Pokémon is a great play on the imagination, as you can see in all the by-products in stores and on websites. The new Pokemon game is Pokemon Black and White and it’s incredibly attractive. I wanted to buy my son a new Black and White Pokémon card game and the Pokémon store was sold out. I got him two Pokemon stuffed toys (Pokemon stuffed toys) and he was happy.
One of the secrets of Pokémon success is strictly the premise. It’s the only game I can think of out of the blue that requires the player to train and fight beasts rather than using axes, helicopters, or weapons to fight (Mario has a similar originality). In Pokémon, you master warhorses, you don’t spear them. This puts a lot of excitement and some separation into the game. Most games are immediate in the sense that I am the one fighting. If I win I am the one who triumphs and if I lose I am the one who burns and crashes. I can get bigger weapons or become more skilled in my technique, but it is a direct battle. Not so in Pokémon. In a battle, a lot is determined by the attributes of Pokémon vs. the opponent’s attributes. I have to evaluate and bet on my Pokémon, and I am not in full control once a battle starts, although I can encourage it and offer help.
In Pokémon, you have an affectionate attitude towards your monster that is different from the pride you might feel in the weapon you wield or the confidence you feel in possessing an arsenal. In Pokémon you don’t just get stronger and stronger in a linear way. You have to learn a lot about the other Pokémon. The diversity that Nintendo programmed into the game is excellent and ensures infinite variation. Pokémon is a world that is only half explained. It does not go out of style (not without a very extensive and long playtime at least) and there are always plenty of surprises to keep one interested.
One can feel in many ways about a sword like Excalibur. There is an art to that kind of fight. However, explosive games only give us pure power and conceited satisfaction. Caring for a living being, treating it when it is doing well, caring for it until it regains health, evokes completely different emotions. Do you remember Tamagochi? Pokémon is something like that only much better.