Core Franchises Present and Future - Pokémon [Personal]

Despite being third on my core franchise list, Pokémon has been with me since the beginning. Across six generations of games, the main series has grown ever stronger. Each generation also gave us a variety of spin-offs, some of which continue to this day. The TV series also grew stronger as the years progressed, and while a soft reboot did occur at the start of Black and White [thus getting a lot of criticism from long-time fans], the series did well to pick itself back up during the XY series. The movies are less fortunate, seemingly being stuck between mediocre and alright. In some cases it can feel the plots drag on a bit too much, and in other cases the balance is just right [I feel Genesect and the Legend Awakened is one with the right balance]. The Trading Card Game has a lot of strength to it, adding new mechanics and continuing to bring a lovable collection of artwork to the fore. With the recent Mega-EX and BREAK cards being added, there are even more strategies to play with. As for other merchandising, with it being the 20th anniversary this year there has been a strong push with it. Even before that though, there's been a lot - including some very interesting dress-up Pikachu. Merchandise is probably one of my weaker points within the Pokémon franchise, though I still have a look from time to time.

With the recent announcement of Pokémon Sun and Moon, there is a lot of talk over what they will contain. Most seem set on Hawaii as a location, and if that is the case we could find ourselves with an interesting new region if that region itself resembles Hawaii [what with Hawaii being islands]. Of course, I'm not here to talk rumour, but about other aspects of the games. Now generation two gave us the Stadium series, which evolved in generation three to be more like a main series game in Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness. The generation four stadium game - Battle Revolution - kept the stadium feeling by reducing the plot to the regular beating of a tier to progress. Generation five didn't have a stadium game, and when generation six came, the main series had moved to 3D models. That sort of made the need for a new stadium game moot. With the right amount of care put into another stadium game, I feel it could work even with the main series' move to 3D models. In fact, try for some experimentation with the stadium games. The Gamecube stadium games proved that a plot away from the standard main games could work, and those games were experiments with their story. They had a slightly darker atmosphere, which worked for the idea of Shadow Pokémon, though the new game doesn't necessarily have to stay that dark.

There could also be another route. Through the years advancements have been made - and yes, to see another game like Colosseum on the WiiU would be an absolute dream - that make a home console game that bit more uncertain. Like I said, they could continue and be experimentation with the plot that the main series won't do. But what if the main series is adapting and moving away from its routine plot lines? What if becoming champion of the region becomes a side point with beating the evil team being the main one? I wouldn't expect such a huge jump in one generation, but small things like a bigger presence of the evil team across the region would be one way to hint at such a movement. While the saying does go "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," I feel in this case its not so much fixing it as change how you reach the end result.
The soon to be released Pokken Tournament brings an interesting take on Pokémon battles. No longer restricted to turn based battling, controlling the Pokémon outright puts more emphasis on the more physical skills rather than the mental ones. Depending on how it does in terms of critical review, it could be we have another spin-off series, even if it doesn't last more than one or two more games. If anything, this is a big experiment. Which brings me to say that this is one thing the Pokémon series does well. Playing as Pokémon themselves rather than just commanding them was still a pipe-dream before the Mystery Dungeon series. Having a game more about the connection between Pokémon and the environment was explored with Pokémon Snap [which is still needing a sequel!]. Even experiments that seem weird on paper like racing or pinball have shown they can work. And if there is an experiment I would call for - that's new for the series - it would be a simulation game where you run a day-care center. I don't think it could make a full price release, but as an eShop game it would be more than fine. Starting out small with only a few spaces, you'd need to keep the Pokémon in your care happy, well fed, trained, etc. The happier a Pokémon is, the faster it will train. Depending on how well trained the Pokémon is when it's owner returns gets you money to invest in the day-care.

With the TV Series moving into XYZ - and the obvious lack of a Z game - it seems the show is willing to try and experiment every once in a while, or at least go a different route than the games. The most obvious point being the Pokémon Showcases which happen, similar to Contests from Advanced and Diamond and Pearl. With those series it was understandable to have such contests as the games for that generation had contests in them. The X and Y games featured no such contests. You could say advertisement for the release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, but in that case you have to wonder why more wasn't done to keep the contests similar to draw that conclusion from. Aside from the Mega Evolution specials, there was no such connection between the release of Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire and the series. Unknown to us yet, there might also be the fact that Zygarde and its formes are series-exclusive. Adding to that, maybe even Ash-Greninja - the forme of legend where a powerful bond between trainer and Pokémon causes a transformation which gives the Pokémon a resemblance to its trainer - is also series-exclusive. Series exclusive things always happen - exclusive towns and cities for one - but aside from the Orange Islands, it has never felt like the series has been ambitious in its deviation from the games. With this series and into the next, I'm thinking we might see larger changes.
In terms of what is happening currently, it makes sense for the Team Flare business to happen now, as it was between the seventh and eighth gyms that the finale to the Team Flare business happened within the games. The major differences are the legendary Pokémon being used, and what they want it for [sort of].

As said before, there is the contest side-story that didn't feature in the games, and this time it could be possible that Ash will win the league. What happens after that is anyone's guess. The current format does seem to work, but if Ash does indeed win the league, there would be little point in him competing in the various leagues as he would already be on the way to being a Pokémon master. The next step, of course, would be battling the Elite Four and claiming a Champion title for himself. It's entirely possible the next series starts in the region of the seventh games before returning to Kanto, where Ash - confident in his skills as a trainer - battles his way through the Kanto league again, claiming the right to battle the Elite Four. The next series could also be a transitional period, showing two journeys at once. Kanto with Ash, and a new trainer in the new region. It would have to be done in such a way that wouldn't confuse the audience. The main series in the new region with a side series in Kanto would work, and the current series has shown two regions can work with the Mega Evolution Specials mainly focused in Hoenn. Of course, a crossover between the series and Ash-focused specials could happen. In the same way Ash would meet champions in his time, maybe the new trainer would meet Ash after losing a few leagues. Of course, we could always stay with Ash visiting a new region, though he doesn't necessarily have to compete in the league. Ash could also be supportive of Serena and stay with her wherever she next went - if she decides to take on a new journey, of course. There are countless possibilities for where the series could move. The movies will take this change and go with it. Though relating to my idea of a transitional period, perhaps the films could follow Ash in Kanto as he takes on the Elite Four and Champion. The plot would need to make sure it didn't just involve battles, though with an hour and ten run time, and the battles of the series hardly ever touching twenty minutes, it can be done. Away from that idea though, I feel as though a bit more can be done to make sure plots don't drag on in some cases, perhaps by adding a quick something to resolve or a side plot.

I've gone on massively about both games and TV and film, and I've already mentioned I'm not that into merchandise, so I'll keep this one shorter. The Trading Card Game has been doing a lot to keep the game fresh, and the artwork on the cards can always impress. What also impresses is when they add new mechanics. EX, Mega-EX, BREAK. Even those mechanics that have been retired, such as Dark Pokémon and Delta Species. There's not really a lot I can suggest, as the TCG has always been one of the strongest of the Pokémon franchise. The other products I also can't really say much on, though I like what they've been doing recently. I think it would be interesting if - in terms of board games - there could be a Labyrinth Pokémon Edition. Since the aim of the game is to reach the counters and 'collect' them, it fits the Pokémon motif of catch 'em all. The soft toys are great in appearance [mostly], and even some of the more stylised ones can be cute.

Yes, this has been lengthy, and I applaud you if you read the whole lot, as this is probably one of my largest posts yet. There's two more yet to come though, and so next week brings my thoughts on Sonic the Hedgehog.

My Awesome Rattata 16 [Network]

Hot off the 20th anniversary celebrations for Pokémon, new games in the series have been announced. Sun and Moon are still a mystery, but have fans wildly speculating already. It will be fun to see more when they finally get shown off, to see whether the guesses of the content were right or wildly off the mark. As part of this month, I will also be covering the game as part of series of posts I will be doing.

Those posts are to look at my three core franchise likes, and what I feel can be done with them [or what I'd like to happen] to see them become stronger. Now, those three topics will be very of my own opinion, so I wouldn't expect everyone to agree with me on what I might cover within them. Pokémon will be up first, and I will have it up by the end of the week.

This month will be flooded with blog posts, as I move through a few topics. As stated last month, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens had been announced, and that will go under the Star Wars post as part of the core franchise posts. I want to give it a bit more of a general LEGO looking as well, and specifically what it could do to set itself apart from other LEGO games, and what from other games could actually work within Force Awakens.

There will also be two blogs covering two of my fictitious works. The first will cover The Chameleon Chronicles, and as it soon comes to an end I wanted to look back on it and give some of my thoughts on crafting the story. The second post concerns Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles, which will cover past, present, and future. As one of my longest running fan fiction works, this post will look back at a brief starting, the audios that were made in conjunction with TheJazNetwork [Paradox Audios], as well as creating the rest of the audios, the start of the fiction, and how that evolved over time. It will also look at the current arc [which will be back in progress soon] as well as what events come up in the future for DarkRula and The Doctor. Without giving too much away, of course.

As for new videos, I have a few more GTA Online races to show off, though I won't do them all at once. I might also open up some of the races to showcase the actual racing, rather than just driving the course myself. Star Wars Battlefront EA recently had a free map added, and will have another one added soon, along with the first of the download content packs. I should be able to cover them, though depending on when they get released, that video might slip over into next month.

Sure is a busy month. If anything new gets announced during all of this, it will probably get busier. That's all for now, though.

Funny Eating Bat 16 [Network]

Chapter 9 of The Chameleon Chronicles had been uploaded last month, and this month will be Chapter 10. That leaves two chapters left for March and April. After that, work will resume on Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles, which was left on a bit of an interesting plot. I feel that now is also the time to announce that Pokémon: Shadow Boom is being reviewed to both make the story flow a bit better, and to update it where needed so it isn't a mess of writing styles. I have to admit, looking back, it wasn't perfect to add too many projects to the schedule, as it did mess me around a bit. That is why, of course, I have now scaled back on the number of writing projects to just one main focus.

The review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens will now have to wait until after home media release. It's been so long, and there's been so much else going on, that I feel I wouldn't be able to do it the justice I would like. And talking of The Force Awakens, it was announced today with a teaser that LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens would release on 28th June. Coming to PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PS Vita, 3DS, and PC - the announcement says it will feature content set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, or at least explore the time between the two in some way. There might be something relating to the game uploaded by me on here some time soon, whether this month or next.

As for everything else, I'll be uploading a video of Star Wars Battlefront EA soon, and might even showcase another GTA Custom Race. You will have noticed that the Previous Blog Archives are now complete, and the old Weebly website will no longer feature that content any more starting from this month. There might be a use I can put it to though, so don't be sure to discount that old site just yet.
Also of interest is the Pokémon 20th anniversary celebrations, which kick off with a code to get a Mew in the latest games. Merchandise relating to Mew, including a Mythical Collection Trading Card Game set, of which one will be coming each month, just as with the codes. Visit the Pokémon 20 website to get more information.
For now, I will say keep an eye out for the announcements of uploads on both the Facebook and Google+ pages, and that is all for now.

Change of the Heart [Network]

A new year is upon us, and so are new logos across the network. As well as title cards on blog posts. The last part of the first section of uploads of Star Wars Battlefront 2's 10th anniversary videos should have been up last week. Instead, that will be tomorrow. A new GTA custom race video will be up as well, and I'll start showcasing the new Star Wars Battlefront after that.

The rest of the blog posts from the old site will be transferred over very soon, and in terms of the fan fiction, a full chapter will be uploaded this month. I will also have something else done on the website, but you'll have to wait until I announce that. If you think about my three core franchise likes, and look to the beginning of the website, and also think about a certain anniversary that is this year, I think you'll be able to guess at what that might be. I know I said last month I'd abandoned it, and while true for those months I never touched it, I also feel like doing more with it this year - even if it's just getting back to a regular posting schedule.

Any other blogs will come, since I don't have any planned except for my thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens - which again was delayed due to the holiday festivities. And what a film it is. Already taking the number two highest grossing film worldwide, it looks set to overtake Avatar and claim that top spot. And when it does, it deserves it. I feel it's that good.

What I'm Waiting For - Volume 4 [Gaming]

It's been a long time since I did one of these. Beginning of the year, in fact. And quite a bit has happened between then and now. For starters, both LEGO Jurassic World and Splatoon released - giving me quite a lot to do within each game. As well as that though, Star Wars Battlefront also released and I have also been having a blast on GTA Online.

To recap on the games covered in my last What I'm Waiting For, I loved playing through LEGO Jurassic World. While the hub wasn't the singular larger one I had hoped, it made sense within the game as the hubs played into the story. Playing and creating dinosaurs was good fun, and the humour was spot-on as usual.

Splatoon met my expectations greatly. And since launch it has only been growing since. From the start it only had a small number of weapons and maps, maximum rank of 20, and not much else. Since then, new weapons and weapon classes have been added, a lot more maps, and for those that need a reason to jump on - Splatfests. The rank cap was also increased to 50 and a new mode was added - Rainmaker. Though I've fell out of playing it for a while, I fully intend to get back to it, as the game really is a lot of fun.

Onto the latest of the games, and you'd be forgiven for wondering why yet another Frontier Developments game is here. Planet Coaster is, despite the little we've seen of it, looking to be a great experience. Frontier were behind Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and the Thrillville series, so they have experience in this type of game. Atari seem to think they don't need Frontier to build on the RCT series, which paves the way for this stand-alone effort. A lot of concept work has been released, as well as two developer diaries, showing the game in action. From what we have seen, it seems we have full control of what we place and how it looks. Terrain controls look far improved over Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, and the technical depth in terms of rides and visitors seems to be a lot better than games that have come before.

If there is one thing I would like in the game, despite the fact it would serve nearly no purpose at all, is the ability to play within the world as a human. Thrillville had the game played from this human perspective, and as such had some character customisation, but those games were more story focused than the average simulation games. The Zoo Tycoon made by Frontier used a dual system however. The tycoon view - which was the traditional top down view, and the zoo view - that where you get down to the guests' level. Most of the features stayed the same between the two, but each view allowed unique features such as being able to interact with the animals in the zoo view. This could easily be a part of Planet Coaster, even if not everything is playable [as was the case with Thrillville].

I'm quite torn between the other game to include for this volume, as both are part of my core three franchises. Neither have yet had a new game announced, but it is quite obvious where each should be heading. The Pokémon series has followed a stable release of two main games and then a third. Black and White mixed that up with a sequel and not a director's cut [and having another two game split] but considering generation five didn't have any remakes that sort of made sense. So it does indeed seem we might be back to the director's cut, or at least a single third game.

What is also more than likely to happen is the great things we had in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will only be half included. The biggest one obviously being flying around on the back of a Pokémon and the ability to fly anywhere. I expect the free-roam flying to be gone but we'll still be able choose any route or location to fly to. However, if I really wanted to go off on one [and I will] I'd say that both X and Y and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will be joined together into one mega game. There has been a massive feeling of connectivity between the main games and remakes that hasn't been present in any other generation of Pokémon, and I feel they might try and capitalise on that with an all new story that references the past events of both previous entries. And of course, feature both regions.

However, it already feels like generation six is closing, and it is the 20th anniversary for the series in 2016. Whether that means much considering past anniversaries and the lack of celebration in terms of the games themselves, we'll have to see.

Another series with an anniversary is Sonic the Hedgehog and his 25th, which definitely means something as SEGA have celebrated past anniversaries with mixed success. The latest was Generations for the 20th, and this anniversary seems even more classic focused than ever, considering all that has been said and seen so far. I'm interested in seeing whether that can be pulled off, and whether they have way-layed us. It's entirely possible they might have had two games cooking up, after all. I've covered the Sonic series back in Volume 1, so refer back to that for my ideas.

I sure don't need to cover Star Wars Battlefront here what with everything I've already posted about it [and the review], but I will say the Star Wars franchise is coming back to top form, and I hope the next game from EA can reflect this. For now, that's all from this What I'm Waiting For. Another post for a certain film will be out soon, and I have to say I enjoyed it.

What I'm Waiting For Series

Volume 1 / Volume 2 / Volume 3 / Volume 4 / Volume 5 / Volume 6 / E3 Special / Volume 7

Return of the Busted [Network]

Yesterday I gave a retrospective on Star Wars Battlefront, and started off the tenth anniversary celebrations of Battlefront 2. Parts two and three of that will be coming over the next two weeks, and then some time after [in the next year] another two miniseries will look at the other two modes on the game.
Battlefront isn't the only game getting a look in, as another custom race GTA Online video will be coming soon. It's possible there will be two of those this month, possibly in the same video, as both have crossover with each other on a certain part.
For CDS Media, that place I keep my stories and such, well... it's pretty much been deserted by me. It hasn't had any new parts added to it in almost two months, and while I don't want to cancel the project, there needs to be some thought on what happens. I already know that the Animal Crossing story is being cancelled outright. As the newest of the lot, it feels as though there isn't much point continuing it. The Chameleon Chronicles is four chapters away from completion, so that will be priority. It's possible that chapters will be bulk uploaded instead of being in parts, so as to quicken up the process.
For everything else, I have a blog post lined up about something, as well as another volume of What I'm Waiting For. There will be something Christmas related, though I'm not sure what that is yet. And to make sure all blog posts are in the same place, all those posts from the Weebly site of CDS Blogs will be moved over to here and the old site closed off. It's just a bit of streamlining that won't take up any space on the main page.
That's all for now, and the new year is fast approaching. And a new year could possibly mean new changes for the network. Bye for now.

Star Wars Battlefront Retrospective [Personal]

 There is quite a lot, for me, to be thankful for about Star Wars Battlefront. I've said it plenty of times, but first playing Star Wars Battlefront 2 is what got me into Star Wars in the first place. Without having that first experience of playing with a friend back in the 2006 Christmas break, I probably wouldn't be as big a fan as I am now. Playing Battlefront 2 is what got me to track down the original trilogy of films [little twelve year old me probably getting sidetracked by the LEGO isle in Toys R Us no doubt] and watched them. Probably not too much of a stretch to say I've watched them at least once every year, adding the prequels to that once I got them a year later.
But of course, it all comes back to Battlefront, which became the go-to multiplayer game of choice between me and my friend on our Friday visits. Battlefront 2 has probably had more hours poured into it than any other game I own. Over the course of time, I eventually owned and played every Battlefront game released, but still always came back to Battlefront 2.

It would make sense to start with Battlefront 2 on this - since it is the first I played - but I'm going in release order to make things simple. With the original Star Wars Battlefront, I didn't actually start playing it until after Elite Squadron released. I could tell it was something special though. Both eras of Star Wars together in one game, with the idea of living out battle fantasies as a regular trooper. Something I'd already been doing in Battlefront 2, but the first had very few restrictions. Spaceships were accessible on the map itself, making for quite a few fun battles [and a few one-sided ones as well]. The maps themselves were diverse enough that you could tell which was which, and though there was only one mode playable, it was still good fun as it rarely felt as though the same thing happened twice [except on Bespin: Platforms, which is always going to end up in a serious firefight for the middle]. Vehicles were always present, and each class had a set up that differed from others. It was the perfect start for what would come the following year in 2005. And since the original was released before Revenge of the Sith, Kashyyyk being on the roster was such a tease.

Battlefront 2 was the perfect follow up to the original. It expanded on pretty much everything. But the second being my first, I wouldn't have known that. I was just sucked in to a new world with lasers, robots, aliens, and spaceship fights. Not knowing any names of anything made it all the more better. This was something I would be learning from scratch. And I did. I learned about flying and fighting and the heroes and the planets and all the vehicles I was using. And some of the names I was using back then were pretty close but not right [such as the memorable cash-yuck I kept using as Kashyyyk's name]. The planets and locations grew in number, heroes were playable, and an expanded campaign and Galactic Conquest were added. I'd spend hours with Galactic Conquest when I wanted a challenge of some sort, buying classes of soldier, moving around the galaxy, conquering space, and finally dominating the last planet needed to take over the galaxy. I even played the campaign more than once, marveling at the story of the unnamed clone trooper as he recounts battles of Geonosis, Coruscant, Hoth, and even those in between such as the takeover of Kamino and Mustafar, which mixed the two eras together to give clones vs clones and Empire vs CIS. But as well as that, we had Heroes vs Villains. Team of good guys versus team of bad guys in a deathmatch styled mode. It was crazy, over the top, and worth it. It can drag on, but so long as it was played sparingly, it was always a good laugh. There was also the space battles, allowing us to live out space battle fantasies at long last [at least within the Battlefront series]. It was chaos, and very easily won by landing inside the enemy cruiser and blowing out the critical systems from the inside, but the controls were fluid and so was the gameplay itself, and it was something neither handheld Battlefront game could fully master.

Which leads us onto said handheld Battlefront's. Released in 2007, Renegade Squadron was the first of the handheld games, and gave us planets not yet seen before, customisation of character and weapons, and overhauled the Galactic Conquest game mode. Being only on the PSP meant the controls were clunky, and the gameplay suffered from it. With the space maps is where it tried its hardest though. At least on two of them. See, these two maps added something in the middle. A neutral base. This could be captured by control point, and once it was owned by your team served as an extra base to quickly get starfighters out into the battle. Another thing that made space battles better - the inclusion of hero starfighters. These were powerful, just like the heroes themselves were, with upgraded weaponry and extra health. And so while Renegade Squadron wasn't the best, it at least expanded the Battlefront name in some way.
Elite Squadron tried its hardest to be the best, as yet again it added expansion. Or should that be added the concept of expansion saw in the cancelled Battlefront 3 to the best of its ability. Yet again on the PSP [there's not really any need to talk about the DS version since it doesn't really have anything to do with Battlefront at all] it featured a select number of planets that linked directly to space. Elite Squadron was the first Battlefront to do the concept of land to space battles, where all arenas affected the outcome. Controlling the ion cannon command point would end the enemy cruisers shields quicker, allowing you access to work your way to the reactor and blow it up. The cruisers themselves would be firing down on the planet below, laying waste to vehicles. Spaceships were again playable on the ground, allowing those to have an advantage. The campaign introduced several new characters and featured a plot that loosely linked to the films, and going beyond the films for its final conclusion. Customisation returned, the controls were slightly better, and Galactic Conquest introduced different map sizes for the first time. Because of what it was though, it needed roughly symmetrical level design, which meant the maps themselves did suffer slightly for it. There is also the fact that Heroes vs Villains was now split between eras, meaning Darth Maul couldn't be slicing through Luke Skywalker.

With the tenth anniversary of Battlefront 2's release having been the end of last month, we have a new Battlefront, made by DICE and EA - creators of the Battlefield series. It's a reboot, not an expansion. We've come full circle. In this day and age, expansions are digitally released for the current game then included in the base game for the follow-up. I just hope that this new series of Battlefront can expand like the original series did, and go even further than what the originals did. And while this new Battlefront is out, it still won't stop me from returning to my roots. Returning to Battlefront 2, and the reason I am a fan of Star Wars.

If you haven't already, read my Star Wars Battlefront EA review, and look out for my videos on both Star Wars Battlefront 2 and this new one. Battlefront 2 currently has a dedicated three part miniseries looking at the different parts of Instant Action on my Youtube. First part can be found here.