Topic: Pokemon Sword & Shield

@Eel Wow. That's cool! I was like 3 when my oldest brother had a Gameboy Advanced and he had Gold and Silver. He thought Silver was a new game and he bought it

https://www.ign.com/articles/pokemon-sword-and-shield-the-isl...

IGN reviewed the DLC. Only reason I bring this up is that it's the same reviewer who made that AWFUL Xenoblade DE review.

Here's my take on his review of this: It's slightly better. He actually takes a little bit of time to describe why he likes or dislikes elements of the game, but there are still really poorly written parts. Why did he think the Alolan Diglett hunt was tedious? What about the rival character's was annoying? This reviewer is not my buddy. I don't really care about how the game made him feel. What I want to know is words that describe the quality of the games.

What bothers me is that IGN didn't used to be like this. Jose Otero's Nintendo reviews were great. Same with Craig Moriarty for their PS content. But it's no secret that they've had a lot of trouble finding people lately, and it really shows as the quality of their reviews has dropped quite a bit.

Anyone have a Drampa or can breed one? It is all that alludes me.

I just tried out the Isle of Amror DLC today and I have to say, wow I am very impressed. I haven't even gotten into the story yet, but just the map itself is amazing. It's so diverse and a lot of fun to explore. Definitely what the Wild Zone should have been. The diglett hunt is also a lot of fun, makes exploring feel more rewarding.

I particularly enjoy the fact the isle of armor has actual caves and a 'closed' forest. Yes they're small, but it's way more than what the original wild area map tried to achieve.

All capped Pikachu's will expire at November 30th 6:59 AM PST.
You can get Ash's Pikachu from 20th movie (Partner Cap Pikachu) with a code 1CH00SEY0U as well.

@Northwind the url needs to be alone on its own line of text for it to work

I'm going to hope all the "we hate sword and shield and won't allow others to enjoy it" crowd have moved on cuz I'd like to gush a bit.
Edit: nope, still here.

W O W

I flipping love Sword. The world is gorgeous and yet charming and alien (US citizen and I'm not from the New England section of the country so no parallels for me) in a way that the Japanese aesthetic isn't as it is similar but not quite. I feel like a tourist walking around in this vibrant little world. For me its the small touches; the wooloo having conversations with each other or blocking train tracks, the reactions of the pokemon to the curry you cook...things like that that make it almost feel like I'm in the anime.

I love the designs for many of the new pokemon and the dynamaxing thing is very impressive looking...I haven't delved too much into it but I like the group battle mechanic and that it doesn't exclude single players like myself. Battling is fun and snappy and the UI is clean and helpful. I don't play pokemon enough to remember much beyond gen 1 matchups and that has more to do with the age that I started rather than any devotion to the franchise. So it is nice to have a UI that gives reminders subtly when I have a type advantage or disadvantage. This may be the first time I buy both games just to get all the available pokemon. (and to see the different gym leaders....I agonized over buying this game due to the different gym leaders...which was more compelling than the different pokemon...)

I do wish there was a bit more diversity in the skin tones and hair styles, but that is a steady complaint I have against the gaming industry so its less of a knock and more of a "one day people will realize that there are many different types of people in the world...I'll be dead by then, but ok" sort of ennui. So I made my character look like my mother since they had her skin tone instead. Which is fun in its own way. That being said 'Nessa represent! I don't know if she is the first African featured trainer or not (like I said I don't dabble in the series) but I love her and the fact that she is the water type user as an american is a special thing to see. I knew I had had to have the game for her alone, when they announced it but I had no real rush due to the backlash.

I feel an excitement with this game, that doesn't lean on nostalgia (let's go scratched that itch for me, love that game!) and if feel like I did the first time I played pokemon stadium, seeing these colorful characters look vibrant and realized. With the wild area there is a real push for me to want to explore and find new pokemon and even a little bit of caution after a gyarados about 30 levels higher than me casually beat the snot out of my party and I had to limp back to heal what was left of them. The best part is I feel this excitement and I haven't even gotten to a gym yet! I can't wait to see what that will be like. I think this gen will be very entertaining for me and I also look forward to trying out the DLC (I'm beyond grateful that Gamefreak is doing this instead of a third game now).

Very good job Gamefreak, looking forward to spending a lot of time with this (same as I did with Let's Go)!

@Ryu_Niiyama I hate the Sword and Shield and I won't allow you to enjoy it!

@Ryu_Niiyama The game is still bad. I mean, kinda. It has just so much more potential. People aren't angry, they're disappointed.

@jump @Octane Aww, thanks for the wet blanket guys! Wouldn't be NL without it! goes back to playing

EB Games in Australia currently has the base game + DLC cartridges priced at AU$124.95 (they sell everything at full RRP by default). That's the same as paying full price for the game (AU$79.95) plus AU$45 for the DLC (I remember paying around AU$45 for the DS installments back in the day). Other retailers are likely to sell it for a little less. If we're lucky, we might even see it for as little as $99.95 from some vendors.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out with customers.

I still want them, but I am now inclined to get rid of my base game cartridges, and I'm a little on the fence as to what I wish to do with them at this point. I just wish Nintendo had been more forthright about this. If this will become standard practice in future, then I won't mind buying the base game at launch and buying the complete edition later, but I want to know that there will be a complete edition.

Even with such pricing, I wouldn't mind if Nintendo extended the same treatment to other first party games with the DLC on the cartridge. It's still better value to me overall. I'd rather pay more to have the DLC on the cartridge any day of the week.

I'll definitely try to get one of these all-in-one cartridges at some point. Would be a great way to buy "the other version".

Can anyone advise whether or not it's worth owning both Sword and Shield, or is the difference very minor?

I finished Sword earlier this year and really enjoyed it, and have been contemplating getting Shield. I get that there's some different Pokemon across both games, but by and large, is it really much different?

@Tendo64 99% of the game is the same. It's not worth it. You can easily get the missing Pokemon by trading online.

There have only ever been very minor differences between the two versions of the main series of Pokémon games, and this usually involves the legendary Pokémon on the cover, and some variance in which Pokémon can be found in the wild. Unless you're an absolute diehard fan and want to play the game again with slight differences, then it isn't worth it for the majority of players, and I say this as a sucker that buys both versions.

You can trade locally or online for whichever Pokémon you are missing (Pokémon GO + Pokémon Bank, as well as either of the Let's Go games can also help).

If you own the physical edition of Sword and haven't yet bought the DLC, then perhaps you may wish to consider grabbing the physical version of Shield + Expansion Pass that is coming out next month, which will contain the Shield-exclusive content as well as the complete DLC content on a single cartridge, but otherwise, it is absolutely not worth buying Shield on its own.

I'd recommend getting just one.

The new dlc bundle they're releasing would be the perfect excuse for some who got one version early to get the other one though.

I need Heracross, Skrelp, Kingdra, Igglypuff and Zarude. I also need trade and take back my Porygon for evolutions. Do you have more of these Pokemon I wrote and can anyone help me? My friend code is SW-8426-9616-3693.

So the dlc releases tomorrow!
What are your expectations?

Looks like the update is live. Here we go!