REDMASK'S PROFILE

author=alterego

Just kinda remembered this, unfortunately, the games that take place outside of Japan seem to be picked based on simply the places in which Japanese people want to vacation at.
France, Continental United States, Hawaii are all places that Japanese enjoy visiting. So my hopes for anything in Africa or South America are very unlikely.

I don't know, I think Brazil might be a viable candidate for South America, both as a site the Japanese "want to vacation at" and from the historical/cultural ties they have with that country (and Portugal). They're both often featured in Japanese media, anime, games, etc... I remember playing Terranigma back in the day, and be "disappointed" that Brazil was the only country present in the game and not mine. Later when the Internet became more of a thing and I started looking around, I came to understand why.

Also, Easter Island is well known in pop-culture and it's technically part of Latin America, so that may be a possibility too. =P

Am I expecting too much out of videogames? Maybe but if we want to say games are important art forms than we need them to comment on shit that matters. And what better game to do that than with a super popular RPG set in modern times. Which many players of which are no longer children.

I think you're expecting of this franchise something that is not. There's always hints to cultural/social aspects in Pokemon's designs, but that's not the focus of the series. I don't know who you have been listening to (I have an idea, though =/) But many of us already believe videogames are an important art form. That does not mean every game needs to further a cause, however...