How Bugsnax Beats Pokemon 

As a long-time fan of Pokemon, I really do wish that they'd try a new direction with it. I've played from Red all the way to Sword, and while I still enjoy the games, I definitely feel the diminishing returns. I've long stopped caring about the gym challenge, each one effectively functioning as a gate to get past for more story. But that story has to be worth it to you. Of the last two(ish) games, Sun/Moon and Sword/Shield, the difference is night and day. I know that for S/M there were a lot of complaints about the trials/lack of gyms as well as how cutscene heavy it was. I actually enjoyed both of these elements a lot, however. The trials were a breath of fresh air, and the cutscenes... Okay, this actually gets to what is arguably my favorite part of those games- Lily, Lusamine, and Guzma. While Hau is technically our rival, we spend so much time with Lily and watch her growth and development as a character. The way she struggles to stand up for herself and the estranged relationship between her and her abusive mother, Lusamine. The 'evil team' is a band of misfits led by a young adult from an abusive household, looking for that approval in the wrong place. Lusamine, who is revealed to be the true big bad, Team Skull largely being a redherring, takes advantage of that to shield her organization while she works to achieve her goal. Her goal, unlike the villains before her, isn't to destroy the world- she literally just wants to fuck off into another dimension with aliens(because trauma). The only REAL reason we stop her is because Lily wants to save her and try to mend SOME sort of relationship with her. Sword/Shield are largely just worse rehashes of Sun/Moon, the fake evil team is boring and laughable, the true villain is pathetic and motivation is lackluster and largely nonsensical (like, you literally can't wait a single day to get the champion to help you avoid an energy crises that wasn't going to happen for a thousand years or whatever? Stupid.) The story of Sun/Moon isn't the player character's, it's Lily's. What I love most about these games is that the drama is largely focused on interpersonal relationships, rather than some world-destroying quest. I just WISH the writers would put more effort into developing these characters, like we only have the vaguest idea of Guzma and Kukui's shared background despite it being referenced in their first encounter. Much like the relationship between Sycamore and Lysander being left undeveloped, (like much of X and Y). Black and White are among the most memorable games to me because of the twist- that the 'Pokemon rights' thing was a ploy for power, that Ghetsis was the true boss of Team Plasma, and the absolute cruelty he displayed to his 'son' who you previously believed the villain to be. I guess all of this to say, I wish that we'd get away from the cookie cutter villain, actually develop character relationships, and for the love of god let me enjoy the world without constant battles pulling me out of exploration. I like when the motivation for the villain is more realistic, though selfish and damaging. I don't know, maybe not everyone will agree, but with my life experiences- trauma familial abuse are far more relatable and interesting than "I'mma destroy the world/shape it to my ideals because I'm evil".

Paper Mario/Bug Fables Pokemon/Bugsnax What's next? Legend of Bugs: A Tick to the Past?

Didn't even know Bugsnax existed but seeing that it came from the creators of Octodad it caught my attention immediately

That "Satire, Bro" line made me subscribe immediately! Wonderful video, can't wait for more!

I downloaded bugsnax as a joke but ended up finishing it while throughly enjoying the game, honestly more than I can say for most Pokémon games :,)

i have roamed to this land by the demands of the one known as reignbotticus

Played pokemon through another source of a friend back in the day, but never got the game. Years later I got a switch and still see pokemon having the same old plot I heard from childhood like are you serious, like come on they can't do better than that? Monster Hunter Stories 2 already surpasses it. I wish pokemon an original story with adult and young characters with life themes much like Earthbound, Undertales, Persona 2: Eternal Sins.

Reign sent me. I shall guard the door 12 hours a day.

Halfway on the video I was gonna make a comment about Ape Escape, and you comment on that. Great video

Honestly feel like the series peaked at gen 5. Since then i've pretty much dipped out of the series and stuck with SMT and it's spinoffs. Also pretty odd to be sent here by Reignbot now, didn't realize I had already seen your video on Darkplace years ago.

I like the way you look at the two games in their similarities

You do good work for Reignbot :D

Reign has sent me.

Psyduck

Good vid! I have wanted to try out Bugsnaxs for a while now. Definitely on my radar once I save up the money.

Hey just wanted to say your channel is perfect! You make the exact content I always look for, I'm so excited to have found you! Keep up the awesome work!

Awesome video broseph ;D loved the outro too!

Pikachu in the thumbnail: *T R I G G E R D*

I have played bugsnax so much i love the game

Nintendo is to blame for new Pokémon they don’t care and fans eat it up like it’s art

The machine that rules the lands has told me to come to these lands. decipher it ;)

Who else is here because of Reignbot?

Reign sent me

Saying you like bugsnax more than Pokémon is like saying you like Grand theft auto more than Medal of Honor,. Which is fine, but the comparison is odd

Reignbot sent me here ❤️ thank you for your hard work

Reign sent me. and i also like your videos. keep it up. 😀

The fallacy that people often make, and have always made, when criticizing Pokémon is in viewing the whole series in broad strokes with its conventions without referring to any specifics of region design, characters, or even the experience of the game. Every non-Pokémon-based RU-vidr starts their Pokémon video with "Everyone knows Pokémon. You choose a starter, you capture animals to beat up other kids' animals, you beat gyms, you become the champion," which is all well and good as a (albeit overused) lighthearted introduction to the series. But it's clear especially from the segment that starts around 13:50 that you fell into criticizing the series in large strokes, looking mostly at what the games have in common and reducing the entire series to that. "Calling the cast cookie-cutter would be a bit of an understatement" and then listing off mom, professor tree, and the rival as characters illustrates the problem perfectly. Other than "mom," those aren't the names of characters. I get that the point is that each game has characters that fill those roles, but defining them solely by their unifying characteristics removes their personality. It makes it sound like you play through a Pokémon game only to compare it to other Pokémon games without paying attention to the experience of playing the game. Blue, Silver, Lance, Steven, Maxie, Archie, Cynthia, N, Hugh, Looker, Zinnia, Lillie, Lusamine, Gladion, and more are all memorable and well-loved characters with distinct personalities and conflicts, most of which do not fit any specific role that all the games have. The same applies to towns, Pokémon designs, and gameplay elements that are crafted to make each region feel like a unique experience. I think that Pokémon's core, mostly unchanging gameplay formula deserves a lot of criticism, especially because of the fact it hasn't hardly changed. But it does not do much to criticize a game in the series on that alone, and by extension, Pokémon games are not interchangeable. If you don't enjoy the core gameplay and find yourself bored by it, then the series is not for you. The people who continue to play it enjoy the core gameplay and expect it not to change drastically, but return to enjoy the new everything-else that every game has to offer. There's a reason why the community thinks HGSS is a masterpiece and Sword/Shield are terrible despite them both being Pokémon games at the end of the day. One thing I do agree with is how boring catching Pokémon often is, which I wish they would turn into more of a mini puzzle like it is in Bugsnax, or like how fighting different enemies is in a lot of Zelda games. Legends looks like the perfect opportunity to try that, but my hopes aren't high either.

Reign sent me😊

reign sent me!! :D

Random people and wild pokemon always wanting to battle is what made me stop playing it 🙃 I just wanted to live my tiny pixelated life.

REIGN SENT ME

Reign sent me 🥰

Reign sent me. Thanks.

And he never returned RiP Lux Noctis

You got recommended by a random horror channel on youtube.

Reign sent me🤪🤪

this video should go viral

Bugsnax is on playstation to. So that made it better then nintendo(worst console) bound pokemon

Nah.

Ok

Reign sent me

Reign sent me