I went into Pokémon Scarlet and Violet VERY grumpy. I’ve found the franchise’s yearly releases tiring as I felt quality decrease as the years went on. That was until Pokémon Legends: Arceus came out. That game surprised me and made me remember what I loved about the series. Seeing that they were QUICKLY moving on with a SECOND release in 2022 was disheartening. What could happen? Is there enough time?
I’m more than happy to say that, while it was far from perfect, it was a very good, enjoyable experience. Even after growing fatigues of Pokémon and large open worlds, Pokémon Violet made it feel so natural. Exploring itself wasn’t very satisfying, as there’s little to find other than more of the same Pokémon you’ve encountered on the way and an item you already have, it was still a lot of fun trying to see where new Pokémon MAY pop up for my Pokédex. While I found the gameplay loop to be fun, there was much left about the gameplay to be desired. The game wants you to think you can tackle your objectives in any order, but the level of those objectives doesn’t scale with you. You can technically do things in any order, so long as you’re able to overcome it - a frustrating realization when you explore an interesting corner of the map only to be gatekept by level.
There was also a notable lack of quality of life improvements from Legends Arceus that were left to the wayside, such as catching Pokémon without initiating a battle, or shiny Pokémon making a sparkle noise in the field. It felt like a step back.
The story and characters was stand out point, however. The cast is much more fleshed out than usual, and it shows. They’re wonderful friends with great motivators and growth. It was a lot of fun seeing their stories evolve, despite some lacking voice acting in scenes that are begging for it. One notable downside, however, is that the story goes back to a more voyeuristic one, where your player character is less of an active participant. Legends made me feel for my silent protagonist - and impressive feat that wasn’t attempted here. Either way, this was my favorite Pokémon tale since the original Sun and Moon.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are high points in the series’ recent years. It fumbles in places, but mostly because of the precedent from earlier in the year. Pokémon Legends: Arceus was a magical, rejuvenating experience. Scarlet and Violet are not unworthy follow ups, but it’s not the step forward it should have been. It’s a somewhat sloppy, somewhat unpolished game that has an incredible soul behind it. The glitches and performance are frustrating, the visuals are questionable, but there’s a lot of love the developers were able to squeeze into their unreasonably tight timeframe - I’m happy to say that Game Freak did a great job with what was given to them.
I’m more than happy to say that, while it was far from perfect, it was a very good, enjoyable experience. Even after growing fatigues of Pokémon and large open worlds, Pokémon Violet made it feel so natural. Exploring itself wasn’t very satisfying, as there’s little to find other than more of the same Pokémon you’ve encountered on the way and an item you already have, it was still a lot of fun trying to see where new Pokémon MAY pop up for my Pokédex. While I found the gameplay loop to be fun, there was much left about the gameplay to be desired. The game wants you to think you can tackle your objectives in any order, but the level of those objectives doesn’t scale with you. You can technically do things in any order, so long as you’re able to overcome it - a frustrating realization when you explore an interesting corner of the map only to be gatekept by level.
There was also a notable lack of quality of life improvements from Legends Arceus that were left to the wayside, such as catching Pokémon without initiating a battle, or shiny Pokémon making a sparkle noise in the field. It felt like a step back.
The story and characters was stand out point, however. The cast is much more fleshed out than usual, and it shows. They’re wonderful friends with great motivators and growth. It was a lot of fun seeing their stories evolve, despite some lacking voice acting in scenes that are begging for it. One notable downside, however, is that the story goes back to a more voyeuristic one, where your player character is less of an active participant. Legends made me feel for my silent protagonist - and impressive feat that wasn’t attempted here. Either way, this was my favorite Pokémon tale since the original Sun and Moon.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are high points in the series’ recent years. It fumbles in places, but mostly because of the precedent from earlier in the year. Pokémon Legends: Arceus was a magical, rejuvenating experience. Scarlet and Violet are not unworthy follow ups, but it’s not the step forward it should have been. It’s a somewhat sloppy, somewhat unpolished game that has an incredible soul behind it. The glitches and performance are frustrating, the visuals are questionable, but there’s a lot of love the developers were able to squeeze into their unreasonably tight timeframe - I’m happy to say that Game Freak did a great job with what was given to them.