Pokémon is indeed magical. Why? Because no matter what Nintendo seems to do (more so doesn’t do) – we still love it. In the following article, I’ll be explaining why no matter how similar the Pokémon games seem to be, the popularity of the franchise seems to explode with each new release.

Firstly, let’s stop and think a moment. Nintendo is always remaking old games rather than creating absolutely new and original games. We’ve got Pokémon Blue and Red, and then Gold and Silver. The difference between the two series being that there are new regions, items, but best of all – there’s all new never seen before Pokémon. So, there’s quite a difference there. However, Pokémon LeafGreen and FireRed were revamps of the original games, Green and Red, but still they managed to sell like hot cakes, with just more improved graphics, and tiny new additions to the map. With each new addition to the Pokémon series, the storyline seems to become less and less original.

The thing is – all Pokémon games (excluding spin offs) are ultimately the same. You begin the game as a new Pokémon trainer, and your goal is to catch every Pokémon and become a Pokémon master. You’ll usually find that this is a major argument presented by those flaming Pokémon, when asked to justify why they don’t like the series.

But honestly, how bored would you be if Microsoft remade the first Halo with access to all the weapons and vehicles in the series, and tiny new additions to the map? I can only imagine that the Halo fan base would be in uproar. They’d have already played the game, why play it again in higher detail?

But this isn’t only restricted to Pokémon, Nintendo gets away with remaking Zelda games – A Link to the Past anyone? – and continually remake remakes of the Mario franchise. However, we don’t seem to care, in fact we enjoy this.

The only reason I can come up with for why Nintendo seems to be able to do this all the time and get away with it is that it targets a younger fan base. Younger players are unaware, and most probably haven’t played the earlier Pokémon games, so the latest Pokémon game to them is completely new and original.

Older Pokémon fans rejoiced at the creation of the Pokémon spin offs (Mystery Dungeon and Ranger), however the story lines were short and players grew bored of them quickly. However, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness and Colosseum were highly original games having a longer story line and greatly improved graphics as they were on GameCube.

If Nintendo wishes to stop losing older players of the series, I suggest they add some originality to the series. For example, you could play as a Pokémon officer (much like Officer Jenny), and try to stop Pokémon abuse. You could receive tip offs from local citizens, and such. It’d be like a Pokémon detective game.

In summary, we will continue to love the Pokémon franchise with each new release, but how much longer until we ourselves bore of the constantly similar storylines?