Pokemongames have come a long way since the release ofPokemon RedandGreen, and the franchise is moving forward with new projects for both side games and mainline titles.Pokemon ScarletandVioletwere announced around a month ago, and ever since there have been many comments and ideas from the community about what the Generation 9 games should look like or which features should or shouldn’t be included. Of course, one of the more talked about features is thecatching system fromPokemon Legends: Arceus, which many fans want to see inPokemon ScarletandVioletto a certain degree, especially because the games are fully open-world.
Another popular request is forPokemon ScarletandVioletto include difficulty settings, something that was rumored forPokemon Legends: Arceusand done only once in the lifespan of the franchise, inPokemon BlackandWhite 2. The purpose of difficulty settings in newPokemongames would be to bridge the gap between the various generations that play the titles, making them simultaneously more accessible and more challenging, based on the players' selection. Regrettably, this was attempted in the wrong way inPokemon BlackandWhite 2by gating difficulty settings after beating the base game, butPokemon ScarletandVioletcan and should do better.
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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Should Improve on Black, White 2’s Difficulty
There’s a common belief thatPokemongames are too easy and forgiving for adults, making the experience less enjoyable because one can simply steamroll through the game in a day or two. However,Pokemon Legends: Arceusproved that there can be challengingPokemongamesto a degree, even for veterans of the series. The experience is still subjective, though, and not everyone who playedPokemon Legends: Arceusfelt that the game was too hard (or even a bit hard) to begin with. However, increasing the difficulty across the board may not be the best path forward, as the series is still mainly geared toward children with its appeal.
As such, one of the accessibility options that could really improve the experience for everyone would be to include difficulty settings inPokemon ScarletandViolet, this time making this choice available from the get-go. This could work in a very similar way to whatPokemon Black 2andWhite 2attempted, with Easy Mode lowering the level of all the trainers' Pokemon and their AI and Challenge Mode increasing both Pokemon levels and AI while also adding an extra Pokemon to tough trainer battles.
This addition would makePokemon ScarletandVioletthe perfect games to play for every gamer that’s interested inPokemon, regardless of their experience with the series and other video games in general. In fact,Pokemon Legends: Arceusshowed that a more difficult game that also challenges players tokeep an eye on resourcesmay be what the veterans have been asking for, but not necessarily what’s best to introduce someone to the series. Vice versa, having a game where expert players can complete the main story and get their favorite Pokemon in a weekend may not be the way to go for an open-world game.
Pokemon Black and White 2had a good formula for difficulty settings, but the main issue was that players either had to complete the game to access them or have a friend send the modes via Unova Link to them, which would be tied to that specific save.Pokemon ScarletandVioletcould learn from this and instead offer either a one-time difficulty setting selection upon starting a new game or, even better, a difficulty selection screen available at all times. Ultimately,Pokemongames are among the best video games to reduce the gap between generations by bringing everyone together, and having difficulty settings could help families get into the same game without having to sacrifice parts of the experience.
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