Pokemon 3D Adventure/RPG

No I'm talking about an existing or planned game, sorry if you got excited but read on.



Why after years and years of Pokemon have we not seen a full implementation of an open world 3d adventure/rpg for consoles or PC?  I know there were certain attempts to migrate the Pokemon franchise away from the handhelds, but nothing close to a direct translation.



I see Pokemon on handhelds much like Zelda was on the the NES, a classic formula from which to build on and evolve.  Zelda made the transition to an open world adventure game very early in 3D technology with Ocarina of Time, and it was a hit, one of the best games of all time.  What has kept Pokemon from making this direct translation?



First let me define what I would consider a direct translation of the Pokemon series to a 3D Adventure/RPG.  The story would have to follow the same path as the handhelds, you start in your home town and you venture forth to the world with plans on defeating gym leaders and discovering/catching as many Pokemon as you can.  That's it, take that concept alone and I'm willing to debate and accept any other gameplay mechanic that they decide to go with.



I've put a good amount of thought into the details of how the gameplay would play out and I'd like to get the communities input on some of these concepts:

Pokemon in the wild/Battling wild Pokemon

There are really only 2 possibilities for how you could encounter wild Pokemon.  The simplest and most familiar method would be when you enter into tall grass (which doesn't have to change for a 3D adaptation) you can simply encounter wild Pokemon and enter into a classic turn based battle with it.  A flashy, 3D version of the original turn based battle system would be 100% acceptable to me.

The second possibility for encountering wild Pokemon could be to actually see them in the open world.  This would be significantly more difficult given the size of some Pokemon and at what distance you render them.  You could debate making tall grass in the game 'taller' and most Pokemon ruffling the grass as you walk through it, but even then, some Pokemon should be spot-able from a large distance making them easier to discover/catch.  Serious balance would need to go into how hard it is to find Pokemon and how Pokemon 'come into view' and at what distance.

If Pokemon are discoverable and viewable in the open world, then you have the option of a different battle systems.  They can choose to have the player run up to a wild Pokemon they see in the world and then enter into a classic instanced turn based battle system; or they can implement battles seamlessly into the open world.  If the battle is in the open world, I believe the battle system would have to migrate to a more hybrid real-time/turn based battle system.

Personally I would like to see and interact with wild Pokemon directly in the world, but I understand the difficulties and balance that comes a long with this. In the end, I would prefer an instanced based battle system taken directly from the handhelds compared to a poorly implemented new seamless battle system.

Your party/Companions

Another detail that I would like to see is something they started to do with the handhelds where you can choose to have your Pokemon walk along side of you.  I would like to let as many of my Pokemon out of their Pokeballs at any time and let them walk along with me.  This again brings the challenge of size and scale of certain Pokemon.  It would be very easy to have a party of rodent type Pokemon running around and playing with the environment around you, but exponentially more difficult to have a party of large Pokemon like Onyx and many of the dragon type Pokemon running around with you all at once.  Other Pokemon can only really move well on or in water, so there would have to be situational circumstances to when certain Pokemon can come out.

Something new that would go well with a 3D adventure game is the ability to have human companions join you for some or all of your adventure.  Multi-battles have already made their way to the handhelds and this could easily and successfully be expanded on a 3D adaptation.  Co-op with other real people is even a possibility.

Gym Battles

It is important to make Gym battles feel distinct and important, and I think this should be easy to accomplish.  Gym battles, with both gym leaders and gym attendants, can be made to feel like a boss battle.  In a closed environment with a structured setting it would only take detail changes to make them feel more alive.  If wild Pokemon battles are to feel casual and possibly in the open world, gym battles will feel instanced and structured.

 

If Pokemon took what it does best and then took elements from other early adventure RPGs like Zelda, it can easily be a simple, fun, addictive formula that would give modern blockbusters a run for their money.