Whoooooooo boy. Here we are. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have been a big topic of conversation recently. Depending on who you ask, this is either a refreshing take on the formula, or it's a complete utter disaster. No matter what I say, there will be SOMEONE who will strongly disagree with my thoughts. So screw it, I'm just gonna say how I feel. Despite its big, glaring issues, I found Pokemon Violet to be a really refreshing take on the mainline series of Pokemon games.
Let's just get the bad stuff out of the way. Yes, the game performs terribly on Switch. Its not the worst I've ever seen, but there are plenty of glitches, bugs, and graphical issues to be seen throughout Paldea. Framerates will randomly tank, and if you play the game for long periods of time, it'll slow down to single digits. It's honestly laughable at times how the game can break.
Despite this bad state the game is in, I found myself absolutely addicted to it. The thing is, Game Freak did a great job of giving players a sense of freedom in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. After receiving your starter and getting the usual Pokemon tutorials, you are set off to engage in three different paths: completing the gym challenges, facing off against giant Titan Pokemon, and stopping Team Star. There is an order that Game Freak would LIKE you to do, but you have the freedom to go anywhere you like. There has never been a Pokemon game with this level of freedom before. If Legends Arceus was the initial blueprint for freedom of exploration, then SV is the final draft.
Over time and completing different path objectives, players will gain new abilities of traversal that will help them explore more areas of Paldea. You'll also be able to catch Pokemon of higher levels and gain more league points, which can be used to buy items in the shop without using your money. The best upgrades were the traversal ones, which allow you to surf on water, climb up cliffs, and glide in the air. While climbing can sometimes be glitchy (as does the game as a whole), all of the ways the player can traverse the world feels great.
There's now a new picnic feature that will not only allow you to get closer to your Pokemon, but also make sandwiches that can give you some needed buffs, as well as increase the likelihood of finding shiny Pokemon. It's a little feature, but worth noting as you'll most likely be doing this a lot if you're a shiny hunter, or just enjoy getting some time with your Pokemon outside of battle.
The story itself is one of the best in recent memory. I don't think it comes close to Gen 5, but it's certainly better than most of the post-DS Pokemon games. This is helped by a genuinely great supporting cast: Nemona, Arven, Penny, and Clavell are all standouts. These characters were given some real time and thought put into them, as they feel like real, likable people. I only wish that they were voice acted so they could feel even more real. Why Game Freak hasn't implemented voice acting yet, I have no idea. But regardless, characters and plot are absolutely great here.
Battle mechanics are largely the same from other entries, but there is the new Terastal system. With this, you can basically change a Pokemon's type and increase STAB moves. This is...okay. I can see what Game Freak was thinking here: changing a Pokemon's type can give you new strategies and increase the power of different moves. It just feels so weak compared to other recent Pokemon mechanics, like Mega Evolving or even Dynamaxing. It's a neat little mechanic, but I didn't feel like it was incredibly needed.
Tera raids are basically the replacement for the raids present in SwSh. These are pretty solid, though it can feel a bit difficult to get to them in this title since they're allllll throughout this big world to explore. When you do come across them though, it does feel like a genuine discovery. You can take on these raids with friends. Speaking of playing with friends, you can even play with your friends in the open world. This is such a great decision and it actually works pretty well. At least in my play time, playing with friends has been nothing but a joy.
Despite this though, I still really enjoyed Pokemon Violet. Sure, the game needed more time to iron out all of the bugs and glitches. And hopefully over time Game Freak will iron out everything through updates. But for me, Pokemon Violet was a great time. Now I can't wait to start another adventure with a new team in Scarlet.
Let's just get the bad stuff out of the way. Yes, the game performs terribly on Switch. Its not the worst I've ever seen, but there are plenty of glitches, bugs, and graphical issues to be seen throughout Paldea. Framerates will randomly tank, and if you play the game for long periods of time, it'll slow down to single digits. It's honestly laughable at times how the game can break.
Despite this bad state the game is in, I found myself absolutely addicted to it. The thing is, Game Freak did a great job of giving players a sense of freedom in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. After receiving your starter and getting the usual Pokemon tutorials, you are set off to engage in three different paths: completing the gym challenges, facing off against giant Titan Pokemon, and stopping Team Star. There is an order that Game Freak would LIKE you to do, but you have the freedom to go anywhere you like. There has never been a Pokemon game with this level of freedom before. If Legends Arceus was the initial blueprint for freedom of exploration, then SV is the final draft.
Over time and completing different path objectives, players will gain new abilities of traversal that will help them explore more areas of Paldea. You'll also be able to catch Pokemon of higher levels and gain more league points, which can be used to buy items in the shop without using your money. The best upgrades were the traversal ones, which allow you to surf on water, climb up cliffs, and glide in the air. While climbing can sometimes be glitchy (as does the game as a whole), all of the ways the player can traverse the world feels great.
There's now a new picnic feature that will not only allow you to get closer to your Pokemon, but also make sandwiches that can give you some needed buffs, as well as increase the likelihood of finding shiny Pokemon. It's a little feature, but worth noting as you'll most likely be doing this a lot if you're a shiny hunter, or just enjoy getting some time with your Pokemon outside of battle.
The story itself is one of the best in recent memory. I don't think it comes close to Gen 5, but it's certainly better than most of the post-DS Pokemon games. This is helped by a genuinely great supporting cast: Nemona, Arven, Penny, and Clavell are all standouts. These characters were given some real time and thought put into them, as they feel like real, likable people. I only wish that they were voice acted so they could feel even more real. Why Game Freak hasn't implemented voice acting yet, I have no idea. But regardless, characters and plot are absolutely great here.
Battle mechanics are largely the same from other entries, but there is the new Terastal system. With this, you can basically change a Pokemon's type and increase STAB moves. This is...okay. I can see what Game Freak was thinking here: changing a Pokemon's type can give you new strategies and increase the power of different moves. It just feels so weak compared to other recent Pokemon mechanics, like Mega Evolving or even Dynamaxing. It's a neat little mechanic, but I didn't feel like it was incredibly needed.
Tera raids are basically the replacement for the raids present in SwSh. These are pretty solid, though it can feel a bit difficult to get to them in this title since they're allllll throughout this big world to explore. When you do come across them though, it does feel like a genuine discovery. You can take on these raids with friends. Speaking of playing with friends, you can even play with your friends in the open world. This is such a great decision and it actually works pretty well. At least in my play time, playing with friends has been nothing but a joy.
Despite this though, I still really enjoyed Pokemon Violet. Sure, the game needed more time to iron out all of the bugs and glitches. And hopefully over time Game Freak will iron out everything through updates. But for me, Pokemon Violet was a great time. Now I can't wait to start another adventure with a new team in Scarlet.