Pokémon Legends: Arceus is already proving to be a sales success, with plenty of positive buzz from fans that have made the jump. However, an ongoing debate around the game has related to its performance, especially its graphics and the quality of Game Freak's engine. Even a number of fans that love the game itself have shared disappointment with the visuals, especially when compared to other major games on the Switch.
Now Digital Foundry has given an interesting analysis of the game's technical aspects, which seems pretty fair and balanced to us. In the video above the team goes through resolution, framerate, and various aspects of the game's technical performance. It makes some comparisons, too, notably with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Monster Hunter Rise.
In terms of resolution, DF outlines that it's 900p-1080p when docked, while it sticks quite well to 720p in portable. In terms of performance the results match this writer's eye test - the game is more consistently smooth and a solid 30fps in portable mode, with docked performance having more hitches and drops. As for the detail on the technical aspects of the game engine, like asset quality and pop-in, Digital Foundry gives some interesting detail.
Overall, the conclusion likely matches the thoughts of many that own it - the game is a lot of fun, but the performance and visuals could (and perhaps should) be better.
Be sure to give the video a watch and let us know what you think.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 129
Kind of a moot point really considering the success of the game. People will always find things to complain about.
Complaints about the graphics of a Pokemon game are really over exaggerated.
Pokemon is not and never has been a game that people will play for the graphical fidelity. It is a series built on gameplay before anything else.
If a player demands only the best graphics from a game, and will not be satisfied unless a game has cutting edge graphics, why play Pokemon? There are other graphical powerhouses that would have exactly what such a player is looking for.
Retorts to this idea that amount to "Game Freak is so rich, use the money to make better games!" is definitely the part that comes across as unfair. With their resources, Game Freak puts out the games that they want to put out. The content that Game Freak releases is up to the standards of Game Freak. If that doesn't meet a player's standards, maybe don't buy it? Life is short, and it is usually easier for a player to pickup games that will make them happy.
I mean, for what the game is I like the graphics, could it bet better? Yes but that doesn't detract from the fun.
Yes and it absolutely fine to criticize them. What annoys me is when people claim that PLA is overall a bad game because of that. Cause it really isn't, imo it's the best Pokemon game since B2W2
What can I say that hasn't already been said, at this point?
I hope the graphics get better but it isn't a deal-breaker for me and LA is definitely a step in the right direction.
Also please stop comparing it to the PS2... It's apples and oranges.
I love this game, it's the funnest Pokemon game I've played in a decade, but it's annoying to see that the uptick in quality is going to increase the number of hardcore defenders. The graphics and performance absolutely can and should be better considering it comes from the highest-grossing media franchise. I personally compare it to Monster Hunters Stories 2 which has very similar biomes, a more animated artstyle with multiple monsters and still looks great. Not to mention, the graphics of PLA, at times, hinders the gameplay.
I was hunting for the 107 wisps and in one area, I had to check all 20 of the wisp spots three times only to find I passed it the first go around... BUT the pop-in was SO bad, that even when I was standing next to it, it didn't appear because I took off the second it didn't appear, thinking that it was a wisp I already had. To find the missing wisp, I had to sit there for a second surveying my surroundings for it to pop-in.
Yeah, the textures look horrible and that’s an objective fact. But, the game is still great and the best Pokémon game in years. It’s ok to criticise one aspect of the game you don’t like, especially when it’s so blatant like this.
@Brydontk wisps only appear at dusk and durring the night. That isn't a pop-in issue. it wasn't there
@Dilly-Mick I'm aware, I made sure it was at night whenever I searched for the wisps and this happened in the snowy area so I had over 100 wisps at this point.
The graphics aren't the best and especially with the long distance pop in, this hasn't really bothered me whilst playing though as I'm having fun, but I will say people moan more a pit pokémon due to its sales and popularity and the fact its so far behind other franchises in terms of evolving (no pun intended) its visual design. Take mario odyssey and dragon quest 11s as an example of how they have improved graphically and use HD textures on tv etc
Honestly most people that buy games dont care yo much. I think because most of us are in the loop, we care. I play all my Switch games on my PC. ( i buy them and own 2 switches in my household.) Just so i can add mods to them.
They literally spend 30 seconds talking about how amazing the gameplay is and then whining about the graphics...
As someone who was skeptical coming in the gameplay rules over graphics in this game and it's great.
It looks good to me
@CharlieGirl While agreed that Pokémon isn't about graphics, that doesn't mean they shouldn't at least try to make it look appealing. The game looks way worse than it has any right to be, there's way too much pop in while looking like a PS2 game with an HD layer put over it. Pokémon isn't about graphics, but that is just unacceptable these days for a full priced game. One can expect nice graphics while not expecting the most pretty graphics ever.
@Brydontk
This happened to me too. Wisps do generally have better distance drawing than other objects- but sometimes they don't.
I don't get how anyone could defend this game's pop-in, especially after unlocking Braviary. The whole sensation of flight is kinds ruined when the game doesn’t load stuff because you're more than a few feet off the ground.
Even before that, though, I'd constantly run into issues on Wyrdeer where cliffs and giant rocks would load in at the last second. I have never seen a game in my entire life where pieces of terrain this huge were separate objects that would load in so slowly. My entire route around an area would often have to change based on obstacles that simply didn't load on time.
I still enjoyed the game, but the graphics inarguably compromise the experience in a tangible way.
For me the beauty of the game varied depending on which display I used. On my 4K TV it was alright. Beautiful on my old 1080p LCD in my bedroom. Looked like ass on my high refresh rate ultra wide curved gaming monitor. Beautiful on my portable Asus 1080p display.
It could look much better for sure, I don't mind that very much, but sometimes when you look close up you can see like some border around Pokemon which looks absolutely terrible.
I'm in love with the game, but I absolutely hate the pop in. That's terrible!
Sometimes observing the landscape isn't enough. You have to literally go there to see if there's an item or a small pokemon that wouldn't appear from average distance....
@Yosher See... that's the part that's unfair. The graphics are serviceable. The game largely runs well, and it does a good job of providing the gameplay experience it set out to provide. Again, if the graphics aren't up to a player's tastes, the option of another game is out there.
@CharlieGirl I completely agree. A company doesn't have to become a thousand strong game development megacorporation just because you want them to. They might prefer to work like this, as a smaller and more flexible team. The hardware on Switch is very limited for 2022 standards. Even if they had double the staff, if you think they could make this look better than BotW, would be completely delusional. Legends Arceus, despite the shortcomings, is still by far the best looking Pokemon game ever. So I don't get what is there to complain about, really. If you don't like it, just don't buy it and move on.
The game definitely feels smoother to play than something like SMTIV which is nice.
Its one of those cases while the game is a lot of fun and has its moments of beauty but some of the technical issues do make it feel like its lacking that extra "spark" which made things like Xenoblade X feel so special (thats still one of the most fun times ive had exploring a game world,)
@BLD Totally agree, I've said in another comment that Braviary is what makes you realize just how bad the graphics and performance really are and your comment perfectly conceptualizes why, and I guess with Wyrdeer as well. Prior to the wisp incident and flying with Braviary in the Snowfall area (where the water and ice look like literal tiles), I didn't mind the graphics or performance at all; not even the mud in the Mirelands like I've heard from most people. But when it actively gets in your way, the immersion is shattered.
Both things are true. The graphics are mediocre and the game is great.
I do think all of the pop-in and overreliance on fog can be a bit obnoxious but I also don't really care if a game looks good. I can grant that the game doesn't really but it's also not a dealbreaker for me.
@Rika_Yoshitake digital foundry doesn’t really “whine”. Their channel is about seeing how much of a technical marvel games are, gameplay is the least important in those videos unless the gameplay is demanding on the performance itself.
My son is having fun with it and that’s the main thing. Looks like a gamecube game to me 😀
The graphics fanboys can just go and play Halo and CoD and we'll stick to the actual good games.
A really fun game with mediocre graphics and performance is still a really fun game.
A terrible game with fantastic graphics and performance is still a terrible game.
Be interesting to see how sonic open world fairs, as I imagine the development team will be a lot smaller.
Honestly no, they are not fair. The game is a revolution for the series. No game is perfect all around. Gameplay/fun first, then graphics. The switch was never a graphic heavy system anyway, it's a frikin tablet lol.
@Yorumi Being 10 year old doesn't somehow make the Switch hardware better though, or GameFreak more experienced than Monolith was 10 years ago. Besides, the Wii U and Switch are not miles apart in power. The Wii U was also outdated when it came out, hardly top of the line hardware. The thing is, though, Pokemon has far, far more different animated assets than Xenoblade X. GameFreak has many riggers, animators etc, for all the different Pokemon, while Monolith is more tech focused. Their experience is also not equivalent. I remember reading that Xenoblade Chronicles (the original) had a tiny amount of artists and no concept artist at all. Different studios, different strengths and weaknesses. And Japan is not exactly overflowing with experienced game programmers, in fact they have a shortage.
@Troll_Decimator
Didn't they outsource the Pokemon model creation for Sword and Shield to another team in TPC? That would include rigging. As for animation, I don't think much is new here. They've had walking/running animations unused since Sun and Moon. Most of the animations are just "Pokemon plays animation and then a beam or some special effect plays".
Granted, they make that work MUCH better in this game than in SwSh. The pokemon walk in battles, and the varied terrains and situations you can get into combat add a lot of variety to what is otherwise still similar canned animations.
I just think it's unfair to present Gamefreak as having some unique and difficult struggle here when a lot of the problems you list were solved before PLA.
I feel like I have very bad taste when it comes to this but I really love how the game looks.
Does it look iffy?
Yes.
Could it look far better?
Yes.
But I honestly really love how it looks because of it. There's a 'so bad it's good' vibe to it and I accepted the look of it immediately because that's just how the Wild Areas looked in SwSh. Besides that though, the Pokemon and human characters look AMAZING in my eyes. So much expressiveness and uniqueness all across the board that just fills the Pokemon shaped area of my heart with joy.
@CharlieGirl I don't see how it's not fair. In 2022, I think it's fair to expect a game where things don't pop in only a few feet in front of the player, particularly from a franchise as profitable as Pokémon is, and where areas don't look like they were made in an afternoon and they called it a day. And honestly, even from a gameplay perspective, the game isn't perfect. It functions, but that's about it.
Can the game be enjoyable? Absolutely. But it feels like they're shooting for a 7/10 game rather than the 9/10 or 10/10 games they used to go for. And as a long time Pokémon fan, that is a shame, and it's especially a shame to see so many people just... accepting it rather than trying to get something better.
And sure, one can always play another game. Other games will always be there. But the Pokémon experience is a unique one. Sure, other similar experiences are out there. But even in a 1-on-1 recreation with everything except the Pokémon themselves... people have grown attached to the Pokémon and the world around it. People want to play Pokémon. And honestly, that's why I personally complain about it so much. I love the series, and it kind of hurts to see it being treated in such a way and people accepting it everywhere.
I'm glad people can enjoy it, absolutely, but I just think the series deserves so, SO much better.
I don't get the complaints about the video. The theme is pokemon's graphic quality. They already said all that needed to be said about gameplay. In fact, they didn't need to have talked about it at all, since it has nothing to do with the video. If you wish to see people praise the game or rate it as an overall package, read or watch a review. They expanded upon many points of concern regarding its visual performance, between the unimpressive asset quality and certain issues like asset pop-in, which is a rather jarring aspect that could've been greatly mitigated with something like a fade-in animation. Pokemon Arceus is not the greatest game ever made, there are many shortcomings to Gamefreak's first open-world game. Zelda had a much better overall package in its first open-world entry on the same console. Of course, it is the first time pokemon changed up the formula that had already gotten stale since 15 years ago. However, that doesn't excuse the game from any criticism, especially since this is the greatest media franchise in terms of revenue. This will be many children's first pokemon game, and they really deserve a better experience.
Makes me wonder how it would perform on a switch emulator on a gaming PC in comparison hmmm 🧐🤔
It's not offensively bad but what makes it feel so inexcusable is that the series makes so much money. They could easily afford to put a bit more of that money into the development of their games to get them up to standard.
@Yosher Ultimately, Pokémon is a series that is targeted primarily at children.
An article about Pokemon graphics. How novel.
The pop in is absolutely horrendous. Games in the 90s had less of it. If Breath of The Wild exist, which also looks arguably better than this, then there is no excuse other than GameFreak being lazy. A game from 5 years ago with better shadows, physics and fooliage doing pop in so much better...embarassing.
All I'm gonna say is that I still enjoy N64 games, that should tell you how I feel about graphics in a game.
Yeah the graphics engine needs some work for the next game BUT the gameplay is so addictive! It's my first Pokémon game and i love it!
The cycle continues. It's so bizarre to me that the people who want to heap praise on games constantly demand that the people who criticize them should shut up. I ask those people to consider what they aim to achieve when they do this; it's absolutely the definition of toxic positivity. Products thrive off of praise and criticism. If everything isn't perfect, it needs to be addressed so the devs can recognize it and improve the quality next time. I just don't get it, are you all afraid if there's too much criticism, the Pokemon Company will just shut down production because people are too mean?
It’s fair enough to criticise, although I do think it’s gone out of proportion. Honestly, the graphics haven’t bothered me one iota and if it hadn’t been highlighted so much online I doubt I’d have thought anything of it.
@CharlieGirl Even so, they know they have a large fanbase that are not children. And even if all their fans were children, they, too, like looking at nice graphics and enjoying good gameplay, and will grow to be able to tell nice graphics and good gameplay from.. well, bad graphics and poor gameplay.
This feels like giving a poorly grilled sandwich to a kid while all the adults in the house get one that's super fancy and much tastier. Don't feed your kid a poorly grilled untasty sandwich.
Yeah it does look pretty naff. As much pop in as GTA SA on PS2, which is mental
@Brydontk "the illusion is shattered."
Another fine analysis from digital foundry, telling me what I knew from just turning the game on and looking with my eyes, well done.
Do the graphics get in the way of the gameplay?
If yes, then they need to be fixed and I understand the complaints.
If no, is it really a major problem?
If you want a graphically pleasing Pokémon game go play New Pokémon Snap.
this game is definitely the best thing Pokémon had in over 10 years. But the complaints about the graphics are valid, the game still looks like it was made for the Wii or PS2, running at 30 FPS with no AA, lol.
I have an impression that they tried to make the graphics mimic some sort of painting style (maybe like oil painting), but I don't think they got the intended result.
Seems like GameFreak is still learning how to work on screens larger than 5 inches, but considering that the game is actually good, I'll give it a pass, unlike Sword and Shield.
I’ve been playing exclusively in handheld and most of those issues don’t bother me/aren’t noticeable to me. The only one that kills me is the pop-in when riding a mount. It’s super distracting and totally breaks immersion.
@Astral-Grain Yep, sick burn. I will say, I meant to say *immersion, so it's now corrected.
tbh, i have been under the impression Pokemon games receive a special treatment from nintendolife and prolly other sites as well.
the arceus review barely touched the graphics department, just mentioned a few 'technical stumbles'.
yesterdays rune factory 5 hands-on said it plainly: the game looks underwhelming.
ofc its up to the reviewers discretion, but imo a word like underwhelming isn't allowed in a pokemon review, lmao
It's really telling how much we feel the need to say "this looks iffy sometimes , BUT the gameplay is great and we support the franchise" to avoid coming across as strictly hating. The franchise can withstand the commentary on its graphics coming up short.
What I really don't understand is the all or nothing approach where "Is this game good? Then stop complaining, it's selling well." We don't tend to approach movie, book, or art critiques in this way, and we've also argued that videogames share the same merits as these other forms of culture/media.
@Brydontk I don't mean to poke fun or be malicious, but this isn't the Matrix, it's a Pokemon game you play on a screen.
The water tilesets are not pretty to look at, fair. But it's still a blast to play. Graphics don't take away from that.
@Astral-Grain I appreciate the clarification that you weren't being malicious. But note that in my first comment, it wasn't just about graphics not being pretty. It actually directly interfered with my gameplay. That's a problem. And after you notice a flaw, you start noticing others. That's all I meant
Complaints are fair. Or I guess to be more adult about it, the criticisms are fair.
But at the end of the day, I think everyone has their line in the sand for what is or isn't a deal breaker. Having been disappointed by the last couple of games, I was hesitant to get PLA. It was on sale and couldn't pass up the deal. Plus the word of mouth had been overwhelmingly positive. So I took the plunge. It's a really fun game. A real breath of fresh air for the franchise. The graphics could definitely be better. But they aren't that bad or detracting enough to make the game unenjoyable
@Yorumi
me neither .
a game review imo, should also be a means of feedback or constructive critisizm to the developer, whats good and what they should improve. There is nothing wrong in saying, a game is absolutely amazing gameplaywise but better graphics would have made it more easy on the eyes. and hey, maybe the next game will reach wii u standard!
@Rika_Yoshitake the graphics and performance analysis channel is analyzing the graphics and performance?! have them hung!
Of course they're fair for people that it bothers. For anyone else, it's fair not to mind. I know that concept is wild but it's true.
@Brydontk I have. Wisps only appear at night and they're visible from pretty far distances, as I have seen with my own eyes.
I haven't seen it reported anywhere that the Wisps are invisible until you're standing on top of them or anything else you described about the Wisps, so I have to conclude your experience was a rarity, if not a complete misunderstanding of when they appear, which is told to you in the game.
I appreciate you and others sharing your experiences, that's how people learn about the good and bad in games, but please don't be alarmed if others find comments describing low quality water texture tiles as "shattering the illusion" a bit over dramatic.
In my second comment, I addressed it was at night in the snowy area, I had over 100 wisps so I was well aware of how wisp hunting worked. Check out BLD's comment, they experienced the same thing. Not to mention, I said it was low quality water texture AND my previous experience with the wisps that led to "shattering the immersion". You're being terribly dismissive just because you like a game.
EDIT: And after re-reading it, I said "when it actively gets in your way, the immersion is shattered". So I wasn't even referring to the water when I said that quote that tickled you so much.
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@BLD They do have a lot of custom animations for this game that they didn't have before. Obviously they didn't do everything from scratch for this game, that would be impossible to do in the time window they have, but as I mentioned, GameFreak does have different areas of focus compared to Monolith Soft. Different companies focusing on different things, pretty much.
Do people think that Monolith Soft is full of competent developers and GF full of incompetent ones? That's a ludicrous notion. It's possible that their legacy infrastructure slows them down, they were never a big console game company before this game. At the same time, GF is also basically learning how to even put together an open world game for the first time, while also having a much tighter deadline. It really is apples and oranges.
I think what it boils down to is, would I want to wait for another year of two for this game to be slightly more polished? No, I wouldn't. It's really good enough as it is. I don't think its Metacritic score would be 95 with a little more work. For what it is, this is as good as it gets. The next game will rework certain things that maybe didn't work out, and will be even better.
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I completely agree that the graphics are not up to par when compared to many of the Switch's other big games. This does not mean that the game is terrible. I find it to be much more engaging than the last several mainline games, and I think this could be an interesting new direction for the series as a whole. I would love to see a more traditional Pokemon game with gyms and more traditional trainer battles made with these mechanics and a large open world. That being said, I don't understand why the biggest media franchise on the planet can't attract the talent necessary to make a more polished final project. Are they rushing to get these games out and therefore putting out something that is not as polished as it should be? Is the technical talent just not there? There must be tons of talented developers eager to work on a Pokemon game - what is stopping Game Freak from hiring them?
Yes they are. Game is fun, but ugly. That doesn't mean the game is bad. Far from it! But ugh, it looks distractingly bad.
Character/Pokemon models and the moves in battle are fine, but the friggin' Pokemon Company can well afford to have a world that doesn't look like ass.
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@Troll_Decimator Your take on @Yorumi's comments are so weird to me. Nothing about what they're saying comes across as "whining" or "crying" or anything that makes them seem remotely upset about PLA. They seem pretty measured in their responses. Is this how criticism looks to you? Like we're all babies pounding our chubby fists on the floor because we didn't get our way?
TBH with the few hours I have had with the game (Been playing it in docked mode) the graphics aren't as bad as I thought they would be. Sure there is jank but it isn't that bad.
My issue is with the frame rate. I know that this can be fixed in Portable mode but I play my switch 99% of the time docked anyway.
But with the changes they have done with the game I am fine with the graphics as this is a great step as a sideline game. This is how I wanted an open-world (even though it is really more closed off open world) and I hope they expand on this but I would still like the main line games to play the same way (as in random encounters and gyms).
I don’t have an issue with the graphics. The pop in and draw distance though…
@Brydontk I've been reading Yorumi's comments since long before PLA was even announced and it's always been the same condescending and ungrateful attitude towards GameFreak, this is not exclusive to the comments on this thread. I'm just bored of reading the same stuff over and over at this point. Why can't people simply accept that GameFreak does not have the experience and/or resources to compete with the best open world games? You think your complaints are somehow going to change this fact?
Why do you think Microsoft bought Bethesda instead of simply creating a new studio themselves? The latter is far cheaper. As I said, knowledge does not grow on trees, nor a handheld studio can suddenly become an AAA open world game studio in a couple years. You can either accept this fact or continue not understanding game development and/or tech in general and being disappointed every time as a result. Your choice.
@ManInTheChair That’s a joke, right?
I hate when people with no clue how computer architecture work talk about "graphics". It's a zero sum game, and in this game it's pretty freaking clear what happened.
Notice how it takes about half a second to switch to combat or run away? There. That's the whole reason. That's why graphics are they way they are. They are managing the incredibly limited resources so that Pokémon battle models and battle animations are always in working RAM and never need to be retrieved from the SDD. They obviously made that the core game design goal early on (think about how much worse this game would be if it took even a few seconds longer), and everything else was built around this limitation. It's why the pop-in is so bad; normally, map assists would get priority.
You don't need to like it, but the question "are the graphics good enough" is stupid beyond understanding. The question is if the trade off was worth it. Would the game be more fun with much longer battle load times but less pop-in and higher resolution textures?
I don’t own Arceus yet, but I did play my friend’s copy for an hour or so.
From a technical standpoint, I only have two problems with it. Big ones nonetheless, but only two.
1. The pop-in is really, REALLY bad. I’m currently playing Shin Megami Tensei V. It has pretty bad pop-in and is my main issue with its presentation; it’s a beautiful game otherwise. But it feels like Arceus has worse pop-in than SMT V, despite using graphical settings and options that should make it easier to render consistent object display.
SMT V is a far more ambitious game than Arceus visually, using UE4 to the limits of what the engine can do on the Switch’s hardware. The texture detail and geometric complexity is pushing limits on Switch for an RPG. Arceus, by comparison, is using an engine that was designed from the ground up for the Wii U and was heavily modified to run natively on the Switch. I was expecting less pop-in than SMT V. Yet Arceus has more pop in at shorter distances.
2. LOD is a big issue. You pretty much have to be right on top of something to see the higher resolution baked textures. Shadows suffer really bad from the poor distance LOD.
Ultimately though, I think the game’s visual presentation is acceptable for a Pokemon game. I think a lot of the issues is the Switch’s hardware itself, especially its very slow and limited amount of RAM. A lot of games hit memory bottlenecks on Switch.
Looking back, I think Nintendo would have been better served going with 6 gigs of higher frequency game memory and 1 gig of slow memory for the OS. 4 gigs isn’t enough, especially when a gig of that is reserved for the OS.
It does look like a student project. But with the number of games they sell I don't think they care at all. I think all their effort goes into getting the next one out of the door. And are people buying and enjoying the games, so it's hard to argue with.
@HeadPirate
Honestly I think they should have went for higher LOD and minimized pop-in, even if it resorted to reading directly from the flash memory and increased the load burden. The game does a semi transition to a battle scenario. They could have incorporated a simple flourish to mask the load times for the Pokémon models and high detail textures. This would have allowed them to keep RAM filled with environmental objects and minimize pop-in.
Ultimately, I blame Nintendo’s hardware design more so than GameFreak. The Switch needed more RAM. They should have ate the cost with higher frequency memory and giving it 6 gigs of game memory. 3 gigs really limits what one can do with the Switch. Most developers can’t even really hit the limits of what the Tegra X1 offers because they are constantly hitting memory bottlenecks.
This game's story, quality of life features, and gameplay more than make up for the subpar graphics. Surprised no mention of the rapid fast load times and great menu UI in the review. Also equally surprising was the non mention of Pokemon in the distance only running at 5FPS.
@Brydontk You can't go back end edit multiple comments and then be upset others didn't go back each time and notice what you changed. You said what you said, and I commented on what you said originally.
BLD just said "this happened to me too" and the rest of their comments were not only critical to the game, but also dismissive to anyone else who dared to disagree, despite playing the exact same game. I'm sorry it happened to you and I'm sorry it led you to think negatively about the game from there on.
@Yorumi Constructive comments consist of people sharing things they experienced first-hand, such as playing the game and enjoying it or not enjoying it.
Unconstructive comments consist of speaking about things they haven't experienced first-hand, such as how a developer should have done better because they make lots of money or how a game that isn't even comparable to the mechanics of Pokemon performs better on the Switch.
I believe many of your comments fall under the latter.
To the people who keep going with the highest grossing franchise refrain and keep focusing on Game Freak:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/hb1ci8/faq_what_is_the_pok%C3%A9mon_company_how_everything/
Quoting the two most important parts of it:
"As you maybe know, Nintendo has been handling publishing for Pokémon games since the beginning. But, since the 2000s, all Pokémon games are co-published by Nintendo and TPC together. A publisher work with production, funding, distribution, localization, QA, supervision and many different aspects, along in most of the times being the contractor for the development company. TPC is responsible for all of that except for distribution, which is solely handled by Nintendo, while marketing of all products is handled by TPC, to the point where Pokémon gets its own events, like Pokémon press conferences or frequent solo videos done by TPC."
And now about Game Freak themselves:
"Game Freak is responsible for development of the mainline series. So unlike what some fans in the internet think, they aren't responsible for budget, funding or anything related to this because they aren't the publisher of any Pokémon project. Like Creatures and Nintendo or any company in the industry, they only get revenue for the projects they are involved and in the position they are (so in GF case, a developer)."
I got this from straight positing to google who makes the financial decisions between the 4 companies: TPC, Nintendo, GF or Creatures.
They have the capital to spend on getting help from other studios with more experience. You can't tell me that they blew through the billions they made off of Pokemon Go(and millions even now) even if they had to share it with Niantic and Nintendo. They could have easily expanded to hire more experienced devs and such. Gamefreak reminds me of Konami without the crap treatment of employees. Just coasting on their laurels exerting minimal effort because they know they sit on the most valuable IP on the planet. I mean I've already accepted how they are now. Just disappointed is all. That being said, I'll definitely give the game a go. Ill just keep expectations low as usual.
@Astral-Grain Literally the only thing I edited about that comment was the word "illusion" to "immersion" =/ It's not on me that you only honed in on that part. I'll give you this, my comment would be humorously dramatic to me as well if I just ended my comment with the lone sentence, "The illusion is shattered". But nah fam, "The illusion is shattered" was the second part of a sentence. And I don't think negatively of the game. Read my original comment again, it's the most I've enjoyed a Pokemon game in a decade but I do think negatively of the graphics and performance. People can criticize a game AND enjoy it at the same time.
@Travisemo007
It’s not, but other developers have made much more visually impressive games on the Switch’s limited hardware.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Shin Megami Tensei V come to mind. I will admit that SMT V runs like ass sometimes, but I’m glad they went for so many visual flourishes and so much environmental detail.
@Troll_Decimator "Complaints" absolutely can change that fact. I said it in a previous comment: Products thrive off of praise and criticism. If something isn't perfect, you should speak up on it. If there's only praise, then they'll assume everything is just fine as is and keep things exactly the same, the same they have been doing for the past decade. We don't owe corporations, they live and die by our dollar. Having conversations like this leads news/review sites like Kotaku and NintendoLife to create articles about the controversy which is something corporations do pay attention to. They want our money so it is in their best interest to be aware of what detractors say so they can get more money. Remember when there were the news that Gamefreak devs were upset about the Sword and Shield criticism? And then the very next game was Arceus.
@Brydontk I want to point out the humor in myself for engaging with you as if what we're talking about actually matters.
I also want to point out the humor in yourself for doing the same.
I hope you have a nice day and I wish you well
The game is a complete blast but the graphics do hurt it from time to time. it is mostly the pop in stuff that hurts it based on the catch system.
If you're playing from a casual viewpoint the game is almost perfect but if you want to do everything the game offers sometimes just seeing where a pokemon is or the opposite you can see the pokemon but cant see the grass to hide in in order to sneak up close for pokedex entries.
Overall i'm having fun like i did with the DLC for Sword/Shield as the main game was boring.
It feels like Pokemon has reached the 360/ps3 era of graphics.
It's the only negative of this game.
the worst is going into a cave and seeing a white outline around your trainer.
The verdict? People think the art style is becoming dated. Has nothing to do with hardware limitations.
@Astral-Grain You're right, arguing with a rando on the internet doesn't really matter. But for your personal life, your friends and family and etc, I hope you know speaking politely doesn't mean you don't come off as extremely condescending. Have a nice day as well.
@Yorumi Your expertise is playing video games and deciding if you enjoy them or not.
Your expertise, and I apologize for assuming, is not developing AAA video games.
When you speak about what you know, you add value to a discussion. When you speak about what you don't know, you subtract value from a discussion.
@Brydontk There's a difference between constructive criticism and nihilistic, zero respect whining. Complaining ad nauseam, calling devs useless and lazy, and demanding that GameFreak expands their staff to 2-3x the amount is not constructive criticism, it is self entitlement. Do you think GameFreak themselves think this game is the second coming of Jesus visually? Of course not. They know what they can realistically work on given their time allowance.
Look, I would seriously understand the complaints if the game was shown in "E3 settings" and it looked phenomenal, only to come out and look like trash, but everyone knew how this game looks for months. In fact, it looks better than some footage shown prelaunch. So, if you bought it, you knew what you were getting into, especially in this day and age of YouTube. No excuses.
For me the game looks beautiful at times. All the time? No, but neither does Breath of the Wild, or any other open world Switch game for the matter. Switch has poor hardware for 2022 standards, no matter how much you work on a game, the Tegra won't become a 3080RTX. Complaints are really blown way beyond proportion online. GameFreak focused on the right things judging by any metric. Sales, Twitch viewability, reviews, including user reviews. Some people think if a game is not perfect in every regard, it is an outrage, but is it, or is it just self entitlement and a niche opinion that nobody really cares about?
@Yorumi Nope, I've never seen you do anything but whine and moan on anything related to GameFreak, on top of thinking you know more than you do about the topic in general. Don't get me wrong, it's fine not liking something, but as mentioned above, constructive criticism and nihilistic "critique" are miles apart. Your mindset is such that you will never be satisfied, realistically speaking. Just stating facts.
@Yorumi You must be confusing me with someone else.
When you make statements that are based on your opinion, it's easy to think others are addressing you personally. They're just addressing your opinion, which you are then taking a personal insult. It isn't. Didn't you just say to @CharlieGirl not to take things personally? You gave some good advice, but it would be better advice if you demonstrated it yourself.
Ironically, calling me elitist, dismissive, and condescending is unmistakably a comment designed to be taken personally. I don't though. Not to spite you or anything like that. Because I understand your points and frustrations and I don't blame you for saying what you do. Sometimes good advice comes from those you think are against you. I am not against you.
As I've said before, the graphics in strict terms is not pretty, but the presentation, art style and attention to detail make up for it. This is easily the most beautiful Pokemon game I've ever played, and when I take screenshots, I honestly find it a favorable comparison to the beauty of BOTW's presentation.
Honestly, compare Legends' trees to BOTW's trees, in terms of texture quality, and you really don't see a huge difference. Legends' presentation quality really isn't too far behind BOTW, and the clear artistic and design cues it took from BOTW are all for the better.
If they told me this was a game on the wii, i would believe it.
But the die hard pokemon fans are easy to satisfye, give them a bunch of pokemons and they're all happy... I do like the game, but the graphics are really under par
Graphics aside, if there are performance issues I'm sure they will be fixed with updates.
I do agree we get too hung up with how a game looks versus how it plays and the feelings it emotes. We are not talking about a buggy mess like GTA or Cyberpunk.
@Yorumi I'm not purporting or supporting that GF is some struggling indie-dev. They aren't, but that doesn't change that TPC is the one who holds the cards when it comes to budgets for anything done with the franchise. They are the equivalent of the franchise's manager.
As for why they don't give Game Freak more budget: that's been discussed many times, and many people just refuse to listen: Most of Pokemon's money is not made by the games.
As of late 2019, out of the ~$92 Billion that Pokemon has made over it's life, ~$60 billion of that has come from merchandising.
Meaning most of their money comes from the licenses of the franchise in things like the TCG, toys, plushes, and other assorted media and consumer products. The games overall have only netted them around $16-17 billion over the franchise's life. Considering the magnitude on which billions exist, that is not an insubstantial difference.
So the obvious answer for why TPC, the ones who manage where the money goes for the franchise's continued existence, it's because the games simply aren't the biggest deal financially, even though for people like you and me, who are more interested in the games than other parts of the franchise, it is the biggest deal and our main source of interaction with it.
The only way the games are going to be granted more budget is if they keep making bigger an bigger numbers installment over installment. Especially in Game Freak's case. And as the franchises history has shown, Sword and Shield are the only games thus far to reach the 23 million lifetime sales mark since Gold and Silver. So we can only hope TPC sees the grand response to PLA and decides to give GF a bigger budget to work with.
I've been calling out the graphics since it's announcement. Though of course expecting it not to be successful simply because it looks like it's being produced through a liquify filter in Photoshop doesn't mean that it wouldn't be a top selling game.
Still people have a right to harp on the graphics. And with a company as big as Gamefreak, they have all the resources to do so. I'm just tired of how all these great Nintendo games perform so poorly on the system (aside from maybe the games made from the main Mario studios)
@ManInTheChair
Look at the two games side to side. Pokémon is nowhere close to botw.
@TheRedComet
Nope. This isn't a "more ram" issue. It's an architecture issue involving the speed at which data can move from RAM to cache to CPU, and a driver issue because standard LRU and LFU models don't work in this usage case. The Xbox would solve this problem by offloading tasks to the GPU and co-processors which allows it to move data quicker. The extra RAM doesn't help (the fact that the RAM is much faster helps though)
Again, it's zero sum. Should the switch have GDDR6 memory, a GPU and off chip co-processers? Sure, but then it's not portable any more. The power draw to keep that running would make battery power unviable. Should it add a bit more weight and cut battery life to have a CPU and RAM at a higher clock speed? Sure, but then it runs hot and you need to add to the form factor. Should they use space age materials to heatsink without increased form factor? Sure, but then the cost goes up.
That's my point. It's not a matter of just jamming everything you can into the system. Everything you add forces you to take something else away.
@Yorumi If you think I have "attacked" you in any fashion, I must then question if your perceptions are actually reliable or if they are driven by your emotions. Nothing I have said to you is with malicious intent.
Similarly, if you made good constructive points that weren't based on your opinion and unverifiable theories about the game's development, you wouldn't need to write frequent long-winded responses or claim you're a programmer at a gaming company to justify or validate your points, you would just state them simply and your job would be done.
If a developer doesn't have any respect in the product they put out, then I don't have any desire to play it. People only buy games based on brand, they don't look at reviews, they don't read opinions, they just see a big name on the box and buy it and will usually be happy with what they get.
This is why I will always support indies and wish nothing best for them. Game freak needs to start releasing a few flops.
Of course it's fair to criticize it look at dying light 2 getting alot of flack for not doing 60fps on the series S Asif it's the end of the world
@Yorumi I was under the impression this is the comments section of a video game article and not a veteran debate club.
Don't I look like a fool.
@Yorumi @Astral-Grain I love you. Wanna play some Diablo 3?
@Yorumi well.he is the face of the company as far as characters go. Them taking it seriously is a given.
Graphics are whatever tbh. I just wish games would play better docked whether that be upscaling or whtever the tech is. Mario golf lags when compared to handheld mode, and (to me at least) most games look crisper in handheld. I’m complaining too much, the switch is dope as ***** regardless.
@Nin10doh Hey I love you too. Unfortunately I deleted the game and don't have any more space on my SD card.
All the same, I appreciate the invite.
@Yorumi You may feel trolled, and I can attempt to assure you that's not my intention.
But would you believe me, given all that you've said about me? Why continue addressing an "elitist, dismissive, and condescending" person you describe me to be?
I have theories on why you continue, but I keep my theories to myself because I know they are irrelevant. I believe you should do the same.
@Yorumi At least we do agree on one thing. Legends is a very good game. I just can't agree the graphics are as bad as some people make them out to be. Like, people are praising Witcher 3 which looks like an absolute blurry mess on Switch, and of course it's impressive that it even runs on the dang thing, but how do you go from that to bashing PLA to no end for its graphics? It just doesn't make any sense. The double standards and mental gymnastics applied to make GF seem like a terrible developer are astounding. This is the best looking game they have ever made. Is it on par with the very best on Switch? No, but when were GameFreak games graphical powerhouses? Never. Why should this change now? Cutting edge tech is not their focus and will never be. As I said, different developers, different strengths and weaknesses.
@JaneBear I almost always play Arceus docked to my LG C1, which has all the motion smoothening/clarity/black frame insertion turned up to max. Arceus looks great that way. It looks like it's running at 60fps the vast majority of the time. I love it. Same story with Breath of the Wild and almost any game that can run at 30fps with good frame pacing.
I would totally love it if Arceus ran at 120fps or at least 60fps, but it's really fun and looks decent the way it is. If they adjust anything I hope they just get it even closer to locked at 30fps, like they did with Breath of the Wild. Being locked at 30 with perfect frame pacing allows my TV to greatly improve clarity with motion smoothening, thus making the game look as if it's running at 60fps. I'm excited to watch this DF video later!
@CharlieGirl agree my kids bought pokemon diamond with their pocket money. they got pokemon snap at christmas. They love pokemon they love the games. They seen the adverts for this and are like wow. Plus look at all the indi titles that have been mega success they aint pushing the graphics
There's no denying the game could of been better in the graphics department. Performance when docked as well. BUT the game is decent fun. For me, that's all that matters.
Meh, I think it looks perfectly fine 🤷♂️ I’m enjoying it 100%. The amount of people acting like this is the only recent game developed with pop-in issues cracks me up 😂
Basically
Performance
Docked: Very minor hit to 28-29 if you screw around with the camera a lot or move briefly behind a tree, but otherwise maintains 30 for vast majority of game during regular gameplay
Portable: Stays 30 regardless
Resolution:
1080-900 on dock
720 on handheld
Environment details
-poor draw distance compared to Xenoblade/BoTW
Weird that when they brought up XB2 comparison they conveniently left out that XB2 looks like crap in handheld mode while Legends looks stellar in comparisons in handheld.
Personally the visual demerits pales in comparison to the “good” of what Legends delivers so I don’t regret purchase far from it.
They could certainly do better and I'd like to see them do so. However I am still greatly enjoying the game and I've seen NL give far uglier games a pass or even a plus for their visuals.
Game Freak do seem to be at a stage of listening and making changes, even though they are sometimes small. Hopefully they will build on this and invest more time in things like optimisation and visuals. But as PLA stands it's kind of a moot point now. It's out and it's doing well. They could potentially patch it but I doubt they would feel the need too.
@Yorumi The problem isn't that the game is good/bad. It's that the developers cut corners because they knew they could get away with it. The fact that you're willing to excuse it for the sake of the gameplay proves my port. Of course it's good, these guys are talented...which is sad because it could have been even better.
This is a great video, pointing out how fun the game is, and how lacking some aspects of the presentation are. I'm especially grateful to learn how moving the camera up and down causes a slight frame rate dip. When games don't run totally locked at 30fps I find myself automatically adjusting my movement and camera control to try to keep the frame rate stable so my TV can keep the motion smoothening going. In Arceus I try to stay away from trees because the transparencies drop the fps below 30, which ends up looking like going from 60fps down to a juddery 27 or 28fps - it looks bad. Anyways, awesome game (I just wish it could run like Pokken Tournament!)
@Rika_Yoshitake That's literally the whole point of the video though, it's a tech review...
Graphics aside, the game is pretty mediocre. Sure, in terms of Pokemon games it's absolutely great. But compared to the rest of the modern games industry? It still feels disappointingly half baked. The gameplay is repetitive, lackluster story and so on. Great for Pokeon standards, mediocre for industry standards.
When I first played the game I told myself to not expect amazing graphics. But the more I played it, the more impressed I was to be honest.
Yeah, they're not on the level of BoTW and there are clearly some imperfections in model detail. Not to mention how many cutscenes tell of the development time.
But even with all of that, this game clearly uses physically-based rendering that makes lighting look impressive in certain scenes, sometimes looking even similar to BoTW when you look up to the sky, that is enough to change the entire paradigm of the graphics. It's still the best-looking main game to date.
I still expect the graphics engine to be improved completely for the next game though.
Said it before, i'll say it again:
Pretty much everyone i've talked to has less of a problem with the graphics themselves but with a game in the biggest entertainment franchise looking like this.
Sitting on this much cash and influence and still producing game that look like small indie titles inevitably leads to accusation of greed and/or laziness.
The graphics themselves are fine. They are not fine on a game of this magnitude.
I love the game, but the graphical and performance complaints are absolutely fair in my opinion. I've not seen pop in this poor since the PS1, and that's no exaggeration. The frame rate is poor, and you also have things in the distance to drop to ridiculous levels like 2-3fps, but this also happens in the cut scenes which is just in excusable. The amount of times I've gone to speak to Cylene and then all through the cut scene that Abra behind her is 2-3 frames a second is just incredibly jarring.
Not at any point since I started playing this game have I though the graphics are bad. On the contrary, I've been admiring the graphics and the great art direction. I mean the game is supposed to be cartoony, it's not trying to look like God of War.
Just hearing about all the negitive talk about the graphics has made me realise how lucky I am that I'm at the point in my life where I just dont care that much about graphics.
@CharlieGirl
There has been some of your view points I have not agreed with, but this one is absolutely spot it, I wholeheartedly agree, very well said
The Game is beautiful, almost as good as BOTW. Graphics should not be an issue for this game.
Even the trees look good, unlike some other pokemon game... /j
@Yosher totally agree with you. I know this is not about graphics but even level design. The levels are empty and caves just tunnels, the world doesn’t feel lived in. Considering Pokémon is the most profiting franchise in the World- 10x more profitable than Final Fantasy and GTA. Look at the polish of these games in comparison. I think seeing other titles on switch from much smaller studios which did a far better job feels like they didn’t want to put more effort in and people who defend it just hurt the franchise because PK has the resources for making a far better game but feels like they can get away with this since kids will always play it. It’s a shame they don’t take into account people who grew up with the franchise. I feel the monster Hunter type off hub world doesn’t suit this game, but that last maybe just me. Anyway- level design, lack of NPCs, animation, meaningless dialogs- this game could have really been far better but not as long as people get satisfied with half baked products.
I feel rather vindicated now at my disapproval of BDSP and SS that people were claiming was people being graphics snobs lol. The issues with those games went far beyond shoddy graphics. Legends is fresh in an entirely different way. It's got a ton of room to improve with sequels mind you, but it's the first time since B2W2 that the series has capture the feeling of exploration and experimentation that made me fall in love with it in the first place.
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