148 lines
22 KiB
HTML
148 lines
22 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
|
|
<html lang="en-us" dir="ltr">
|
|
<head>
|
|
<meta charset="utf-8">
|
|
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">
|
|
<title>Early thoughts on Pokémon Unbound | cassie.ink</title>
|
|
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/main.min.5a164c9a59f1a958be86d8ce4b2d76abdac00feffb2fc1cdbffab05e19b706bf.css" integrity="sha256-WhZMmlnxqVi+htjOSy12q9rAD+/7L8HNv/qwXhm3Br8=" crossorigin="anonymous">
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/fonts.min.a821e68a1b4a65ac46a906c1dd114d374075c2ecad31f7cc8e5d90d4b41a28a1.css" integrity="sha256-qCHmihtKZaxGqQbB3RFNN0B1wuytMffMjl2Q1LQaKKE=" crossorigin="anonymous">
|
|
|
|
|
|
<script src="/js/main.23cd0c7d837263b9eaeb96ee2d9ccfa2969daa3fa00fa1c1fe8701a9b87251a1.js" integrity="sha256-I80MfYNyY7nq65buLZzPopadqj+gD6HB/ocBqbhyUaE=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
|
|
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
<header>
|
|
<h1>
|
|
<a href="https://example.org/">
|
|
cassie
|
|
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor" class="icon icon-tabler icons-tabler-filled icon-tabler-droplet"><path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"/><path d="M10.708 2.372a2.382 2.382 0 0 0 -.71 .686l-4.892 7.26c-1.981 3.314 -1.22 7.466 1.767 9.882c2.969 2.402 7.286 2.402 10.254 0c2.987 -2.416 3.748 -6.569 1.795 -9.836l-4.919 -7.306c-.722 -1.075 -2.192 -1.376 -3.295 -.686z" /></svg>
|
|
ink
|
|
</a>
|
|
</h1>
|
|
|
|
<nav>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="/about/">About</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a aria-current="true" class="ancestor" href="/posts/">Posts</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="/tags/week-notes/">Week Notes</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</nav>
|
|
|
|
|
|
</header>
|
|
<main class='page'>
|
|
|
|
<article>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<time datetime="2024-02-23T00:00:00+00:00">February 23, 2024</time>
|
|
|
|
<h1>Early thoughts on Pokémon Unbound</h1>
|
|
|
|
<div class="barcode">
|
|
early-thoughts-on-pokemon-unbound
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<p>I downloaded <em>Pokémon: Unbound</em> the other day to play alongside my partner. We are both big <em>Pokémon</em> fans — like buy the new games every year fans — though my interest has waned over the last few years (I loved <em>Legends Arceus</em> and generally felt that <em>Scarlet/Violet</em> were slaps in the face<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup>). I have fond memories of the classic games, and I’ve read a lot of positive buzz about <em>Unbound</em>.</p>
|
|
<p>I’m fairly certain that this is the first proper ROM hack I’ve played, not counting a few randomizers that I’ve cooked up for fun (and, for the most part, played for an afternoon or two and abandoned). <em>Unbound</em> is incredibly feature-rich and ambitious; it adds a great deal of quality of life options as well as formidable challenge options for the hardcore<sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">2</a></sup>. I fall into the category of a more casual fan, so I was pleased to see things like effectiveness and STAB indicators hacked into the <em>Fire Red/Leaf Green</em> engine. <em>Unbound</em> also introduces a mission log and proper side quests; what I saw did not innovate much beyond fetch quests and “do this thing x amount of times then come back,” but some had short but charming stories to follow (like the Sandslash stealing food from a local family).</p>
|
|
<p><em>Unbound</em> also has an original story that consumes a considerable amount of the player’s time. There’s a (for a <em>Pokémon</em> game) lengthy introduction cutscene that tells of the history of the region, and the player is introduced to a rogue organization that is aiming to capture the legendary birds to activate some doomsday device that will engulf the region in darkness. For <em>Pokémon</em>, the broad strokes aren’t far off from something like <em>X/Y</em>’s story — evil guy wants to destroy the world for some reason and you must stop them. I found the story mostly beneath notice, unfortunately; the game introduced a bunch of characters early on, and it is hard to care much about them when you have so many. In the opening hours of the game, for example, you meet your rival and Professor Log. Your rival is pretty standard <em>Pokémon</em> faire: brash and driven and uninterested in listening to the Professor’s advice, unlike the silent protagonist. Professor Log sends you off on various errands, one of which is to check in with his friend Arthur in the next town over, an expert on the history of the region; Arthur then introduces you to Jax, yet another young and ambitious trainer; and that’s not counting all of the villains and various gangs you meet in the introductory hours. I have some faith that <em>Unbound</em> has unique plans for these characters in the narrative, but the balance between clicking through story and actually engaging in the exploring and battling feels skewed: <em>Unbound</em> is dragged down by the weight of its ambition to be a <em>Pokémon</em> game with a story.</p>
|
|
<p>Feeling therefore disengaged by the story, what was left for me was the rote <em>Pokémon</em> experience: build and train a team to take on the gyms and various Team Rocket-like factions. I was pleased by the variety of Pokémon available to the player: <em>Unbound</em> includes all Pokémon from Gens 1-7. I have a big blind spot for Gens 4 and 5<sup id="fnref:3"><a href="#fn:3" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">3</a></sup>, and the modern games have done little to introduce me to those Pokémon, opting instead to mostly focus on a new set of creatures for their respective regions.<sup id="fnref:4"><a href="#fn:4" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">4</a></sup> The Pokémon available to me in <em>Unbound</em> therefore felt fresh, and the game encouraged me to try out Pokémon that I ordinarily probably wouldn’t consider for my team. Each route and area also boasts a considerable number of Pokémon available to the player: it’s far from the usual experience in <em>Pokémon</em>, where you’re offered mostly Pidgey- and Rattata-likes in the early routes that you battle dozens of times. There are diverse options that feel like deep cuts turned viable team members. As someone who likes to sweep a route and catch (or at least see) all of the available Pokémon, it was a little overwhelming to have ten to twenty different ones in a relatively small area, but variety is good! I also appreciated that the trainers in each area seemed to mostly have Pokémon that were available to catch in that area. It felt authentic: of course the teams of those folks would have mostly been caught and assembled from the local fauna.</p>
|
|
<p>Despite this, my interest in continuing with <em>Unbound</em> has waned. I don’t think it’s solely a fault of the game, however: it does a lot of interesting things, and I admire the work and ambition of the team behind it. I’m just not sure how much energy I personally have for the <em>Pokémon</em> formula. <em>Unbound</em> adds its own seasoning into the mix, but it doesn’t innovate — and that’s my frustration with GameFreak’s <em>Pokémon</em> releases too. Every game feels like going through the same motions again and again, and I think I’ve just lost my enthusiasm for that.<sup id="fnref:5"><a href="#fn:5" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">5</a></sup> Every now and then I’m in the right mood for it (and that mood at best lasts a few days) or something feels fresh and clicks, but <em>Unbound</em> — and really any recent mainline <em>Pokémon</em> game — so rarely fulfills that. I don’t know how much further I’ll continue on with <em>Unbound</em> — I only made it a little ways beyond the first gym, which doesn’t feel quite like giving the game its fair shake, but I also am trying to release myself from the sense of obligation to soldier on with something that isn’t grabbing me. There’s a line there of not always expecting immediate gratification and showing some patience, but if after a few hours I don’t feel the magic, it is increasingly hard to dedicate my limited time for gaming to something that isn’t clicking when there’s so much more out there.<sup id="fnref:6"><a href="#fn:6" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">6</a></sup></p>
|
|
<p>I’m fairly certain that this is the first proper ROM hack I’ve played, not counting a few randomizers that I’ve cooked up for fun (and, for the most part, played for an afternoon or two and abandoned). <em>Unbound</em> is incredibly feature-rich and ambitious; it adds a great deal of quality of life options as well as formidable challenge options for the hardcore<sup id="fnref1:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">2</a></sup>. I fall into the category of a more casual fan, so I was pleased to see things like effectiveness and STAB indicators hacked into the <em>Fire Red/Leaf Green</em> engine. <em>Unbound</em> also introduces a mission log and proper side quests; what I saw did not innovate much beyond fetch quests and “do this thing x amount of times then come back,” but some had short but charming stories to follow (like the Sandslash stealing food from a local family).</p>
|
|
<p><em>Unbound</em> also has an original story that consumes a considerable amount of the player’s time. There’s a (for a <em>Pokémon</em> game) lengthy introduction cutscene that tells of the history of the region, and the player is introduced to a rogue organization that is aiming to capture the legendary birds to activate some doomsday device that will engulf the region in darkness. For <em>Pokémon</em>, the broad strokes aren’t far off from something like <em>X/Y</em>’s story — evil guy wants to destroy the world for some reason and you must stop them. I found the story mostly beneath notice, unfortunately; the game introduced a bunch of characters early on, and it is hard to care much about them when you have so many. In the opening hours of the game, for example, you meet your rival and Professor Log. Your rival is pretty standard <em>Pokémon</em> faire: brash and driven and uninterested in listening to the Professor’s advice, unlike the silent protagonist. Professor Log sends you off on various errands, one of which is to check in with his friend Arthur in the next town over, an expert on the history of the region; Arthur then introduces you to Jax, yet another young and ambitious trainer; and that’s not counting all of the villains and various gangs you meet in the introductory hours. I have some faith that <em>Unbound</em> has unique plans for these characters in the narrative, but the balance between clicking through story and actually engaging in the exploring and battling feels skewed: <em>Unbound</em> is dragged down by the weight of its ambition to be a <em>Pokémon</em> game with a story.</p>
|
|
<p>Feeling therefore disengaged by the story, what was left for me was the rote <em>Pokémon</em> experience: build and train a team to take on the gyms and various Team Rocket-like factions. I was pleased by the variety of Pokémon available to the player: <em>Unbound</em> includes all Pokémon from Gens 1-7. I have a big blind spot for Gens 4 and 5<sup id="fnref1:3"><a href="#fn:3" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">3</a></sup>, and the modern games have done little to introduce me to those Pokémon, opting instead to mostly focus on a new set of creatures for their respective regions.<sup id="fnref1:4"><a href="#fn:4" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">4</a></sup> The Pokémon available to me in <em>Unbound</em> therefore felt fresh, and the game encouraged me to try out Pokémon that I ordinarily probably wouldn’t consider for my team. Each route and area also boasts a considerable number of Pokémon available to the player: it’s far from the usual experience in <em>Pokémon</em>, where you’re offered mostly Pidgey- and Rattata-likes in the early routes that you battle dozens of times. There are diverse options that feel like deep cuts turned viable team members. As someone who likes to sweep a route and catch (or at least see) all of the available Pokémon, it was a little overwhelming to have ten to twenty different ones in a relatively small area, but variety is good! I also appreciated that the trainers in each area seemed to mostly have Pokémon that were available to catch in that area. It felt authentic: of course the teams of those folks would have mostly been caught and assembled from the local fauna.</p>
|
|
<p>Despite this, my interest in continuing with <em>Unbound</em> has waned. I don’t think it’s solely a fault of the game, however: it does a lot of interesting things, and I admire the work and ambition of the team behind it. I’m just not sure how much energy I personally have for the <em>Pokémon</em> formula. <em>Unbound</em> adds its own seasoning into the mix, but it doesn’t innovate — and that’s my frustration with GameFreak’s <em>Pokémon</em> releases too. Every game feels like going through the same motions again and again, and I think I’ve just lost my enthusiasm for that.<sup id="fnref1:5"><a href="#fn:5" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">5</a></sup> Every now and then I’m in the right mood for it (and that mood at best lasts a few days) or something feels fresh and clicks, but <em>Unbound</em> — and really any recent mainline <em>Pokémon</em> game — so rarely fulfills that. I don’t know how much further I’ll continue on with <em>Unbound</em> — I only made it a little ways beyond the first gym, which doesn’t feel quite like giving the game its fair shake, but I also am trying to release myself from the sense of obligation to soldier on with something that isn’t grabbing me. There’s a line there of not always expecting immediate gratification and showing some patience, but if after a few hours I don’t feel the magic, it is increasingly hard to dedicate my limited time for gaming to something that isn’t clicking when there’s so much more out there.<sup id="fnref1:6"><a href="#fn:6" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">6</a></sup></p>
|
|
<div class="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes">
|
|
<hr>
|
|
<ol>
|
|
<li id="fn:1">
|
|
<p>Without getting too deep into it, I think <em>S/V</em> do a lot of really cool things. I enjoy the design of the game and the way it breaks up the conventional <em>Pokémon</em> format, but the absolute mess that the games were on a technical level felt insulting. I know that making games isn’t easy and that there’s a lot of unhealthy workplace practices that go into this — something something capitalism is the real enemy — but the fact that the games still have not received a meaningful performance patch while DLC is shoveled out reeks of the worst gaming industry bullshit I can imagine. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a> <a href="#fnref1:1" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li id="fn:2">
|
|
<p>GameFreak could learn a thing or two: I generally feel that Pokémon’s primary audience is and always will be children, so the entitled contingent of hardcore fanboys who want EV/IV training to be necessary and baked into the Pokémon experience are full of shit. However, some simple difficulty toggles (or at least settings for Exp. Share) would go a long way. I don’t think gaming companies should kowtow to toxicity, but robust difficulty and accessibility settings benefit everyone. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a> <a href="#fnref1:2" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li id="fn:3">
|
|
<p>I played a <em>ton</em> of Gen 2 as a kid, a fair amount of Gen 1 (mostly through <em>Fire Red</em>), and a lot of Gen 3. I didn’t have a DS for a long time, so Gens 4 and 5 passed me by; my partner got me back in with Gen 6. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a> <a href="#fnref1:3" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li id="fn:4">
|
|
<p>I don’t mean this as a bad thing! I like seeing the new Pokémon introduced each gen, but there’s a swath of totally underutilized Pokémon out there because for years each gen felt it necessary to introduce 100+ new creatures. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a> <a href="#fnref1:4" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li id="fn:5">
|
|
<p><em>Scarlet</em> and <em>Violet</em> meaningful progress, but see Footnote 1. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a> <a href="#fnref1:5" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li id="fn:6">
|
|
<p>ByI downloaded <em>Pokémon: Unbound</em> the other day to play alongside my partner. We are both big <em>Pokémon</em> fans — like buy the new games every year fans — though my interest has waned over the last few years (I loved <em>Legends Arceus</em> and generally felt that <em>Scarlet/Violet</em> were slaps in the face<sup id="fnref1:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup>). I have fond memories of the classic games, and I’ve read a lot of positive buzz about <em>Unbound</em>. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a> <a href="#fnref1:6" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ol>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<div class="tags">
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.5" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon icon-tabler icons-tabler-outline icon-tabler-tag"><path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"/><path d="M7.5 7.5m-1 0a1 1 0 1 0 2 0a1 1 0 1 0 -2 0" /><path d="M3 6v5.172a2 2 0 0 0 .586 1.414l7.71 7.71a2.41 2.41 0 0 0 3.408 0l5.592 -5.592a2.41 2.41 0 0 0 0 -3.408l-7.71 -7.71a2 2 0 0 0 -1.414 -.586h-5.172a3 3 0 0 0 -3 3z" /></svg>
|
|
<a href="/tags/games/">Games</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.5" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon icon-tabler icons-tabler-outline icon-tabler-tag"><path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"/><path d="M7.5 7.5m-1 0a1 1 0 1 0 2 0a1 1 0 1 0 -2 0" /><path d="M3 6v5.172a2 2 0 0 0 .586 1.414l7.71 7.71a2.41 2.41 0 0 0 3.408 0l5.592 -5.592a2.41 2.41 0 0 0 0 -3.408l-7.71 -7.71a2 2 0 0 0 -1.414 -.586h-5.172a3 3 0 0 0 -3 3z" /></svg>
|
|
<a href="/tags/pokemon/">Pokemon</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
</article>
|
|
|
|
|
|
</main>
|
|
<footer>
|
|
<ul class="social">
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="mailto:me@cassie.ink">
|
|
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon icon-tabler icons-tabler-outline icon-tabler-mail"><path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"/><path d="M3 7a2 2 0 0 1 2 -2h14a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v10a2 2 0 0 1 -2 2h-14a2 2 0 0 1 -2 -2v-10z" /><path d="M3 7l9 6l9 -6" /></svg>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="/index.xml">
|
|
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#f26522" stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon icon-tabler icons-tabler-outline icon-tabler-rss">
|
|
<path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none" />
|
|
<path d="M5 19m-1 0a1 1 0 1 0 2 0a1 1 0 1 0 -2 0" />
|
|
<path d="M4 4a16 16 0 0 1 16 16" />
|
|
<path d="M4 11a9 9 0 0 1 9 9" />
|
|
</svg>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a rel="me" href="https://social.lol/@cass">
|
|
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#6364ff" stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon icon-tabler icons-tabler-outline icon-tabler-brand-mastodon">
|
|
<path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none" />
|
|
<path d="M18.648 15.254c-1.816 1.763 -6.648 1.626 -6.648 1.626a18.262 18.262 0 0 1 -3.288 -.256c1.127 1.985 4.12 2.81 8.982 2.475c-1.945 2.013 -13.598 5.257 -13.668 -7.636l-.026 -1.154c0 -3.036 .023 -4.115 1.352 -5.633c1.671 -1.91 6.648 -1.666 6.648 -1.666s4.977 -.243 6.648 1.667c1.329 1.518 1.352 2.597 1.352 5.633s-.456 4.074 -1.352 4.944z" />
|
|
<path d="M12 11.204v-2.926c0 -1.258 -.895 -2.278 -2 -2.278s-2 1.02 -2 2.278v4.722m4 -4.722c0 -1.258 .895 -2.278 2 -2.278s2 1.02 2 2.278v4.722" />
|
|
</svg>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="https://listenbrainz.org/user/babyspace/">
|
|
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#eb743b" stroke-width="1" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="icon icon-tabler icons-tabler-outline icon-tabler-brand-metabrainz"><path stroke="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"/><path d="M3 7v10l7 4v-18z" /><path d="M21 7v10l-7 4v-18z" /></svg>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
<p class="forget">
|
|
don't forget to have fun.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="copyright">
|
|
all errors © cassie
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
</footer>
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html>
|