So Gamefreak, we need to talk.

The original Xenoblade Chronicles had one of the largest open worlds of any console game of the last generation. There are people that even go as far as to claim that its map size even exceeds that of Skyrim. All that on the hardware of the underpowered Wii console. Now I'm not here to debate whether that's true or not, because it misses the point. Xenoblade Chronicles, one of, if not the, largest open world console games of the last generation, will, in a little over three months, be on the New 3DS.

And then we have the current Pokemon games. Now I've never been one to hide this; Pokemon is my franchise of all time and I think that it has the building blocks to birth the greatest concievable game that can ever be created. But it doesn't. However, I'm not here to talk about how disappointing Pokemon is because it actively runs away from it's potential. I'm here to show Pokemon a tiny sliver of it's potential; Xenoblade Chronicles 3D.

Now Pokemon creator Junichi Masuda has been very adament about saying that the main Pokemon games belong on handhelds. While I vehemently disagree with that, I then turn around and look at Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. Let me be clear right now; I don't think Gamefreak should or would make a main Pokemon game exclusive to the New 3DS. That's not what this is about. But think about it. If a game like Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is possible on the New 3DS, imagine what'll be possible on the next handheld.

Currently, the 3DS is weaker than the Wii, but stronger than the PSP. Everyone knows that. It's considered underpowered by todays standards. Now I'm not sure where the New 3DS fits into all that, but it clearly has more to work with. It's pretty safe to assume that the next Nintendo handheld will in turn be at least weaker than the Wii U, but more powerful than the Vita. More importantly, though, is that it will very obviously be more powerful than the New 3DS. It will also have all of the buttons and control options typical of a standard controller: a dpad, ABXY, L-R-ZL-ZR, dual analog (c-stick or circle pad). It will more than likely have everything necessary to provide a console like expertience, and we have Xenoblade Chronicles 3D as proof that it will be more than capable of profining a massive open world for a handheld.

All that is true before even mentioning that it will most likely share a gaming library with the next console. Every game that comes out on the handheld will be one and the same as the ones coming out for the console. But let's, for a moment, assume that that's not the case at all. The next Nintendo is, in this hypothetical world, a closed system.

If the first Pokemon on that system doesn't step it up, I'll pull my hair out. Gamefreak needs to get their shit together with that game. We can't continue to get top down, tiny Pokemon experiences on the next hand held when we will have gotten fucking Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, the generation before. I still want Pokemon on a console, but this isn't about that. Pokemon will be able to be bigger than Xenoblade Chronicles by the next handheld. It will be able to completely handle a game of that scale with ease. It will be able to have a world that can be explored comfortably in the third person because of a second analog stick. It will be able to have a huge fully explorable world because of the increased power over the N3DS. It will be able to have more impressive character models. It'll be able to have more impressive cutscenes that can still use the in game models because they'll actually look good enough to not have to build entirely different ones just for the cutscenes. They'll be able to build a world that isn't on a grid. They'll be able to add the much needed voice acting. They'll be able to completely ditch random encounders and maybe even separate zones for battles altogether and replace it with a more realistic world where you see a Pokemon, run up to it, and battle it there with no transitions at all. With all the boosts in presentation, they may even write a better story. They'll be able to bring back things like following Pokemon, and maybe even be able to expand on their mounted Pokemon idea in XY to include any Pokemon that could concievebly be mounted. You could ride your Arcanine like it was a bike, Surf on your Gyarados without the concession of it looking like a big navy balloon, and fly your Pidgeot like it was a Doll in Xenoblade Chronicles X without being teleported to another screen with a smaller map.

Gamefreak will finally have no excuses left. They will have all the tools needed to make the next Pokemon game the huge open world AAA RPG that so many kids dreamed of nearly 20 years ago, all able to fit in a small handheld in their pockets.

If, with all the tools at their desposal, they don't do all that, ALL of it, then we I will finally admit that Pokemon is nothing more than a souless money maker for Nintendo. Nothing more than Nintendo's Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed with just as little soul. With all the tools at their disposal, literally the only reason to continue making the games mediocre in every aspect other than the competitive scene, it because people will buy them no matter what, and it's cheaper the other way. If Gamefreak sacrifices ambition for monetization on the next generation Nintendo handheld, they can go fuck themselves and Nintendo can go fuck themselves to for not making them do it.

And I'll still be the first one to buy the newest games anyway. Bastards.

You & I both know how this will end

Someone was really inspired while writing this... Wow

Only Nintendo would have a Gigaton like the long desired Pokemon MMORPG staring them in the face and shy away from it.
Since 2011 they have developed a potent dislike of money.

I think it's the one time where we don't.

Knew this would be a spem thread.

Bravely Default and Etrian Odyssey and Fire Emblem should also switch to a behind-the-back third-person perspective with real-time combat because it's technically possible.

By the way playing Xenoblade on a 3DS looks like a painful squinting exercise.

No, let's continue publishing cheap Pokémon games on handhelds with 8 million copies sold per year. You want easy money? Get the Pokémon franchise.

You have more confidence in Nintendo than me my friend

Nintendo makes some great games but they are VERY profit oriented. Why bother making a game that will cost more money when the current way is working so well?

I never said that the combat would be real time, and none of those games have the type of interconnected open world that Pokemon does where an accurate comparison can be made to Xenoblade. A people who've played the game say it looks great, not that that matters because the sequel console will obviously have a higher resolution and pixel density than the New 3DS.

Why would they spend more money on a game that will make less money, like with Xenoblade Chronicles X and 3D? I think there's hope in how the cutscenes are done in ORAS and XY. Those are clearly the models they'd rather be using, but the hardware limits them. Plus, it's plain stupid to have a second analog stick/C-stick readily available in the next handheld, yet not use it at all for what it's there for.

Plus, I'm 100% confident that a Pokemon game of that scale could sell close to RBGY numbers. They'd definitely make the money back, especially if it's all under a unified platform and the game really is available on two hardware installed bases, the console and the handheld.