Should Pokemon games move away from their familiar formula?

Pokemon games have always followed the same formula. It’s the rags to riches story where you begin as a child and travel the world to become the best, like no one ever was. There are always the familiar elements; choosing your beloved starter Pokemon, a rival, gyms to conquer, an evil organization, and The Elite Four to beat. Arguably these are the tropes that make a Pokemon game, but if Zelda can remove so many familiar aspects, should Pokemon too?

Pokemon and Zelda are two of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises. Both are built of similar conventions. Beginning either game in the franchise you known what to expect, and that’s not a problem. Neither game has suffered from

over-familiarity of staleness. However with Zelda: Breath of the Wild (read more about the new Zelda here) Nintendo completely removed some of the most beloved aspects of the franchise, while keeping just a few for eagle-eyed Zelda fans to spot. The trailer was met with almost completely positive reviews, and it was by far the most talked about game at this year’s E3 (with well over 40% of all tweets mentioning E3 being about Hyrule’s hero).

However in complete contrast Pokemon: Sun and Moon (the two newest additions to the franchise) released a trailer that was met with mixed reviews. Despite being set in a very different location, all of the familiar elements were there to be seen. Familiarity can breed success, and it certainly has with the Pokemon franchise, so why change anything?

Pokemon hasn’t been this popular since we were all watching Ash every Saturday morning while dreaming of opening our next pack of Pokemon cards to see a Charizard. Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm and has brought the franchise back to the mainstream again. Arguably keeping the same formula for Sun and Moon is how to recapture players who left the series after Red and Blue.

But most returning or new Pokemon fans don’t seem to be intrigued by Pokemon Sun and Moon. In fact I’d go so far as to say that most Pokemon Go players (who aren’t die-hard fans) haven’t even heard of the upcoming game. That should be a real concern for Nintendo; they need to capitalize on this mainstream attention.

Zelda may be Nintendo’s most cherished, and most protected, franchise. Changing the formula for Breath of the Wild was certainly a risky move, but it already seems to have paid off. Pokemon may need to look at their Nintendo counterpart and follow their suit. Pokemon Go reinvigorated the franchise in a way no one expected. Now Nintendo need to draw this mainstream attention towards Sun and Moon. Maybe throwing out the rule book is exactly what Pokemon Sun and Moon need.

Do you think that Pokemon Sun and Moon needs to re-write the formula? What would you like to see changed? Are you impressed with the trailers so far? Comment below and have your say!