Why is this game so painfully edgy?

[MMXZero]

Gonna be honest here

Why do the main and side characters look like emos

Why does it try so hard to be dark and fall flat on its face

Why does it feel like a tumblr fanfiction
One example is Cain *jesus christ help me the cringe hurts*

I am not even alone on this there are plenty of places where people say the same http://prntscr.com/bqejzd

Edited July 8, 2016 by MMXZero

[DemICE]

Umm the answer is kinda simple i think ... because thats how Ame likes her hobby-created game to be?

Sure it cannot satisfy the tastes of every individual, but considering the game's success to date, it proves to satisfy the tastes of a good part of the pokemon fanbase.

There are ways to express your own perspective without being sarcastically offensive though. I wouldn't mind if i was the creator, but -again- thats just my perspective.

Edited July 8, 2016 by DemICE

[Ice Cream Sand Witch]

The characters and events were based off of actual people and events from the online Reborn league that used to exist.

For example, the real Corey actually did jump off a bridge.

[YinYang9705]

this should answer your question.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TrueArtIsAngsty

[Throhdown]

I would argue and say that this game is "edge" done right. It's a very big contrast from the usual main game which usually has bright,sunny and friendly places and people where Reborn is a broken shell of what it used to be.The game's story-lines and characters are intriguing enough to ignore the edge which isn't the same I can say about some other fan pkmn games I'll choose not to name that really go over board with the "edge factor".

[Zumi]

If the story of Reborn is not your cup of tea, it's also an option to not play the game, or just ignore it and play for the gameplay. It's also an option to focus on the more positive parts of the game, rather than just complaining about the "bad things" all the time.

And as there's people who do not like the story, there's also an overwhelming amount of people who DO like the story! Evidence of this is basically how big of a community this forum has, and how many people appreciate Ame and her dev team's work.

And let's be real here about the characters in terms of design choices; would a super happy looking protagonist with incredibly bright colors fit that well as a silent protagonist in a (semi) post-apocalyptic setting? I wouldn't really be all that content either if the train you were on would get blown up upon arriving in the city while you didn't ask for that to happen at all. Giving too much personality to a character based on their sprites is also a bit dangerous as the player is supposed to be able to put themselves in the silent player character's shoes, which would lead to more of a neutral color scheme. Given the setting and the situation the player character is in, the designs make a lot more sense than if there was some kind of super bright and colorful player character. It's simply more fitting.

And in regards of angsty and edgy characters; seeing as a lot of bad things happened before your arrival, I wouldn't be too happy either. Sure, things are a bit angsty and edgy because of it, but again, taking the setting of the game in mind, it's all pretty justified as of why the characters are like that. Of course, they look a lot brighter than your player character, but a lot of these characters are gym leaders or other major plot characters, and having them ALL blend in with the environment would make the game look a bit bland.

In any case, I hope it explains a few things. Please know that these are just assumptions in regards of the design choices as I'm not part of the dev team but rather looking at it from a game dev's viewpoint, but it'd make sense if those were some of the reasons behind the choices made. Reborn has its flaws, but it's really not as bad as you're making it out to be. A lot of game design choices are justified by the overall setting and feeling of the game. If I would go into this any further though, it'd become Opinion Town™ so I won't do that.

[Ikaru]

I am not even alone on this there are plenty of places where people say the same http://prntscr.com/bqejzd

Of course you're not the only person that says this lol. You didn't need to prove it either. I followed a series of threads on 4chan for someone's playthrough and even they (everyone in the thread(s), that is) had both positive and negative things to say about it. It's not for everyone and I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here.

[Lilleen]

If you don't like it, don't play it. No one forces you.

[Jade]

I think that this topic is kinda unnecessary and don't add nothing to the community, since the developers won't change the game because there are plenty of people who don't like the story. Also I think Ame makes the game for her, not for the others.

Of course you can express your opinion, but not in an ignorant way like you did. What needed to be said has already been said.

Just quoting this.

I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here.

Have a good day ~

[DerogatoryTrainer]

Try Snakewood and then come crawling back to the relative sanity in Reborn

[Lilleen]

Try Snakewood and then come crawling back to the relative sanity in Reborn

Believe me, Snakewood is not the only "trying-to-be-edgy" fan-game.

[DerogatoryTrainer]

Believe me, Snakewood is not the only "trying-to-be-edgy" fan-game.

Oh I know. But it's the only one that gave me PTSD

[RudeStyle]

just gonna say.

no1 cares.

like ur criticism isnt even constructive. It just sounds insulting.

Edited July 8, 2016 by RudeStyle

[CodeCass]

What could you possibly hope to accomplish when you come into the community forums based around a game, just to insult that game? What you're doing isn't helpful, nor is it really even criticism. You're simply being rude and insulting. This is like me going to the trouble of going into a Doctor Who convention, just to tell everyone I don't like it. You stated you don't like the story, but didn't bother offering any way it could be improved or anything.

All in all, this game is fan made, with a fan written story, it's free, and it has a plenty big following of fans. If you don't like it, don't play it?

[Tartar]

Don't worry, the game is going to get much more, as you put it "angsty, as the game progresses from the dreary streets of Reborn City into the oh so uplifting parts outside of the city... Toxic wastelands, torture, murder, creepy stalkers and lots and lots of dreary background stories...

Oh and the game may or may not be pushing a feminist agenda according to some members of this forum... Why all this you ask? Obviously because our Lord Amethyst is bent on world domination and attracting the Tumblr Army is the first step in fulfilling her plan. Now that you've realized the truth we will naturally have to eliminate you

Edited July 8, 2016 by Tartar

[Sieg12]

For your question regarding the designs of the player characters a possible explanation is that they were made to fit the world of Reborn. Take a look at their designs. The common colours are black, white and grey which meld quite well with most of Reborn. In the main games most of the regions are colorful and bright so most of the player characters dont look so out of place even when they had some weird designs.

The game also doesn't try to be edgy. It manages to pull it off quite well in my opinion. The Reborn region itself quite a grim and dark place. The edginess doesn't feel forced or out of place. Alot of games emphasise on the violence aspect to achieve the darker feel. Those games really fall flat if they have nothing backing them up. Reborn rarely resorts to violent deaths to get a mature feeling. The story deals with more mature topics. To incorporate the story a similar world had to be made. Both story and world work together to provide an experience.

All of this is my opinion. If you want to play the game for its boss fights and skip the story that's completely your choice but the story and gameplay work together to make reborn, well reborn.

If you want to see a game trying hard to make itself edgy and fail epicly look no further than pokemom snakewood.

[ZEL]

Personally, I'm pretty happy to have a 'painfully edgy' Pokémon game that gives me a bit of a challenge.

Everyone's cup of tea? Certainly not, but I enjoy it, because sometimes I don't want subtle edge. Sometimes it's fun for me to have a story go all the way.

If I feel like playing in a more peaceful and bright setting, I can grab a canon game of my choice. To give me an incentive to play it, a fangame has to offer me something that the canon games don't have, and in Reborn's case that's the full load of dark'n'edgy stuff.

As far as the outfits etc go, I never really found something to complain about with them, because it fits the setting, with the shabby city and its gangs. You'll notice this with a lot of real life gangs/groups as well: members trying to set themselves apart from everyone else, making sure everyone knows on first sight where their place in society is, where they choose to belong. To go with Cain as an example, he IS that kind of flirty and weird guy who you could reasonably expect to find hanging out in the nearest cheap club.

...Or maybe I'm too used to Metal subculture to find edgy emo things noteworthy any more, whoops. Reborn has significantly less men in lime green fairy costumes or duct tape bras, though.

[Combat]

Edgy done wrong? No, Reborn is not what you can call edgy done wrong. Sure, some characters are edgy Mary Sues (or at least one character in particular) and I also know that everyone has different opinions, but I do not consider Reborn to be as edgy as a razor-blade factory. The characters and side characters are dressed to fit the environment. You wouldn't feel right walking around a polluted, crime ridden city in happy clothing, smiling at every hobo you see. Your character doesn't even look that emo, they're just wearing black. While it could definitely be written to feel darker, this game is the best "dark" Pokemon game out there. Just look at Pokemon Insurgence, which tries to be both dark and funny, but is just a boring grindfest that occasionally kills off a character. If you didn't feel anything after the Corey incident... Well I'm not sure what to say. I'm not even going to dignify the fanfiction comment, since I get the feeling you really haven't gone that far into the game. As for your comment, the poster seemed to be in it for the game play, nothing more. That's fine, and really everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but really, posting it in the community like this doesn't help at all, since you really didn't give any suggestions.

So in short, if you don't like it, don't play it. Complaining get no one anywhere.

[PokeFailure]

I sort of get it, for someone who's used to playing a normal pokemon game and tries out fan games, this is quite the shock.

The shock nulls the experience, making it just seem unrealistic, I get it.

I don't agree but I get it, Try some Constructive criticism, (I.E More sprite options) (Clothong options) (Hell even Eye color)

It's a dark game, There's no changing the darkness, if you want something dark but not murderous, Try pokemon uncensored.

P.S Only you can find the light in the darkness. (I found a dead body with a flashlight but close enuff)

[Deleted User]

Can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. YOU might not like it, but there are plenty of people who do. It never bothered me personally because what I primarily look for in a game is game play. Reborn offered a challenge far better than the main series game and that's why I enjoyed it.

[Timber Dragon]

Edgy for a Pokemon game, maybe. Then again, your first gym leader is a peppy cheerleader who functions off explosions and coffee, so it's safe to say that Reborn is hardly eternally gloom and doom.

And that sort of balance what separates 'edgy' from merely being darker and grittier (and in fact, I'm not completely convinced everyone here even has the same definition for 'edgy'). Yes, you are dealing things like suicide, but there's far, far more to the game than that. There are many joyful, effectual characters who are fighting to stop the bad guys, and the story itself never treats their goal to make the city a better place as stupid or hopeless. The city is in the state it's in because Team Meteor is invoking it, not because darkness is the default state of the universe. You get the idea that things can get better, and they will get better, because you're working to make it happen.

Don't get me wrong, I think some things in the game are edgy. Charlotte, Saphira, and especially Titania are all in competition for Edgelord according to a lot of players, and imo everything that comes out of Corey's mouth is nothing but drama. But is the game itself edgy? Hardly. The presence of certain elements like death and drama aren't enough for me to consider something edgy. It's how the story treats those elements. True edginess is darkness for its own sake because hope and happiness are stupid. Reborn, when you think about it, is actually rather hopeful.

And c'mon, emo character designs? Those guys are hardly shopping at Hot Topic.

[Sarun]

Reborn wasn't suppose to have such a broad audience and it was mostly an in-community project when it began, so the edginess wasn't a big concern back then.

[Honchy]

Man, people are roasting this guy >> . So I'll take a turn.

Gotta say, when I first played this game when I was 10, I thought it was so awesome I almost died, then I played it as 12, I was pretty meh about it, but it grew on me, so don't you think it will do the same for you?

[ZEL]

And that sort of balance what separates 'edgy' from merely being darker and grittier (and in fact, I'm not completely convinced everyone here even has the same definition for 'edgy').

[waves non-native speaker flag]

To me the those things are pretty much synonymous, though people often seem to use edgy for when they want to put the meaning in a negative context? I don't automatically associate edgy with being bad, though. And I've seen it used in a neutral context before.

No idea, really. I'm not even sure if we have a truly equivalent word in German.

...That said, I am now imagining various characters in Hot Topic kinda outfits and it's beautiful.

[DemICE]

Man, people are roasting this guy >> .

Dude the guy walked in a lair of muslims while brandishing a cross

Edited July 8, 2016 by DemICE