Pokémon Violet (and thus, Scarlet as well) was a truly surprising video game. I consider that to be a huge compliment, given how unsurprising Pokémon games have been in recent years. Pokémon Violet might just be my favorite mainline game since Black 2 / White 2. These games shined with gorgeous pixel art, progressive gameplay design, QoL features galore, and a continuation of the most compelling narrative of any mainline Pokémon game. Game Freak's transition away from their pixel art days to the world of 3D animation has been… rough. Since the advent of Pokémon X and Y on the 3DS, the mainline games have consistently looked horrendous and at times suffered in performance as well. While Pokémon and character depictions are charming enough in Scarlet/Violet, make no mistake: this is not a good looking video game. The first true "open world" Pokémon game is impressive in its scope but it is marred by horrendous environmental texturing, stuttering frame rate, and subjugation to tediously long animations. On so many levels, this game would generally thrive under whatever conditions could make it run faster and with more consistency. In all honesty, crummy looking shrubbery doesn't harm my enjoyment of a Pokémon game, but boxes in the Pokémon PC staggering the loading of sprites or prolonged animation times do diminish the experience.
A "two steps forward, one step back" formula has followed the series since X and Y. Some QoL improvements arrive, others go away, and so on. Scarlet and Violet shattered this pattern in fairly splendid fashion. These games feel like a true love letter to the franchise, one that was written with the fans' years of feedback largely in-mind. Yes, the dev cycle for these games remains way too constrained, and there are many technical consequences for that. However, these are unequivocally "fun" video games. An expansive open world with 400ish Pokémon littered throughout, an interesting twist of the traditional Pokémon story with a fantastic conclusion, a stellar OST, and countless improvements made in QoL make these standout titles in the series. VGC (the competitive doubles format for the series) and casual audiences are serviced well by a number of these QoL changes, but Singles competitive players still must contend with an obnoxious in-game timer as seen in Sword/Shield. Overall most improvements to the tried and true battle system are appreciated in this game, with subtle buffs provided to Ice Pokémon being one such example.
Catching Pokémon and interacting with them continues to receive streamlining improvements, and the "Let's Go" feature for auto-battles is certainly a nice addition to the franchise. Creature design for the new Pokémon is fantastic, and once again it was wonderful to see old Pokémon revisited through changes to their move- sets, as well as the addition of new forms or evolutions. They are well animated and bustling with personality in and out of the open world. The transition to having all the catchable Pokémon appear in the overworld, as seen with Legends: Arceus earlier this year, is one we can never turn back on. It further adds to the liveliness of Paldea (the fictional region based largely off Spain), and I never grew bored of uncovering new creatures gallivanting about their respective ecosystems. The initial fantasy of these games, sparked for many of us back in the 90s and into the early 2000s, has never felt closer to becoming realized than it does with Scarlet/Violet.
This was a game I truly treasured, although I would never dispute its glaring technical flaws in presentation and performance. I eagerly anticipate DLC, which might give me another chance to spend some time exploring and catching away in the adjunct regions of Paldea.
A "two steps forward, one step back" formula has followed the series since X and Y. Some QoL improvements arrive, others go away, and so on. Scarlet and Violet shattered this pattern in fairly splendid fashion. These games feel like a true love letter to the franchise, one that was written with the fans' years of feedback largely in-mind. Yes, the dev cycle for these games remains way too constrained, and there are many technical consequences for that. However, these are unequivocally "fun" video games. An expansive open world with 400ish Pokémon littered throughout, an interesting twist of the traditional Pokémon story with a fantastic conclusion, a stellar OST, and countless improvements made in QoL make these standout titles in the series. VGC (the competitive doubles format for the series) and casual audiences are serviced well by a number of these QoL changes, but Singles competitive players still must contend with an obnoxious in-game timer as seen in Sword/Shield. Overall most improvements to the tried and true battle system are appreciated in this game, with subtle buffs provided to Ice Pokémon being one such example.
Catching Pokémon and interacting with them continues to receive streamlining improvements, and the "Let's Go" feature for auto-battles is certainly a nice addition to the franchise. Creature design for the new Pokémon is fantastic, and once again it was wonderful to see old Pokémon revisited through changes to their move- sets, as well as the addition of new forms or evolutions. They are well animated and bustling with personality in and out of the open world. The transition to having all the catchable Pokémon appear in the overworld, as seen with Legends: Arceus earlier this year, is one we can never turn back on. It further adds to the liveliness of Paldea (the fictional region based largely off Spain), and I never grew bored of uncovering new creatures gallivanting about their respective ecosystems. The initial fantasy of these games, sparked for many of us back in the 90s and into the early 2000s, has never felt closer to becoming realized than it does with Scarlet/Violet.
This was a game I truly treasured, although I would never dispute its glaring technical flaws in presentation and performance. I eagerly anticipate DLC, which might give me another chance to spend some time exploring and catching away in the adjunct regions of Paldea.