Finding Good in a Bad Situation
The Pokemon franchise suffered various “controversies” in regards to its games. Pokemon Sword and Shield is regarded as the moment the games took a nosedive in quality. The graphics are much worse than you’d expect from a game company, as big as it is, the lack of voice acting can sometimes take you out of scenes, options that were available in previous games were for whatever reason taken out and there are at times game breaking glitches that can ruin your experience. Suffice it to say these are all things that you wouldn’t expect considering how big Gamefreak is and how popular Pokemon as a whole is. While I don’t believe that voice acting is necessary to make a good game, these other complaints are still valid criticisms. So with all of that in mind let’s see how this all affected the newest mainline games Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
I want to start off by mentioning that I was fortunate enough to not experience any of the glitches that are actually in the game. That being said, I have at times seen where they cut some corners. For example, at the very end of the first cutscene of the game if you pay attention you’ll see that all of the characters present go into a t-pose. Even so, these things weren’t game breaking so I won’t go too much into it. From what I’ve seen, the only times you will likely encounter these glitches is if you play on multiplayer. So a single-player experience will usually be fine unless you’re actively looking for glitches.
In terms of graphics… there really isn’t much to say. The Pokemon designs are cool and the layout of towns is nice, however, the graphics can really take you out of it. The best way I heard them described is as an early PS2 game. This is furthered by the fact that if you go far enough away from an NPC or Pokemon, then it will start moving very slowly until you get closer to it. I would normally give this a bit of a pass since Pokemon isn’t usually open world, however, a game that came before it (Legends: Arceus) was also open world and didn’t suffer from this issue.
But let’s not forget one of the biggest issues: the lack of choice. One thing that Pokemon introduced a while back that I feel is a great addition is the Exp all. This item makes it so all Pokemon in your party will gain EXP and level up together. The issue that some people have though is the fact that it is always on with no option to turn it off. This ties into another issue where previous game options to make battles harder are no longer available, causing a lot of players to feel alienated by the game. With the lack of character customization as well, the player’s lack of choice was evident.
Even with these issues though, I still found myself enjoying the games a lot and even consider them one of the best. The story of the game is hugely improved from the last. Battles, while at times feeling easy, can be very difficult if you let your guard down with the final battle of the game being one of the hardest in the series. Characters are actually likable and have memorable story arcs that you can get invested in. Arven, for example, starts off as a bit stand-offish, but quickly grows to be a fan favorite as you progress his story. Even just traversing the world can be fun as you go around using the new legendary.
Scarlet and Violet are by no means perfect games. However, I can still say with confidence that they are games that you will have a fun time with. And unlike Sword and Shield, the DLC isn’t required to make it feel like a complete game. If I had to give a score, I’d give them a 6.5/10.