"New Pokemon games need more explorable locations"

One thing that I feel has been lacking in recent pokemon games are the amount and quality of locations that simply there for the player to explore. The kind of areas I'm talking about are not tied to any of the main and are totally optional. I will admit that when I first thought of this I was a little clouded by nostalgia and when I did some research I realized that RBY aren't much better than the newer games. However, gens 2-5 provide many more optional locations for players to explore.Gen 1* Cerulean Cave* Seafoam Islands* Power PlantGen 2* Whirl islands* Mt Mortar* Dark Cave* Ruins of Alph* Slowpoke well* Mt Silver* Tin tower* Burnt towerGen 3* Shoal island* Meteor Falls* Abandoned Ship* New Mauville* Sky Pillar* Route 132/133/134Gen 4* Old Chateau* Stark Mountain* Fuego Ironworks* Wayward Cave* Hallowed Tower* Solaceon RuinsGen 5* Dreamyard* Wellspring Cave* Relic Castle* Lostlorn Forest* Mistralton Cave* Moor of Iccirus* Abyssal Ruins* Giant Chasm* Abundant Shrine* Strange House* Route 17/P2 LaboratoryGen 6* Terminus Cave* Azure Bay* Lost HotelGen 7* Ten Carat Hill* Kala'e Bay* Haina DesertOf course this list isn't perfect and is based on what I consider substantial side content. If there's anything you think I should add please let me know. Regardless, it's apparent that Gens 2-5 have much more optional content then gens 1, 6 and 7. Some of the locations are home to legendaries and others are just there to explore. When playing through Sun and Moon I felt like I was on rails the whole time. Not only did the game constantly hold your hand but there wasn't much else to do even if you wanted to veer off the path.Maybe it's just nostalgia but I feel like not as much effort is being put into exploration in recent Pokemon games and as a result the games don't feel like as big an adventure. via /r/pokemon http://ift.tt/2sFVGJU