatorial arenas and have Pokemon tournaments.
I don't have a problem with people competing with friends to see who is the best. But this scene has really expanded with "professional" tournaments filling up venues and with hundreds of Pokemon LP's covering You-Tube.
Now, you have to ask, "why do you have a problem with it?" Well... Remember the o' catch phrase "gotta catch them all" ? Since when has that had ANYTHING to do with the Pokemon games. It's diverted away from its original purpose and has turned to "gotta push the stats to as far as they can go" It turns a fun collecting game of wild monsters into number crunching. It has taken the casual out of the game and has replaced it with a calculator.
Now, you have to ask, "why do you have a problem with it?" Well... Remember the o' catch phrase "gotta catch them all" ? Since when has that had ANYTHING to do with the Pokemon games. It's diverted away from its original purpose and has turned to "gotta push the stats to as far as they can go" It turns a fun collecting game of wild monsters into number crunching. It has taken the casual out of the game and has replaced it with a calculator.
As a casual game, Pokemon is good. As a competitive game, my eye brows are most defiantly raised!
My Final result for the traditional Pokemon games is a "OK" If you're looking for a interesting take on the JRPG formula, grab one of the originals (I recommend Heart Gold or Soul Silver) if you're looking for a series to sink your teeth into, I personally think you've joined it too late. Best just grab the one game.
Secondly! The Anime
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I can honestly say without shame I have watched the entirety of season 1 within the space of just one week. And I (from what I can remember) thought it was alright. The repetition of shot every now and then does get, well, repetitive and it hasn't aged well at all. Season 1 is as cheesy as it gets. With *trying to control anger* Pikachu and Ash not growing up at all mentally. Which brings me to what I think is the weakest factor. Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu as a Pokemon has female appeal being a little yellow thunder mouse constantly on PMS but in later series you wonder how Pikachu just doesn't kick the shit out of everything! I mean, the thing must be at least level 250 by now and yet still struggles with a a rat.
But Ash? Oh my. Ash is by far, one of the most annoying, idiotic and down right just annoying characters ever conjured by man. He (although voiced by a she) has one of those voices which grains away at your soul and has never learnt a life lesson for longer than two episodes. He's a moron who needs to be encased in carbonite and never seen again.
My thoughts of the Anime "Not so good" the redeeming factor that some of the fights are at times fun to watch if it wasn't for the huge amount repetition of shot.
But Ash? Oh my. Ash is by far, one of the most annoying, idiotic and down right just annoying characters ever conjured by man. He (although voiced by a she) has one of those voices which grains away at your soul and has never learnt a life lesson for longer than two episodes. He's a moron who needs to be encased in carbonite and never seen again.
My thoughts of the Anime "Not so good" the redeeming factor that some of the fights are at times fun to watch if it wasn't for the huge amount repetition of shot.
Next! The Trading Card Game!
I've been demonstrating a lot of hate for Pokemon so far. Time for something to try and redeem the franchise. The trading cards are... pretty good.
The cards have been iterated over the almost 10 years they've been around and the art work on them is fantastic. They're not only very detailed by also colourful and use the space of the card to excellent effect.
The cards have been iterated over the almost 10 years they've been around and the art work on them is fantastic. They're not only very detailed by also colourful and use the space of the card to excellent effect.
The game itself is also very entertaining and can quickly escalate as Pokemon are evolved and switched out to strategic effect. It can be intense and CLEARLY (unlike the video games) has competitive play in mind.
The trading card is still bought in large numbers today and played competitively in hundreds of competitions around the world.
My thoughts on the Trading Card Game? "Pretty good!" If you want to try this out, try it free online. This may be a Trading Card Game which those who like such things may want to start.
The trading card is still bought in large numbers today and played competitively in hundreds of competitions around the world.
My thoughts on the Trading Card Game? "Pretty good!" If you want to try this out, try it free online. This may be a Trading Card Game which those who like such things may want to start.
Finally... the one you've been waiting on...
I'm going to focus on the First movie as its the best example of why I hate these Movies so much as they have the same problem in all of different movies.
The film is basically an hour long episode that is either too deep for little children to handle or is just too long to air on TV. However this isn't my problem with the movies.
Take a moment to look at the title... "Pokemon...The First Movie"
This film was openly advertised as "the first" being pumped out to be watched as merely the next installment in the franchise. Not only this, but the films are awful. They have all the issues that the anime TV series has accompanied by not only having to pay to watch it but also a boredom fueled dragged out experience that settles on the same ideals the movie started with. Nothing ever changes no characters are developed. It's merely "KICK THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYTHING- THE FILM"
My opinion of the Pokemon Movies? "God Awful" I'd even go as far to say its "Cthulhu awful", being the second thing I've given the accolade to. Avoid like the plague... Unless you wanna take the time to watch something that's terrible.
The film is basically an hour long episode that is either too deep for little children to handle or is just too long to air on TV. However this isn't my problem with the movies.
Take a moment to look at the title... "Pokemon...The First Movie"
This film was openly advertised as "the first" being pumped out to be watched as merely the next installment in the franchise. Not only this, but the films are awful. They have all the issues that the anime TV series has accompanied by not only having to pay to watch it but also a boredom fueled dragged out experience that settles on the same ideals the movie started with. Nothing ever changes no characters are developed. It's merely "KICK THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYTHING- THE FILM"
My opinion of the Pokemon Movies? "God Awful" I'd even go as far to say its "Cthulhu awful", being the second thing I've given the accolade to. Avoid like the plague... Unless you wanna take the time to watch something that's terrible.
So, what are my final thoughts on the Pokemon franchise? Well, there are aspects that I like, including the original Pokemon games and the Trading Card Games. However the franchise has been expanded until its braking point. Ever since the creation of the Anime it has been a money making scheme to drain as much money from people as physically possible. It's evident in the advertising, the constant factory line of content with no iteration or work upon the original formulas, be it capturing and battling Pokemon or the life adventure of what it is to be a Pokemon Trainer. It's a classic example of innocent kids being exposed and hooked.
But in all saying that, I enjoyed the majority of the time I had with the games if you're willing to find them and the Trading Cards are still popular although I admit if you don't like Pokemon you're not going to like the anything else the franchise has to offer.
But in all saying that, I enjoyed the majority of the time I had with the games if you're willing to find them and the Trading Cards are still popular although I admit if you don't like Pokemon you're not going to like the anything else the franchise has to offer.
Thank you for reading this collection of thoughts on the Pokemon Franchise. If you have a positive of negative response please let me know in the comments either on this blog or on face book and take the time to read other posts on this blog.
My Names been ThespianHunter, I wanna HM05 so we can both use TM32 and so I can use TM07... And I'll catch you next time.
My Names been ThespianHunter, I wanna HM05 so we can both use TM32 and so I can use TM07... And I'll catch you next time.
AWWWWWW
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