I May Never Go Back To Mainline Pokémon Games After Pokopia

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After playing Pokémon Pokopia, I’m starting to think I might be done with the main Pokémon games. Like many people, I’ve been a fan for a long time – I have great memories of playing Pokémon Red and Blue when I was younger, and I enjoyed several of the games that came after. While I missed a few generations here and there, I always kept up with the series and eventually returned to it with the Switch games.

I thought Pokémon Sword and Shield were okay, but I started to get worried about where the series was going. I didn’t even finish Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl or Legends: Arceus, although I did enjoy the battles in Arceus. Despite my reservations, I tried Scarlet and Violet when they came out and was very disappointed. I decided to avoid the hype around Legends: Z-A, and began to think maybe I wasn’t a Pokémon fan anymore. However, playing Pokopia has renewed my enjoyment of the series.

Pokopia Showed Me What I Don’t Like Anymore About Mainline Pokémon

For the past few years, my biggest issue with Pokémon games has been their technical quality. It’s been disappointing to see flawed and visually unappealing games still receive positive reviews and sell very well. While I’m hopeful that the art style of Pokémon Winds and Waves looks good, the recent look at Pokopia reminded me that the Pokémon series still has a lot of appealing qualities.

I’m playing Pokémon Pokopia at a relaxed pace – I’ve only reached the second area, but it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite Pokémon games. I’m really enjoying how the game unfolds its environmental story and the excitement of discovering which Pokémon will appear next. I find myself spending a lot of time tidying up and improving my town, creating habitats to attract new creatures.

I believe open-world Pokémon games could be really great, despite not enjoying my experience with Violet. There are so many Pokémon – over 1,000! – and the idea of discovering them living freely in their natural environments is really appealing. Catching Pokémon has always been the most fun part for me, and playing Pokéopia made me realize how much I dislike the turn-based battles in the newer games.

I’ll be honest, whether or not you enjoy turn-based games is really a matter of taste. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with them, but I personally tend to lose interest pretty quickly. Even a fantastic game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which tries to make turn-based combat more interesting with clever ideas, couldn’t hold my attention for long. And having played so many Pokémon battles over the years, a simple new feature just isn’t enough to recapture my enthusiasm.

Pokopia Reinforced My Wavering Love Of Pokémon

I’m not asking for the core Pokémon games to be drastically different – they’re fine as they are and probably won’t change much anyway. While improved graphics and smoother gameplay would be nice, playing Pokopia made me realize I need to adjust what I expect from these games. It’s been tough being a Pokémon fan and feeling disappointed, especially since the games haven’t really changed over the years.

I wondered if I’d grown out of Pokémon, but Pokopia proved me wrong – those charming creatures are still fantastic! I’ve just lost interest in battling. However, if I could play as a friendly Ditto determined to rebuild Kanto, I’d absolutely love it.

From the moment you start playing Pokopia, it’s clear why this game should have existed for a long time. While Pokémon games aren’t typically difficult, Pokopia brilliantly simplifies the core idea of catching creatures by turning it into a series of easy puzzles – the biggest challenge is figuring out how to design your world. As you complete quests, you discover a surprisingly complex system of gameplay, and you slowly learn how to build diverse and interesting habitats.

Pokémon games have always been great at making you feel like there’s something new just ahead – a new path, a new challenge, a new town, or a new Pokémon to discover. I especially loved how my team would evolve throughout the game, and how each gym badge felt like a real accomplishment. But Pokopia offers a different kind of progress. It began as an empty, barren place, but I’ve transformed it into a thriving habitat for many Pokémon, and I’m still building and improving it constantly.

Exploring a new game always brings fresh challenges, similar to starting a new path and meeting new trainers in the main Pokémon games. I’m still figuring out which Pokémon work best together, and my team is constantly changing as I play. Pokopia is a fantastic game on its own, but it was especially helpful for me because I was starting to lose interest in the series. While Pokémon Winds and Waves looks promising, I think I’ll skip it for now – I found what I was looking for in Pokémon Pokopia.

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2026-03-15 21:31