Yes, Game Freak lied. ❀But it’s more than that. This movement has been building for a long timꦬe.
Pokémon fans fall into two camps when it comes to Sword & Shield’s release today. Most, perhaps even a strong majority, are just happy to have a new Pokémon game to play. And then there’s another camp angrily tweeting #GameFreakLied and denouncing Sword & Shield as the end of all things Pokémon.
#GameFreakLied appears to have been that “proves” Game Freak, the developers of Pokémon, reused 3D models of Pokémon from previous games in Sword & Shield. The argument here is that Game Freak previously said one of the reasons that the national Dex was cut was due to them remaking every Pokémon from scratch, including 🔯new models and new animations.
Game Freak producer Junichi Masuda and director Shigeru Ohmori did a now-infamous to explain their reasoning for not carrying forward every Pokémon from previous games. Animations and modeling were just one reason, but the larg♊est explanation was given to game mechanics. It’s simply impossible to properly balance a game with over 900 Pokémon in it. Monsters would need to be culled eventually, and Sword & Shield seemed to be as good a time as any.
The #GameFreakLied camp seems to want to focus on the modeling and animations, however, and use it as a rallying cry for like-minded former fans who feel betrayed. And yet, the problem here isn’t so much that Game Freak lied, or that Sword & Shield seems to have sub-par graphics.
The problem, as so rightly points out, is the generational divide that Pokémon has to endure. Fans that grew up playing Red & Blue are now in their thirties or forties, and they have a notion of Pokémon that is entirely different than those new to the series. For them, the act of bringing forward every Pokémon from previous generatiꦡons is sacred--some still have beloved ‘Mons from their original team. Leaving them behind is such𓆉 a viscerally tragic thing to endure that it’s no wonder they’re venting their frustrations on any excuse they can find.
#GameFreakLied will trend on Twitter for a little long, but already we see #PokemonSwordShield drowning out the naysayers. It likely won’t affect Nintendo or Game Freak’s future development of the franchise either--catering to kids has been, and always will be, Pokémon’s bread and butter.