Pokemon used to have such a distinct artstyle. It's shame that it's fallen into the Japanese media trap of anime same face.

The second gen (not the remakes) was probably the closest we got to matching Ken Sugimori's original watercolors in game

  • ifgehrehnenyissponde [he/him,they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Having a meter on the general pokemon fandom, I know that if Gamefreak made a game like this, 70% would pan it for not being "Nintendo, hire this man!" unreal engine demo graphics in a Ubisoft open world.

    • FearsomeJoeandmac [he/him, he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      That's a shame. I feel like this is how Pokemon should look. Not some ultra realistic bullshit and certainly not the art style it has now.

          • ifgehrehnenyissponde [he/him,they/them]
            ·
            2 years ago

            I have a feeling Gamefreak would make a different game if the fanbase hadn't been clamoring for such games for years. Also, you can't just magically fit a good looking game on the Switch without ample development time, something the GF devs never get between releases, sadly. Which is why yes, the game do run like ass and often look bad too, I agree.

  • glimmer_twin [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    Wow I’ve never thought about it but that would slap so hard. It’s honestly pathetic how little risk is taken with Pokémon as opposed to say, zelda, or to a lesser extent mario.

    Those early Pokémon cards had some banger art.

  • TerminalEncounter [she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I really like the pokemon cards where it's a little resin sculpture in nature. Or the wool ones. They're so cute!

  • keatsta [she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    If you didn't know, your image actually comes from a series of animations - they look fantastic, I wish there was a pokemon game that looked like this https://twitter.com/pokeyugami/status/1527576053014618112

  • sooper_dooper_roofer [none/use name]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    https://64.media.tumblr.com/45234c1c5c2a2ba043678cb6b08b7066/tumblr_pg814wGkfU1vw1ceco1_r1_1280.png

    I love those early pokemon guides, and everything up to gen 2. It just had a different feel to it, more mystical, more obscure...
    It's probably part nostalgia but I also think the less clear-cut graphics left more to the imagination

    • BeamBrain [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      One thing I like about the earlier gens, as opposed to later ones, is that they didn't drop Legendary encounters in your lap as part of the plot. You had to go out of your way to find them, which to me made them feel more special.

  • FearsomeJoeandmac [he/him, he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I know man, I loved the art style for the first couple games. What the fuck happened? I really don't like Kens art at this point.

    • Redcuban1959 [any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      What the fuck happened?

      Pokemon became a sucess so every game needed to appeal to mainstream anime/game fans to keep selling games.

  • Mardoniush [she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I'd go even further and say Yellow on the GBC was the closest.

  • Frogmanfromlake [none/use name]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Pokemon hasn't looked good since they switched to 3D. The sprite work could be beautiful at times but the 3D stuff is just...meh.