Pokémon Switch: 10 Ways To Make The Best Pokémon Game Ever

6. Non-Linear Story

Pokemon Switch
Game Freak

Sun & Moon's scrapping of the Gym Leader gauntlet in favour of Island Challenges breathed new life into the series' hitherto unchanged formula, but other relied upon tropes - a comic book-esque antagonistic force, mandatory legendary encounter and Elite Four face off - returned to play out in the same sequence we've seen time and again.

Those elements are part of Pokémon's identity - they're not going anywhere and nor should they - but with new hardware and more power than ever before at its fingertips, Game Freak's got the chance to act on its ambitions and craft a true open-ended RPG with everything that comes with it.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire's Delta Episode attracted adoration for its size and unconventional tone, a side story devoted to unraveling the mysteries of the mythical space mutant (that's somehow a Pokémon) Deoxys.

Including multiple side missions to complement the main story arc wouldn't just break up its formulaic nature but remedy another oft-criticized part of the Pokemon experience. Post-game.

Contributor
Contributor

Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.