My Thoughts on Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go has blown up around the world. Here is what I think about the game.

I know I’m a bit late to the Pokemon Go party, but I didn’t have a smartphone with a mobile plan until several days ago. I’ve played the game a few days in a row, and I’ve talked with others who have played the game extensively. My general thoughts: It’s okay.

I’m sure most of us Pokemon fans will agree that the 3DS games are far superior to Pokemon Go. Being able to catch, train, raise, battle, and trade Pokemon on the 3DS is awesome. Pokemon Go on the other hand is mostly catching Pokemon you come across. You can battle once you find a gym and reach a certain level, but it’s not nearly the same.

I know the whole catch phrase of the series is gotta catch them all, but when the majority of the game seems to be catching (or hatching) Pokemon, it gets a bit bland. Don’t get me wrong, I love that this game has brought so many people out to enjoy Pokemon together, but I have to say the game is okay at best.

More features are supposed to be unlocked as time goes on, such as NFC trading, but we don’t know when that will be. Some countries still don’t even have Pokemon Go, and the countries that do have it often deal with server issues. You would think the companies that created Pokemon Go would have prepared before launch after the teaser trailers received millions upon millions of views.

Then there’s the issue of micro transactions and in-game currency. I was really hoping we could earn in-game currency to buy things at the store, but it appears all in-game currency can only be purchased with real money. That was a big bummer and made the game far less deep.

After playing this game for some time, I started to wonder why the 3DS games don’t get the same love as Pokemon Go. You can go out and trade and battle with others just the same as Pokemon Go. Maybe it’s because the training part requires time and effort, and Pokemon Go doesn’t require the same amount of time and effort. I just hope people continue to go out and express their love of Pokemon once Pokemon Sun and Moon release.