Pokemon art director envisions a simpler Gen VII

Ken Sugimori’s favorite is still Gengar

I’m enjoying Pokemon X so much that, during the rare moments of leisure time when I’m not playing it, I’ve gone back to Pokemon White to fill out my Pokedex as much as possible before the transfer tool goes live in December. As such, this franchise has been on my mind a lot lately. Reports that Game Freak might go back to basics with future titles (as much as that’s even possible with 700-plus Pokemon in existence) aren’t helping matters.

As translated by Siliconera, series art director Ken Sugimori told magazine We Love Pokemon that he’d personally prefer to go back to simpler ways and feature elements like those found in the original Pokemon Red and Green. There’s also been feedback from fans to streamline the number of attacks, abilities, and items, which I fully support.

Granted, there’s a whole team at Game Freak and Gen VII won’t be solely up to Sugimori. I do like his sentiment, though. It’s high time certain concepts like HMs get revisited; there’s fat to be trimmed, and mechanics to be streamlined. Black and White are a nice step forward in many ways, and I’m hopeful that the next games, whether they belong to Gen VI or VII, continue on this path.

Pokémon Art Director Wants The Next Generation To Be Simpler [Siliconera]