Hey, everyone! This is another one about a Pokemon game, our first crossing into the territory of the second generation. Yes, Gold and Silver, the place where I think Pokemon really started to shine, and the so-often-used label of it being some bubblegum-pop fad really started to lose any sort of grounding in reality. This addition to the series took Pokemon farther, showing the true potential of what Generation 1 started by adding many new features and fleshing out the old ones. Of course, in doing so, development was experimental - as any good game's development should be! - and many things were tweaked and cut along the way. The focus of today's post will be one of these many features: the PokeGear! It was definitely an interesting addition, spicing up the game while not bogging it down by being overly obtrusive in its features (besides some inane phone calls, heh heh.)
Earlier in development it was utilized more in the core game. You would receive phone calls from characters you meet along the way to give you advice and prod you on to advance the plot. The game was much more story-driven, actually. I remember when they started cutting some of the story-related elements and I felt disappointed because they had an interesting narrative written about the return of Team Rocket and their crimes. The Slowpoke well, for example; originally it was a much darker story that involved Pokemon death and abuse. You were given the impression that Team Rocket are a sick group that originally hailed in Kanto until being vanquished in a big way by a mysteriously heroic young boy. Now that they're in Johto they're recruiting new members, strengthening existing ones and tapping into a large potential for crime and injustice.
Earlier in the game it made you feel like Team Rocket were truly heartless and evil, but later on you visit less fortunate areas of Johto. See, with the focus on plot in this installment, you were going to see the Pokemon world in full detailed through extensive narrative text boxes and heavy dialog. It would show the beauty and the grandeur - the sights, the sounds, the places; people's bonds with each other and their Pokemon, and all of the joy offered by this fantastic world. Then there's the horrors that come creeping out, too. Impoverished towns, "sketchy" parts of cities, abuse, neglect, hurt. If Gen. 1 had this strange narrative JRPG style, as you walked through Celadon City you would have found, by speaking with NPCs and examining your surroundings, there are less privileged members of the Pokemon world. And that's how the Team Rocket plot tugs the heartstrings.
Team Rocket members all joined because they had no where else to go: they were starving, going without shelter and basic human necessities. Their society had ignored and effectively failed them, keeping them in their miserable place with its continued existence. And because of this, they turned to the next best thing: a life of crime. If you're going to lead a life of crime, why not do it steadily, using an already existing syndicate to join that world and move up in rank? It's the perfect plan, really.
So you might be thinking, "Well, what the fuck! GameFreak wanted to employ some shitty social commentary in their massive fad game and didn't do it, Why should I care?"
Because it relates to the core feature I brought up earlier: the PokeGear. Think about low-culture multicolored cottage cheese mess of Entertainment. You get me.
No comments:
Post a Comment