Polygon's Retreat Week highlights the often-ignored routes in Pokémon games, emphasizing how they can enrich the player experience. Rather than simply connecting key areas, routes like the one between Pallet Town and Viridian City serve as vital learning tools for newcomers. They introduce essential gameplay mechanics and provide a nostalgic backdrop. The focus is on encouraging players to pause and enjoy the scenery, enhancing their overall connection to the Pokémon world.
The first Pokémon route looks rather archaic today, considering that it's just a straight shot between Pallet Town and Viridian City. But it's also a wonderful way to get new players acclimated to the kind of traveling they'll be doing later. Not only do we get reassuring warnings from strangers, but the simple array of Pokémon keeps you on your toes.
If you're going north, you can't really skip any of the patches of grass, so the surprise assaults by Pidgey and Rattata might make you rethink which areas you explore and which ones you want to skip past.
There is relatively little tutorial time in the first generation of games, but no matter - stuff like this helps you learn the basics on the fly.
The focus on the routes during Retreat Week reminds players to take their time in Pokémon games, enjoying the scenery, rather than rushing through to reach core objectives.
Collection
[
|
...
]