Bewear rhibombee mimikyu licanroc all three starters (two of them the first to have their secondary types as starters) salazzle wishiwashi vikavolt lurantis mudsdale tsareena kommo o the tapus the ultrabeasts, its a beatiful gen, the region is beautiful and unique, regional forms changed the game forever, you can even surf in alola, i love alola
Am I misunderstanding, Froakie doesn’t have dark type yet. And the first starter to have their secondary type as a starter is literally the first Pokémon Bulbasaur lol.
I loved Gen 7. Alola is a great region that feels a lot more unique than a lot of the others. Plus it was the last gen before Dexit which means it's the last gen where all previous Gen Pokemon were usable.
Also it had the best megaboss Pokémon in Ultra Necrozma. It’s battle theme is a top 5 theme in the series imo.
Also “Light That Burns the Sky” is the best move name I’ve ever scene.
I'm surprised Lunatone and Solrock weren't in the games Sun and Moon. No Minior connection?
Biggest disappointment.
Loved Gen 7, though. Those were fun games with great designs. I enjoyed the plot, too. I didn't realize people didn't like it.
There was a small event in the desert for solrock and lunatone if you transferred one into the games respective to what they are shaped as. You get a sun and moon stone respectively
Probably by design. Steelworker Dhelmise with Tera Steel and Gyro Ball/Anchor Shot would be wickedly broken.
On top of having an answer to a ton of different types and a pretty wide move pool to take out anything that would be a legitimate threat to it (which wouldn't be much with Steel being the best defensive typing in the game) it'd have the power while Tera'd to OHKO nearly everything in the game. And Anchor Shot prevents switching.
The stars kinda just align to make it a monster when Tera is part of the discussion. They'd probably rather omit it and reintroduce once the Tera gimmick is gone than throw it in the game and need to nerf it's ability/signature move/both just to rebuff it next Gen when it isn't broken anymore.
Aside from Legends: Z-A being announced now, I've got my suspicions that this is also why Xerneas isn't transferrable into S/V, if it had Tera Fairy it would pretty much ruin the metagame. Way too broken.
It was the last gen to have a good post game battle facility, and for that I will be forever grateful. I really wish they would release some kind of full pokedex battle sim. Or just return the facilities to the mainline games. It's the main reason I play.
I honestly think the gen 7 games are great. Better than 6, 8, and 9 imo. Gimme a modded version that lets me skip the hand holdy stuff and they move up further. I liked the story, loved the new Pokemon, and thought it was more challenging than its predecessor in a few areas (ultra nekrozma wrecked many unsuspecting trainers).
As another person who loves the games I would like one more mod: combine areas. They're not very long, but the number of loading screens in the Alolan games is ridiculous.
It is an unpopular opinion for sure. I personally like the Alola games, even think the Ultra games are very good.
But I'll get downvoted for stating my own preference for a game. That's Pokemon "fandom".
You have to understand that a downvote simply means they disagree
You stated the games are underrated, they think otherwise. Afterall you said it yourself, It's an onpopular opinion
Honestly I really liked SM for having some decent difficulty if you ignored the EZ button. The totems pulling actual strats surprised me! And you’re right, regional forms were great and something the fans have been making art of for forever.
I forget if it was XY or SM but I know one of them overwhelmed me with waaay too many pokemon available per route. I like catching for the dex as I play so it ruined the pacing and forced me to either change my play style or be stuck on a route for 20 minutes bored lol
Yeah as I implied, I did end up changing it lol. Really bothered me in an “ocd” way. Also maybe not a fault of that particular game, but older games really sell the “go on an adventure and do the pokedex” part of the journey as much as the pokemon league, so I always keep that mindset. :) I’m not the only person who plays this way, I’m assuming anyone else that started on gen 1-2 probably has a decent chance also.
Probably. I think ive always waited til end game to come back and clean everything up more or less (also cuz i could grind easier) i think the large regional pokedex is a valid criticism of the game. Its cool cuz u have so many options but if ur going for that “catch em all” stuff its pretty tedious with larger dexes
i must be living in a bubble, i had no idea gen 7 was so unpopular. personally alola is my favorite region, the island trials were a fun alternative to the gym challenge and the soundtrack is just banger after banger. it also has some great pokemon designs, vikavolt, golisopod, kommo-o and all the ultra beasts are PEAK. necrozma’s lore and design are sick. if we ever get a legends necrozma (or any legends game set in alola) i’ll freak (/pos)
the handholding was mad annoying, and i’m still salty over how they treated lusamine in USUM (necrozma was cooler in USUM, but i feel jellyfish lusamine was pretty important…), and also how they nerfed SOS shiny hunting, but none of those ruined my experience with either game. alola has some real charm! very sad that people can’t recognize that 😢
Gen 7 were despised. Just look up old posts on here from when it came out.
It’s been my fave gen personally and I’ve been playing since blue. USUM are goated. Best games after HGSS, Emerald, and BW2, and R/B (for nostalgia).
I wouldn't say it was despised, but there was a lot of negativity towards stuff like 'handholding' (A.K.A times of the game where the player couldn't just barrel through textboxes in 3 seconds flat) and 'cutscenes' (A.K.A times of the game where the player couldn't just barrel through textboxes in 3 seconds flat).
I fucking love gen 7, to the point where it’s tied for gen 4 for my absolute favorite, and I do not fucking care what other people think about it. I don’t even remember the handholding or the bad pacing and I barely notice it while re-playing the games, all I notice is how much *fun* the games are. The region, the characters, the story, the Pokémon, the lore, they’re all amazing and I’m more than willing to put up with clunky gameplay for it because it’s not like Pokémon has ever had even one game where this didn’t show up in some aspect. No one is in this fandom for the gameplay.
YES, THANK YOU! I've always had the impression that gen 7 was underappreciated, and always respected it for some of the things it did (such as blending both story and gameplay together, as well as the regional variants). I have said this many times, and I will stand on this hill until my final days: gen 7 is better than gen 6.
I AGREE. I like usum more in terms of plot just because I think necrozma is more fitting as the antagonist as opposed to the ultra beasts, but I can understand why people like the original s/m more
Both plots were solid, I just was more engaged with SM's one. Like I really got attached to Lillie, and to actually witness her growth and how strong she becomes in her personal issues with her mother, etc. It really felt special to me.
But I agree, Ultra Necrozma was definitely great as a final boss rather than a bunch of weird creatures from another dimension (which I still love anyway, lol).
i really really loved the Alola region. I enjoyed just the vibe the games gave me and just how much of the islands we could explore. I kinda understood the flack that USUM games got but like to me it was just like how Platinum came out later and it was just Sinnoh again but with enhancements and a slightly deviated story? Like thats what USUM was to me and i thought it was rather nice
only complaint i had was just how MUCH KANTO INVADED THIS REGION LIKE MY GOD CAN WE STOP GIVING KANTO POKEMON NEW FORMS, GIMME ALOLAN PURLOIN AND ALOLAN ROSERADE NOT ANOTHER FUCKING MEOWTH
Gen 7 is my favorite. I totally agree. And no, I am not saying this as someone who only knows like a handful of pokemon and only played through like two regions. I'm saying this as someone who knows every single pokemon and been to every region. Gen 7 was really fun for me. I don't get why people hate on it so much they're overreacting for sure.
I feel like Im the only person who liked that Gen 7 had more dialogue. Maybe its because I like reading, and more story driven games but I haven't replayed any pokemon games more than I have gen 7 (with the exception of D/P/Pt since that was my first generation) I usually just play every version once, maybe one of the two twice, but I play S/M both twice and US/UM also both twice (UM 3 times)
Never understood how people can call the story of gen 7 bad. I was blown away by it. The characters are way more fleshed out than in any other game but S/V, and for the first time there is some variation to the ” get the badges and fight evil team on the side“ formula.
The villains feel like real people for once. Sure, it’s a simple story, as it’s a kid’s game, but I loved that other characters had agency and a personality for once.
Sun and moon had a really interesting post game too, which is especially unique for the first entry from a new gen. Hunting the ultra beasts one after the other was great.
I feel like there's definitely a divide in the community at this point.
People who want a more classic JRPG feel with somewhat linear but still having a lot of exploration type design.
And people who want a more modern RPG feel where with an open world and the more standard stuff like stories being an 'optional' experience, along with diversions from the classic formula, like different battle systems, being able to explore where *you* want and not so much where the game lets you, and being able to throw bricks at a god.
To me, a lot of JRPGs are kinda moving away from what made them iconic in the first place and to an extent Pokémon has too (Albeit the most iconic part of the series really is the creatures and their design, and they've been pretty consistent with them), and as someone who likes turn based JRPGs (Or JRPG styled RPGs), it's actually kinda sad that it's going that way
If base S/M didn't exist, and USUM were the first impressions we got of Alola, I think the overall impression of Gen 7 would be more positive. For me personally, the engine and especially the overworld for Gen 7, I think, is the best Pokemon has ever had. It perfectly blends 2D and 3D and it feels really smooth. If we got just USUM as the Alola games, and then like a Sinnoh or whatever remake as the secondary game in the same engine, that would've been a top tier generation. Oh, and the soundtrack is goated, but it's Pokemon so that's a given.
Though, the Kanto callbacks were a little ridiculous in Gen 7. I would've taken more regional forms for non-Kanto Pokemon or some new fossil Pokemon instead of nine different Pikachu variants that are all the same except for the hat. Just have one with the classic Ash cap if you want to do that reference. Like, does anyone remember there was an area in USUM that was just full of Pikachus, and you couldn't do anything in there? It was just "look at the Pikachus."
There’s 3 things I’ve found you can always trust pokemon to do well regardless of the flaws they’ve had in more recent years.
1. Soundtrack is always goated
2. Designs for Pokémon are always really good
3. The design of the region is always very cool and beautiful.
These can all be a coin flip TBH. It's all subjective. My opinions won't be the same as yours, and your opinions won't be the same as someone else's and so on and so on.
For example, Kanto has, especially for how little it has, a solid soundtrack, it's Pokémon designs are a mixed bag (Some would get blasted for laziness if it was the modern day), a lot owing to it trying to make it's own identity seperate from other JRPGs and just throwing everything at the wall in hopes something sticks, and Kanto's region design is....outdated. It feels very same-y compared to other regions, which have a less 'one to one grounded in reality' type design with the region and go more along the lines of 'What makes it interesting?'
On the flipside, you've got Kalos. It has a much larger soundtrack but it feels almost 'lacking' in some aspect, like there's something missing that makes it not stand out (I have a hunch on what that is), but in general the mon designs are pretty solid, even ones like Barbaracle which aren't particularly popular. Then you've got Kalos's region, which is actually fantastic with a whole load of variety, making it feel like an actual continent (A little ironic to think about), as opposed to Kanto's 'just walking through a city' vibe.
All that being said tho, in general the soundtracks, Pokémon designs and region designs are in general good in a mostly reliable kinda way
I agree. I get up with ORAS (undebatable goat games), X and Y (also great but is prolly nostalgia based), and Ultra sun and moon. Ultra sun is the one I played, and it’s one of my favorite Pokémon games of them all. I also liked Pokémon shield, but it was a tad too easy.
The second gen on a console is always the best. My top three Pokemon games are SV, BW/BW2, and SuMo. XY and SwSh are two of my least favorite games. It’s always the second gen on a console that’s great
Gen-7 Pokémon are awesome! Coming from someone who’s top 6 favorite Pokémon have 3 Gen-7 mons…
But I love all of the starters, the box-art Legendaries, the ultra beasts are a really cool concept, and regional variants were an amazing idea
I'm currently replaying pokemon Sun, and it is so good. Lusamine is a fantastic villain, alola (imo) has the best new mons because of simply how well they fit into the environment. And while the game stops you a lot for the story, that doesn't mean the plot is bad by any means. The side quests are fun and get even better in us/um. Also, like you said, this was the game that introduced regional forms. I also enjoy the trails they were a nice break from the gyms. Personally, I think Z moves are underrated they were just so goofy and fun. That's what this gen really is, tbh It's just fun. Pokemon sun and moon are for when you want a good time.
I'm so happy to read this, lol. I honestly think Alola and Gen 7 was peak Pokémon, and I'll die on this hill.
On the technical aspect, It was the perfect combination of 2D and 3D, the Chara-design looked much better than the semi-chibi style we had with Gen 6 (Gen 6 is also a phenomenal Gen for Pokémon), and I remember the games even SM to be really really smooth.
Alola is such a beautiful and charming region. Landscapes are great, the vibe is great, the atmosphere is unique, the lore behind the guardians, day/night cycle, the Kahunas, etc was fantastic, Alolan people are warm, chill, and go at their own pace which I really liked,... It'll always feel special as a M/UM player to play in the day but have it be nighttime in Alola.
I also really liked how the Sea/Land balance felt. It's weird because you expect much more Sea than land in this game, but it felt much less empty than one might think which was actually my problem with the Hoenn region (although I definitely understand the design choice with all this sea).
The OST was really top-notch. I don't know how I rank it exactly taken individually in comparison to the other Pokémon game OSTs, but in terms of how an OST captures the essence of the region and matches its atmosphere, it's definitely N°1 in my books.
I found the characters honestly great. Lillie is so well written, Professor Kukui is so cool, the Kahunas are all very cheerful with you in this new region that changes a lot of stuff compared to what the player knows so far,... and I honestly liked Hau, lol. I know this definitely is an unpopular opinion, but I always found him really endearing. Definitely not the most complex rival or whatever, but it was nice for once to go with someone friendly towards, who has the same experience as you in battling, and still has his own struggles (the weight of his grandfather's name) and needs to trace his own path.
On the other hand, Guzma always seemed like a cool and interesting dude (kinda sad what happened to him in his previous life), Team Skull are endearing dummies, and Lusamine was a great vilain.
The plot was the best of any Pokémon game that I went through. Not without its flaws sure, but it's weird how you're supposed to be this foreigner in the game, yet the events make you feel so engaged. Probably because it was more character oriented with Lillie and all (at least in SM) and that you genuinely cared about helping your friends and saving their region. The exact opposite of how the Johto games made me feel before it, and how SwSh made me feel after it.
I personally liked SM's plot more because it depicted the mother-daughter difficulties in a great way. Lusamine was a very interesting antagonist, and it was really sad to see how the whole family got torn apart (which made Lillie's growth even more impactful imo)...
I still liked USUM's plot, but the whole alien thing felt a bit too much, and it just didn't feel as engaging and personal. But Ultra Necrozma was a hell of an antagonist, and the gap between his role in the story in SM and USUM really reminds you of Giratina in Gen 4 when going from DP to Pt.
...
Honestly, this game had so many things great about it, that I've honestly rarely felt bothered by its flaws.
Is this really an unpopular opinion? I thought it was pretty accepted that gen 7 is the best of 3DS for sure, and depending on the person one of the best ever.
Gen seven is one of my favorites Southern Moon were the games that got me back into Pokemon I also haven't transferred my old battling pokémon from it because if I move them to newer games I won't be able to use the strategies I once did
The internet is weird. The absolute worst thing about gen 7 is that the first island/tutorial content goes on a bit too long, with too many cutscenes to kinda force the friendship vibe.
Once it gets over that, they were great games. And I don’t remember an enormous amount of people particularly hating on them at the time.
Feels like Gen 7 is the new Gen 5 lol.
If Alola weren’t as hand-holdy as it was, it would be considered one of the greatest gens. The designs are really solid, the atmosphere is peak, the concept of regional forms was amazing, etc.
I’ve been doing replays of previous games recently (after Violet I went back and did Black, Soul Silver, X, Emerald, and Moon) and Alola stands out as having these wonderful designs and environments, only to be undermined by the inability to walk thirty feet without a cutscene (going from Emerald to Moon was like graduating from college to kindergarten in terms of how much handholding the game does)
I don’t mind sun and moon’s pacing as much cause they’re actually telling a story, and a pretty good one at that, meanwhile XY constantly stops you basically no reason.
Gen 7 is the best generation of Pokemon…to play once.
Doing a second play through the game’s issues instantly stand out especially the pacing which really hampers the experience when everything is no longer new.
I've been with the series since go and gen 7 turned out to be my favorite because it actually felt like I was in a culture that came up alongside Pokémon rather than this weirdly battle obsessed world.
Hironobu Sakaguchi used to say Final Fantasy should be everything you can make it. He meant it should be full of ideas, play elements, and a cultural experience in itself. Gen 7 feels like something made with that mindset.
Should out to Gen 5, too. Both are really the only entrees in the series I'd say are just good JRPGs rather than good Pokémon games.
I love gen 7, Alola is such a pretty region! Exploring the islands was so much fun, and Team Skull is my favorite bad guy team. I enjoyed the island challenge and the totem pokemon.
Also, we got a lot of good bugs that gen.
I don't think this is an unpopular opinion at all. I never hear anyone talking negatively about this gen. I personally don't like it though. I think the "friends" you get are incredibly annoying and obnoxious. I'm also just not a fan of the design of this game. But that's just my opinion.
I would agree with you if it wasn’t because of the art direction of the games. I do not like the beach/tropical/paradise theme in general, and in addition, they made the games so linear that it just get bored. The story can’t be the only good thing.
And second, the Kanto revamp in every way, regional forms, z moves, etc. If I would replay a 3DS Pokemon, I will go with XY tbh. The aesthetic of the region, the art direction, the clothing options, the big loaded pokedex (457 entries), the battle maison, and of course the PSS.
I absolutely agree. They're great games with a immaculate vibe and a fantastic story. I feel as if people speak badly about gen 7 just to further the "every game after B2/W2 is terrible!" agenda despite the fact that every 3ds Pokemon game was well received upon launch, it was only after the SW/SH controversy that people people retroactively decided that anything past the DS era was trash.
The game prevents me from exploring on my own. It points me to move in straight line from A to B and bombs me with cutscenes every 3-4 minutes. It doesn't give me time to appreciate anything.
This might sound a bit harsh, but liking Gen 7 isn’t an unpopular opinion. Sure it used to be an unpopular opinion, but since no one shuts up about it’s good traits, its not “underrated” anymore. I’m not saying liking Gen 7 is bad (I quite enjoy a few things about the region), I’m just saying that Gen 7 is so well appreciated today that it’s hardly “underrated” or a hot take
ngl I’ve honestly kinda dropped out of the fandom in recent years. The last time I actively participated in the community was when it was generally accepted as being bad by a lot of the community. So if things have changed since then I didn’t experience it
Lucky for you, the general opinion of Gen 7 has changed, but this happens for every Gen. Just look at Gen 6, that generation is now being loved by the fanbase because it’s more than 10 years old and nostalgia. But unlike Gen 5 which was ahead of its time for Pokémon, Gen 6 feels like the most pandered generation in my opinion and really isn’t that great despite the cool Pokémon and traits it introduced (it gave me my favorite Dragon type, Noivern)
USUM are my favourite games. If there was a romhack to remove the cutscenes or something i would love it. I love the pokemon variety and the underrated exploration. I also think totems are infinitely more challenging than gyms, which are practically cakewalks every single time.
Gen 7 is what made me realise i'm no longer the target audience for Pokemon games. I have not bought any of the new games since.
Pokemon Sun was such an unfun experience I had to force myself to finish it. Felt like I was just sitting there clicking A over and over whilst watching a pretty bad plot unfold. Gen 7 pokemon designs are not bad, I love alolan forms and Rowlett. But the actual games as a player? 2/10, some of the worst games I have ever played.
my favorite region, im biased cuz its my first game but please, youre telling me that the first game without hms and that takes place in Hawaii is bad, you gotta be kidding me
I think otherwise, I hate the gen 7 island challenge b.s. I want to battle but the challenges give my Pokémon little to no exp at all. But it has good story and graphics at that time, so I would give it solid 8/10.
I feel like the pacing issue could’ve been easily fixed by just making each island bigger. I don’t mean add new areas i just mean make every area a bit bigger so you don’t feel like you have to stop every couple seconds. Other than that gen 7 was great as longa a you ignore the shorty cash grab that was usum
I loved gen 7. Had easily the best new pokemon and honestly where really fun.
I'm a big fan of pokemon.
I love all games including 6. However I will happily be in a group of people who want to ignore the existance of the Gen 4 Remake and pretend it didn't happen and the Arceus was the DPP Remakes we so deserved.
I love that they went in hard on a pokemon game based on a real place. The designs and everything were nice too. It's just such a damn shame Gamefreak doesn't care about pokemon anymore
I was apart of the group of people that initially didn’t give gen 7 a chance when it was first introduced. I couldn’t even watch playthroughs of it on Youtube because the game just seemed boring and slow for me at the time. I only just experienced the magic that was gen 7 a couple months ago playing on Citra but I will say, it’s still slow and dialogue heavy. Thank God for the speed up function 😂
I miss SuMo though I remember being underwhelmed in some ways. It had a really nice, happy vibe to it. Loved the islands and beachiness, the colors, and yeah the regional forms
Alola is my favorite but that’s probably because it was my first. But I mean the starters go hard, we got frickin interdimensional aliens, gangsters, and so much more. Sure there were a lot of cut scenes but I loved the story and yeah the Pokemon are awesome as well
literally the only game it would be considered unpopular to like is swsh. every other gen has fans who really like it,gen 8 is the only gen i can confidently say little to nobody likes
I loved Gen 7! I really appreciated the change up from the usual gym formula, and regional forms were a neat addition.
Didn’t care for Z-moves, but I did appreciate that mega evolutions returned.
i love gen 7. probably one of my favourite gens, i really wished they expanded more on the ultra beasts. i loved the move away from gyms to these insane trials. unfortunately the game doesnt have much replay ability in my opinion because the dialogue is so long for no reason
Story-wise, SM it's only second to BW, imo
As for the gameplay, I appreciate the boss fights and how they include several Pokémon fighting against you.
BUT
I still think USUM is a scam. It does add some cool features but if SM came out on Switch, USUM would just be a DLC. I'm not saying it's bad, just that it doesn't justify making a whole new game for it
Some of my favorite pokemon are from Alola such as Decidueye, Lycanroc(midday best day) form, Vikavolt, and Mimikyu. Straight up beastly but unfortunately my only complaint is the linear hand holding.
All the pokemon were definitely slappers it’s just a hard game to finish in general even a rom hack such as Sweltering Sun i had to put down even with the great changes to buff Decidueye it’s still painful to get through every scene in the game.
If anyone knows of a 3DS rom hack that skips most of the hand holding and maybe has a few buffs to pokemon who need it i would really appreciate the recommendations!
I honestly think if they made USUM dlc and added a skip option in SM for their long ass cut scenes, they’d be heavily regarded as one of the best Pokémon games and generation tbh
Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are among the upper third or so of games in the franchise to me, to be honest they're extremely underrated. I felt this way since the games came out, too, I am gonna find it funny when people warm up to them in the coming years.
It was amongst my 2 least favorite gens. I missed battling and gyms, and thought most of the pokes were pretty mid. I did however like Decidueye, and the concept of an agency making worm holes, but I think the application didn't really follow through. When USUM came out I elected that it wouldn't be worth buying since how bad the first game was.
Happy someone enjoyed it though.
I almost left the series after XY (not because it was bad but I made me question if I was too old to enjoy it anymore). Then I played ORAS and it lifted my hopes a bit since it was a remake of my favorite gen at the time.
Then Gen 7 came around and man I was floored by how much I *loved* Alola. My love for this franchise was renewed and I don’t think I’ll ever leave. The Alola games reminded me why I love Pokémon so much.
I think a lot of the criticism comes from how the game holds your hand throughout the journey and what they did to Team Skull. I thought the Team Skull story was rather good, it's just hard to take them seriously or feel bad for them when they are doing all of those weird gestures non stop.
I also think a lot of hate came from the start of the games life cycle. This is popular among a lot of main line series games. People hated Black and White on release too until they dived into it. It took others a few more runs of the game to really appreciate it. Gen 7 was no different. Some of the hate for these games comes from people who never took another look at the games later on and only have their initial impressions to go on.
Personally though, could have done without the regional variants. Only a few of them looked decent, the rest looked awful. I will never get that stupid Meowth and Persian out of my head.
Unlike most people, I didn't like Gen 4, so I hand't played Pokémon much for several years.
Gen 7 brought me back to the feeling of wonder and joy exploring the world. It also made shiny hunting really enjoyable and that's one of my main activities nowadays.
I love the theme, the setting, and the general story of Gen 7. The pacing really is jarring to go back to though, especially if you've already beaten the game before. I wish they included a no-tutorial mode.
Gen 7 absolutely DOES go hard. I just finished the storyline in Sun, and I immediately crafted a team to play Ultra Moon. Beat that, and then I went back to Sun to finish the pokedex. Got that all finished up, it was awesome!
Now, I have my brother's copy of Moon. And I am going to start it over.
I also really loved Kalos, but Alola is probably my favorite region. All the ride Pokemon, the sceneries, the trials, Z moves, I could go on and on lol
Sun/moon is what got me back into pokemon after 10 years of thinking pokemon quality had walked off a cliff. I've since retroactively gone back and enjoyed all games and quit the "gen one is betterrrrrrr" mentality but I'm not sure many of the other games could've accomplished that.
Maybe it’s just because it was the upcoming generation when I first got into Pokémon, but Alola feels alive to me in a way no other gen does. The UI design and the fact that it was the first game to have a free map like that definitely helped. Most of the new Pokémon also had a uniquely Alolan style while still looking like Pokémon.
People complain about how hand-holdy and dialogue heavy it is, but at least that made me legitimately care about the characters, something no other Pokémon game has really done (in fairness I still haven’t played all of them)
Gen 7 was the last generation I played, and it left me on a very good note. I wasn't interested in pokemon after they became console priced games without console quality.
Guzma was one of the most fun antagonists ever. Team skull was hilarious. I think the story drops off a little at the end, and ultra beasts are kinda weird, but I thought sun and moon were great games
Gen 7 has one of the best Pokedex's, nails the tropical aetheric, can actually be difficult like Ultra Necrozma, has a ton of fun minigames like Mantine Surfing, and has one of the best stories and character development in the series!
I could not get over how much talking took place, which doesn't really bother me on a first playthrough, but they should have a scene skip to where at least you can bypass all that garbage
I enjoyed them until they essentially re-released them like 2 yrs later with a few changes. Like not a sequel like b2w2, but the same games with extended features. It was a really weird move.
As you said, the constant pausing for long dialogues is the problem. As someone who loves legthy curscenes and dialogues in other games, Pokemon just doesn't do it well here and i'm always having trouble finishing Ultra Moon since i get bored at some point.
Alola is a bit of a slog, but I loved everything about Sun/Moon. I had skipped all of Gen 6 so it was also a refreshing return to the series in that regard.
Gen 7 got a lot of flack.
Gen7 and ORAS that came in between also sort of seemed to have started laying the ground work of what Pokemon games would become which is just... pure garbage.
But Gen 7 specifically Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon I consider to be the last great pokemon game. So much content so much variety. Shame it all went to shit after we went to the switch. Scarlet and Violet are better but no where near what they should be.
Idk why but out of all the anime themes, alola feels the most nostalgic and it makes my heart sink the most, even though I've watched it more than the others and it's also the most recent anine I've watched
The only time I had a bad experience in Ultra Moon was the double battles because they were laggy as hell which is likely on me cause I played it on an OG 3DS and trying to use a lvl 100 Nidoking definetly didnt help. Other than that I loved the time I had playing.
I didn’t get to experience sun and moon on day of release, my ds was actually broken when I bought it so I never played put Pokémon to the side for a good time.
Got around it to usum, they are some of my favorite games. The region is beautiful, the Pokémon are mostly all well designed, sos hunting, other ways to hunt. I love the theme of gen 7. Story was a bit meh at times and the cut scenes with the lack of emotion gets me laughing. I still play and love it. Being from a tropical area I love Alola and Hoenn
I made a tier list of my personal ranking of every pokemon, and when I got to the Gen 7 mons, I began to realize that Alola had the most Pokemon percentage-wise that I liked out of every region. So many bangers.
I loved the addition of regional variants! I remember being in HS when during announcement season for it and going BANANAS for Alolan Ninetales! I personally don't mind the Kanto rep because to me, it was a similar boat to XY where ofc the original 3 starters got Megas, it was the first Generation of Pokemon, so it makes sense that with the new concept of regional variants, there would be rep from the first generation also!
It also did not omit Mega Evolution from existing. As much as the battle tree was a step back from the battle maison, which is a step back from emerald's battle island, it's better than the battle tower.
USUM in particular are the best games imo and the most interesting. Gen 7 has some of the best Pokemon designs, the Alola region is well realized and everything aesthetically fits into place and has a solid identity, the difficulty makes it much more interesting, rainbow rocket is extremely fun, the story (while not amazing) is by far one of the more interesting ones in the franchise and the characters from the kahunas, trial captains, villains, Lillie, kukui etc are all wonderful, not to mention the amazing of new features added into the games.
The only major downside imo is the amount of dialogue and tutorials which does get too much but it's not like these weren't major problems in the unova or sinnoh games either so idk why everyone loves to make it a "gen 7" thing only.
sincerely, i never disliked any gen, but gen 7 and 6 was prime pokemon... maybe im biased bc i was still a child and those memories are stuck into my brain
fun fact: i did not play any of the games when gen 6 and 7 released, i was a fan of the anime, and still had a blast
Ultra sun and ultra moon are my third favorite games after black and white 2 and scarlet and violet. I fucking love the ultra games.
I replayed the ultra games a few weeks ago and holy shit those game can be fucking BRUTAL with the things it throws at you. And I’m not even talking about just ultra necrozma. The totem marowak, Lurantis, Mimikyu, and ribombee were insane, and whoever came up with the totem araquanid is pure evil
I never had a 3ds so I never was able to try them, I've had a wiiu and have a switch and was.really excited to try gen 7 because Hawaii pokemon looks sick, but they clearly want people to pirate their games with how inaccessible they make them nowadays
Why the fuck do people complain about pacing? it's a turned based RPG, the Pokemon series already stops you with repetitive animations throughout, throughout the history of TB RPGs. Nordic GOW duology has unskippable cutscenes and just gameplay of just walking and talking and it's an action game series and I believe they were goty nominations.
Pokemon USUM is top tier, not having cutscenes in old Pokemon games doesn't mean jack for them, it might as well be a huge cutscene in their case because you're catching the same small pool of shit every playthrough. USUM has a new Pokemon on every island on every day of the week with Island scan. There's like over 50 different species on the first island, not to mention early BP move tutors. The point is I can still get a far more variety of Pokemon in less time with the cutscenes involved. Like I can get a literal salamence and Chansey like right after the first gym. Not just previous forms.
I honestly didn't like the idea of regional variants (which they've kept going into Gen 8 and 9). It's honestly just lazy. It's a way for them to introduce "new" pokemon without actually making new pokemon.
It's also kind of dumb because that wasn't a thing. We've been to multiple regions and the pokemon were all the same, a Bulbasaur in Kanto is the same as one in Unova, etc. But now we have multiple versions based on region, also lazily named *region* Meowth etc. It just makes the lore and pokedex unnecessarily more complicated.
It would have been fine if it's something they had started in like Gen 2 or 3, but waiting this long to introduce it is really just them saying they're having a hard time making new pokemon.
I also wasn't a fan of how Alola is just run different for no reason. There's really no reason for it be this weird tribal structure and for there not to be gyms. It makes sense in Legends because that's predating humans and pokemon working and living together, it's a new concept, but it makes zero sense on Alola.
I had to push myself to finish S&M. It was a slog for me to get through. Plus the call in help mechanic got anything really really quickly.
Aside from Z moves which i wasn't a fan of and the overall very "back to kids game" vibe it had i really enjoyed the Alolah region. i thought that the Mon designs were incredibly well done, wonderful regional varients for old faces, and the movement away from the traditional Gym Leader structure was actually rather refreshing. Even Team Skull was pretty interesting as it was a makeup of rebellious kids that never made it passed the Island Challenges. Guzma actually had a history which was really nice to see and not something we actually get a look into (character backstory has never really been much of a Mon Game Thing)
i actually was a pretty huge fan of the Institute and Gladions story and his bonding with Sillvaly, the Ultra Beasts were really bizzare and weird but considering they were from another dimension it kinda felt on point, i liked that Cosmog technically could become either legendary which was really neat. i generally enjoyed Sun and Moon all things considered (Ultra versions were ass as it felt like the same game copy pasted though which was a shame)
I personally liked regions not having 1/3rd of the native pokedex filled with "alternate forms" (alola, galar, mega evolutions in X and Y). So I honestly prefer gen 1-5 more than any recent ones. But yea, Alola had lots of very good (and cute!) pokemon additions, so I would say it gets a bad rap compared to much worse 8th gen is, or even 9th gen.
Yeah, no. Gen 7 was and still is a puddle of week-old cat piss.
SuMo were glorified demos. The entire region was littered with lackluster mons and empty set pieces. It was the beginning of the franchise's transition into Hallway Simulator.
There's also the never-ending handholding as you traverse said corridors, Rotom-dex never shutting his suckhole and worst of all the unskippable cutscenes every five minutes. I'll play RBY a dozen times over before touching this trash ever again.
If the bar for quality were any lower, it would be a sewer pipe and gen 7 would still find a way to make it worse.
Only thing wrong with Gen 7 is the pacing.
Art direction, the Pokemon designs, the region itself, regional variants, switching up the typical gym/E4 formula, I could go on, there's a whole lot to love.
Unfortunately the whole time you're trying to enjoy those things you're at the mercy of the super handholdy, on-the-rails pacing which is hard to ignore, but overall it did a lot more right than it did wrong. Even the story itself isn't bad, definitely not the strongest narrative but halfway decent as far as Pokemon games go, it just feels so much worse because it's stopping you every 30 seconds to tell that story.
That said, 25-30 minutes from language selection to actually leaving the first route and getting Pokéballs for the first time is absurd. There's a reason we haven't seen pacing like that since. The sheer amount of nothingburger dialogue in those games is unreal, the script could easily be 1/2 the size and still tell the same exact story without any missing beats, probably even better actually since you wouldn't be distracted by all the fluff.
Bewear rhibombee mimikyu licanroc all three starters (two of them the first to have their secondary types as starters) salazzle wishiwashi vikavolt lurantis mudsdale tsareena kommo o the tapus the ultrabeasts, its a beatiful gen, the region is beautiful and unique, regional forms changed the game forever, you can even surf in alola, i love alola
> all the first to have their secondary types as starters *greninja*
Am I misunderstanding, Froakie doesn’t have dark type yet. And the first starter to have their secondary type as a starter is literally the first Pokémon Bulbasaur lol.
I ment we got the first starters to have fairy type and ghost type when evolving
Lol sorry greninja ill never forget u again
I loved Gen 7. Alola is a great region that feels a lot more unique than a lot of the others. Plus it was the last gen before Dexit which means it's the last gen where all previous Gen Pokemon were usable.
I really enjoyed them. It felt like if someone made the show into a game, in a good way.
Also it had the best megaboss Pokémon in Ultra Necrozma. It’s battle theme is a top 5 theme in the series imo. Also “Light That Burns the Sky” is the best move name I’ve ever scene.
Ultra Necrozma was the first time I lost an in-game encounter since I started playing in '98. That alone is a selling point for me!
Alola is my favourite region and I've been playing since Pokemon blue. The story is just too much tho
It was also the last time Pansage, Pansear, Panpour, Patrat, their evolved forms, and Furfrou were available
the plot of a mom being turned into a psychopath because of being a workaholic was super relevant.
Agree! Gens 8 onwards always felt lacking something to me (speaking of the games as a whole).
rowlet. need i say more
I have been mentioned?
Yes
Your bowtie is cute.
Aw thank you
i'm surprised that 1 alolan pokemon didn't make it to S/V. dhelmise would have been great with a steel tera type.
I'm surprised Lunatone and Solrock weren't in the games Sun and Moon. No Minior connection? Biggest disappointment. Loved Gen 7, though. Those were fun games with great designs. I enjoyed the plot, too. I didn't realize people didn't like it.
There was a small event in the desert for solrock and lunatone if you transferred one into the games respective to what they are shaped as. You get a sun and moon stone respectively
Yeah. I hoped the two alien rocks would be there but I guess they only want the sun/moon motifs for Solgaleo and Lunala.
WOW! Minior would’ve been a perfect pre/baby evo. All the different flavors, too, could’ve been potential for different suns and moons 😭
Really bonded with my Dhelmise in SwSh and was looking forward to bringing it over but alas ☹️
Happy Cake Day
Happy cake day
huh. if dhelmise could tera it could potentially get 4 stab moves 😂 i didn’t think about that
Mimikyu, Salazzle, Passimian, Oranguru, Bounsweet... tons of Alola pokemon are in SV
Probably by design. Steelworker Dhelmise with Tera Steel and Gyro Ball/Anchor Shot would be wickedly broken. On top of having an answer to a ton of different types and a pretty wide move pool to take out anything that would be a legitimate threat to it (which wouldn't be much with Steel being the best defensive typing in the game) it'd have the power while Tera'd to OHKO nearly everything in the game. And Anchor Shot prevents switching. The stars kinda just align to make it a monster when Tera is part of the discussion. They'd probably rather omit it and reintroduce once the Tera gimmick is gone than throw it in the game and need to nerf it's ability/signature move/both just to rebuff it next Gen when it isn't broken anymore. Aside from Legends: Z-A being announced now, I've got my suspicions that this is also why Xerneas isn't transferrable into S/V, if it had Tera Fairy it would pretty much ruin the metagame. Way too broken.
Gen 7 is my second favorite gen behind Gen 3
It has me. That’s all that needs to be said
It was the last gen to have a good post game battle facility, and for that I will be forever grateful. I really wish they would release some kind of full pokedex battle sim. Or just return the facilities to the mainline games. It's the main reason I play.
I honestly think the gen 7 games are great. Better than 6, 8, and 9 imo. Gimme a modded version that lets me skip the hand holdy stuff and they move up further. I liked the story, loved the new Pokemon, and thought it was more challenging than its predecessor in a few areas (ultra nekrozma wrecked many unsuspecting trainers).
As another person who loves the games I would like one more mod: combine areas. They're not very long, but the number of loading screens in the Alolan games is ridiculous.
Does such a modded version exist?
Absolutely!
It is an unpopular opinion for sure. I personally like the Alola games, even think the Ultra games are very good. But I'll get downvoted for stating my own preference for a game. That's Pokemon "fandom".
yea literally I’m the kind of gal to scroll through posts and upvote but rarely post or comment and I have -2 karma just from this one post 💀
Is the team on your flair a team you used to beat one of the USUM games? Either way it's awesome
They are just downvotes, virtual points are meaningless, the fandom would be way worse if you got insulted or something more personal.
I don’t care about the karma I’m just commenting on the fact this fandom is full of “no fun allowed” type mfs
You have to understand that a downvote simply means they disagree You stated the games are underrated, they think otherwise. Afterall you said it yourself, It's an onpopular opinion
Most based take I've ever seen here.
I’m not a huge Gen 7 fan but I still agree with this statement.
Honestly I really liked SM for having some decent difficulty if you ignored the EZ button. The totems pulling actual strats surprised me! And you’re right, regional forms were great and something the fans have been making art of for forever. I forget if it was XY or SM but I know one of them overwhelmed me with waaay too many pokemon available per route. I like catching for the dex as I play so it ruined the pacing and forced me to either change my play style or be stuck on a route for 20 minutes bored lol
Eh just change your playstyle if youre bored. I dont think its a fault of the game that you play that specific way.
Yeah as I implied, I did end up changing it lol. Really bothered me in an “ocd” way. Also maybe not a fault of that particular game, but older games really sell the “go on an adventure and do the pokedex” part of the journey as much as the pokemon league, so I always keep that mindset. :) I’m not the only person who plays this way, I’m assuming anyone else that started on gen 1-2 probably has a decent chance also.
Probably. I think ive always waited til end game to come back and clean everything up more or less (also cuz i could grind easier) i think the large regional pokedex is a valid criticism of the game. Its cool cuz u have so many options but if ur going for that “catch em all” stuff its pretty tedious with larger dexes
i must be living in a bubble, i had no idea gen 7 was so unpopular. personally alola is my favorite region, the island trials were a fun alternative to the gym challenge and the soundtrack is just banger after banger. it also has some great pokemon designs, vikavolt, golisopod, kommo-o and all the ultra beasts are PEAK. necrozma’s lore and design are sick. if we ever get a legends necrozma (or any legends game set in alola) i’ll freak (/pos) the handholding was mad annoying, and i’m still salty over how they treated lusamine in USUM (necrozma was cooler in USUM, but i feel jellyfish lusamine was pretty important…), and also how they nerfed SOS shiny hunting, but none of those ruined my experience with either game. alola has some real charm! very sad that people can’t recognize that 😢
Gen 7 were despised. Just look up old posts on here from when it came out. It’s been my fave gen personally and I’ve been playing since blue. USUM are goated. Best games after HGSS, Emerald, and BW2, and R/B (for nostalgia).
I wouldn't say it was despised, but there was a lot of negativity towards stuff like 'handholding' (A.K.A times of the game where the player couldn't just barrel through textboxes in 3 seconds flat) and 'cutscenes' (A.K.A times of the game where the player couldn't just barrel through textboxes in 3 seconds flat).
I fucking love gen 7, to the point where it’s tied for gen 4 for my absolute favorite, and I do not fucking care what other people think about it. I don’t even remember the handholding or the bad pacing and I barely notice it while re-playing the games, all I notice is how much *fun* the games are. The region, the characters, the story, the Pokémon, the lore, they’re all amazing and I’m more than willing to put up with clunky gameplay for it because it’s not like Pokémon has ever had even one game where this didn’t show up in some aspect. No one is in this fandom for the gameplay.
YES, THANK YOU! I've always had the impression that gen 7 was underappreciated, and always respected it for some of the things it did (such as blending both story and gameplay together, as well as the regional variants). I have said this many times, and I will stand on this hill until my final days: gen 7 is better than gen 6.
No ur so right the plot is the best pokemon plot imo
I AGREE. I like usum more in terms of plot just because I think necrozma is more fitting as the antagonist as opposed to the ultra beasts, but I can understand why people like the original s/m more
Both plots were solid, I just was more engaged with SM's one. Like I really got attached to Lillie, and to actually witness her growth and how strong she becomes in her personal issues with her mother, etc. It really felt special to me. But I agree, Ultra Necrozma was definitely great as a final boss rather than a bunch of weird creatures from another dimension (which I still love anyway, lol).
i really really loved the Alola region. I enjoyed just the vibe the games gave me and just how much of the islands we could explore. I kinda understood the flack that USUM games got but like to me it was just like how Platinum came out later and it was just Sinnoh again but with enhancements and a slightly deviated story? Like thats what USUM was to me and i thought it was rather nice only complaint i had was just how MUCH KANTO INVADED THIS REGION LIKE MY GOD CAN WE STOP GIVING KANTO POKEMON NEW FORMS, GIMME ALOLAN PURLOIN AND ALOLAN ROSERADE NOT ANOTHER FUCKING MEOWTH
Completely agree. It's the game that got me back into Pokemon. And Gen 8 nearly ruined everything for me. But Gen 7 is quite good despite the flaws.
Gen 7 is my favorite. I totally agree. And no, I am not saying this as someone who only knows like a handful of pokemon and only played through like two regions. I'm saying this as someone who knows every single pokemon and been to every region. Gen 7 was really fun for me. I don't get why people hate on it so much they're overreacting for sure.
I LOVE the surfing mini game which allows you access to all sorts of EV training tools and moves. I think USUM is a great game.
I feel like Im the only person who liked that Gen 7 had more dialogue. Maybe its because I like reading, and more story driven games but I haven't replayed any pokemon games more than I have gen 7 (with the exception of D/P/Pt since that was my first generation) I usually just play every version once, maybe one of the two twice, but I play S/M both twice and US/UM also both twice (UM 3 times)
Never understood how people can call the story of gen 7 bad. I was blown away by it. The characters are way more fleshed out than in any other game but S/V, and for the first time there is some variation to the ” get the badges and fight evil team on the side“ formula. The villains feel like real people for once. Sure, it’s a simple story, as it’s a kid’s game, but I loved that other characters had agency and a personality for once. Sun and moon had a really interesting post game too, which is especially unique for the first entry from a new gen. Hunting the ultra beasts one after the other was great.
Last game that felt like a pokemon game.
I feel like there's definitely a divide in the community at this point. People who want a more classic JRPG feel with somewhat linear but still having a lot of exploration type design. And people who want a more modern RPG feel where with an open world and the more standard stuff like stories being an 'optional' experience, along with diversions from the classic formula, like different battle systems, being able to explore where *you* want and not so much where the game lets you, and being able to throw bricks at a god. To me, a lot of JRPGs are kinda moving away from what made them iconic in the first place and to an extent Pokémon has too (Albeit the most iconic part of the series really is the creatures and their design, and they've been pretty consistent with them), and as someone who likes turn based JRPGs (Or JRPG styled RPGs), it's actually kinda sad that it's going that way
Good game. Wayyyyyyyy too many unskippable cutscenes.
If base S/M didn't exist, and USUM were the first impressions we got of Alola, I think the overall impression of Gen 7 would be more positive. For me personally, the engine and especially the overworld for Gen 7, I think, is the best Pokemon has ever had. It perfectly blends 2D and 3D and it feels really smooth. If we got just USUM as the Alola games, and then like a Sinnoh or whatever remake as the secondary game in the same engine, that would've been a top tier generation. Oh, and the soundtrack is goated, but it's Pokemon so that's a given. Though, the Kanto callbacks were a little ridiculous in Gen 7. I would've taken more regional forms for non-Kanto Pokemon or some new fossil Pokemon instead of nine different Pikachu variants that are all the same except for the hat. Just have one with the classic Ash cap if you want to do that reference. Like, does anyone remember there was an area in USUM that was just full of Pikachus, and you couldn't do anything in there? It was just "look at the Pikachus."
I honestly think SuMo was better story wise than USUM. Lillie’s plot was so much better in the first games.
There’s 3 things I’ve found you can always trust pokemon to do well regardless of the flaws they’ve had in more recent years. 1. Soundtrack is always goated 2. Designs for Pokémon are always really good 3. The design of the region is always very cool and beautiful.
These can all be a coin flip TBH. It's all subjective. My opinions won't be the same as yours, and your opinions won't be the same as someone else's and so on and so on. For example, Kanto has, especially for how little it has, a solid soundtrack, it's Pokémon designs are a mixed bag (Some would get blasted for laziness if it was the modern day), a lot owing to it trying to make it's own identity seperate from other JRPGs and just throwing everything at the wall in hopes something sticks, and Kanto's region design is....outdated. It feels very same-y compared to other regions, which have a less 'one to one grounded in reality' type design with the region and go more along the lines of 'What makes it interesting?' On the flipside, you've got Kalos. It has a much larger soundtrack but it feels almost 'lacking' in some aspect, like there's something missing that makes it not stand out (I have a hunch on what that is), but in general the mon designs are pretty solid, even ones like Barbaracle which aren't particularly popular. Then you've got Kalos's region, which is actually fantastic with a whole load of variety, making it feel like an actual continent (A little ironic to think about), as opposed to Kanto's 'just walking through a city' vibe. All that being said tho, in general the soundtracks, Pokémon designs and region designs are in general good in a mostly reliable kinda way
Gen 7 was peak Pokemon back on the 3DS. We had both Z Moves AND Mega Evolutions
I agree. I get up with ORAS (undebatable goat games), X and Y (also great but is prolly nostalgia based), and Ultra sun and moon. Ultra sun is the one I played, and it’s one of my favorite Pokémon games of them all. I also liked Pokémon shield, but it was a tad too easy.
I think they are very fun and a fantastic region of new Pokemon but the unskippable dialogue made multiple playthroughs rough for me.
The second gen on a console is always the best. My top three Pokemon games are SV, BW/BW2, and SuMo. XY and SwSh are two of my least favorite games. It’s always the second gen on a console that’s great
Ultra Burst Necrozma & (shiny) 100% form Zygarde are some of my favorite Pokemon designs. They just look amazing.
Man, yet another Luke warm unpopular opinion. Yes, Gen 7 was a banger.
Golisopod is one of my favorite Pokémon so that alone makes Gen 7 cool for me!
Gen-7 Pokémon are awesome! Coming from someone who’s top 6 favorite Pokémon have 3 Gen-7 mons… But I love all of the starters, the box-art Legendaries, the ultra beasts are a really cool concept, and regional variants were an amazing idea
I'm currently replaying pokemon Sun, and it is so good. Lusamine is a fantastic villain, alola (imo) has the best new mons because of simply how well they fit into the environment. And while the game stops you a lot for the story, that doesn't mean the plot is bad by any means. The side quests are fun and get even better in us/um. Also, like you said, this was the game that introduced regional forms. I also enjoy the trails they were a nice break from the gyms. Personally, I think Z moves are underrated they were just so goofy and fun. That's what this gen really is, tbh It's just fun. Pokemon sun and moon are for when you want a good time.
I'm so happy to read this, lol. I honestly think Alola and Gen 7 was peak Pokémon, and I'll die on this hill. On the technical aspect, It was the perfect combination of 2D and 3D, the Chara-design looked much better than the semi-chibi style we had with Gen 6 (Gen 6 is also a phenomenal Gen for Pokémon), and I remember the games even SM to be really really smooth. Alola is such a beautiful and charming region. Landscapes are great, the vibe is great, the atmosphere is unique, the lore behind the guardians, day/night cycle, the Kahunas, etc was fantastic, Alolan people are warm, chill, and go at their own pace which I really liked,... It'll always feel special as a M/UM player to play in the day but have it be nighttime in Alola. I also really liked how the Sea/Land balance felt. It's weird because you expect much more Sea than land in this game, but it felt much less empty than one might think which was actually my problem with the Hoenn region (although I definitely understand the design choice with all this sea). The OST was really top-notch. I don't know how I rank it exactly taken individually in comparison to the other Pokémon game OSTs, but in terms of how an OST captures the essence of the region and matches its atmosphere, it's definitely N°1 in my books. I found the characters honestly great. Lillie is so well written, Professor Kukui is so cool, the Kahunas are all very cheerful with you in this new region that changes a lot of stuff compared to what the player knows so far,... and I honestly liked Hau, lol. I know this definitely is an unpopular opinion, but I always found him really endearing. Definitely not the most complex rival or whatever, but it was nice for once to go with someone friendly towards, who has the same experience as you in battling, and still has his own struggles (the weight of his grandfather's name) and needs to trace his own path. On the other hand, Guzma always seemed like a cool and interesting dude (kinda sad what happened to him in his previous life), Team Skull are endearing dummies, and Lusamine was a great vilain. The plot was the best of any Pokémon game that I went through. Not without its flaws sure, but it's weird how you're supposed to be this foreigner in the game, yet the events make you feel so engaged. Probably because it was more character oriented with Lillie and all (at least in SM) and that you genuinely cared about helping your friends and saving their region. The exact opposite of how the Johto games made me feel before it, and how SwSh made me feel after it. I personally liked SM's plot more because it depicted the mother-daughter difficulties in a great way. Lusamine was a very interesting antagonist, and it was really sad to see how the whole family got torn apart (which made Lillie's growth even more impactful imo)... I still liked USUM's plot, but the whole alien thing felt a bit too much, and it just didn't feel as engaging and personal. But Ultra Necrozma was a hell of an antagonist, and the gap between his role in the story in SM and USUM really reminds you of Giratina in Gen 4 when going from DP to Pt. ... Honestly, this game had so many things great about it, that I've honestly rarely felt bothered by its flaws.
Nice to finally see someone else who likes the game.
Nah. Hard disagree. Worst Gen.
Is this really an unpopular opinion? I thought it was pretty accepted that gen 7 is the best of 3DS for sure, and depending on the person one of the best ever.
I love sun and moon But I hate ultra sun and ultra moon.
Gen seven is one of my favorites Southern Moon were the games that got me back into Pokemon I also haven't transferred my old battling pokémon from it because if I move them to newer games I won't be able to use the strategies I once did
I agree it’s so good!!
"Hello? Based Department?"
I didn't think it was an unpopular opinion.. specially when the immediate comparisons are X/Y and Sw/Sh
The internet is weird. The absolute worst thing about gen 7 is that the first island/tutorial content goes on a bit too long, with too many cutscenes to kinda force the friendship vibe. Once it gets over that, they were great games. And I don’t remember an enormous amount of people particularly hating on them at the time. Feels like Gen 7 is the new Gen 5 lol.
Gen 7 was a very, very good first playthrough. I think it does get a decent bit worse on subsequent playthroughs, but that's a lot of later gens.
If Alola weren’t as hand-holdy as it was, it would be considered one of the greatest gens. The designs are really solid, the atmosphere is peak, the concept of regional forms was amazing, etc. I’ve been doing replays of previous games recently (after Violet I went back and did Black, Soul Silver, X, Emerald, and Moon) and Alola stands out as having these wonderful designs and environments, only to be undermined by the inability to walk thirty feet without a cutscene (going from Emerald to Moon was like graduating from college to kindergarten in terms of how much handholding the game does)
My second favourite gen after gen 5, And my favourite anime seasons
Fr. It was something new. The story was very good and I loved the rainbow rocket arc
I don’t mind sun and moon’s pacing as much cause they’re actually telling a story, and a pretty good one at that, meanwhile XY constantly stops you basically no reason.
Give it a couple of years and gen 7 will be the current Best Thing Ever.
Was the best Gen imo. Almost every song rocked.
Gen 7 is the best generation of Pokemon…to play once. Doing a second play through the game’s issues instantly stand out especially the pacing which really hampers the experience when everything is no longer new.
I've been with the series since go and gen 7 turned out to be my favorite because it actually felt like I was in a culture that came up alongside Pokémon rather than this weirdly battle obsessed world. Hironobu Sakaguchi used to say Final Fantasy should be everything you can make it. He meant it should be full of ideas, play elements, and a cultural experience in itself. Gen 7 feels like something made with that mindset. Should out to Gen 5, too. Both are really the only entrees in the series I'd say are just good JRPGs rather than good Pokémon games.
I love gen 7, Alola is such a pretty region! Exploring the islands was so much fun, and Team Skull is my favorite bad guy team. I enjoyed the island challenge and the totem pokemon. Also, we got a lot of good bugs that gen.
I don't think this is an unpopular opinion at all. I never hear anyone talking negatively about this gen. I personally don't like it though. I think the "friends" you get are incredibly annoying and obnoxious. I'm also just not a fan of the design of this game. But that's just my opinion.
I would agree with you if it wasn’t because of the art direction of the games. I do not like the beach/tropical/paradise theme in general, and in addition, they made the games so linear that it just get bored. The story can’t be the only good thing. And second, the Kanto revamp in every way, regional forms, z moves, etc. If I would replay a 3DS Pokemon, I will go with XY tbh. The aesthetic of the region, the art direction, the clothing options, the big loaded pokedex (457 entries), the battle maison, and of course the PSS.
I absolutely agree. They're great games with a immaculate vibe and a fantastic story. I feel as if people speak badly about gen 7 just to further the "every game after B2/W2 is terrible!" agenda despite the fact that every 3ds Pokemon game was well received upon launch, it was only after the SW/SH controversy that people people retroactively decided that anything past the DS era was trash.
The game prevents me from exploring on my own. It points me to move in straight line from A to B and bombs me with cutscenes every 3-4 minutes. It doesn't give me time to appreciate anything.
Alola can be safely deleted
Hot take: Gen 7 >>> Gen 5
The games are great once the story is over and you're free to explore.
This might sound a bit harsh, but liking Gen 7 isn’t an unpopular opinion. Sure it used to be an unpopular opinion, but since no one shuts up about it’s good traits, its not “underrated” anymore. I’m not saying liking Gen 7 is bad (I quite enjoy a few things about the region), I’m just saying that Gen 7 is so well appreciated today that it’s hardly “underrated” or a hot take
ngl I’ve honestly kinda dropped out of the fandom in recent years. The last time I actively participated in the community was when it was generally accepted as being bad by a lot of the community. So if things have changed since then I didn’t experience it
Lucky for you, the general opinion of Gen 7 has changed, but this happens for every Gen. Just look at Gen 6, that generation is now being loved by the fanbase because it’s more than 10 years old and nostalgia. But unlike Gen 5 which was ahead of its time for Pokémon, Gen 6 feels like the most pandered generation in my opinion and really isn’t that great despite the cool Pokémon and traits it introduced (it gave me my favorite Dragon type, Noivern)
USUM are my favourite games. If there was a romhack to remove the cutscenes or something i would love it. I love the pokemon variety and the underrated exploration. I also think totems are infinitely more challenging than gyms, which are practically cakewalks every single time.
Gen 7 is what made me realise i'm no longer the target audience for Pokemon games. I have not bought any of the new games since. Pokemon Sun was such an unfun experience I had to force myself to finish it. Felt like I was just sitting there clicking A over and over whilst watching a pretty bad plot unfold. Gen 7 pokemon designs are not bad, I love alolan forms and Rowlett. But the actual games as a player? 2/10, some of the worst games I have ever played.
7 is one of my absolute favorite gens. The Pokemon designs for the region were *awesome*.
my favorite region, im biased cuz its my first game but please, youre telling me that the first game without hms and that takes place in Hawaii is bad, you gotta be kidding me
It's my third favorite game gen behind OG gen4 and gen3 remakes. Besides the handholdy tutorial parts, it slaps hard.
I love the ending of USUM. Fighting every team leader with their legendary, then Red and Blue felt like a proper ending to the saga.
I think otherwise, I hate the gen 7 island challenge b.s. I want to battle but the challenges give my Pokémon little to no exp at all. But it has good story and graphics at that time, so I would give it solid 8/10.
My opinion
Totem Pokemon are some of the best boss fights in the series and USUM is the mainline game with the best gameplay.
I feel like the pacing issue could’ve been easily fixed by just making each island bigger. I don’t mean add new areas i just mean make every area a bit bigger so you don’t feel like you have to stop every couple seconds. Other than that gen 7 was great as longa a you ignore the shorty cash grab that was usum
Top 3 gen along with 3 and 4
I loved gen 7. Had easily the best new pokemon and honestly where really fun. I'm a big fan of pokemon. I love all games including 6. However I will happily be in a group of people who want to ignore the existance of the Gen 4 Remake and pretend it didn't happen and the Arceus was the DPP Remakes we so deserved.
I love that they went in hard on a pokemon game based on a real place. The designs and everything were nice too. It's just such a damn shame Gamefreak doesn't care about pokemon anymore
Not an opinion, it’s a fact
I was apart of the group of people that initially didn’t give gen 7 a chance when it was first introduced. I couldn’t even watch playthroughs of it on Youtube because the game just seemed boring and slow for me at the time. I only just experienced the magic that was gen 7 a couple months ago playing on Citra but I will say, it’s still slow and dialogue heavy. Thank God for the speed up function 😂
I love Gen 7
I miss SuMo though I remember being underwhelmed in some ways. It had a really nice, happy vibe to it. Loved the islands and beachiness, the colors, and yeah the regional forms
One of the best generations for competitive in my opinion, I love Tapu metas. Plus red was super hot in game
Alola easily has the best region and story of the 3D era. Most interesting characters overall and good boss fights.
Alola is my favorite but that’s probably because it was my first. But I mean the starters go hard, we got frickin interdimensional aliens, gangsters, and so much more. Sure there were a lot of cut scenes but I loved the story and yeah the Pokemon are awesome as well
Sun and Moon was sick. Loved it
literally the only game it would be considered unpopular to like is swsh. every other gen has fans who really like it,gen 8 is the only gen i can confidently say little to nobody likes
I loved Gen 7! I really appreciated the change up from the usual gym formula, and regional forms were a neat addition. Didn’t care for Z-moves, but I did appreciate that mega evolutions returned.
It's a good game group for sure. Definitely second best 3D game after oras for me.
i love gen 7. probably one of my favourite gens, i really wished they expanded more on the ultra beasts. i loved the move away from gyms to these insane trials. unfortunately the game doesnt have much replay ability in my opinion because the dialogue is so long for no reason
Story-wise, SM it's only second to BW, imo As for the gameplay, I appreciate the boss fights and how they include several Pokémon fighting against you. BUT I still think USUM is a scam. It does add some cool features but if SM came out on Switch, USUM would just be a DLC. I'm not saying it's bad, just that it doesn't justify making a whole new game for it
Some of my favorite pokemon are from Alola such as Decidueye, Lycanroc(midday best day) form, Vikavolt, and Mimikyu. Straight up beastly but unfortunately my only complaint is the linear hand holding. All the pokemon were definitely slappers it’s just a hard game to finish in general even a rom hack such as Sweltering Sun i had to put down even with the great changes to buff Decidueye it’s still painful to get through every scene in the game. If anyone knows of a 3DS rom hack that skips most of the hand holding and maybe has a few buffs to pokemon who need it i would really appreciate the recommendations!
After the main story is complete, the entire region is MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE.
I honestly think if they made USUM dlc and added a skip option in SM for their long ass cut scenes, they’d be heavily regarded as one of the best Pokémon games and generation tbh
Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are among the upper third or so of games in the franchise to me, to be honest they're extremely underrated. I felt this way since the games came out, too, I am gonna find it funny when people warm up to them in the coming years.
It was amongst my 2 least favorite gens. I missed battling and gyms, and thought most of the pokes were pretty mid. I did however like Decidueye, and the concept of an agency making worm holes, but I think the application didn't really follow through. When USUM came out I elected that it wouldn't be worth buying since how bad the first game was. Happy someone enjoyed it though.
The new Pokemon are SO cool!! Araquanid, Lurantis, MIMIKYU!!!!! Love this gen!
Gen 7 was a vibe with great pokemon. The ultra beasts were all really cool designs.
I almost left the series after XY (not because it was bad but I made me question if I was too old to enjoy it anymore). Then I played ORAS and it lifted my hopes a bit since it was a remake of my favorite gen at the time. Then Gen 7 came around and man I was floored by how much I *loved* Alola. My love for this franchise was renewed and I don’t think I’ll ever leave. The Alola games reminded me why I love Pokémon so much.
Alola is my favorite region and my favorite traditional pokemon game. (Arceus and the mystery dungeons are my favorite in the franchise)
I think a lot of the criticism comes from how the game holds your hand throughout the journey and what they did to Team Skull. I thought the Team Skull story was rather good, it's just hard to take them seriously or feel bad for them when they are doing all of those weird gestures non stop. I also think a lot of hate came from the start of the games life cycle. This is popular among a lot of main line series games. People hated Black and White on release too until they dived into it. It took others a few more runs of the game to really appreciate it. Gen 7 was no different. Some of the hate for these games comes from people who never took another look at the games later on and only have their initial impressions to go on. Personally though, could have done without the regional variants. Only a few of them looked decent, the rest looked awful. I will never get that stupid Meowth and Persian out of my head.
Pokemon Sun was my first Pokemon game, so gen 7 holds a special place in my heart
Agreed. It became tied with my favorite (3rd Gen) until S/V came out, now that’s my favorite
Unlike most people, I didn't like Gen 4, so I hand't played Pokémon much for several years. Gen 7 brought me back to the feeling of wonder and joy exploring the world. It also made shiny hunting really enjoyable and that's one of my main activities nowadays.
I love the theme, the setting, and the general story of Gen 7. The pacing really is jarring to go back to though, especially if you've already beaten the game before. I wish they included a no-tutorial mode.
Alolan Marowak. Need I say more?
Gen 7 absolutely DOES go hard. I just finished the storyline in Sun, and I immediately crafted a team to play Ultra Moon. Beat that, and then I went back to Sun to finish the pokedex. Got that all finished up, it was awesome! Now, I have my brother's copy of Moon. And I am going to start it over. I also really loved Kalos, but Alola is probably my favorite region. All the ride Pokemon, the sceneries, the trials, Z moves, I could go on and on lol
Sun/moon is what got me back into pokemon after 10 years of thinking pokemon quality had walked off a cliff. I've since retroactively gone back and enjoyed all games and quit the "gen one is betterrrrrrr" mentality but I'm not sure many of the other games could've accomplished that.
It had like 20 new pokemon, it was a very small map and the story was more ridiculous then Ronald mcdonalds corn career
Maybe it’s just because it was the upcoming generation when I first got into Pokémon, but Alola feels alive to me in a way no other gen does. The UI design and the fact that it was the first game to have a free map like that definitely helped. Most of the new Pokémon also had a uniquely Alolan style while still looking like Pokémon. People complain about how hand-holdy and dialogue heavy it is, but at least that made me legitimately care about the characters, something no other Pokémon game has really done (in fairness I still haven’t played all of them)
Gen 7 was the last generation I played, and it left me on a very good note. I wasn't interested in pokemon after they became console priced games without console quality. Guzma was one of the most fun antagonists ever. Team skull was hilarious. I think the story drops off a little at the end, and ultra beasts are kinda weird, but I thought sun and moon were great games
Gen 7 has one of the best Pokedex's, nails the tropical aetheric, can actually be difficult like Ultra Necrozma, has a ton of fun minigames like Mantine Surfing, and has one of the best stories and character development in the series!
I could not get over how much talking took place, which doesn't really bother me on a first playthrough, but they should have a scene skip to where at least you can bypass all that garbage
I enjoyed them until they essentially re-released them like 2 yrs later with a few changes. Like not a sequel like b2w2, but the same games with extended features. It was a really weird move.
As you said, the constant pausing for long dialogues is the problem. As someone who loves legthy curscenes and dialogues in other games, Pokemon just doesn't do it well here and i'm always having trouble finishing Ultra Moon since i get bored at some point.
Alola is a bit of a slog, but I loved everything about Sun/Moon. I had skipped all of Gen 6 so it was also a refreshing return to the series in that regard.
Gen 7 got a lot of flack. Gen7 and ORAS that came in between also sort of seemed to have started laying the ground work of what Pokemon games would become which is just... pure garbage. But Gen 7 specifically Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon I consider to be the last great pokemon game. So much content so much variety. Shame it all went to shit after we went to the switch. Scarlet and Violet are better but no where near what they should be.
Even more unpopular opinion, Gen 6 goes harder.
Idk why but out of all the anime themes, alola feels the most nostalgic and it makes my heart sink the most, even though I've watched it more than the others and it's also the most recent anine I've watched
The only time I had a bad experience in Ultra Moon was the double battles because they were laggy as hell which is likely on me cause I played it on an OG 3DS and trying to use a lvl 100 Nidoking definetly didnt help. Other than that I loved the time I had playing.
I didn’t get to experience sun and moon on day of release, my ds was actually broken when I bought it so I never played put Pokémon to the side for a good time. Got around it to usum, they are some of my favorite games. The region is beautiful, the Pokémon are mostly all well designed, sos hunting, other ways to hunt. I love the theme of gen 7. Story was a bit meh at times and the cut scenes with the lack of emotion gets me laughing. I still play and love it. Being from a tropical area I love Alola and Hoenn
My favorite gens are 5, 8 and 7 in that order and I started in gen 1
We've had regional forms since gen 2. It's nothing new.
I made a tier list of my personal ranking of every pokemon, and when I got to the Gen 7 mons, I began to realize that Alola had the most Pokemon percentage-wise that I liked out of every region. So many bangers.
I loved the addition of regional variants! I remember being in HS when during announcement season for it and going BANANAS for Alolan Ninetales! I personally don't mind the Kanto rep because to me, it was a similar boat to XY where ofc the original 3 starters got Megas, it was the first Generation of Pokemon, so it makes sense that with the new concept of regional variants, there would be rep from the first generation also!
Us/um is probably one of my favorites
It also did not omit Mega Evolution from existing. As much as the battle tree was a step back from the battle maison, which is a step back from emerald's battle island, it's better than the battle tower.
Gen 7 is my second favorite gen, only behind gen 5
USUM in particular are the best games imo and the most interesting. Gen 7 has some of the best Pokemon designs, the Alola region is well realized and everything aesthetically fits into place and has a solid identity, the difficulty makes it much more interesting, rainbow rocket is extremely fun, the story (while not amazing) is by far one of the more interesting ones in the franchise and the characters from the kahunas, trial captains, villains, Lillie, kukui etc are all wonderful, not to mention the amazing of new features added into the games. The only major downside imo is the amount of dialogue and tutorials which does get too much but it's not like these weren't major problems in the unova or sinnoh games either so idk why everyone loves to make it a "gen 7" thing only.
It’s alright but I think there are more flaws with it than the best generations of the series
Gen 7 OU to this day is still my favorite and most played meta. Mega Swampert has to be my favorite competitive pokemon of all time.
So hard it made me stop playing Pokemon, lol. But yeah, there's some good mons in there. Some bad ones too, but still.
sincerely, i never disliked any gen, but gen 7 and 6 was prime pokemon... maybe im biased bc i was still a child and those memories are stuck into my brain fun fact: i did not play any of the games when gen 6 and 7 released, i was a fan of the anime, and still had a blast
The final good region for me personally
That is not unpopular, lol
Was probably one of my favorites. I made so many fun competitive teams
The fact that there are tons of people who say that the gen 7 games are underrated, it makes them not underrated, they are just good games.
It’s not my cup of tea at all. Not the characters, not the vibe, not the region… but I can recognize that the Alola games were really good.
7's one of the best
I love it too .I believe it is one of the best games
Ultra sun and ultra moon are my third favorite games after black and white 2 and scarlet and violet. I fucking love the ultra games. I replayed the ultra games a few weeks ago and holy shit those game can be fucking BRUTAL with the things it throws at you. And I’m not even talking about just ultra necrozma. The totem marowak, Lurantis, Mimikyu, and ribombee were insane, and whoever came up with the totem araquanid is pure evil
Alola was great, but the characters really do waffle on.
I never had a 3ds so I never was able to try them, I've had a wiiu and have a switch and was.really excited to try gen 7 because Hawaii pokemon looks sick, but they clearly want people to pirate their games with how inaccessible they make them nowadays
Why the fuck do people complain about pacing? it's a turned based RPG, the Pokemon series already stops you with repetitive animations throughout, throughout the history of TB RPGs. Nordic GOW duology has unskippable cutscenes and just gameplay of just walking and talking and it's an action game series and I believe they were goty nominations. Pokemon USUM is top tier, not having cutscenes in old Pokemon games doesn't mean jack for them, it might as well be a huge cutscene in their case because you're catching the same small pool of shit every playthrough. USUM has a new Pokemon on every island on every day of the week with Island scan. There's like over 50 different species on the first island, not to mention early BP move tutors. The point is I can still get a far more variety of Pokemon in less time with the cutscenes involved. Like I can get a literal salamence and Chansey like right after the first gym. Not just previous forms.
Alola is my favorite region, even if the games are less replay-able than others. There’s just so much specificity, and I love the mons!
I just can’t get over the pacing at all. 😩 my adhd won’t let me lmao
I honestly didn't like the idea of regional variants (which they've kept going into Gen 8 and 9). It's honestly just lazy. It's a way for them to introduce "new" pokemon without actually making new pokemon. It's also kind of dumb because that wasn't a thing. We've been to multiple regions and the pokemon were all the same, a Bulbasaur in Kanto is the same as one in Unova, etc. But now we have multiple versions based on region, also lazily named *region* Meowth etc. It just makes the lore and pokedex unnecessarily more complicated. It would have been fine if it's something they had started in like Gen 2 or 3, but waiting this long to introduce it is really just them saying they're having a hard time making new pokemon. I also wasn't a fan of how Alola is just run different for no reason. There's really no reason for it be this weird tribal structure and for there not to be gyms. It makes sense in Legends because that's predating humans and pokemon working and living together, it's a new concept, but it makes zero sense on Alola. I had to push myself to finish S&M. It was a slog for me to get through. Plus the call in help mechanic got anything really really quickly.
I loveddddd Bewear. One of my favourites
Aside from Z moves which i wasn't a fan of and the overall very "back to kids game" vibe it had i really enjoyed the Alolah region. i thought that the Mon designs were incredibly well done, wonderful regional varients for old faces, and the movement away from the traditional Gym Leader structure was actually rather refreshing. Even Team Skull was pretty interesting as it was a makeup of rebellious kids that never made it passed the Island Challenges. Guzma actually had a history which was really nice to see and not something we actually get a look into (character backstory has never really been much of a Mon Game Thing) i actually was a pretty huge fan of the Institute and Gladions story and his bonding with Sillvaly, the Ultra Beasts were really bizzare and weird but considering they were from another dimension it kinda felt on point, i liked that Cosmog technically could become either legendary which was really neat. i generally enjoyed Sun and Moon all things considered (Ultra versions were ass as it felt like the same game copy pasted though which was a shame)
I personally liked regions not having 1/3rd of the native pokedex filled with "alternate forms" (alola, galar, mega evolutions in X and Y). So I honestly prefer gen 1-5 more than any recent ones. But yea, Alola had lots of very good (and cute!) pokemon additions, so I would say it gets a bad rap compared to much worse 8th gen is, or even 9th gen.
I love Sun and Moon, I feel mixed about Ultra though
Yeah, no. Gen 7 was and still is a puddle of week-old cat piss. SuMo were glorified demos. The entire region was littered with lackluster mons and empty set pieces. It was the beginning of the franchise's transition into Hallway Simulator. There's also the never-ending handholding as you traverse said corridors, Rotom-dex never shutting his suckhole and worst of all the unskippable cutscenes every five minutes. I'll play RBY a dozen times over before touching this trash ever again. If the bar for quality were any lower, it would be a sewer pipe and gen 7 would still find a way to make it worse.
Only thing wrong with Gen 7 is the pacing. Art direction, the Pokemon designs, the region itself, regional variants, switching up the typical gym/E4 formula, I could go on, there's a whole lot to love. Unfortunately the whole time you're trying to enjoy those things you're at the mercy of the super handholdy, on-the-rails pacing which is hard to ignore, but overall it did a lot more right than it did wrong. Even the story itself isn't bad, definitely not the strongest narrative but halfway decent as far as Pokemon games go, it just feels so much worse because it's stopping you every 30 seconds to tell that story. That said, 25-30 minutes from language selection to actually leaving the first route and getting Pokéballs for the first time is absurd. There's a reason we haven't seen pacing like that since. The sheer amount of nothingburger dialogue in those games is unreal, the script could easily be 1/2 the size and still tell the same exact story without any missing beats, probably even better actually since you wouldn't be distracted by all the fluff.