What do you think about the above statement, have the Pokémon designs gone overboard? Do you still like the games?
Say generation one is your favorite. With awesome designs like Charizard, Cloyster, and Sandslash, it’s pretty hard to go wrong. The designs back then were plain and simple. Not full of these crazy markings and logos that litter today’s generation. In fact, the most notable marking was Arbok’s hood. Now it’s all about how much we can stuff into one pokemon until it’s overloaded with markings. It just makes the design look crowded and ugly. The Pokemon today hardly even look like Pokemon. It’s fine to put a few markings on a design, but there’s a limit.
Time to switch gears, let’s say that generation five is your favorite, with really cool pokemon like Gigalith, Zebstrika, and Zoroark. There’s a lot of detail put into those designs. Surely much better than those bland Pokemon all the Kanto fanatics are raving about. All those extra touches Game Freak puts on the Pokemon really brings out the factors that people look for. Generation one Pokemon don’t have anything on the detail work of Sigilyph. After all, if you can put more details on Pokemon, why not?
I would just like to say that comparing one generation to another is like comparing apples to oranges. You obviously have your favorite, but if someone doesn’t like one or the other, there’s no way of convincing that person to like the other. Let’s take a moment to look at each of the generations and the general vibe we got from the new pokemon.
Fast forward to today, and the quality of the graphics have skyrocketed. We went from a few colors on a sprite, to full 3D models. You can pack a pokemon full of crazy designs till it bursts. Because of this boost, and Pokemon’s grown popularity, that’s exactly what Game Freak is doing. This has created a rift in the fandom. The people who prefer the older, simpler designs, and the fans who prefer the newer, more detailed designs. I know the fandom isn’t this black and white, and that there are a lot of people who love all the designs, but for the sake of arguing we’ll just leave it at those two sides.
Arguments have popped up all over forums and various websites about which generation is best. The old fans point out Pokemon like Garbodor and Vanilluxe, and say how Game Freak is losing their creative vibe. Newer fans are pointing out Pokemon like Magneton and Muk, and say that generation one never really had much creativity in the first place. The funny thing about this, is that both sides constantly barrage the same pokemon. Almost everywhere the pokemon that are being put up for evidence are the same pokemon as another site with very little deviation. Garbodor and Vanilluxe will be insulted every day, while Gigalith and Zoroark stay virtually untouched. Same thing goes with Magneton and Muk, while Lapras and Sandslash are never pointed out by the opposition.
The truth is, each generation has its fair share of good and bad designs. The designs as a whole are changing, that much is certain. Very few designers have worked with Game Freak since the first generation. Whether or not you like where the designs are heading is up to you. Are the designs getting worse over time? I say no, but it’s up to you whether or not you’ll change along with the Pokemon.
