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Topic: Pokemon Sword & Shield

Posts 1,881 to 1,900 of 3,072

JaxonH

A lot of those criticisms seem subjective, and the ones that aren’t are debatable how much they impact the experience. Such broad, vague criticisms can be leveled at pretty much any game.

I think the wild area is excellent and a great addition to spice up the game, and is an improvement as it is optional and was not even present in previous games. The game is just as easy as any other game in the series in recent memory, questionable game decisions is about as vague as you can get, I haven’t had any performance issues and the animations, while not great, are par for the course. I’m referring to the Pokémon obviously because all the other animations like running around are incredibly smooth and controls feel fantastic. I hated how I could only move in 8 directions in the past. Just having full, smooth movement is a very pleasant upgrade.

Shadows are pretty lame. I’ll concede that much. But that’s getting kinda nit picky. This game is a huge step up from what I played in Pokemom X and Sun. And even Lets Go (and I really liked Let’s Go, from what I played anyways).

I also love the QoL improvements. The menus are so fast and slick. Saving your game anywhere is instantaneous. Holding A to speed up text. Obviously the fact you can skip tutorials.

I’m really enjoying this game. Being on Switch is a huge help. The 3DS entries just didn’t do it for me. Playing in HD on the Lite looks so good compared to my previous experience on handheld. I did enjoy Let’s Go, and the catching mechanic. In fact I think that’s one of the most underrated games on the system. But it’s nice to have a full mainline entry with hundreds of Pokémon, normal button controls (though I wish they somehow incorporated the throwing to catch Pokémon as well).

I think it’s obviously not as impressive as a Zelda or Luigi’s Mansion 3, but I wasn’t expecting that given it’s a Pokémon game. They didn’t push boundaries on 3DS and I wasn’t expecting it to on Switch. I’m just impressed it looks as good as it does.

All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans

God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John

Buizel

Am I the only one not finding it easy so far?

I mean, it's not kicking my ass (and I don't expect it to - I've been playing Pokémon since Red and Blue). But I'm not sweeping through every enemy either (unless I just use my starter...but that's been an issue in ever game prior anyway)

Edited on by Buizel

At least 2'8".

Buizel

@Snaplocket

1) I'm not regularly overlevelled in any Pokemon game.

2) I avoid wild battles if I've already caught the Pokémon, and rotate to some extent.

Edited on by Buizel

At least 2'8".

Octane

There's a weird lack of trainer battles so far, so I have no idea whether I'm over-leveled or not.

Octane

JaxonH

More I play the more QoL features I appreciate. The Pokémon Box link is new afaIk, and the easy access to throwing Poke-balls in battle. As I recall, you used to have to go into the menu, but now there’s a shortcut button during battle. I know it didn’t take that much time on 3DS, but I do remember having to tap the Pokemon Button and choose a ball. Here you just press a button and there ya go.

@Snaplocket
??

I didn’t say anything about what “we” should do, or what anyone should do period. I simply gave my opinion on the game. Everyone here can read my post for themselves and see I said nothing of the sort. That’s mischaracterization #1.

And I don’t recall saying anything about “gorgeous graphics” for Fire Emblem except in context of the maps, which yes, I definitely did say the overhead view looked gorgeous... and it does. I wholeheartedly stand by that.

I said nothing of the 3D models or monestery being “gorgeous”; in fact, I said it didn’t look that great. So no, I did not “flat out” say anything of the sort. You are mischaracterizing what I said in order to attack my credibility rather than actually addressing the subject matter of my post- a common tactic for those who struggle to argue the point against an opinion with which they disagree. That’s mischaracterization #2.

You can’t just take things I said out of context and interject things I never said at all to unfairly discredit my opinion because you don’t like it.

You gave your thoughts, and I gave mine. If you want to have a civil discussion to expound on why you believe what you do, where I can expound on why I believe what I do, and we both go into it with an open mind- willing to change our minds if the other person makes a fair point we hadn’t considered... I’m all in favor of it. But if it’s just passive aggressive cheap shots toward any opinion that isn’t our own, count me out.

Edited on by JaxonH

All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans

God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John

Gravitron

@JaxonH I know they had the Pokeball shortcut in USUM not sure about regular SUMO because I never played it.

Can't really speak on the graphics thing. Graphics aren't that important to me.

Gravitron

iKhan

JaxonH wrote:

A lot of those criticisms seem subjective, and the ones that aren’t are debatable how much they impact the experience. Such broad, vague criticisms can be leveled at pretty much any game.

I think it’s obviously not as impressive as a Zelda or Luigi’s Mansion 3, but I wasn’t expecting that given it’s a Pokémon game. They didn’t push boundaries on 3DS and I wasn’t expecting it to on Switch. I’m just impressed it looks as good as it does.

I think this is the number 1 criticism. It's not that I expect a lot out of Pokemon because it has blown me away repeatedly. I have high expectations because I know that the series has the ability to reach them. So when they don't, I feel like a teacher whose favorite student is coasting by on Cs

Currently Playing: Steamworld Heist, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Tales of Graces F

JaxonH

@iKhan
Ya, I can understand that perspective. I don’t necessarily share it, since I’m not an avid fan, but I can at least appreciate it. But just because you think it could do better doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it for what it is. And I think for what it is, it’s a pretty great game. The jump to Switch has been good for it. Baby steps, like they always say. This is the biggest improvement I’ve ever seen in the series. I’ll take my W’s where I can get em.

@Gravitron
Ah, ya I own those games but never played them. I played X/Y (my first Pokemom), Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby and Sun/Moon. And Let’s Go, but that was kinda it’s own thing (but I will say, Let’s Go is my favorite so far- this game may win out in the end, but I really liked that catching mechanic throwing the Poke-Ball, especially using the Poke-Ball Plus).

Edited on by JaxonH

All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans

God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John

JaxonH

@Snaplocket
I didn’t “shoot myself in the foot”. I gave an honest opinion which I stand by.

I understand they’ve been releasing excellent games in all those other series, but this game isn’t that far off. It’s definitely not this super low budget, horrible looking game that’s a disaster. Sure, it’s not quite up to the level of presentation or polish of most other 1st party titles, but that’s always been the case with Pokémon- I remember the outrage over X/Y not being 3D when other 1st party titles were, I remember all the complaints of 8 way movement and other more outdated designs compared to other 1st party titles on 3DS. So this is par for the course. It’s expected. It’s simply the cap of their talents and abilities as a development studio. And that’s fine.

And I agree that sure, there’s still things that could be improved (text, Pokémon sounds, shadows, etc). But overall as a package it’s a pretty high-quality game. Doesn’t feel too out of place next to all those games you listed. I think it’s just as high-quality as any other Pokémon game that’s released before... no, it’s definitely higher quality than that, and that’s the kicker.

Nintendo first party games are not one homogenous group of titles being pushed out by a single development studio. They are all different games being produced by different companies and expectations will be different for various games. For this particular game, my expectations were formed around past entries and even Pokémon Let’s Go. There’s no reason to think a Pokémon game is suddenly going to have the quality of a Mario title just because it’s on Switch. It’s changing platforms, not developers. Would it be nice? Oh heck ya. But that’s not a realistic expectation because the series has never set the bar anywhere near that high. But again, the game is a nice package. Looks nice, runs nice. It’s fun. Nice step up from the handheld era and has a lot of QoL improvements and things fans have been asking for for years. It definitely has that 1st party title sheen to it, even if it is a step below the best Switch has to offer in terms of presentation (which is such a minor thing anyways- the gameplay counts and many improvements have been made in that respect).

You are free to be disappointed and set whatever expectations you want. If you don’t think it’s worth it then I would advise playing something else. I am enjoying it quite a bit though, so I am looking forward to having discussion with others who are playing and enjoying the game.

Edited on by JaxonH

All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans

God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John

Ralizah

So far in Pokemon Shield, I'm liking:

  • The art design. This is a VERY pretty little game.
  • The emphasis on character customization. Obviously this isn't a new feature, but it's a bit more elaborate than in previous titles.
  • The lighting. It makes the Pokemon look REALLY good.
  • The music is above-average for a Pokemon game so far. Very nice.
  • A wide variety of Pokemon available to catch early on.
  • The combination of Pokemon on the map and random-ish encounters is well done. Also, the smaller Pokemon models feel less out of place here than in the cramped corridors of Kanto in LGPE.
  • This entry is more immediately charming to me than Pokemon Moon was. Not sure how exactly to qualify this, other than to say it's cute and it makes me smile.
  • Really, really love that they intelligently streamlines or eliminated the tutorials based on player input.

Disliking:

  • The complete absence of voice acting in cutscenes. It's jarring to get some big, fairly well-animated cutscene, but when the characters move their mouths, no sound comes out. As the presentation of this series continues to improve, the absence of voice acting becomes more and more noticeable.
  • Robotic character movements. Nothing unusual for a Pokemon game, of course, but I'm disappointed the character models don't have natural motions.
  • NPCs still just kind of stand around and do nothing. Pretty lazy looking, GF.

Very eager to get to the Wild Area. So far, I'm really enjoying this game. It scratches a particular itch I've been having in a way that LGPE just didn't.

@Snaplocket Mario + Rabbids is actually a third party game, just for your information.

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

Ralizah

@Snaplocket I'd take anything, really. I don't even need great voice acting. Light gibberish would be fine. But seeing their mouths move in cutscenes, and nothing come out, is jarring. Even a text box noise would be preferable to nothing.

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

JaxonH

@Ralizah
Lack of voice acting does feel out of place. Nintendo was reluctant to add voice work and still is, to this day. But I really think Pokémon would benefit from some decent voice acting.

Pretty much agree with your entire post, except for the robotic movements. Are you talking about Pokémon or the characters? Because when I’m running around it looks good, and feels very smooth. I love when you walk into the grass and my character crouches like he’s hunting game, ready to pounce 😁

I liked Let’s Go a lot, mostly due to the catching mechanic, but I will say this game seems much more intriguing than Let’s Go, which was mostly straightforward and you knew what you were getting. Here, there’s so much more intrigue. It is more charming too, for sure. I credit that to being on an HD system along with the art style, which really carries this game a long ways.

I’m still early in the game myself, but as someone who has never truly gotten into the series (I did start to with Let’s Go, and I caught at least 25-30% of all the Pokémon in the game, but ultimately dropped it), this feels like the one. I mean, so did Let’s Go, but that excitement has now kind of rolled into this one as well. This is the first one where I actually Google searched the evolutions before I chose a starter. I just never cared enough until now.

On Switch Lite, the game is a real looker. I think that’s true for a lot of games on Switch Lite. The slightly smaller screen and higher pixel density really helps give games that edge. But the art style of this game being on a smaller screen just looks like a more direct comparison to what we had on 3DS, being handheld and all, so you really appreciate the fact you’re playing Pokémon in 720p on a comfy handheld rather than 240p on a flip brick.

All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans

God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John

Eel

I find it a little weird how the battle backgrounds don’t really match all the areas so far.

Other than that, I’m enjoying the game.

Bloop.

<My slightly less dead youtube channel>

SMM2 Maker ID: 69R-F81-NLG

My Nintendo: Abgarok | Nintendo Network ID: Abgarok

ThanosReXXX

@Ralizah And on top of that, neither Pokémon, nor The Pokémon Company is owned by Nintendo, so even that isn't a real first party title, like so many of these Negative Nancy's seem to think.
The Pokémon Company is actually a joint venture between Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures, but ah, details, right? As long as they can push their glass half empty agenda, who cares about actual facts?

'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'

Nintendo Network ID: ThanosReXX

BlackTalon2

@graysoncharles What about eternatus? zamazenta? and dragapult? then there is gyrados, hydreigon, HA cinderace, excadrill barraskewda in rain I've been reading the smogon forums, dragapult is pretty much legendary level and is one of the fastest non legends in the game, only accelgor and ninjask outspeed it, and it even has clear body so you cant even slow it down. dragapult is pretty much broken.

And you pretty much cant beat a dynamax unless you also use dynamax.

Edited on by BlackTalon2

VIVA CRISTO REY !

BlackTalon2

@JaxonH to save money they should just have one set of voice actors , japanese, then give players the option to turn off the voice acting. I've played visual novels that are japanese voiced only and it is ok.

Voice acting will be very expensive if they had to have voices in all the langauges the game is available in.

VIVA CRISTO REY !

Maelwolf

Man my expectations were pretty high, but this game has blown them out of the water. The graphics are great, the world and characters are fun, I really couldn’t ask for more! I was not expecting the MMO-style online play in the Wild. Maybe I missed that being mentioned?

Maelwolf

Ralizah

@ThanosReXXX Yeah, it's a bit weird to think about, considering how synonymous with Nintendo hardware Pokemon games are. I have to wonder just much influence Nintendo could exert on the series if it wanted to, though

@JaxonH The player character's animations are great. But everyone else... isn't. They move and turn SO robotically (reminds me of how characters would move in the old PS1 Resident Evil games). NPCs don't really emote or move much at all. In cutscenes, the legendary Pokemon also turn and move robotically. It's not really a big deal to me, but it's pretty noticeable.

Let's Go... I wanted to like that game. I was a Gen 1 kid, so I have a ton of nostalgia for that generation. I just didn't like how the Eevee starter Pokemon was completely unbalanced, and how you didn't battle wild Pokemon, and the horrible, horrible motion controls when playing the game docked, and the way Pokemon clogged up the narrow Game Boy era levels, and the ugly art-style, and the hit to visual fidelity in portable mode (which SwSh seems to be lacking almost completely, thankfully), and the kind of pointless local multiplayer, and only being able to play with one joycon when docked, and the money grabbing involved with locking Mew behind an expensive and pointless peripheral, and the weird performance hitches it suffered in tiny locations like Viridian Forest (if SwSh lag a bit in the Wild Area, I'll be a bit more forgiving of that, I think; the developers are completely new to implementing open level design in their games), etc.

Once I'm tired of SwSh, though, I might try playing LGPE again on my Switch Lite. I'm finding the desire to play several of my previously completed games on this brilliant new hardware.

Oh, and the Pokemon SwSh-themed Switch Lite is just brilliant. Lovely color scheme, an actually really good D-Pad (I'm finding it easier to activate diagonals than on other Lites I've tried in the past), and, even with a grip, the thing is still a good deal lighter than the Switch Phat in handheld mode. This little thing makes my launch Switch feel like a heavy, bloated dinosaur in comparison.

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

Eel

The casual control option works amazing with the 8bitdo lite. You can use both dpads together to move the character quite comfortably.

It's a bit annoying when playing on other controllers though (I default to using the dpad to move in menus, and the casual mode maps the dpad to have the same functions as the abxy buttons).

Edited on by Eel

Bloop.

<My slightly less dead youtube channel>

SMM2 Maker ID: 69R-F81-NLG

My Nintendo: Abgarok | Nintendo Network ID: Abgarok

-Juice-

My current opinion:

Pros-

1. Character design is top-notch

2. Music is fairly good

3. New Pokemon designs are good

4. Curry mechanic is fun

5. Wild Area feels alive

6. Customization is wonderful

Cons-

1. Muddy textures and popping

3. Improper height scaling during battle

4. Rigid route design railroads the adventure

5. Towns are pretty barren

6. I miss Volcarona

7. Post game content is an unfortunate disaster

  • Overall, this is a pretty average entry. It’s better than RBGY, Ruby and Sapphire, XY, ORAS and SuMo. It fails miserably in comparison to GSC, Emerald, Platinum, HGSS, BW/B2W2, and USUM. My main issue is that the latter entries mentioned should be the standard going forward, yet Game Freak insists on them being the exception. I am hopeful for potential Gen IV remakes to rectify the barren post game and strange Pokédex selection.

Edit: Hop, as a plot device is annoying as all get out, but as a character... I like him. Bede was also a really cool addition. They listened to us about wanting a jerk to battle.

Edited on by -Juice-

3DS Friend Code: 0962-9923-0016

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