Buona idea, una delle migliori fra le varie rom ma la realizzazione ad oggi (2024) è ancora troppo acerba e piena di bug
this is all as of alpha 7.3
this game attempts to create an intersection of pokemon and life simulator and so far it is VERY inventive and creative, though a bit lacking in fun. the level curve is a bit all over the place and the systems can become monotonous well before you unlock some fun bits. i hope they do work out some of the kinks because the potential here is crazy
this game attempts to create an intersection of pokemon and life simulator and so far it is VERY inventive and creative, though a bit lacking in fun. the level curve is a bit all over the place and the systems can become monotonous well before you unlock some fun bits. i hope they do work out some of the kinks because the potential here is crazy
Played on version 7.5.1
The combination of Pokemon and life sim is a very compelling concept, and certainly there's some fun to be had, but I have to agree with the other review as of writing that there's some work to be done on execution. Rising through the ranks of the school is engaging, but somewhat repetitive, and in the endgame when the challenge of the fights ramps up, the restrictions on activities each day just become a frustrating barrier to optimising your team, rather than the game being built around those restrictions in a fun way.
The opportunity for role-playing is also hurt by a number of decisions. For one, the player character occasionally having dialogue can obviously take you out of it, even if it's just idle comments on scenery. Also, the stat system fails to be a reflection of your character's choices, as instead all four stats are expendable currencies you need to keep stocked up to get by, and in quantities that completely invalidate the early personality-based stat distribution. This is especially egregious with Skill, which you need to spent vast amounts of to upgrade floor fields, then raise back up to a threshold to pass your class - and each skill increase comes from winning a non-trivial Pokemon battle, making it a very drawn out process.
There are many more small nitpicks I could harp on as well. The spawn rate in the wild areas feels absurdly high and often congests movement. Learnsets are based on Gen 8, but TRs are far less accessible, which causes moveset issues. While I don't begrudge the self-inserts, the writing still indulges into fangame edge beyond that in a way that's completely incongruous with a more relaxed tone I might expect from a life sim. There's a lot of technical jank, like lag, eclectic music choices that loop poorly, messages from the developers pleading you to workaround janky mechanics, etc. Still, this much is justifiable in an alpha release.
Nonetheless, I still enjoyed what I played a fair amount, and I'm really interested to see what it could become with some more refinement.
The combination of Pokemon and life sim is a very compelling concept, and certainly there's some fun to be had, but I have to agree with the other review as of writing that there's some work to be done on execution. Rising through the ranks of the school is engaging, but somewhat repetitive, and in the endgame when the challenge of the fights ramps up, the restrictions on activities each day just become a frustrating barrier to optimising your team, rather than the game being built around those restrictions in a fun way.
The opportunity for role-playing is also hurt by a number of decisions. For one, the player character occasionally having dialogue can obviously take you out of it, even if it's just idle comments on scenery. Also, the stat system fails to be a reflection of your character's choices, as instead all four stats are expendable currencies you need to keep stocked up to get by, and in quantities that completely invalidate the early personality-based stat distribution. This is especially egregious with Skill, which you need to spent vast amounts of to upgrade floor fields, then raise back up to a threshold to pass your class - and each skill increase comes from winning a non-trivial Pokemon battle, making it a very drawn out process.
There are many more small nitpicks I could harp on as well. The spawn rate in the wild areas feels absurdly high and often congests movement. Learnsets are based on Gen 8, but TRs are far less accessible, which causes moveset issues. While I don't begrudge the self-inserts, the writing still indulges into fangame edge beyond that in a way that's completely incongruous with a more relaxed tone I might expect from a life sim. There's a lot of technical jank, like lag, eclectic music choices that loop poorly, messages from the developers pleading you to workaround janky mechanics, etc. Still, this much is justifiable in an alpha release.
Nonetheless, I still enjoyed what I played a fair amount, and I'm really interested to see what it could become with some more refinement.