Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! (2018)

The worst Pokemon experience I've ever had, dreadful.

That said, I'm a grown man, this is probably fine for children or people looking for a more casual experience (more casual than Pokemon already is, outside of the competitive scene). Too much hand holding and bother for my tastes, and while battles are the usual formula they feel really pointless since they award little exp, making the core and best part of the game feel kind of pointless.

Online battles with others are fine and good, but the slog to get through the story, to get any good Pokemon and level them up, is just not worth it.

It's not a total write off, I can see how some people enjoy it, but for people like me this game is totally worth ignoring.

Right, so at its core this s yet another Pokemon game, with all the good and bad that comes with that.

It looks phenominal. As someone who grew up with the original red /blue, seeing these game revitalized was amazing. I spent tons of time examining small details like flyers and posters, and other environmental details, that on the gameboy just weren't possible.

The sound track to this Pokemon is some of the best of the franchise (again that is partically nostalgia talking).

I also really enjoyed the way this game mixed up the catching mechanics of the series. It meant that I did more then just catch the first of everything I saw, seeing if I could get rare Pokemon to spawn by chain catching. It also allowed me to navigate some of the normally agonizing dungeons, by letting me avoid the endless hordes of zubats, but beelining for more interesting POkemon.

All this good is of course balanced by how entrenched in game play Pokemon has become. This is especially highlighted after the stark and refreshing change to the catching mechanics.

Honestly, after playing this I think I will be taking a pretty long break from Pokemon, unless I hear some of the core mechanics change again, as it just feels like the same game with a different skin after a certain point.

Loved the gameboy pokemon games? Not super into or haven't played any of the new pokemon games since...pokemon silver... This game is for you!

This game is basically pokemon yellow, but with updated and improved specs. I personally Let's Go Eevee and I enjoyed having Eevee with me all of the time rather than Pikachu. My biggest pros are the wild pokemon catching and the secret techniques. When you're wandering around, you can /see/ the pokemon and it is SO useful. Again, I haven't played a pokemon game since 2000, so I have no idea if that's actually a new mechanic but gosh darnnit I love it! I also love the fact that I don't have to battle the wild pokemon anymore. It makes going through the game significantly more pleasant. I also greatly appreciate the fact that when you catch a pokemon or beat a trainer, all of your pokemon level up, not just the one fighting. This makes it SO much easier to level up lower level pokemon and to make sure your team stays even.

As for secret techniques, you don't have to switch between six different pokemon to surf, fly, chop, and push blocks. Eevee INSISTS on learning all of it and honestly it makes the game so much more pleasant. Instead of switching to my lower level flying pokemon every time I want to travel across the map, Eevee summons a damn moped being held by balloons. It is ADORABLE.

Plus you can put you and your Eeevee IN OUTFITS. I LOVE IT.

I am curious to see what kids think of this game who didn't play Yellow. Do they think it's old fashioned? Are they weirded out by one generation of pokemon?

To me, this is one of my favorite Pokemon game. Pokemon had gotten pretty stale for me in a while. I enjoyed the newer games, but found myself forcing me to beat these games to the end since they felt a bit like a chore, like I had already done this countless times. This isn't void of that, but Pokemon Let's Go bring a lot of new flavors to the formula, and really change the way you play these games. Random encounters are gone. This to me is the best change of this game. Instead, you have to physically walk into the Pokemon in the wild in order to catch them. Another thing they've changed is the mechanic to catch the Pokemon themselves, adopting the Pokemon Go mechanic. This is both a good and bad thing, I find. In the wild, I prefer this over battles. It also makes a lot more sense in the sense of world building: rather than beating the Pokemon near death and then capturing them and expecting them to fight for you, you instead feed them with berries to make them easier to catch and just repeatedly throw poke-balls at them until they stay inside.

This is Pokemon, but simple. Charming. It's easy to digest and a gorgeous new addition to the Pokemon series. I loved that they only had the original 152 Pokemon (obviously, since it's a remake) but yet included the Alolan versions as well, as a way to tie this game with the rest of the franchise. This game isn't perfect, but it made me fall in love with Pokemon all over again, and for that, I give it 5 stars.

I just beat the elite four. I highly enjoyed this game for what it was, a remake of Gen 1. In anticipation I played through Yellow on my 3DS to get hyped for this remake. What I didn’t realize was how much I wouldn’t like the original game. I love Gen 1 because of the show and it being my entry into the franchise, but the map and story have huge pacing issues which made the original a real slog to get through. I don’t mind real difficulty, but the original was difficult just because everything was so limited. Tons of backtracking mearly because you can hardly hold anything.

I prefer this remake because for me it solved many issues I had with the original - limited items, heavy grinding, limited story, graphics, etc. While it’s still not my preferred Gen, it makes the most out of a rather dull Pokémon entry. I know many people are torn on the Pokémon capture system, but I actually liked it better. Usually I get so bored fighting the same way every time, that I avoid Pokémon battles all together. The variety between capturing and battling trainers got me interested again in capturing Pokémon. I really loved being able to see Pokémon in the field as well so I could have more control over encountering Pokémon.

The only thing I really would have liked more of is more side content. After playing every Gen, it’s a bit boring to just go through the same battles all the time. I prefer many of the newer games because of their puzzle like gyms, characters, customization, and side content. I wouldn’t have minded more in that vein, but I get why this game was kept simple.

I have so far resisted the temptation to buy this just because Eevee is cute... I was excited when I thought it was going to be a full game, but early previews seemed to suggest it was more like a casual, watered-down version of the game too dependent on Pokemon Go, so I canceled my pre-order.

.....but Eevee is just..... so cute tho....