Early Impressions Of Pokémon Scarlet And Violet On Switch 2 Are Very Positive

You cannot fix this game. You can make it run better and have more pixels but that doesn't address the incompetent design decisions oozing from every corner.

Can't wait to finally replay this game as it was meant to

@SpaceboyScreams I was going to say something to this effect. It’s not really “fixed” if the solution is to brute force it with more power a few years after the game launches.

Can't believe that it took them a new, more powerful console to make the game marginally better. It still looks very ugly and lifeless. And all the people who won't get a Switch 2 won't get any of these benefits, which should have been addressed with patches and performance updates, if you ask me.

Hopefully they update this for Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Sword and Shield as well. Both are still rough around the edges.

The frame rate and resolutions were the least of the games issues. They haven’t fixed the game, they put it on a more powerful machine where it will obviously run better.

Plus it still runs terribly on the original console. Nothing is fixed at all.

It's amazing how a steady framerate and more system power can really clean up a game

I don't understand how they weren't able to make such a modest looking game work in the first place.

So many new games on Switch 2 to preview / review, including technical marvels, but we’re stuck with previews about framerate improvements of a pokemon game…..

While it's nice to see the game running smoothly in comparison when playing on Switch and I'm glad this patch exists at all, this should've been how the game ran in the first place or at least much better than it did. They should make one for Legends Arceus, because that game suffers major framerate issues as well.

@SpaceboyScreams
the poor tech art and art direction is also not fixable with frame rate and resolution. It's a miracle that this game even exist... the game looks like it was made by juniors (judging on some of the tech art decisions)

@Friendly I am hoping it is just due to review embargos and not fishing for clickbait. We are starting to see some other reviews. Hopefully tomorrow and Friday will focus on other games.

Oh neat it only 3 years, several dlc, and $450 for a new console for the game to not drop below 20 fps.
It still looks terrible by the way.

For me the main issue with these games was that they weren't fun. Arceus wasn't especially fun to me either. I am open minded to trying a brand new title designed FOR the Switch 2 though. Z-A has me interested for sure, but I know that's more of an in-between release.

You can’t polish a turd, but seemingly you can polish a Turtwig — and this is the result!

There’s something about the world and overall game design that still feels distinctly amateurish, but getting around that world is now at least a fair bit smoother… which is something!

I got salt poisoning reading these comments.

Yet here I am planning to start Pokemon Scarlet on Switch 1 in the somewhat near future. I'll judge for myself whether the game is actually "broken" or if the Internet is making a mountain out of a molehill like it tends to do. I'm sure the visuals will be somewhat rough at times, but these rank low on my enjoyment scale compared to other elements like plot and gameplay. Glad the upgrade is free for when I do nab a future Switch 2.

FWIW, I absolutely enjoyed my time with Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Yeah, it did have a few issues with pop-in and distance drawing in some instances - particularly when flying - but it's the most fun I've had with a Pokemon game since Ultra Sun. Between the refreshing mechanics, being set in Sinnoh's past (It's my favorite Pokemon region), and having what felt like more organic Pokemon encounters, I can hands down recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the series.

Some of that pop-in is really noticeable. It would be nice to get another update for that, but this at least looks like enough to finally get me in on the DLC. Hopefully they put more effort into environmental detail for their future games, though ZA's not making me too optimistic there.

Yay! I loved this game. Im kinda glad I didn’t get around to playing the DLC now - though I may just go back and play this from the beginning.

@iLikeUrAttitude it's at a pretty consistent 60FPS, give up the saltiness.

Like they fix the performance massively above what you folk expected, and yet you still have to try and act like its running at 25 FPS or something.

This game looks significantly worse, even now, than Xenoblade X on Wii U. That was 10 years ago, on a much less powerful hardware.

I get that people were and are frustrated with this game (or perhaps the series as a whole). As for my 2 cents, the ship has sailed, left port and unfortunately didn't make it the journey. Maybe one day I'll try again but there are other games that get my.attention. Cant wait to play Botw and Totk at hopefully a stable performance as that was a big gripe for me.

I'm actually excited to replay this on Switch 2 now. I dropped the game after the DLCs and had no plans on replaying it but this upgrade is giving me a reason to do so

Requiring an entirely new console to make the game playable isn't "fixing" the performance. The original port is still garbage, it's just finally running good on a different platform altogether.
The visuals still look terrible since the game has little to no art direction was obviously very rushed.

This isn't "saltiness" it's blunt criticism, something that's rare here. The game released in an unacceptable state and it took this long for it to be playable through legal means.

This is like night and day. Is it high-tech like PS5/PC/Xbox and all that? No. But the difference between NS1 and 2 is honestly huge. Shows how much NS1 actually held the game back lol.

I enjoyed Pokémon Scarlet and still play it today. With that being said, I don't disagree GF and TPC should have done a better job with the game originally.

However, my take from some of the regulars on this site is that no matter what they did to improve this game, some are just not going to be on board with it. Which is fine. People are ultimately entitled to their opinions and feelings.

@Notsoavid Same! Main game was a ton of fun but I haven’t gotten around to the DLC. I’d forgotten how enjoyable Pokemon games could be.

Nice. They are the best pokémon games ever. The only thing not so good are the "real time" raids.

Very excited for this update as I still play regularly. I wonder if the Switch 2 will become the standard for VGC but everyone has it on Switch 1 already so probably not.

If it runs smoother I'm gonna dive back in and might even get the DLC

@iLikeUrAttitude The game was playable to begin with tbh, performance hitches aren't good but a game dropping below 20 every now and again does not make it unplayable.

It's nice that it will be smooth and consistent on Switch 2, but in a game like Pokemon where the gameplay doesn't revolve around twitch reflexes like say Bayonetta 3 where its frame drops can mess with the gameplay. It's not going to make the difference between it being playable or unplayable.

@Dr_Lugae

It was unplayable, not only did the game rarely reach 30fps it was also riddled with glitches

Your standards are just low along with most pokemon fans and its no wonder the game sold so well

Resolution actually seems to be dynamic with a common number being 1080p on the open-world, and maybe higher on moments like Tera Raid Battles, but with a very effective anti-aliasing method. Besides framerate, the biggest change stems on loading times. In fact, if online is cross-gen we could be seeing an advantage with Switch 2 players, it seems at least considering how quick it took to activate Terastalization.
Not everything's optimized though, and it seems the incredibly quick loading times also stem from the fact textures and assets look the same as before. The worst fiasco though, is that the shadow draw distances are still as bafflingly low as before, and the higher resolution only makes it more noticeable. That issue is definitely a drawback on the game's settings and needs to be patched too.
Still, it gives a positive outlook on what a Switch 2 only Pokémon RPG could look, and what Game Freak could achieve on Gen 10.

@SpaceboyScreams
If you don't like it, don't play it. You don't need to ruin it for the people that do.

It does make a bigger difference than i expected but performance updates sadly do not fix lazy art direction and animation.

Unpopular opinion here. If the performance issues and bugs/glitches were fixed then this could be easily be seen as one of the best Pokémon games.