As the ninth generation of the main series Pokemon Games, pokemon scarlet and Purple should be a major turning point for the franchise. Next Pokémon Sword and Shield, which received criticism for being too similar to previous titles and not doing enough to change the formula, pokemon scarlet and Purple has been confirmed to be fully open world Pokemon game, and it’s the first non-spinoff title to do so.
With such a vast world to explore, the still unnamed and potentially Spanish-inspired region of Pokemon scarlet and violet should offer fans more than just catching Pokemon, defeating gym leaders, and earning badges. Focusing solely on the traditional gameplay loop could lead to a world that feels empty and the game criticized for being too short and not offering enough unique objectives. One way to counter this potential problem would be the return of the Medal Rally system from pokemon black 2 and White 2, which rewarded players for engaging with the game in different ways.
What are medals in Pokemon Black and White?
As the second series of games take place in the United States-inspired Unova region, pokemon black 2 and White 2 struggled to stand out from the original Black and White In many ways. The Medal Rally offered a certain uniqueness; it challenged players to collect medals for completing various tasks. Players could earn medals by reporting completed tasks to the Medal Master, which can be found at any Pokemon Center. After earning enough medals, players can then go to the medal office in Castelia City to increase their rank. A player’s medal rank is visible to other trainers through the Pokemon Global Link system.
Medals in pokemon black 2 and White 2 were divided into categories: Adventure Medals, Battle Medals, Entertainment Medals, Challenge Medals, and Special Medals. They rewarded players for tasks ranging from walking a certain number of stages or saving the game a certain number of times, to completing Funfest missions and successfully completing PokeStudio Movies. In particular, Challenge Medals provided players with plenty of endgame content, offering rare medals for battling in the Black Tower and White Treehollow and defeating the Elite Four and Champion while only using certain types of Pokemon. . Dedicated medal collectors would need to spend time taking care of everything Black 2 and White 2 had to offer, such as trading, battling, playing minigames, and searching for hidden objects.
Medals are perfect for an open world game
While the medal system did not return in Pokemon X and Y, Pokemon Sun and MoonWhere Pokémon Sword and Shield, pokemon scarlet and Purple seem like the perfect opportunity to bring back this long-gone feature. Having medals to earn could encourage players to explore the vast world and interact with everything possible, leading them to discover places, items, quests or mini-games they might have missed. Additionally, it would make the world more complete by including things like hidden items that need to be found or obstacles that need to be overcome using particular Pokémon or abilities.
Similar large collectible quests have been present in a number of recent open-world games, most notably the several hundred Korok Seeds available to find hidden across Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. These help players stay engaged and exploring even after the game’s main quest is complete. pokemon scarlet and Purple could perform a similar function, ensuring that the game doesn’t simply end once the champion is defeated. The medal collection would also provide a break from the battle-centric gameplay of Pokemon including new unique goals and tasks.
The link between medals and travel would also be a great way to highlight the open-world nature of Scarlet and Purple and how much space players need to explore. The Medal Rally was inspired by stamp rallies, a common Japanese event where people can collect stamps by visiting certain locations, such as shrines, monuments, or rest areas, and then later redeem those stamps for rewards. like clothes, food and travel. goods. pokemon scarlet and Purple should definitely introduce something that encourages players to visit every corner of the map and travel great distances, such as medals awarded for taking a certain number of steps in Black 2 and White 2.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus paves the way for the return of medals
Recently released derivative title Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which took players to the old region of Hisui, drew heavily on the open-world genre by introducing a number of explorable areas that players could traverse on foot or by calling on Pokémon such as Wyrdeer, Basculegion, and Hisian Braviary. The game developers clearly understood that a game with so much space to explore would require gameplay elements beyond catching Pokemon and completing the main story, which involved calming down the frantic Noble Pokemon. and identify the source of the chaos.
Legends: Arceus achieved this by introducing research tasks that players must complete as a member of the Jubilife Village Survey Corps. While some research tasks were straightforward and simply involved battling or catching Pokemon, others called for specific scenarios like seeing Pokemon use certain moves in battle or investigating appearance variations among certain species. It also featured a “Collect Quest” mechanic in the form of Wisps, which were hidden around the map and had to be collected for players to summon and capture the rare Ghost-type Pokemon Spiritomb.
So far, the trailers for pokemon scarlet and Purple did not show the return of medals or any other similar system. In fact, very little has been shown regarding the games; only a handful of new Pokemon and some non-player characters such as the two new Pokemon Professors have been revealed. However, there are still several months before Scarlet and violet November release, and it’s likely more trailers will be released with more gameplay info, possibly including something like Black 2 and White 2 Medals or Legends: Arceus research tasks and collection of wisps.
pokemon scarlet and Purple will be released on November 18, 2022 on Nintendo Switch.