Lurker > zinformant

I, too, do not know what year it is.

Walrein might have been more appreciated were it not relegated to an optional area late in the game. It's super underrated.

Mimicking where the coelacanth was found in the twentieth century, Relicanth's original range was just off of Sootopolis underwater at an elusive 5% encounter rate. It's such a neat monster, and Head Smash was a great attack to add to its arsenal in DP.

Dusclops sits in the liminal space between creepy, cute, and cool. That the wisp made a mummy around itself is really satisfying. Its shiny form reflecting its native Ruby Version is also great (cf Shuppet shiny as Sapphire).
https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/9/95/Spr_3e_356_s.png

I love Cradily (voted), Armaldo, and Claydol but am not deluded enough to think that they have wide appeal.

This is a really fun batch. I am between Cacnea and Solrock for favorites, and Solrock edges it out. I love the concept that a sun-shaped monster came in on a meteor. It is easily the most interesting of the version exclusives.

One vote for every unique Spinda:
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Spinda_(Pok%C3%A9mon)#Trivia

This is one time where Plusle and Minun are not buy one, get one (sorry, Minun).

This is a great batch overall, but Aggron narrowly edges out several of the others.

'Generic mammal' is close to the original conception, but the card game really understood it by interpreting it as 'colorless', literally 'without element' and not having Super-Effectiveness against anything. From that standpoint, the concept works despite being extremely game-y.

Shedinja is literally a husk with a black hole in its back from when the Ninjask crawled out. That's too cool. Nevermind that its ability is endlessly amusing. I go onto the simulator once every generation or so and bring one to have someone write into the chat whining about Wonder Guard because they had never seen it before.

I cannot believe that I am going to have to turn to Umbreon and T-tar to defeat Gardevoir. Anyway, I chose Breloom. It's a fun design and interesting typing for 2003.

Violet encyclopedia entry for Shiftry:

Legends tell of a bird Pokmon that received divine punishment for its evil deeds and had its beak and wings replaced.

That warrants a vote here.

It will not win, but Dustox is a favorite of mine.

I had no idea that Tyranitar was so widely popular.
Calwings posted...

I'm too much of a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon fan to vote for anyone but Grovyle in the next batch

Excellent choice. Explorers of Sky is overlooked and underrated.

If you plot out the new games per console generation, there have been two to three every generation since the Advanced era. Switch era--which is essentially over--has received nothing. To that end, the series is all but dead at this point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM053wRH83I

Some Kingdra artwork:
https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/a/aa/KingdraAquapolis19.jpg
https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/d/db/KingdraLostOrigin37.jpg
https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/1/1e/KingdraBurningShadows31.jpg

Magcargo is such a great design, but nobody likes it. I most recently got to raise one through the Scarlet and Violet DLC which was a lot of fun. They even made a trading card for its (Fire) Terastallized form!
https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/6/61/MagcargoexCrimsonHaze80.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aDaHZBV.jpeg
The candelabra crown works really well on the shell.

I am not foolish enough to think that anything here can challenge the Veevees (technical term, thanks SV), but Sunkern is far cuter and unappreciated.

Ampharos swept this.

Tag.

Mew has a rich history of mythology behind it in the main series, spin-offs, cross media, and fan culture. The Johto starters just cannot compete.

SV ran an event where it distributed Mews with random Tera types that got a bonus fighting a special Mewtwo raid. What practically happened was that everyone changed their Mews to Tera Bug, but it was fun experience to raise one's own Mew for this reunion battle.

I wrote a short piece on Articuno years ago.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/220-rpgs-role-playing-games/77206375?page=4#41

I don't know how anyone old enough to see this board could vote against Porygon.

It'll never win, but Seaking is a really cool design. Actually, most of this list is really solid.

And, you never looked at Cutiefly or Crabrawler the same again. Insightful, engaging run with an appropriate blend of classic and new monsters.

Shiny Koffing, a play in four acts:
https://i.imgur.com/DFvrbeq.png

I encourage perusal of Cubone's trading card artwork. There are fantastic pieces from the craze until today.
https://www.serebii.net/card/dex/104.shtml
Several allude to Cubone's naturally forlorn existence, what with wearing its mother's skull and all (tears in third artwork). Then, there is something empowering about that skull becoming a part of itself when it evolves. It's such an interesting design this early in the series.

I never understood the appeal of Gengar. The only thing it has going for it is engaging in the very first Pokemon battle from the opening sequence (allegedly between Professor Oak and Agatha, in fact). Beyond that, it's such a generic design even relative to its preevolutions.

Victreebel is sorely, severely, and criminally underrated and always has been, but I'm going with Slowbro. The Shellder symbiosis remains a novel concept.

I feel like most folks are overpowered come that Totem battle, but you really dived into the mechanics of it necessarily. Great fights. Bullet Punch Scizor is serious Diamond and Pearl era vibes.

I love how Bellsprout's canonical strength matches the real tensile strength of every gardener's bane. There is a nasty early animation episode (league scrimmage, actually) where it bodies foes with kicks.

Tag.

Though I chose Parasect, I would like to shout out to Venomoth for those who didn't play Scarlet and Violet. For some reason, they decided to populate the final dungeon with Venomoth, the first time since the very original games where this monster was crawling around the last stage. It was neat to see.

Edit: If you are so moved, consider adding a tag list to the opener so that some of us can reliably vote. I might forget to check daily if not pinged.

comicfire posted...

Alola suffers from not having a definitive edition.

USUM is a significantly better gameplay experience, but drops the ball HARD on the plot.

SM has a much more coherent story, but is probably the worst set of "first-in-the-generation" games in the series gameplay-wise.

Excepting the above which is very accurate, by objective criteria, base Sun and Moon are the best games in the series. They are absolutely must-plays. If you enjoy them, play Ultra later.

Sophie is not classic Atelier--frankly, it's antithetical theretoward--so be careful with that recommendation.

Rika_Furude posted...

So, how forgiving is the time limit really? I guess this is the XCom style time limit where you just game-over when you reach it and need to restart. So Im guessing I should keep some backup saves.

The bad ending is really amusing and should be watched once you finish the game, but I was serious when I said that you have to really squander time. Will you get the Platinum in one playthrough? It's possible but unlikely if you don't have know-how, experience, or follow a guide, but the game gives you plenty of space to fool around and still see much or most of it. In Arland, actions matter. If you go to a field area, you clear it out once and go somewhere next purposefully. That's how tight the time limit is there. You could, by contast, clear Ayesha's main objective within, say, eighteen months and have the rest of the time to kill. It's pretty flexible, and you'll be fine. Good luck.

Rika_Furude posted...

What is so bad about Rorona?

Anyway, seems like I should start with Ayesha. Are the other games stories just not as good as Ayeshas?

The characters are unlikable and exaggerated. The story is virtually nonexistent and otherwise silly. The world and exploration are boring. This was their first foray back into classic Atelier after the PS2 era (where Mana Khemia and Iris are more traditional roleplaying experiences--Iris 2 in particular is very good for whatever that's worth), so it was a transition.

There are some well written personal character arcs across all subseries, but there is just more going on in Dusk than anywhere else due to the end of the world scenario. Arland and Mysterious are generic high fantasy while Ryza has a little more going on with its ruins.

Rika_Furude posted...

another said that ayesha is rough

Ayesha is rough if you enjoy grinding and take many needless actions. Anyone halfway experienced with the genre does not have that experience.

Regarding Mysterious, start with Sophie. Firis or Sophie 2 thereafter doesn't matter, but get to Lydie eventually if you do start since it's the strongest of the set.

Rorona is terrible, but you need a little history to contextualize the overall story. So-called 'classic' Atelier has time-limited gameplay which makes some players anxious with the (rather notable) benefit of tightening the game design. Modern entries without time limitations are relative grind-fests due to freedom to gather and fight whatever, whenever.

Because I cannot recommend Rorona to my worst enemy, the Arland starting point is Totori. The game is a little unforgivingly time-limited (actions cannot be wasted), but it is otherwise a solid adventure relative to its predecessor. The protagonist is as clueless as you regarding any carryover from Rorona. Play new game plus to the true ending (guide recommended) or Meruru afterward.

The Dusk series splits the difference between time-limited gameplay and more standard roleplaying game design but also marks the transition from time limitations to modernity. Ayesha is incredible and highly recommneded. It has the time limitation, but one does not have to so carefully budget actions as in the preceding Arland games. The world is also far more interesting to immerse into. Its sequels, Escha to Logy and Shallie, slowly erode away the time limit until it's gone. Gust was experimenting a bit.

Sophie (Mysterious series) and Ryza (Ryza series) are free of time limitations and are not recommended due to being grindy and otherwise kind of pedestrian. Starting with either is fine provided you understand that there are greener pastures elsewhere. Ayesha is the safest bet.

Edit: Please ask follow-up questions.
Edit 2: editing

Calwings posted...

On the third attempt, I decided to lead with Gastly and immediately used Curse on Lurantis. This time, the Lurantis SOS-called Kecleon first instead of Comfey. I had Gastly use Hypnosis on Kecleon to prevent it from setting up Sunny Day, then Lurantis KO'd Gastly. I sent out Cutiefly, and without the Sun up and with Curse damage adding up, this time Lurantis couldn't out-heal Cutiefly's Bug Buzz damage. Cutiefly KO'd Lurantis while Kecleon stayed asleep, then I brought in Crabrawler to KO Kecleon and finish the battle without the Comfey ever being called in.

That is lowkey an epic way for it to have gone down. Have a Cutiefly.
https://www.pokebeach.com/news/2024/01/78-Cutiefly.jpg

Zeeak4444 posted...

Are they related in any way? I havent played the blade collection but Ive heard they werent (and that the fans were two separate groups with small overlap)

They're related in the same sense that 'saga and 'gears are (dubiously at best) related, if a little less so. Obviously, Abel sharing Fei's visage is profound, and there are other like but incidental carryovers to 'blade games. The general intention and thematic slant that unifies 'Xeno' games persists, as well. The fundamental game design differences are what splinter the fan base.

Calwings posted...

I'll talk about how I'm going to deal with Ultra Necrozma when I get closer to that battle... although someone might be able to guess my plan well before then.

Flail? Poisoning? You certainly won't be brute forcing anything. I am more immediately concerned about Lana's and Mallow's trials, so this will be interesting for sure.

Ever17's 360 release's is powerful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHIJz0Op6sc

Both Trails Through Daybreak title screens are fantastic with the second being a little stronger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtVUbvQ1yDY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f16CNF2vKyI
If you enjoyed the first, there is an official arrangement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu6iEP-2Stg

Most know the first Xenoblade's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erKkWGfEW9U

Jeanne d'Arc is exciting, as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ruXx43I3qU
Ensure that you listen through the two minute mark.

pokedude900 posted...

Also knew one kid who pronounced it "zucchini"

Walking Wake has a new nickname, congratulations.

(Actually, I am unsure if we are permitted to name it now that I think about it.)

Linze posted...

So there are people who like Garbodor?

While I would question it as anyone's favorite, it did recently get a fancy artwork trading card.
https://www.pokebeach.com/news/2023/10/IMG_5859.jpeg
Someone cares.

That speaks more to the fan base than anything else; however, his appearance at the end of Dual Destinies is fairly significant.

Whatever happened to Dead Patient?

More music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZefXTE_zR_k
The part that everyone remembers from the above is around 3:30.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1-t3mpcEN8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tpkvSMmzeY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4l4rvTVt8U

Light spoiler:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myPtCiVr_VY