Do you guys think there is any chance we'll see Difficulty Levels on the upcoming Switch game in 2019, or is it still too much to ask? Would you play in hard, normal or easy?
Well, if we DO see difficulty options, I hope they don't have stupid unlock requirements like B2W2 had with Easy and Challenge Mode, I'll say that much...just give it to us as a choice right from the get-go, for crying out loud. But honestly, I can't see this being a thing again, ever. The perfect chance to reintroduce them was in Gen VII - which were clearly aimed at older fans given that they were practically half Kanto, and Ultra Necrozma was Pokémon's equivalent of a JRPG optional superboss - and we didn't see it, and despite the Lets Go games being geared towards the "casual" fans I can't see the 2019 titles acknowledging the more experienced fans...who, as we've seen with various challenge runs etc., are more than capable of looking after themselves, and will buy the games regardless. That said, if it was added...I would probably play in Easy, because Hard mode in JRPGs usually means you just have to grind for longer, and if they adopt Gen VII's diminished returns on EXP I can see that being a miserably time-consuming experience that won't even be hard by the time I'm done power-levelling. It'd just take me three times longer, and to me that is not time well spent, especially when I have less time to play than I used to and a backlog of over 300 games I'd very much like to work my way through...a backlog that increases with each coming month. I don't have time to sit down and have my time disrespected and wasted by a game that thinks it is challenging me by making me grind for longer. I can achieve the same effect myself by not grinding in Normal or even Easy. If Hard Mode was ACTUALLY difficult - i.e. if the AI was actually halfway smart, Pokémon had held items and varied movesets, on top of a damage boost and increased levels, or better yet, a level cap that made grinding past a certain level (say, what your max Gym badge allows you to control traded) impossible - then I'd jump right into it, because that would be a worthwhile way to spend my time, but since game developers these days operate under the assumption that time consuming = difficult, I probably wouldn't bother with it. Really it would depend on what Hard Mode actually was.
I honestly doubt they will reintroduce them but I still hope they will since it was nice to be able to try something slightly harder, even if how they were first introduced was really bad. So if they ever decide to bring them back they need to let it be an option from the start instead of an unlockable feature because frankly that's just stupid to lock it away behind a game clear.
Doubt we'll see difficulty levels but if we do I'll definitely go the hard route (though Pokémon's hard mode will probably be nothing too difficult either, if BW2 is used as a reference point). This would be ideal, yeah. Pokémon's just about the only franchise I'd consider a hard mode on. As it stands, the AI levels are too low plus they're Not Very Smart, and it's simply far too easy for your team to gain experience and level high enough for most encounters to not be a problem.
It'd be nice to see something like that! It'd please both the filthy casuals like me and the people who actually want a challenge... but only if done well.
I don't think Pokémon will ever get a difficulty option like in BW2 again. It was like a small feature.
