| Title | Pokemon Scarlet Pokemon Violet |
| Year | 2022 |
| System | Switch |
| Developer | Game Freak |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
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| Pokemon Scarlet |
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| Pokemon Violet |
My goal to replay the Final Fantasy series was interrupted by the real world -- a new Pokemon game was released. Pokemon is a more social experience than the typical RPG due to its trading and battling mechanics, so there is pressure to play it while everyone else still is. I played a lot of Pokemon during 2020-2021, but I did not follow news about these games at all, so I went into this one fairly blind.
The biggest change from the previous games is the open world map and replacing random encounters with Pokemon on the map. While Pokemon Sword and Shield had already started this with the Wild Area mechanic, there are no legacy style routes at all this time. I think this is a great improvement as you can control which wild Pokemon you battle. Alongside this change is the non-linear progression: after the introduction, you can complete most events in the order you choose. However, both wild Pokemon and trainers do not scale with you, so you are still somewhat nudged to do them in a certain order.
The last few Pokemon generations have introduced stupid gimmicks to battles, and the gimmick this time is called Terastallization. This changes the type of a Pokemon and adds an interesting layer of strategy, though of course the NPCs will never use it an interesting way. I was relieved this was not as dumb and gamebreaking as the previous Dynamax gimmick.
Pokemon as a series has never been particuarly known for its plot. However, this game manages to feel even weaker than the average Pokemon game due to its non-linear nature. After the introduction, you are suddenly left to just explore and do whatever you want with little explanation or motivation. There are three storylines that occur in parallel for most of the game, but they feel more like sidequests than a main plot. The rival, Nemona, is particularly irrelevant and disappointing. However, the game does end on a high note as the final story arc is easily the most interesting.
The worst thing about this game is easily the various graphics glitches and slowdown. It's not uncommon for Pokemon or objects to briefly disappear or move to strange locations, particuarly during battle. Even more frustrating is simply waiting for the game to render. The most obnoxious slowdown is in your Pokemon boxes of all places -- it takes a few seconds after changing the box to see what Pokemon are in there. This is absolutely absurd and was not a problem in previous games.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed with this game. The gameplay is fairly standard (and perhaps too predictable) for the series, but the weak plot and graphical issues lowered my motivation to play. I hope the next game puts much more emphasis on doubles battles since that is apparently what Nintendo has centralized the PvP scene around.
7/10
After completing a game, I add it to my overall enjoyment ranking which orders the games I've completed from those I most enjoyed to those I least enjoyed. I was a little disappointed with this game, but I never considered abandoning it, so it's easy for me to slot this one.
More Enjoyed
- . . .
- Final Fantasy IV (SNES)
- Final Fantasy III (NES)
- Pokemon Scarlet / Violet (NS)
- Final Fantasy VIII (PSX)
- Final Fantasy II (NES)
- . . .
Less Enjoyed