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In Which I Ramble About Pokémon SwSh for Over 3,000 Words
6 years ago
Finished the main story of Pokémon Sword today! Wanted a place to dump my thoughts out, and figured this was the best place!
HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, GO AWAY.
INTRO
This is just a bunch of random thoughts I had while playing Pokémon Sword. Spoilers abound!
I went into it a bit skeptical, but a bit hopeful. The prior two generations did not impress me, to say the least, and pretty much made me swear off of buying more pokémon mainline games in the future. But when SwSh was announced for Switch, a full-blown console instead of a handheld, I decided to give it one last chance to see what they could do to "save" the series for me.
I'll address the copperajah in the room first. I do not care about the national dex "controversy." It's mainly due to my playstyle when it comes to playing a new pokémon game. I catch what's along the way of my play-through, with an emphasis on what is new vs. what is old. (Note that this means that if I didn't happen to use a pokémon in a previous generation, they tend to be given favor too). And unless the pokémon game really grips me (spoiler alert: this one didn't), I play through the game, some of the post-game, then I'm done. As such, the fact that not literally every pokémon ever is around is a complete non-factor for me. I can empathize with those who are missing out on the opportunity to play with their favorites in the latest generation, but for me, personally, it's a complete non-factor in my judgment of this game.
As a secondary note, I'm not going to speculate why things are the way they are. Short development period due to forced release schedule? Lazy developers? Too much executive meddling? Not things I'm going to talk about. I find all that stuff completely speculative, and people will believe what they want to believe in order to validate their opinion of the day. We're only dealing with what we can get our hands on here, i.e. the game itself.
GAMEPLAY AND DYNAMAXING
The gameplay is... pokémon. With the gimmick of this generation being Dynamax/Gigantamax. I will say that of the three we've been presented with so far (Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and now Dynamax), I feel that this one was the best of the bunch. The first one just feels way too much like digimon to me (you and your partner through the Power of Friendship work together, and using a special device, you make them evolve temporarily into a more powerful thing). Z-Moves were once-per-combat and generally dull. I feel Dynamax captures the best of both worlds of what they were going for. Strategically, it's basically Pokémon "X-Factor." Three turns to use super moves with more HP as well. A nice game of footsies in pokémon is a welcome bit of strategy, vs "who will just have a bigger 'mon for the rest of combat" or "who uses their one-shot rocket launcher first."
I feel like the gimmick is much better-integrated into the story as well. Galar's history is shaped by the concept of dynamaxing. It ties into the actual story of the game, the towns and gyms/stadiums are built around the Power Spots because they facilitate dynamaxing, etc. So, props to this generation's gimmick, as I feel it's a good one. (Also important note: "Gimmick" is not an evil word automatically. A gimmick is just a primary selling point for something, essentially, and usually unique to the thing being sold.)
Outside of dynamaxing, however? It's the same turn-based combat that, as someone who got Red when it was new, is pretty old hat now. Take away dynamaxing (which the game does save for particular battles) and you have, with little variation, the exact same core gameplay / battle system that's really showing its age. Despite the leap to a new console, we still have turn-based combat that is very easy to manipulate and make the game braindead simple. Not once did I feel like I was going to even come close to losing a battle, until the end when I was skipping every non-required encounter, and where the final battle (the only time you face a 6 pokémon team) actually proved some challenge... that could be tanked easily enough. Yes, I could self-impose rules like "no items" etc., but I think it's time the game does that. Provide a "hard mode" where trainers use more pokémon, or use apparently-smarter AI that the Battle Towers employ. Do something to make the gameplay engaging from a strictly-mechanics standpoint!
I love the wild encounter system. Namely: No randomness. Even tall grass encounters are basically avoidable 100%. Being able to voluntarily enter encounters is 10,000% more bearable and lets me explore a lot more (more on that later though). I'm so glad they brought this over from the Let's Go games. (Shame they didn't bring the following system).
The Wild Area, however, is dampened by said encounters working the same way everywhere. It is a nice break from tradition and a neat addition to the game overall, but there was nothing truly 'wild' about it. Free-range camera and pokémon dens and some watt-shop locations were the only real unique factors (compared to other non-town routes). Neat in concept. needed more fleshing out.
Overall though, the core gameplay is bland. Sadly, Sword/Shield fall back on the same formula. There are... so many ways the core combat could be changed. Yes, it would be a departure from the series, take more time, probably mean even *more* cuts from the pokédex... I wouldn't mind! It would make the gameplay fun again. And, as this a video game, this is one of the most important factors, in my mind, what makes a game good!
MUSIC
On to another thing I think can really make or break a game (that others may not hold as important as I do): The music. Pokémon Black and White dethroned the original games with best overall music in my mind, and I still listen to tracks from that game to this day. Memorable music can make a mediocre game better. And Sword/Shield... Have some entries that qualify! While the wild encounter music and regular trainer battle is alright and easy on the ears, it's nothing memorable to me (the little motif of the main theme in the trainer battle is nice but too deep into the song and not enough of it). The gym battle music is great. Not my favorite gym music of the entire series but very fitting given the theme of being in a big stadium. The variation when the gym leader is on their last pokémon with the crowd chanting is an exquisite touch. (And the return of this music that's more upbeat when you re-fight gym leaders at the end of the game is icing on this cake). Team Yell's theme is solid rock music awesomeness and I was bobbing along with the Team Yell Grunt's animation every time it played. Chairman Rose's battle music is great (though Rose doesn't quite deserve the Epic Choir, it's still a great tune out of context). The music for Eternatus, both before and after you let the dogs out, is also great. The first part needed to be played more (actually "evil" sounding if that makes sense), while the latter is less good, but very heroic and appropriate. (And integrating the dogs' howling with the song is a great touch.)
The non-battle music is hit or miss. Most of it works in the game, and one or two tracks stick out, but I probably won't remember any of them when all's said and done. Good generic pokémon music that's fitting for when you play (which is the goal of backing music by the way! It did its job), but I'm not downloading all four albums plus the secret fifth album like I did with Black/White here. I'll say it's a step ahead of X/Y and Sun/Moon, which has precisely 0 music that I remember. None of it was awful or bad to listen to. There were some, though, that start out good, but then don't keep the same energy going (Oleana battle theme) and just peter out before they get good. (This, by the way, was the issue with like 90% of X/Y's music.)
STORY
That was a lot about music! On to the story. This is another thing I was hoping would be punched up somewhat. The idea that there exists a "Gym Challenge" that only select few trainers can participate in is great. Also, the general atmosphere of everything in Galar centering around this competition (it being their biggest "sport" basically) is super. While I think you and Hop getting randomly sponsored is very plot convenient, I'm okay with that since it's the start of your journey (game-wise).
That's all well and good, but what about the plot of the game? Kinda fell flat for me. For the third time in a row, we're given lore, history, a backstory, something interesting. And for the third time in a row, the game barely scratches the surface of it. If something interesting happens that may disrupt the dull plod through Galar, one of the side characters just goes "don't worry, Player, we'll go handle it. Off-screen!" Most of the game's story is advanced this way: Through other characters describing what they will or have done via talking to you. And then just before your championship bout, "oh yeah I'm evil and going to Darkest Day the land and you're all screwed kthxbye."
Which you then resolve in about 30 minutes of in-game time. Because Hop always knows where to go and -always runs ahead of you to do it first-. This was something that bugged me a lot. Every other character always ran ahead to do the plot-related thing. Sure, you got to do it yourself in actuality, but it was always someone else that ran off, effectively telling you exactly what to do, before you got to do it. It's a very poor way to direct gameplay through story elements and it felt like that you, the player, weren't doing anything.
Overall, the story is the same "you're a new trainer, get 8 badges, defeat the league, stop bad guy, maybe some post-game, the end" formula of a plot. And while the Gym Challenge aspect works really well, from a story perspective it was just going through the motions. Team Yell being not a bad-guy team I liked, and their "gym", while it made no sense that a leader can close down an -entire city-, was a great take on your typical Gym in pokémon: The leader doesn't care, there's no money or upkeep (you fight on essentially a basketball court), and you can't even Dynamax because it's not on a Power Spot. Very memorable, awesome music (taking on the already-great Team Yell battle theme).
The "challenges" prior to gym battles were really just in-universe explanations for the goofy stuff you do prior to reaching a Gym Leader. I liked that! It doesn't -quite- make sense that a full crowd of people are just always milling about a stadium waiting for a challenger to maybe not even qualify for a gym battle, but that's a minor nitpick for what's otherwise a neat in-story explanation. The gym challenges themselves were alright. Just typical Gym fare. The "catch pokémon" one I felt was the most creative.
I wish the tale of the heroes (and the theme that plays when you first see the hero's statue), the Darkest Day, etc. got more screen time. We got some lip service, and then Rose can just... make that day happen again? How? Did he find out it was Eternatus that caused it long ago? I don't think the game confirms -what- caused it way back when. It's just a little buildup with very little payoff. The villains needed a lot more screentime in general, which would've helped with this. Chairman Rose is yet another example of popular media (movies especially) these days not dedicating themselves to having just a pure dag-nasty evil bad guy. I appreciate "the twist" villains and "not overtly bad" people, but it's been done so many times this past decade. And in a pokémon game? It could work (like what if Leon was the bad guy? That'd've been a real "twist bad guy"), but you could see Rose's "turn" from 1,000 miles away, and you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Oleana's character having her angry burst at the end, by the way, was funny but it really wasn't earned. And it turns out she was just a lackey. This is the end of her character development). I would've loved if "Macro Co." folks that you fight at the end ended up being the "bad guy team": All the organizations and sponsors in the region controlled by evil? Sign me up! Sadly, this is just a footnote and doesn't really go anywhere.
In conclusion to the story: Another rote pokémon fare that doesn't justify the jump to a console from a handheld.
SUBPLOT/SIDEQUESTS/ETC.
...And moving on.
Nah I'm kidding. But the game did feel *very* devoid of any deviation from getting you from gym to gym. No real "dungeons" of sorts (caves/mansions/what-have-you). Any non-town was just a route connecting them. Sideplots didn't seem to exist. The post-game "objective" is to "explore Galar to your heart's content." Okay where? I've been everywhere and I don't see any new places to explore. I will admit I haven't looked too hard but it certainly seems like I've been to every major waypoint on the map. I guess I was expecting the world to feel bigger, with the Wild Area inclusion and all, but at the end of the day, it suffers a lot of the FF13 "game of hallways" problem.
(NOTE: I've now played the post-game. I'll put my thoughts about it below, so that post-game spoilers can be their own topic.)
Minigames like the job system? Did it once and forgot about it. This is what happens when you relegate a whole job system to a single menu item on a terminal you can only access from pokémon centers. A terminal that, thanks to you being able to get to your box from anywhere, you really never have to visit. I was excited to hear about it when I saw it online, but in the game? Barely touched, and I have 0 motivation to delve into it.
Camping is this game's pokemonamie-like thing. They didn't re-incorporate petting, which was the literal best thing about Let's Go. Playing with toys is good fun, and seeing your pokémon milling about is neat at first. But the shallowness of the system is revealed pretty quickly, as "speaking" to your pokémon (one or two of them) loops through the same 5-10 scripted lines and it doesn't really matter.
Curry's another thing I basically never did. Thought I would, but honestly I just kept running out of berries. Plus, I had 0 motivation to play with the "Curry Dex" or fill it out in any capacity. Like most of the minigame-esque things in SwSh: Underdeveloped and needed way more time/effort put into it.
Appreciated what character customization you could do. I got rid of my character's vapid wide-eyed stare by giving him sunglasses and a haircut, and his scenes in battles were much-improved overall. (Wish you could that with Hop's utterly-idiotic smile he always has). So this is fine enough to make players unique.
SOME CHARACTER STUFF
Pokémon rivals the past couple generations have been completely boring, existing only as cheerleaders for you and having no personality other than "wow gee willikers I can't wait to be the very best like no-one ever was!" or "guess you curbstomped my team in 3 turns again! Hahaha! You sure are the bestest ever, aren't you rival!" Nonsense like that.
I feel that SwSh... Improved on this a fraction. Hop was completely falling into this stereotype at first. And his constant insistence that you are "his rival" was stupid. But then he lost a fight to Bede and he actually had a reflective moment of "maybe I suck as a trainer." And the game actually lets this linger for a little bit! It doesn't really... go anywhere, but I appreciated Hop not 100% being your cheerleader for the game, and by the end he mellowed out. Don't quite think he deserved to wield the Shield to your Sword, underdeveloped as he was, but at least it was something.
Bede was fun. Like everything else in the game he needed more time, but his plot from being "sassy ass who looks down on everyone" to "dumbstruck at being stripped of his sponsor" to becoming the fairy gym leader was a great little "arc" for a character like that. (And he loves his fairy pokémon now too). Probably my favorite side character.
The gym leaders all had their little personality quirks, but are flatlines in terms of development. Moving on.
Leon should have been -your- older brother, not Hop's. He also doesn't really develop any (just 'standard champion character to defeat') and is kinda boring. He was good at not letting his champ status making him a total ass which was appreciated. Buuuut it tilted a little too far towards "just there to encourage the player."
Sonia and Magnolia got like... no screentime. Magnolia appears maybe three times, one of which is post game just to give you a master ball. Sonia exists as a wikipedia article on the Darkest Day, until she suddenly "gets her lab coat"? I had no idea her character was striving to reach anywhere, so that development felt random and un-earned.
As previously discussed, Rose was a boring villain. I get the juxtaposition between happy-go-lucky billionaire CEO who's quirky and turns out to be evil, but it just didn't work for me. And then after you defeat him in a battle he just goes "oh well you can go help the champ now" and then off-screen dialog talks about how "they" took him away for what he did. The End.
And your character? Just another utter blank slate. Silent protagonist is pathetic storytelling most of the time, and here it's no exception. Only in the Eternatus fight did your character show -any- emotion. Otherwise? Same dopey grin, no contribution to any conversation (and the game prompting you to answer between "yes" and "also yes" is dumb, by the way), and a total non-character. I get that the game is saying "hey, this is -you- the player" so they don't want to do anything, but it's so boring and just makes me not care that I'm the league champion for the 8th time now.
DESIGN
It looks nice in HD, I'll give it that. The new pokémon sometimes look neat, sometimes look okay, but there wasn't anything... overtly offensive or anything like that. The starters' evolutions? Meh. Someone needs to teach Game Freak that animals aren't born with clothing. That's what got me the most about scorbunny's evolutions. Why does his middle one have a hoodie? With -pockets-?? Donkey Kong Grass Drum was the best of the three. I like the concept of Inteleon and all three's unique attacks are good. Overall though, another 'meh' set of starters. (At least they weren't box-worthy. Looking at you, chespin evolutions.)
The look of the game is pretty good from a world-building perspective. The sponsor stuff is everywhere and the cities are somewhat-vibrant and lively. I liked the general design aesthetic overall. A positive note to end this rambling rant of a review on.~
SUMMARY
Three strikes, and pokémon is out. No more mainline games for me! Don't get me wrong: There's a lot of -little- improvements in this game. The music's a step up. The story/gameplay integration, importance of you as a Gym Challenger, side characters are also better-handled here. But in the end? It's pokémon again, and that's just not entertaining to me anymore.
Regardless of the cause, this game needed twelve more months, minimum, of development time. Flesh out the story/lore more. Develop something more for combat. Work on 99% of the characters to make their moments matter. While I don't regret playing it and had fun, the biggest sin Sword/Shield commits is "wasted potential."
========= POST GAME UPDATE! SPOILERS BELOW! =========
Post-Game update! The two descendants besmirching the legendary doggos' good name because it's taking away their fame is a really neat plot point! (They look way too ridiculous to take seriously though. And no, the game recognizing this and paying lip-service to it doesn't change this point.) And their idea of running them ragged/turning them evil to make them look bad in the eyes of the public (while dragging Sonia's name through the mud) is also good. Hop having a non-standard rival conclusion to his arc is also most welcome. That being said, this is a microcosm of the storytelling issues with the game: Neat ideas that aren't given nearly enough time to develop or explore, and before you know it it's over... And what's with bad guys just giving up? Or you just letting them continue on with these plainly evil, public-destructing plans? Just tackle them! You don't have to let them walk away!
These story elements really needed to be in the main game, but I understand why the division is where it is... mostly. Honestly, I wouldn't be upset if the championship ended with you winning, and instead of The End, the post-game plot starts: While you're fighting, they steal the sword/shield fragments and then their plot starts. But it is what it is. Doesn't change my overall review above (my only edit to this journal is the post-game stuff). I'll admit this post-game was more engaging than previous generations. But it was still just a scratch on the surface of another set of ideas that could've been great.
HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, GO AWAY.
INTRO
This is just a bunch of random thoughts I had while playing Pokémon Sword. Spoilers abound!
I went into it a bit skeptical, but a bit hopeful. The prior two generations did not impress me, to say the least, and pretty much made me swear off of buying more pokémon mainline games in the future. But when SwSh was announced for Switch, a full-blown console instead of a handheld, I decided to give it one last chance to see what they could do to "save" the series for me.
I'll address the copperajah in the room first. I do not care about the national dex "controversy." It's mainly due to my playstyle when it comes to playing a new pokémon game. I catch what's along the way of my play-through, with an emphasis on what is new vs. what is old. (Note that this means that if I didn't happen to use a pokémon in a previous generation, they tend to be given favor too). And unless the pokémon game really grips me (spoiler alert: this one didn't), I play through the game, some of the post-game, then I'm done. As such, the fact that not literally every pokémon ever is around is a complete non-factor for me. I can empathize with those who are missing out on the opportunity to play with their favorites in the latest generation, but for me, personally, it's a complete non-factor in my judgment of this game.
As a secondary note, I'm not going to speculate why things are the way they are. Short development period due to forced release schedule? Lazy developers? Too much executive meddling? Not things I'm going to talk about. I find all that stuff completely speculative, and people will believe what they want to believe in order to validate their opinion of the day. We're only dealing with what we can get our hands on here, i.e. the game itself.
GAMEPLAY AND DYNAMAXING
The gameplay is... pokémon. With the gimmick of this generation being Dynamax/Gigantamax. I will say that of the three we've been presented with so far (Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and now Dynamax), I feel that this one was the best of the bunch. The first one just feels way too much like digimon to me (you and your partner through the Power of Friendship work together, and using a special device, you make them evolve temporarily into a more powerful thing). Z-Moves were once-per-combat and generally dull. I feel Dynamax captures the best of both worlds of what they were going for. Strategically, it's basically Pokémon "X-Factor." Three turns to use super moves with more HP as well. A nice game of footsies in pokémon is a welcome bit of strategy, vs "who will just have a bigger 'mon for the rest of combat" or "who uses their one-shot rocket launcher first."
I feel like the gimmick is much better-integrated into the story as well. Galar's history is shaped by the concept of dynamaxing. It ties into the actual story of the game, the towns and gyms/stadiums are built around the Power Spots because they facilitate dynamaxing, etc. So, props to this generation's gimmick, as I feel it's a good one. (Also important note: "Gimmick" is not an evil word automatically. A gimmick is just a primary selling point for something, essentially, and usually unique to the thing being sold.)
Outside of dynamaxing, however? It's the same turn-based combat that, as someone who got Red when it was new, is pretty old hat now. Take away dynamaxing (which the game does save for particular battles) and you have, with little variation, the exact same core gameplay / battle system that's really showing its age. Despite the leap to a new console, we still have turn-based combat that is very easy to manipulate and make the game braindead simple. Not once did I feel like I was going to even come close to losing a battle, until the end when I was skipping every non-required encounter, and where the final battle (the only time you face a 6 pokémon team) actually proved some challenge... that could be tanked easily enough. Yes, I could self-impose rules like "no items" etc., but I think it's time the game does that. Provide a "hard mode" where trainers use more pokémon, or use apparently-smarter AI that the Battle Towers employ. Do something to make the gameplay engaging from a strictly-mechanics standpoint!
I love the wild encounter system. Namely: No randomness. Even tall grass encounters are basically avoidable 100%. Being able to voluntarily enter encounters is 10,000% more bearable and lets me explore a lot more (more on that later though). I'm so glad they brought this over from the Let's Go games. (Shame they didn't bring the following system).
The Wild Area, however, is dampened by said encounters working the same way everywhere. It is a nice break from tradition and a neat addition to the game overall, but there was nothing truly 'wild' about it. Free-range camera and pokémon dens and some watt-shop locations were the only real unique factors (compared to other non-town routes). Neat in concept. needed more fleshing out.
Overall though, the core gameplay is bland. Sadly, Sword/Shield fall back on the same formula. There are... so many ways the core combat could be changed. Yes, it would be a departure from the series, take more time, probably mean even *more* cuts from the pokédex... I wouldn't mind! It would make the gameplay fun again. And, as this a video game, this is one of the most important factors, in my mind, what makes a game good!
MUSIC
On to another thing I think can really make or break a game (that others may not hold as important as I do): The music. Pokémon Black and White dethroned the original games with best overall music in my mind, and I still listen to tracks from that game to this day. Memorable music can make a mediocre game better. And Sword/Shield... Have some entries that qualify! While the wild encounter music and regular trainer battle is alright and easy on the ears, it's nothing memorable to me (the little motif of the main theme in the trainer battle is nice but too deep into the song and not enough of it). The gym battle music is great. Not my favorite gym music of the entire series but very fitting given the theme of being in a big stadium. The variation when the gym leader is on their last pokémon with the crowd chanting is an exquisite touch. (And the return of this music that's more upbeat when you re-fight gym leaders at the end of the game is icing on this cake). Team Yell's theme is solid rock music awesomeness and I was bobbing along with the Team Yell Grunt's animation every time it played. Chairman Rose's battle music is great (though Rose doesn't quite deserve the Epic Choir, it's still a great tune out of context). The music for Eternatus, both before and after you let the dogs out, is also great. The first part needed to be played more (actually "evil" sounding if that makes sense), while the latter is less good, but very heroic and appropriate. (And integrating the dogs' howling with the song is a great touch.)
The non-battle music is hit or miss. Most of it works in the game, and one or two tracks stick out, but I probably won't remember any of them when all's said and done. Good generic pokémon music that's fitting for when you play (which is the goal of backing music by the way! It did its job), but I'm not downloading all four albums plus the secret fifth album like I did with Black/White here. I'll say it's a step ahead of X/Y and Sun/Moon, which has precisely 0 music that I remember. None of it was awful or bad to listen to. There were some, though, that start out good, but then don't keep the same energy going (Oleana battle theme) and just peter out before they get good. (This, by the way, was the issue with like 90% of X/Y's music.)
STORY
That was a lot about music! On to the story. This is another thing I was hoping would be punched up somewhat. The idea that there exists a "Gym Challenge" that only select few trainers can participate in is great. Also, the general atmosphere of everything in Galar centering around this competition (it being their biggest "sport" basically) is super. While I think you and Hop getting randomly sponsored is very plot convenient, I'm okay with that since it's the start of your journey (game-wise).
That's all well and good, but what about the plot of the game? Kinda fell flat for me. For the third time in a row, we're given lore, history, a backstory, something interesting. And for the third time in a row, the game barely scratches the surface of it. If something interesting happens that may disrupt the dull plod through Galar, one of the side characters just goes "don't worry, Player, we'll go handle it. Off-screen!" Most of the game's story is advanced this way: Through other characters describing what they will or have done via talking to you. And then just before your championship bout, "oh yeah I'm evil and going to Darkest Day the land and you're all screwed kthxbye."
Which you then resolve in about 30 minutes of in-game time. Because Hop always knows where to go and -always runs ahead of you to do it first-. This was something that bugged me a lot. Every other character always ran ahead to do the plot-related thing. Sure, you got to do it yourself in actuality, but it was always someone else that ran off, effectively telling you exactly what to do, before you got to do it. It's a very poor way to direct gameplay through story elements and it felt like that you, the player, weren't doing anything.
Overall, the story is the same "you're a new trainer, get 8 badges, defeat the league, stop bad guy, maybe some post-game, the end" formula of a plot. And while the Gym Challenge aspect works really well, from a story perspective it was just going through the motions. Team Yell being not a bad-guy team I liked, and their "gym", while it made no sense that a leader can close down an -entire city-, was a great take on your typical Gym in pokémon: The leader doesn't care, there's no money or upkeep (you fight on essentially a basketball court), and you can't even Dynamax because it's not on a Power Spot. Very memorable, awesome music (taking on the already-great Team Yell battle theme).
The "challenges" prior to gym battles were really just in-universe explanations for the goofy stuff you do prior to reaching a Gym Leader. I liked that! It doesn't -quite- make sense that a full crowd of people are just always milling about a stadium waiting for a challenger to maybe not even qualify for a gym battle, but that's a minor nitpick for what's otherwise a neat in-story explanation. The gym challenges themselves were alright. Just typical Gym fare. The "catch pokémon" one I felt was the most creative.
I wish the tale of the heroes (and the theme that plays when you first see the hero's statue), the Darkest Day, etc. got more screen time. We got some lip service, and then Rose can just... make that day happen again? How? Did he find out it was Eternatus that caused it long ago? I don't think the game confirms -what- caused it way back when. It's just a little buildup with very little payoff. The villains needed a lot more screentime in general, which would've helped with this. Chairman Rose is yet another example of popular media (movies especially) these days not dedicating themselves to having just a pure dag-nasty evil bad guy. I appreciate "the twist" villains and "not overtly bad" people, but it's been done so many times this past decade. And in a pokémon game? It could work (like what if Leon was the bad guy? That'd've been a real "twist bad guy"), but you could see Rose's "turn" from 1,000 miles away, and you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Oleana's character having her angry burst at the end, by the way, was funny but it really wasn't earned. And it turns out she was just a lackey. This is the end of her character development). I would've loved if "Macro Co." folks that you fight at the end ended up being the "bad guy team": All the organizations and sponsors in the region controlled by evil? Sign me up! Sadly, this is just a footnote and doesn't really go anywhere.
In conclusion to the story: Another rote pokémon fare that doesn't justify the jump to a console from a handheld.
SUBPLOT/SIDEQUESTS/ETC.
...And moving on.
Nah I'm kidding. But the game did feel *very* devoid of any deviation from getting you from gym to gym. No real "dungeons" of sorts (caves/mansions/what-have-you). Any non-town was just a route connecting them. Sideplots didn't seem to exist. The post-game "objective" is to "explore Galar to your heart's content." Okay where? I've been everywhere and I don't see any new places to explore. I will admit I haven't looked too hard but it certainly seems like I've been to every major waypoint on the map. I guess I was expecting the world to feel bigger, with the Wild Area inclusion and all, but at the end of the day, it suffers a lot of the FF13 "game of hallways" problem.
(NOTE: I've now played the post-game. I'll put my thoughts about it below, so that post-game spoilers can be their own topic.)
Minigames like the job system? Did it once and forgot about it. This is what happens when you relegate a whole job system to a single menu item on a terminal you can only access from pokémon centers. A terminal that, thanks to you being able to get to your box from anywhere, you really never have to visit. I was excited to hear about it when I saw it online, but in the game? Barely touched, and I have 0 motivation to delve into it.
Camping is this game's pokemonamie-like thing. They didn't re-incorporate petting, which was the literal best thing about Let's Go. Playing with toys is good fun, and seeing your pokémon milling about is neat at first. But the shallowness of the system is revealed pretty quickly, as "speaking" to your pokémon (one or two of them) loops through the same 5-10 scripted lines and it doesn't really matter.
Curry's another thing I basically never did. Thought I would, but honestly I just kept running out of berries. Plus, I had 0 motivation to play with the "Curry Dex" or fill it out in any capacity. Like most of the minigame-esque things in SwSh: Underdeveloped and needed way more time/effort put into it.
Appreciated what character customization you could do. I got rid of my character's vapid wide-eyed stare by giving him sunglasses and a haircut, and his scenes in battles were much-improved overall. (Wish you could that with Hop's utterly-idiotic smile he always has). So this is fine enough to make players unique.
SOME CHARACTER STUFF
Pokémon rivals the past couple generations have been completely boring, existing only as cheerleaders for you and having no personality other than "wow gee willikers I can't wait to be the very best like no-one ever was!" or "guess you curbstomped my team in 3 turns again! Hahaha! You sure are the bestest ever, aren't you rival!" Nonsense like that.
I feel that SwSh... Improved on this a fraction. Hop was completely falling into this stereotype at first. And his constant insistence that you are "his rival" was stupid. But then he lost a fight to Bede and he actually had a reflective moment of "maybe I suck as a trainer." And the game actually lets this linger for a little bit! It doesn't really... go anywhere, but I appreciated Hop not 100% being your cheerleader for the game, and by the end he mellowed out. Don't quite think he deserved to wield the Shield to your Sword, underdeveloped as he was, but at least it was something.
Bede was fun. Like everything else in the game he needed more time, but his plot from being "sassy ass who looks down on everyone" to "dumbstruck at being stripped of his sponsor" to becoming the fairy gym leader was a great little "arc" for a character like that. (And he loves his fairy pokémon now too). Probably my favorite side character.
The gym leaders all had their little personality quirks, but are flatlines in terms of development. Moving on.
Leon should have been -your- older brother, not Hop's. He also doesn't really develop any (just 'standard champion character to defeat') and is kinda boring. He was good at not letting his champ status making him a total ass which was appreciated. Buuuut it tilted a little too far towards "just there to encourage the player."
Sonia and Magnolia got like... no screentime. Magnolia appears maybe three times, one of which is post game just to give you a master ball. Sonia exists as a wikipedia article on the Darkest Day, until she suddenly "gets her lab coat"? I had no idea her character was striving to reach anywhere, so that development felt random and un-earned.
As previously discussed, Rose was a boring villain. I get the juxtaposition between happy-go-lucky billionaire CEO who's quirky and turns out to be evil, but it just didn't work for me. And then after you defeat him in a battle he just goes "oh well you can go help the champ now" and then off-screen dialog talks about how "they" took him away for what he did. The End.
And your character? Just another utter blank slate. Silent protagonist is pathetic storytelling most of the time, and here it's no exception. Only in the Eternatus fight did your character show -any- emotion. Otherwise? Same dopey grin, no contribution to any conversation (and the game prompting you to answer between "yes" and "also yes" is dumb, by the way), and a total non-character. I get that the game is saying "hey, this is -you- the player" so they don't want to do anything, but it's so boring and just makes me not care that I'm the league champion for the 8th time now.
DESIGN
It looks nice in HD, I'll give it that. The new pokémon sometimes look neat, sometimes look okay, but there wasn't anything... overtly offensive or anything like that. The starters' evolutions? Meh. Someone needs to teach Game Freak that animals aren't born with clothing. That's what got me the most about scorbunny's evolutions. Why does his middle one have a hoodie? With -pockets-?? Donkey Kong Grass Drum was the best of the three. I like the concept of Inteleon and all three's unique attacks are good. Overall though, another 'meh' set of starters. (At least they weren't box-worthy. Looking at you, chespin evolutions.)
The look of the game is pretty good from a world-building perspective. The sponsor stuff is everywhere and the cities are somewhat-vibrant and lively. I liked the general design aesthetic overall. A positive note to end this rambling rant of a review on.~
SUMMARY
Three strikes, and pokémon is out. No more mainline games for me! Don't get me wrong: There's a lot of -little- improvements in this game. The music's a step up. The story/gameplay integration, importance of you as a Gym Challenger, side characters are also better-handled here. But in the end? It's pokémon again, and that's just not entertaining to me anymore.
Regardless of the cause, this game needed twelve more months, minimum, of development time. Flesh out the story/lore more. Develop something more for combat. Work on 99% of the characters to make their moments matter. While I don't regret playing it and had fun, the biggest sin Sword/Shield commits is "wasted potential."
========= POST GAME UPDATE! SPOILERS BELOW! =========
Post-Game update! The two descendants besmirching the legendary doggos' good name because it's taking away their fame is a really neat plot point! (They look way too ridiculous to take seriously though. And no, the game recognizing this and paying lip-service to it doesn't change this point.) And their idea of running them ragged/turning them evil to make them look bad in the eyes of the public (while dragging Sonia's name through the mud) is also good. Hop having a non-standard rival conclusion to his arc is also most welcome. That being said, this is a microcosm of the storytelling issues with the game: Neat ideas that aren't given nearly enough time to develop or explore, and before you know it it's over... And what's with bad guys just giving up? Or you just letting them continue on with these plainly evil, public-destructing plans? Just tackle them! You don't have to let them walk away!
These story elements really needed to be in the main game, but I understand why the division is where it is... mostly. Honestly, I wouldn't be upset if the championship ended with you winning, and instead of The End, the post-game plot starts: While you're fighting, they steal the sword/shield fragments and then their plot starts. But it is what it is. Doesn't change my overall review above (my only edit to this journal is the post-game stuff). I'll admit this post-game was more engaging than previous generations. But it was still just a scratch on the surface of another set of ideas that could've been great.
Mostly agree with what you say. But I'm pretty sure as long as people are not just buying, but demanding the same formula, we're not gonna see a change for the better. I doubt the quality of the games would ever have been called into question in the first place if Dexit weren't a thing.