Now that you've seen the latest Pokémon Direct, viewed our complete breakdown of the trailer and slapped down a pre-order, it's time to listen to what our lovely video producer Alex Olney has to say about Pokémon Sword and Shield.
It seems like the new Galar region could actually be the UK in disguise, with a quaint and Victorian vibe. Not to mention the great big clock tower on display, that is reminiscent of a certain landmark. The main city area looks similar to London and there might even be a few references to Scotland thrown in for good measure. Noticeably, there appears to be no desert area this time around, so we're less likely to see certain varieties Pokémon.
Alex has already confessed his love for the new starter Grookey (the grass type monster), but admittedly isn't sure how he feels about the return of random encounters after the previous games replaced this old-school mechanic. Listen to more of his waffling in the video above and share your own reactions to the latest entries in the series in the comments below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 23
The first few videos/screenshots of the direct had me thinking the game is set in a medieval setting. Later footages of the game look a lot more modern, but it would be so awesome if that's the case.
I’m curious, those who buy the next Pokemon everytime, does it ever get boring for you? Isn’t it the same thing every time? I played Pokémon silver, loved it. Played Let’s go loved it, and then tried emerald but I was just bored by doing the same exact thing.
@ReWane
Have you been to Europe? Some of us live in a medieval setting. 😁
@SimplyCinnamon53
There’s lots of things you can do over and over without getting bored.
So ready for this. Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee were like having a bag of potato chips to hold you over the night before thanksgiving. Not terrible, but unsatisfying in the extreme. These will be real full scale Pokemon titles, in HD, on TV or on the go! I am more than ready!
@SimplyCinnamon53 What's your favorite food? Does it ever get boring to you? Mine is Pizza, if I eat too much Pizza and get bored of it, I don't eat it for a while. But I always come back to it.
@ReWane The one issue they would have with a Pokemon game in an old time-y setting would be the lack of the PC system and conventional Poke-Balls. I am sure they could make something work - since it has already been said they used apricorns before Poke-Balls in-universe, but still, it would take some troublesome changes to make it work.
Not to... er, Yanksplain here, but doesn't that clock tower look more like St. Pancras Station than Elizabeth Tower? I mean, granted, I had to look it up because I got St. Pancras and King's Cross confused - but it was definitely that the St. Pancras tower that came to mind when I saw the trailer. Sure, it's probably just a Pokemon Gym, but the train in front also made me think train station. I'm guessing that some "location scouts" from the Pokemon company used St. Pancras as inspiration rather than Big Ben, since the latter may have been too on the nose. Anyone else with me here?
@Heavyarms55
Pizza was exactly what I was thinking of too 😉
I'm a huge Pokemon fan, so will no doubt love these games, but I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed after the direct. Nintendo has been killing it with the innovation they've been showing in their first party games. Odyssey and Breath of the Wild, for example, took beloved formulas and developed them into something more, something deeper. Fire Emblem looks as if it'll be doing something new, too. Then we get Sword and Shield, where once again we will be running down linear paths, fighting random battles and collecting gym badges. These games, at their core, are seemingly no different from past generations. All they've done is give it a new lick of paint and throw in some cute starters. I guess what I'm saying is that there's a lack of real ambition here. Almost every generation of Pokemon has given us bigger maps and a few extra features. Perhaps its time for Nintendo to give the franchise over to a younger, fresher generation.
It would be nice if Pokemon Bank were to get incorporated to the game before release. Not a month or so later.
Random battles is a huge step backwards.
@SimplyCinnamon53
I tend to skip a generation, otherwise it is too familiar.
@Franklin I skipped gen 7 involuntarily. Bought Moon and my New 3DS loaded the game slow as hell, robbing me of any enjoyment. So I'm glad it's on a system that can actually handle the game and maybe I can have a good time.
Extended overreaction based on what we've seen and the fact that it's not even in game footage
@Kasma88
I get what you’re saying. But... this is Game Freak. What we just saw, for them, is massive forward strides.
It looks good though. It likely still adheres to the same formula but, A lot of people are afraid of change (as we saw with Let’s Go).
@Kasma88
The difference between Pokemon and Odyssey/BotW is that those two games had much more development time, especially in BotW's case. Until Pokemon stops being an annual franchise, you aren't going to see giant leaps in innovation.
As for me, I'm pretty dang excited, much more than I was for Let's Go at least. The region looks gorgeous and I'm very excited to see if there have been any changes to the battle system, and can't wait to see what kind of side/post game content it has.
We really saw nothing more than a quick look at the region and the new starters, we don't know anything about the story of content yet. It's too early to be that disappointed is all I'm saying.
@Heavyarms55 It might sound like nitpicking, but pizza and Pokemon are not comparable that way. Without looking too far into the comparison, people can eat food for enjoyment and/or it can be a means to an end. Food is a necessity while games are explicitly for recreation. Food is also consumed typically over a short period of time with little mental involvement, whereas games are designed to occupy your attention and involve some extent of mental input.
I suppose someone could argue well-established sports in general would be a decent comparison to Pokemon to a degree (also without looking to far into it); they're structured the same year after year, the premise/goals remain the same, and both utilize repetitive actions to meet those goals. Despite this, fans are always eager for the next game (myself not being an exception; I am a sucker for hockey).
@Urameshi Yeah, but there is so much food that you always have other options (so long as you have financial resources of course). So why do we always come back to our favorite foods? There are countless combinations and meal options even for those on a very limited budget, but most of us always go back to our favorites. That's the comparison I was making.
Your comparison to sports is another good one. Things like American football, football, baseball etc... are essentially the same exact game every year, yet people always go back to it.
Or more similarly, other video game series, COD and Battlefield haven't heavily changed their formulas in a long time. Same with Halo. Same with sports games like FIFA and Madden. Magic the Gathering, a card game has been on going since 1993!
It's the same basic idea. We have things we like, we might overdo it sometimes and take a break, but we can always go back to them.
And personally, I think that is a good thing.
Love your videos. Love your charisma. I don't love orange on you.
"It's like you are targeting the entire planet."
LOL. With a movie coming out, I think they are.
@SimplyCinnamon53,
You could say that of a lot of games to be honest,the masses just want more of the same with upgraded visuals,call of duty has been getting away with this for years...and a lot of triple pay..er I mean Triple AAA titles too.
Never liked the desert areas. We don’t have deserts in the uk😜 where is stone henge and the Roman wall. Hope there’s some old tribe as the bad guys with blue face paint or something
maybe Pokemon keep trying to invade the island and we gotta keep fending them off. That would be cool Viking Pokemon
I try to like Pokemon games, but somehow it's not working for me. But great for people who is into this game
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