#zettel #gaming/pokemon #gaming/emulation developed from: [[The best way to play any retro Pokémon game is to emulate it]] # Considering Fast Forward Functions for Pokemon Romhacks In the process of trying [[Pokemon Fools Gold]], I was met witha bit of a roadblock. I had chosen Cyndaquil, an Ice type in this one, as my starter ad the sprout tower was full of steel-type Bellsprout. It was a big ol' slog. I saw then that with a lot of these Pokemon RomHacks, there's somewhat of an understanding that these games are going to be played with a Fast Forward feature, to speed through the "old design" seen in the games that are being remixed. When emulation features are included in the "design space", some of them feel like they'll be naturally baked in. So when I want to play more Pokemon Gen 2 and gen 3 romhacks, I shouldn't feel bad if I'm playing them on a/my PC and not the MiSTer. The MiSTer doesn't have a fast-forward or Savestates, so I think that it's better to play them on my PC with something like mGBA. I could play them, on an anbernic if I wanted too. I think there's a fine line between when fastforwarding is reasonable and when it isn't thouhg. I don't think it's reasonable to fastforward through a whole game. There's merit to stopping and sniffing the roses. ## Related Thoughts: - This also seems to have a similar parallel with the idea that a lot of [[Super Mario World - Super Mario Advance 2|Super Mario World]] romhacks are designed with the player having save states in mind. - I don't think this is quite the same discussion as [[Modern Retro Gaming Mandates Convenience Features]] because a fast forward, while a convenience feature was not something that game designers envisioned in their design processes back in the day. As such while rewinds and save states still are situationally useful and I think should be included with retro re-releases to mitigate "arcade bullshit", a fast forward feels slightly less reasonable? - Then again JRPGs like [[Bravely Default]] include a "speed through turn animations" option for the players who'd like to use it, so perhaps there's something there. - If you want a more authentic experience, use the MiSTer, if you want to play something with modern sensibilities, you should play on PC / emulate it. - [[Quality of Life Features Should Not Pave Over Gameplay Mechanics]]