Sometimes there’s a backdrop to illustrate the surroundings of the battle. Weird things like no cutscene or animation for fast travel at all seem a little jarring. There is a ton of attention to detail for those willing to take notice. But by far the most impressive visual feat is the battles against gym leaders. These have a big-game feel out on a pitch, and a surrounding crowd reacts realistically to every turn of a battle.
- That’s fine, but there was certainly room for improvement, and some moves had embarrassingly bad animations.
- In my opinion, Pokemon Sword and Shield is a great first step to making a definitive Pokemon experience on a console.
- Don’t get me started on some of the worse cutscene animations, either – I’ve seen 50~ person JRPG developer manage more consistent animation work, and I want to hope Gamefreak is capable of at least that much or more.
Where Mint Shines
The gyms have “Missions” this time around, which are unique little challenges that you have to pass in order to battle the gym leader. Netflix for Windows 7 These gym leaders are cool, too, with each featuring more prominently into the storyline. It isn’t groundbreaking stuff, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. POKEMON SWORD AND SHIELD are finally here, bringing the next generation of pocket monsters to Nintendo’s next-generation console, the Switch.
I don’t know if connection quality to other players is a factor here, but the lag is damn awful at times, especially when you’re trying to dodge powerful Pokemon or make quick turns in the Rotom Rally minigame. The lack of voice acting, in addition to the “8-bit”Pokemoncries, are the only bad things about the game’s audio. Otherwise,SwordandShieldmight have the best audio of anyPokemongame ever. Classic tunes return in the places where you expect them, but new gym music and ambient noises set these games apart from what’s come before. If you’ve played one mainlinePokemongame, you’ve pretty much played them all.SwordandShielddo the usual eight gym battle grind as you fight to become the region’s Champion.
Goodbudget, For Shared Envelope
Pokemon’s mainline debut on the Switch is a joy for its simplicity-complexity balance and addictive nature. The essence of the series persists throughout the fun romp, and for that, it fittingly sits as one of the best games on the Switch. The whole Galar region’s backdrop suggests an incredible backstory.
It really hints at the whole sword and shield concept but seems to skirt around the topic at times, which leaves a sense of intrigue to it all. That said, non-gym-finale battles are all over the place visually.
While, sure,Pokemon Let’s Gowas a solid Switch remake of an old Game Boy classic, expectations forSwordandShieldare higher. A next-genPokemongame should push the envelope in exciting ways with bigger story scope, better presentation, improved gameplay, and a robust online experience. Now that I’ve become yet another Champion and saved the world all over again, it’s time for my review.