So much for getting back to the backlog proper - Pokemon Diamond's jumped the line again.
Playing a Pokemon game as an adult with a job and bills and so forth is a very foreign experience from playing one as a kid. That might sound like something to be said of any game, but I think that it rings especially true for Pokemon games.
Here's why: it takes time to get the items and pokemon that will make your game truly memorable and unique. Unlike other RPGs, you have so much choice in your party that you've got to do work beyond the usual grinding and getting through the game's story.
When I was a lad playing Pokemon games, I had all the time I needed to catch all the pokemon I could. I had all the time necessary to go side-questing or item-hunting. Now, though, I find myself skipping over pokemon that are difficult to catch (like Abra - rare and quick to teleport away).
Plus, because my pokemon are all at the point where they're neither weak enough to make grinding/fighting wild pokemon a puzzle nor strong enough to make it a breeze, I've found myself contemplating running from battles. When it comes to RPGs I never run just for the sake of saving time.
Perhaps part of why the experience is so different for me is because when I first played the Pokemon games I kept a guide (or at least a listing of where to find all the pokemon) at my side. So far, I've mostly done without on this playthrough.
But, what I'm left wondering is: Is this difference in experience because I'm older or because I'm lacking the sense of concrete-ness that a good guide brings to an otherwise nebulous game?
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