A Theory I Must Test To Keep My Sanity

Huh.

Sometimes you crazy lot of gamers surprise me. This happens in all kinds of ways. But nothing could prepare me for the Pokemon fest that happened in the top 10 bestsellers of 2010 thread the other day. I honestly had no idea that we had any Pokemon lovers in our ranks besides Mitch. Now I have to know if it’s more widespread or not.

Let’s find out.

I would like to make it known that I have nothing against Pokemon or its many (apparently) millions of adoring and crazed fans. I’m sure I would have loved it if I played it when I was 8, too. Did you see what I just did there? How I just burned all the Pokemon lovers? Get back at me by winning this thing.

Pokemon sucks

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I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

15 thoughts on “A Theory I Must Test To Keep My Sanity”

  1. Dude pokemon is probably the greatest thing ever to grace this earth. Sarcasm aside I like it cause of the memories of when I was a kid. The game core concept as a rpg is actually very strong. But I believe that the never ones added too many different features and diluted it.

  2. Yeah, I played Pokemon Blue when I was in grade 4… Then I grew into actual video games. I was pretty sure everyone would.

    Maybe when people register you should make them enter their age =).

  3. Hey.

    Put this: http://www.upokecenter.com/games/gs/guides/stats.php

    and this:http://www.psypokes.com/lab/evguide.php

    in your hating pipe and smoke it. I’d like to know how many games force 8 year olds to do that kind of math if they want to be taken seriously in a competition.

    In all seriousness though, Pokemon is a lot more complicated then it looks if you play it competitively. Of course, on the surface, it’s seems like a kid’s game, but cmon, gamer’s are people who play with a fat plumber who leaps around and says yahoo every two seconds or squirts water all over the place, a monkey who throws barrels around and has some issue with that fat plumber, and a hedgehog who likes shiny stuff and likes to save animals (or kiss people, depending on the generation you’re hedgehog’s in).

    Plus, Pokemon taught me more about the rewards of putting time, effort, and care into things (and the payoff from doing so), keeping track of statistics, risk/reward + balance, and being on time for things at 8 than school did.

  4. On Another Note: To your point about sanity, I would most likely not be caught dead playing a Pokemon game these days, unless it was games of the old days in nostalgia, but I don’t have anything against players and wouldn’t tell anyone not to, and would in fact encourage them to have fun, as I used to play it. Also, I don’t play much of anything on the Wii unless my girlfriend and her other friends drag me into some game, and I don’t own a DS, nor am I very interested in buying one, after I learned of Nintendo’s plans to get it into the kitchen with mom (or dad) so that she (or he) can play games that give her (or him) cooking recipes, but I don’t hate on guys that think that the Wii is a great system, or that the games are fun. Hey, if the girls and I can have fun, it keeps them interested, and at the end of the night, I can still get some, it’s all good.

    Plus, not only do we as gamers play with fat plumbers, but we play with adolescent girls with weird hair, randomly colored eyes, and over the top cuteness issues, guys who are equally effeminate, with equally weird hair and colored eyes, with over the top depression issues swords, magic, fairies, goblins, etc., so hate can go all around as far as maturity is concerned.

  5. Eddy, you’re such a troll. πŸ˜›

    The only Pokemon I’ve really played was Red version and Gold version, but they were very good games. I fail to see how the series can stop being fun, though.

  6. I love Pokemon – the ORIGINAL Pokemon. I loved the 1st and 2nd Gen games and TV series, and I also liked the 3rd Gen games, although the show started to suck. Now, I just hate Pokemon because it’s just so friggin bad. Too many stupid Pokemon, the show is horrible, and the games are just so unoriginal.

    The reason I like Pokemon is because it’s a very original RPG. Take the first game when it was still something really new. There are many mechanics that set it apart from other RPG’s even if most kids weren’t aware of how different Pokemon was compared to other RPG’s, and that’s why Pokemon is so unique. You get to customize your team from 100 creatures, and then 200 and then 300 in later gens (gen IV can suck it!). You can also teach your Pokemon moves by using items, which is rare in other RPG’s. That alone makes it far more replayable than other RPG’s that give you characters with their own combat roles. Plus, there were rather subtle factors to raising Pokemon, like how a Pokemon will be statistically better if you train it yourself by battling as opposed to using Rare Candies or using the Day Care. It’s astonishing how personal and unique a team of Pokemon can become.

    I understand that people who were too old or just never got into Pokemon might only see the hype and deem it as a kiddy fad, but you’re still a moron. lol The games are very unique from other traditional RPG’s, and certainly the new crap is not worthy of being related to the original gems. People get nostalgic about it because it was a good game that spawned a whole culture of gamers.

    You heathen.

  7. I chose ‘Squirtle.’ I like PokΓ©mon, but I prefer Yu-Gi-Oh! Children’s card games ftw.

  8. I’m with Eddy on this one. While I hear that the games are actually pretty deep and crunchy, I’m afraid I was just too old for Pokemon when it originally came out. I always dismissed it as something for kids and I still have a hard time getting by that glossy veneer of “cuteness.”

    And even as a pure game, I’d rather spend my time playing almost anything else instead of grinding for hours on end to build up my Pokemons’ stats for no real reason.

    Like I said, I know the actual game has a lot of statistical depth, so I certainly don’t think less of anyone who plays it, but it’s just not for me.

  9. [quote comment=”12598″]A little known truth about the poll: in pokemon language, “Squirtle” means Agreed.

    ;D[/quote]

    …Srsly?

    Also, it seems that Squirtle is crushing it right now. I stand corrected, gents. I’ve never doubted that Pokemon had some good stat based gaming, but it’s interesting that there’s such a stigma against Pokemanz. Why do you guys think that is? Because it’s “for kids”, or what?

  10. [quote comment=”12614″][quote comment=”12598″]A little known truth about the poll: in pokemon language, “Squirtle” means Agreed.

    ;D[/quote]

    …Srsly?

    Also, it seems that Squirtle is crushing it right now. I stand corrected, gents. I’ve never doubted that Pokemon had some good stat based gaming, but it’s interesting that there’s such a stigma against Pokemanz. Why do you guys think that is? Because it’s “for kids”, or what?[/quote]

    Well, I compare the view that Pokemon is for kids in some ways to the view that anime is for Kids, in the sense that there’s a lot in both that are cute and childish, but yeah, Pokemon has a ridiculous amount of stat based gaming, and if you’ve ever watched an anime show like “Ergo Proxy”, which is one of the deepest explorations into the human psyche in a story that I’ve experienced in a while, (no Ayn Rand of course, and not a classic outside of anime probably, but amazing nonetheless), you’d realize that there’s so much more under the surface of say, a simple little girl who’s only known spoken word is “Pino”.

    And “Squirtle” does not mean agreed in Pokemon Language. Or, maybe it does. Pokemon, have a one word language, which is their name, combined with different expressions, so who knows. Anyway,

  11. After working the release day of Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver I now cannot stand it. Like a thousand people came in to buy it with ages ranging from 5 to 65. And the 65 year old guy had been to tournaments.

  12. And speaking of shows like Ergo Proxy, Ghost in The Shell was a great anime that explored the price of losing individuality, as well as how group thought functioned that I wouldn’t really consider to be for kids, as much as you had those robots with the annoying voices. There are much more out there, that aren’t cyber-punk “The Matrix” esque (which was, in fact, influenced by Ghost In The Shell: The Standalone Complex), but I won’t mention all of that here, as anime’s a difficult thing to get into, especially at older ages, as the pandering to the general “otaku/comicon” audience can be difficult to deal with if you’re not used to it.

  13. I think us pokemon lovers win πŸ˜›

    i remember just trading the cards when i was a youngster. I think what is so attractive about it is the great satisfaction and reward you get from playing the game.
    Leveling up and evolving is soooo much fun! The thill i get hearing the evolution music is unmatched!
    I still remember playing pokemon Blue for the first time. I picked Charmander as my starter and instantly regretted it when i found out the first gym was rock-type. Rather than give-up i grinded for levels on caterpies and pidgeys for what seemed like forever! Finally all my hard work paid off when i destroyed Brock w/ my new Charmeleon! SUCK IT BROCK!
    See it’s not the amazing gameplay or story(as if)…it’s the blood, sweat, and tears that you put into leveling up your team and making the experience your very own πŸ™‚

  14. Yeah, I do enjoy a little Pokemon, but not as much as I used to. I’m aware of the kiddie presentation, and the anime that is totally marketed to young folk, but at its heart it is still a pretty hardcore RPG.

    I mean, I’m a grown ass man. If I want to level my Pikachu, that’s my decision. πŸ˜‰

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