There's no way around it. I'm a Pokemon addict. I can't get enough of them. Imaginary creatures of the highest order, anything to do with Pokemon is of interest to me. I have an ever-growing collection of toys and plushies, I enjoy the Pokemon anime, and I've been lately pursuing more and more of the so-called "spinoff" Pokemon games.
That's what I wanted to talk about today. Lately I'm getting the impression that the quality of the toy or anime episode or game is of less consequence than the mere fact that Pokemon are included. Allow me to elaborate.
Last week I purchased Pokemon Rumble Blast for 3DS, after playing my girlfriend's copy for a short while. The more I play the game, the more it sucks me in, however the gameplay is quite simplistic. You travel to generic looking areas and take on hordes of Pokemon, befriending the occasional one, and switching between all the Pokemon you befriend. The concept of the combat is very straightforward and draws from the traditional Pokemon RPGs. I think it's a fun game, but the more I dwell on it, the more I think that it would be a terrible game if it wasn't about Pokemon.
Another culprit is PokePark Wii. While this game is clearly targeted at an age group well below mine, I found myself once again sucked into a world of Pokemon that I couldn't get enough of. There are others as well. With notable exceptions (like Pokemon Ranger) most Pokemon spinoff games are like this. Pokemon Snap is only fun because you're taking pictures of Pokemon. Pokemon Stadium's minigames are fun because they feature Pokemon. Hey You, Pikachu. Pokemon Channel. Pokemon Trozei. These are all games that I would not view as worthwhile if they did not feature Pokemon.
The Pokemon anime is, for all intents and purposes, not very good. The plots are contrived and Ash is a moron. But every episode features new Pokemon. And I like the Pokemon. And so, I watch.
Is this a problem that only I have, or is this more common? I don't know. Many people love Pokemon, but I wonder how many would feel the same way I do, playing games or watching anime that are otherwise not very interesting and enjoying them simply because of the characters.
I'm not going to stop. PokePark 2 comes out at the end of the month, and I will buy it. Is there something wrong with me?
the quality of the toy or anime episode or game is of less consequence than the mere fact that Pokemon are included
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what the Pokemon company, Nintendo, the toymakers etc want! You're falling into their trap that they can milk as much money as they want out of the franchise as they want with not that much effort.
And no it's not just you. The mere fact that the Pokemon franchise is so popular and has so much spin-off speaks the fact that there's a huge market of people willing to pay for Pokemon-related stuff, good quality or not.
And I'm not an exception of this either. Probably more likely to get something with Pokemon in it than an equivalent item without Pokemon in it (well, maybe if it had anime characters I like in it instead, then this becomes false).
lol, yeah, I know I'm falling for their trap. But that won't stop me either. Why should I boycott their low quality games when no one else would? That just means I'm the only one not having fun. :P
DeleteIf Pokemon milking money out of people is any indication, just look at how much I've spent on their Trading Card Game alone lol. If it weren't Pokemon, I don't think the TCG would be nearly as much fun.
ReplyDeleteYeah I almost forgot about the TCG. There's another money drain for you. While other, possibly equally good card games get shafted for not featuring the beloved critters. This is the world we live in. The world of fandoms.
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