What is it about the core gameplay of Pokémon that keeps people coming back for more? There's a reason it sells so much despite the significant amount of fans dissatisfied with the games.

Living an adventure with your own team, that's really it.

>>57991708 (OP)

>>57991722
it's not even the same fucking image.

>>57991722
based

>>57991722
Why is Gold walking into a tree? Is he stupid?

>>57991748
Yes. He's genuinely the 2nd dumbest protagonist only behind Selena.

Short (for jrpg standards) + endless permutations of team compositions.

the pokemon

>>57991841
I thought this board said that modern Pokemon is only popular because of the girls.

>>57991855
this board also says every game is going to flop badly

>>57991708 (OP)
The basic jrpg gameplay loop of git gut->explore further->beat the boss->git gut mixed with pretty damn big customization of your team and simple to understand battle system.

Exploring a child-friendly, playground-like region is what kept me going back. but as the worlds got shorter, and added cutscenes for 20 square paths, and got less complex I dipped.

>>57991708 (OP)
can someone tell me where the archive is thanks

>>57991708 (OP)
i think its rly just an enormous case of stockholm syndrome at this point, there's something about the continuity of the series that people want to keep up with.
I think it has a lot to do with how they've connected all the games together. Old pokemon still appear in new games, you can still transfer your pokemon to new games, it's almost less like each game is it's own thing and more like an expansion to the biggest MMO of all time, it'd be easier to move on if every game felt like it was in its own bubble but they've someone made it feel like they're just iterating on the same thing that we've loved since childhood. Maybe it has something to do with how they've done worldbuilding, or just universal pokemon has become, or the fact that even when the games are slumping the other parts of the franchise (cards, anime, mobile games, wtvr) might still hold your attention, I think it has something to do with that overarching ecosystem they've built, and thats why no one else can topple them atp.

>>57991708 (OP)
It sells because parents buy it for their kids, not because the same people buy 9 games in a row. The Pokemon fandom is a revolving door.

>>57991708 (OP)
They key for Pokemon are Pokemon. One of the best crteated monsters in media.

The only contenter for creativity have been Digimon, but they fell out with all mechas, they are slowly once again gain traction with their designs so its great.

It's the turn-based RPG boiled down to its simplest form.
In RPGs, your brain releases dopamine every time you beat an enemy, level up, learn a new spell, get a new party member, beat a boss, etc.
Now think about how often this happens in Pokémon. Battles are over in one or two attacks. You level up every few battles. You're constantly learning new moves and your party even literally transform into more powerful versions every couple hours. You can make any enemy in the game into a party member. The bosses are all laid out for you in advance.
The games are dopamine dispensers the likes of which did not exist up to that point.

People will always buy these games no matter how bad they are because they are literally addicted from the moment they first play them. The basic gameplay loop is so genius even the original devs had no idea what they had on their hands.

There's all the auxiliary aesthetic parts of cool and cute designs, the vague feelings of adventure and bonding with your monsters, nostalgia, but all that is just to sell the pure rock cocaine that is Pokémon RPG gameplay.

>>57991708 (OP)
I like roaming about the regions, especially when they're new and don't have documentation for every square inch of it.

When a new gen is in pre-release, I spend a significant amount of time pouring over the region map art when it gets shown, then don't engage with any other information drops, official or otherwise, until I've beaten the game.

The last two gens have been disappointing in this regard, Galar having next to nothing to explore, and Paldea lacking structure beyond the western third of the map. If the "Gen ,10 archipelago" part of the teraleaks is true, then I'm probably going to be disappointed yet again, unless the layout is solid.

>>57991708 (OP)
It doesn't, after the third time it just feels like a 20 hour unskippable tutorial without a game after it. The only reason I've played the last few gens is that they're breaking away from that.

>>57993179
Stop letting retards on youtube and tiktok tell you how neurology works. No, everything is not a fucking skinner box

>>57991708 (OP)
the core gameplay loop of
>smashing A until the story is over (didn't read)
>spending hundreds of hours hatching eggs and battling
>moving on to the new region