SwSh The Game Is Out, Time To Discuss

[Esserise]

Max raid battles are a mess. You just have like 6-7 requests and you have to wait ages for them to update. When you finally find the one you want, It's always full of people or It gives you some kind of error.
When you are lucky enough to find a gigamax pokemon in max raid battles and you are lucky enough to enter among the 4 spots, then you will just fail to catch it cause the catch rate for gigamax that you didn't find personally is 1%. So frustrating.
This is by far the worst online service a pokemon game has ever had. I just accepted that I will never catch shield gigamax without trading them and I already stopped going online cause I cannot stand It anymore.
0/10

I've been able to catch several G-Maxes, none of which I've hosted... guess I've just been lucky? (Ultimately I think I've caught about a third of the G-Max Pokémon I've raided for.)

I also don't have a lot of trouble joining raids, although I do agree that the stamp list is slow to update.

I beat the game. Is there any reason that Doublade shouldn't be evolved?

Aegislash's has a Base Def and Sp. Def of 140 each but only in Shield Forme, which it will change out of upon using False Swipe, while Evio'd Doublade is at 225 Base Def and 75 Base Sp. Def. If you're just looking for something to tank hits while you whittle down HP and throw balls, I would think Doublade would have more longevity. If my math is right. Personally, I just remember using one in X a long time ago and it being pretty durable.

 

[Dieter]

Pretty much my only issue with the UI is probably not an UI issue at all, but I wish SwSh implemented the Switch's touchscreen. For example, having to manually move Pokemon around a box with the joysticks feels clunky--I often overshoot--while just tapping where you want the Pokemon to be placed is far smoother. Other than that and the gen 1 soundeffects, I like it; it's really sleek and nice looking.

I don't know if this is a GF thing or a Nintendo thing, but a lot of made-for-Switch games have barely any touchscreen functionality. Really, why can't we do that in handheld mode? Why else would the Switch have a touch screen, if not for being used (and I realise it's nowadays obligatory to have touchscreen on your devices, but even so).

As an extension of that, why can't we pet our Pokemon anymore in Camp? It's even a bit of text that sometimes pops up during battle 'X looks like it wants to be petted'. Well, I'd love to pet you but apparently I'm not allowed to...

 

[Esserise]

Time for Timeline Nerd Esserise

Spoiler

So obviously Eternatus's Dex entry says that it came on a meteor 20,000 years ago. So it's pretty easy to assume, as I've seen most do, that the Darkest Day occurred then. But I think there's a bit of a wrinkle. The geoglyph in Turffield - when Sonia is first discussing it, she seems to suggest that it was made (here comes the magic number) 3,000 years ago. While she could just be speaking broadly, I wouldn't overlook this. I suppose you could argue that we don't know for sure that the glyph is a representation of the Darkest Day (it could just be Dynamax in general), I think the Eternamax-like spiral next to the Gigantamax Toxtricity silhouette certain implies it. So could it be the case that Eternatus came to Earth 20,000 years ago but then laid dormant for eons until it finally built up enough energy to arise 3,000 years ago? After all, it seems that atmospheric entry was pretty hard on it, if it caused its body to break into Wishing Star fragments. I could probably use a rest after something like that too.

With regard to the wolves, Sonia mentioned something I thought was somewhat interesting - that she had to look through information from other regions in order to discover Zacian and Zamazenta's names. I doubt that the wolves are supposed to be foreign to Galar, but what if they've had time to travel around? What if their scars aren't necessarily all from battling Eternatus? Maybe they've been involved in other historical conflicts. But I think that would work better if their dormancy began 3,000 years ago, which seems to have been a hugely transitional and tumultuous period in human history, as opposed to a whopping 20,000 years ago, which in real-world terms is ages before even the wheel was a thought in someone's head. (As far as the established Pokémon timeline goes, the only event dated to 20,000 years ago is the creation of Claydol, which was modeled after something that fell from the sky (HMM...). Anything earlier than that is put several millions of years ago like the fossil Pokémon or the creation of the world and such.) Anyway, I recall reading that Galar was formed in the wake of the Darkest Day, so how old is the region's monarchy and royal bloodline meant to be? 20,000 years would be kind of, well, insane, although it is fiction so...

On simpler note, Rolycoly was discovered 400 years ago.

 

[BackSet]

Time for Timeline Nerd Esserise

Spoiler

So obviously Eternatus's Dex entry says that it came on a meteor 20,000 years ago. So it's pretty easy to assume, as I've seen most do, that the Darkest Day occurred then. But I think there's a bit of a wrinkle. The geoglyph in Turffield - when Sonia is first discussing it, so seems to suggest that it was made (here comes the magic number) 3,000 years ago. While she could just be speaking broadly, I wouldn't overlook this. I suppose you could argue that we don't know for sure that the glyph is a representation of the Darkest Day (it could just be Dynamax in general), I think the Eternamax-like spiral next to the Gigantamax Toxtricity silhouette certain implies it. So could it be the case that Eternatus came to Earth 20,000 years ago but then laid dormant for eons until it finally built up enough energy to arise 3,000 years ago? After all, it seems that atmospheric entry was pretty hard on it, if it caused its body to break into Wishing Star fragments. I could probably use a rest after something like that too.

With regard to the wolves, Sonia mentioned something I thought was somewhat interesting - that she had to look through information from other regions in order to discover Zacian and Zamazenta's names. I doubt that the wolves are supposed to be foreign to Galar, but what if they've had time to travel around? What if their scars aren't necessarily all from battling Eternatus? Maybe they've been involved in other historical conflicts. But I think that would work better if their dormancy began 3,000 years ago, which seems to have been a hugely transitional and tumultuous period in human history, as opposed to a whopping 20,000 years ago, which in real-world terms is ages before even the wheel was a thought in someone's head. (As far as the established Pokémon timeline goes, the only event dated to 20,000 years ago is the creation of Claydol, which was modeled after something that fell from the sky (HMM...). Anything earlier than that is put several millions of years ago like the fossil Pokémon or the creation of the world and such.) Anyway, I recall reading that Galar was formed in the wake of the Darkest Day, so how old is the region's monarchy and royal bloodline meant to be? 20,000 years would be kind of, well, insane, although it is fiction so...

On simpler note, Rolycoly was discovered 400 years ago.

Wait! Are you implying that the two wolves were involved in the Kalos war of 3000 years ago!?

 

[Esserise]

Wait! Are you implying that the two wolves were involved in the Kalos war of 3000 years ago!?

I’m not trying to, but I suppose you could certainly take it that way.

 

[BackSet]

I've always headcanoned Galar as the region Kalos was battling with (yes I know they said it was an internal struggle in the games but screw them) so that could totally work.

 

[Sakuraa]

Since I've just finished the post-game this morning, I guess now is as good a time as any to leave my review on the games. I'll try to keep this as condensed as possible. My opinions on the plot will be spoiler boxed since it's long af. Also, spoilers.

Story

Spoiler

First of all, I really enjoyed the story. I think it was very well done with a really enjoyable cast of characters. Not sure where I'd rank them or anything, but I'd say they were a good batch.

Let's start with the main man, Hop. I think he's probably the best and easily my favorite rival since Barry. I seriously love Hop. He's the perfect blend of a rival who isn't a total asshole, but also isn't a pushover. I love how confident he is in the beginning, he knows what he wants and strives to do it and nothing will get in his way. I also like how for the first few gyms, Hop is always a step ahead of me. But more than anything, I love the arc he goes through in the story. The fact that he has his most defining trait, his confidence, torn down in such a way that he actually becomes a bit depressed it powerful. And he even tries to do what he thinks he needs to fix it by changing his team, twice! And it isn't until a while later that he realizes that changing his team wasn't the solution he needed. Maybe it's just me, but I actually found the battle where he brought his original team back to be one of the more difficult battles against him, as opposed to the ones with his new team. This whole arc with him is paced perfectly. Hop's character development feels completely realistic for a character like him. I like how he struggles being Leon's younger brother, and not wanting anyone to look down on his hero, to the point that he shoves his partner Wooloo in a box. It's very heartwarming and I enjoyed every minute of his story. And then, seeing his reaction of disappointment to acceptance when he loses in the league, it shows how he's finally learned to accept losing and using it an an opportunity to better himself. I also love how involved he is with the story, down to helping me save the world by battling Eternatus with me. And of course I love how in the post game he decides he wants to become a Pokemon Professor. It gives him a new goal in life and is overall great closure for him.

Marnie was such a great character. I loved her so much. I'm actually really surprised by how she turned out. Just by her appearance, I thought she'd be a really cold, distant character, but she was actually super nice and had a good sense of morals. I enjoyed her entire backstory of wanting to become the champion to bring me life to her dilapidated hometown, since her brother wasn't doing anything to help. Becasue of that, I find Marnie's reason for become Champion to be the most admirable of all, even above the player character. Hop just wants it because he wants to be like his brother, Bede wants it...because he thinks he's the best, I guess, and the PC, well they're goal is always to become champion. But Marnie want it no for herself, but for the people and betterment of her town. That's just beautiful. I like how Marnie has a level of confidence, but it isn't overconfidence like Hop or an obnoxious, arrogant confidence like Bede. I also really liked how she appreciated Team Yell supporting her, even if they could go too far sometimes. Actually, I quite enjoyed that fact that Team Yell ended up being Spikemuth gym trainers. It made the whole thing feel more connected, like they were all doing what the did for the future of Spikemuth. I think the thing I liked the most about Marnie is that it was cute how she had her own cheering fan squad in Team Yell, and then by the league she cheers for me as we battle Oleana's evil staff and my matches in the finals. I enjoyed the entire aspect of her and Piers helping out against Oleana's staff at the league for that matter, because they really didn't have to, but they did anyway. It shows how their morals and how they're all great people at heart, despite coming from such a run down place. Lastly, I like that by the post game, she takes over the Spikemuth gym as her brother wanted.

Bede was easily my least favorite character. He literally had no personality other than "I was endorsed by the chairman of the league so I'm better than you". Yeah only one problem dude, the person who endorsed me was also endorsed by Chairman Rose. Bede's character would have been so much better if he spoke poorly of all of the other challengers except Hop and I. It makes no sense for him to disrespect us for not being endorsed by Rose and disrespect Leon for not being Rose, when Leon was endorsed by Rose. The best thing that happened to be Bede was him getting his ass disqualified from the competition as he rightfully deserved. If not for Bede's "redemption" in becoming the Ballonlea gym leader, I'd easily consider him one of the worse characters in the series as a whole. However, I did like that he actually took Opals teachings and made something of himself. Gonna be honest, I expected him to sabotage the league from saltiness of being disqualified, especially after Hop brought him up right before the semi-final matches. And though he did show up against the rules, he did so as a gym leader and obviously under Opal's direction. Sadly, right after the match, Bede went right back to his annoying self, wanting to retire just to get away from Opal, THE WOMAN WHO LITERALLY SAVED HIS CAREER. Sure he decided to stick with it, but geez, could this kid not learn anything. It's like he only changes because he feels pressured to, not because he wants to. Even by the post game, he's still more concerned about settling scores with me while a crisis is going on. My biggest issue with him is that the majority of what should be his "development" happens entirely off screen. I really don't know how I feel about Bede. At this point and neither like or despise him. He's basically just an average 'rival' even though he never felt like a rival throughout the entire game. He was more of a villain turned who was able to be turned around in the end.

Leon was also a very enjoyable character. He's just really admirable, and cool, with his catchphrase and signature pose. But I like that he's not perfect, such as the fact that he's 'pants with directions'. I like the fact that he has a very heroic personality, not wanting Hop and I to get tangled up with any issues that pop up in the region, but to focus on own gym journey. That and the fact that he takes over for the league when Rose is off doing his Eternatus shenanigans shows how even though Rose is the one who's mainly behind the league, Leon is the one who respects it the most. I also like that he truly has the strength to justify his title, being able to easily defeat rampaging Dynamax Pokemon and weaken Eternatus be himself. His reaction to my victory over him in the league finals is also just amazing. He's clearly initially upset at his loss, but totally proud of the PC and respecting of the fact that he loses his title. He's grateful simply for being able to be Champion of Galar for the period that he was. Also he's hot.

Sonia was super cute and enjoyable. At first I was upset that Magnolia, only the second female professor, was absent for so much of the story. But then I realized that Sonia pretty much takes over the role as professor, figuratively and literally by post-game, so it was all good. It helped that Sonia was just naturally adorable and how she was so into her research. Even though she sometimes by annoyed by her gran, she still executed her mission to the fullest.

Now, Rose is kind of an oddball. Overall I was fine with him as a normal character and as the villain. The only thing I didn't like was that his motives for wanting to bring about darkest day 2.0. when he did made no sense. He literally admitted that the energy crisis was 1000 years away from happening. Literally why did he have to execute his plans on the day of the Championship match? It could have been the next day, the next week, the next month, the next year, and he still would have had an 999 year head start on this problem. I also wish his concerns with the energy was more related specifically to the gym challenge. His whole thing is being head of the league, and the most important element in the game, is the league. I really just wish he would have connected this energy issue to the gym challenge to make everything seem more, well connected. I did like that Rose already has Eternatus and had been doing his experiments on it from the start, instead of having to spend the story searching for it or summoning it. Also, I don't get why he battles us when we get to the energy plant. I mean, what was the point. Eternatus was already gone. Leon was battling it and about to catch it like Rose wanted him to. The battle just seemed like it only happened because we always battle the villain. But all of those other times, it made sense. Here it doesn't really, so....yeah.

Oleana was fine. I actually liked her for disqualifying Bede from the gym challenge. Yeah she was evil, but.....I just did not like Bede, so.......yeah.

Bonus-Allister is the cutest little baby. I must protecc that kid at all costs. Easily the best character in the game and the main reason why Shield is the better version.

The gym challenge. I've said before and I'll say it again, I LOVE how important the gym challenge is in this story. I've always though the gyms needed more focus in the games since they're such a big part of the series and this game did that and more. The stadium gyms are just amazing. The cheers, the camera angles, the crowd, the monitor which reflects the battle, the fact that the main character does a post and celebrates with their Pokemon after winning, everything, just turns the entire experience into a massive event and it's perfect. The experience never gets old because of just how much of a spectacle it is. When I was playing through Shield, as much as I didn't want to rush through the game, I couldn't wait to get to the next gym and get that superb experience again. This is what I've wanted for so long and it's done so well here. I also love the fact that we wear uniforms for the battles; it just makes the whole Galar gym experience that much more unique. The atmosphere outside the gyms is great too. You can tell that the gym challenge is followed by everyone in the region. Things like the fact that random townsfolk will say they've heard of me, that they've seen me on the news, say they're cheering for me and other competitors. And the fact that you'll speak to other competitors in the gyms, saying how their last match was, how far they think they'll go, etc. Things like that just really highlight how big this challenge is. And how it isn't just me and rival doing this. It's so many people and it's all being followed by everyone in the region. I also like the league cards being similar to baseball cards, giving details on all of the competitors. They're super fun to make, too. The Champions Cup being what determines who challenges the Champion instead of an Elite 4 was also a really nice touch. The only thing I wish was different here was more opponents in the semi-finals and finals. I don't even like sports in real life, but I absolutely adored this setup. This is the gym experience I've always wanted to see and it's beautiful. Just beautiful.

The presentation was overall, really nice. I enjoyed the cutscenes in the game, but I was a bit disappointed with how few there were. Don't get me wrong, the ones that are there are great. The starter selection cutscene is easily the best starter selection moment in the series. It truly takes that moment of meeting your partner for the first time and getting a small glimpse of their personality and makes into such a memorable and endearing event. The Eternatus cutscenes are super intense and really drive home the extent of the situation. The cutscene after we become Champion is downright beautiful. But I dunno, with this game being on a TV console, I guess I just expected a few more cinematic moments. I think the biggest thing I was upset about was not having a special cutscene with at least the starter before the league. We had one little moment like that in SMUSUM and LGPE, but we don't get any of that here in the game where the league has had the most focus ever. It didn't even need to full cutscene, it could have just been a little moment like in those games, even though I would have preferred a real cutscene. Huge missed opportunity imo.

Overall, I liked the pacing in this game and how it actually subverted my expectations a few times. Being a fan of this series for so long, there were so many moments where I expected certain things to happen, which didn't in the end. When the Dynamax stuff was happening around Hammerlock, I was expecting that to be the big climax. Lots of plot climaxes happen right before the last gym, so I was guessing all of that was gonna lead to it there...but it didn't. Then I thought it would happen right after beating Raihan and before the league...but it didn't. Then I thought it would happen when we first had the issue of Leon missing dinner for a meeting with Rose. But nope, we got a brief preview of it, but then we go back to the league finals as if nothing really happened. It wasn't until right before the Champion match (which was of course my last guess), that we finally get it. It was really nice and refreshing, not knowing when to expect the big doomsday moment and to have it spread out like that.

Overall, I only have a few minor changes that I think would make nice improvements and turn this from a really good story into a great one.

Bede's development: Like I mentioned before, my biggest issue with Bede was that he was a dick to Hop and I for no reason and that his "redemption" all occurred off screen. Bede should have only been an ass to the other competitors. He didn't have to be nice to Hop and I, but his disrespect for us and Leon, considering we're all associated with Rose to some extent, was just nonsensical. Also, I don't think Bede should have disappeared after being taken under Opal's wing, only to return at the league at the end of the game. They could have given us a few more encounters with him after that point as he slowly transitions into a gym leader and realizes that being endorsed by Rose don't mean jack crap about your skills. That would have probably turned him from a meh character, to a reasonably good one.

Marnie's backstory: I think the issues with Bede and Marnie are one in the same. Bede shows up a lot in the first half, but vanishes for the second, only showing up for one more moment at the end. For Marnie, it's the opposite; she only shows up for a few points in the beginning and doesn't really have much focus until the second half, where she's has a good presence for the rest of the game. Marnie, I think, should have had more encounters early on, giving us her backstory and hints about her hometown, hints about her relationship with Team Yell, hints about Piers. The brunt of her backstory comes from her league card, which you don't get until you see her in Ballonlea. I think we should have got those details from Marnie herself, at earlier points in the game. Even Team Yell themselves give hints about Piers, while Marnie doesn't until you reach Spikemuth. Also, like I said, I think Marnie's reason for wanting to become Champion are the best out of all of the main characters. So I would have liked to see more of that from her in beginning.

Rose's reasoning: Rose needed to have more reason to execute his plan in the Champion match. Intense paranoia or something. There really just wasn't a reason for him to be so adamant about doing it when he did. Also, I really wish there would have been more connection of the energy crisis with the league. The thing I enjoyed the most about this story was how important the league was. My biggest fear was the big climax turning into another plot just totally focused on the legendary. And while in some ways that isn't exactly the case, it still isn't as related to the league as I would like. Literally, if Rose had said that his concern with the energy depletion was that it would make it hard to continue with the league challenge, thus causing Galar to lose everything that made their region great, their very culture with the gym challenge, I would have been so much happier with it.

More updates on the situation: I will say that I did like how for a lot of the story, Leon and Sonia told me not to worry about the various problems and to focus on the gym challenge instead. Not only is it different from the norm, but imo, it's more realistic. Leon is strong enough to handle most problems on his own, while Sonia has the knowledge about Galar's history. Hop and I aren't truly needed, nor did I really want to be interrupted by my journey to fool around with Dynamax problems. That said, I would have at least liked them to update us on what went down once we met up again. It made it come across as a one and done deal, when all of this was leading up to the climax, which would have been nice to have more info on beforehand. Just an option to ask them what happened would have been nice.

Champion's Cup: Like I said, just a few more challengers in both the semi-finals and finals would have been nice. Maybe 2 other challengers before Marnie. And 2 additional gym leaders. Yeah, it would be weird with the brackets they had, but I just think it could have been a bit longer.

Overall, I'd say the story was a 8.5/10. Not the best, but not at all bad by any means.

Overall, I really like a lot of the new mons added in these games. The Scorbunny line is probably one of my all time new favorite starter lines. I love each and every member of that family so much and it's great to finally have another pure fire starter line. Alcremie is adorable and I love all of the different flavors it has. I only wish there was a better, guaranteed way of getting sweets for Milcery. Dracozolt and Arctozolt are total cuties. I love the Applin family. Appletun is the cutest little baby. I only kind of wish that its eyes were in their normal, upright position all the time, instead of only raising up when it roars or when its happy in camp. Most of the Galrian forms and evolutions are really nice as well. There are only a few mons that I absolutely hate, so it's a nice dex overall.

I really like the customization in these games, because they take the good points of XY and SMUSM and mash them together for an amazing experience. XY had good variety in their clothes, but few color options. SMUSM gave us a lot of color options, but was stupidly separated by version, and had little diversity in their clothes. Here we have a good variety of clothes, lots of color options, and no version exclusive bs. It's great. I love the ability to add/remove jackets at my leisure and I like the addition of being able to wear gloves. The biggest issue I had was how the clothes were spread out across the region. Who thought it was a good idea to have THREE stores in a row with NO NEW DRESSES? Heck, aside from the default dress, it seems like there's only one other dress in the game, the one with the belt, which is my favorite and the one I wore for the game. But geez, it takes forever to get it. It's been forever since we've been able to have actually dresses for customization and now when they finally bring them back, we only get two and they're locked off for a huge chunk of the game. If it were up to me, the Motostoke boutique would have the alternate colors of the default dress, so at least it wouldn't be three in a row without them.

The salon customization is great as well. I love that we get a lot of great hairstyles all from the start without locking colors and styles to the postgame. I also like that we can have more unusual colors like pink, blue, and green. Same for the eye colors. I adore the different eyelash options and the makeup. I do wish there were a few more colors for that, but overall the selection is great.

Camping is so cute and a great upgrade of Amie and Refresh. It's so great to be able to have my entire party chill together, playing with toys, talking to each other, and just enjoying nature. Curry making is really fun as well. My only issue that that the Pokemon you feed curry is automatically the first one in the party. I'd rather choose who gets the curry while in camp, because it's really annoying to have to go out and rearrange my party every time I want to feed a different Pokemon food.

Last, the Wild Area, easily my least favorite part of the game. I hate this place so much. It has literally zero appeal to me. It's so annoying; the constant weather changes and Pokemon LITERALLY LEAPING AT ME, are aggravating as hell. I absolutely cannot stand this place, which is why I HATE that I need to go here for so much stuff that I actually like to do. Max Raid Battles are decent if you have good npc partners, but usually they're a pain, especially on higher levels. But Max Raid Battles are the easiest way to get EXP the best candies to level up my team and not have to deal with grinding. It's also the only place to find the fossils you don't automatically find in your game from nps. But to do that you need to farm hundreds of watts just for the chance to ask the digging duo to look for them for you and more often than not, they won't find it quickly. It doesn't help that sometimes they'll only find one freaking thing. 500 watts down the drain for them to possibly only find one stardust. And if you're not getting watts from dens and raid battles, then you gotta play that rotom rally, which might be okay if it weren't for the fact that Pokemon still spawn during the game and screw up your entire flow and momentum. And you need to do the longest races to get the most watts. Also, I need to come here to buy curry ingredients. And then I need go to some of the many trees to get berries for the curry. Ugh, the entire thing is just annoying. I hate the Wild Area and don't want to go there, but they put so much stuff in there that can only be done there, just to force players to use it. I mean, I know I don't have to. I could wander around the region and see if I can find every single berry tree on random route, but going through the Wild Area is just easier. It's just irritating. Really, I don't totally despise this place, but it really annoys the hell out of me.

Overall, the game is a solid 9/10 for me. Literally the Wild Area is the only thing I truly dislike. Aside from that, I had a blast playing Shield and it was well worth the wait. I'm so glad that the majority of the story was kept a secret during the pre-release period. It really made experiencing it for myself all the more enjoyable.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Just beat the game this weekend, here are my thoughts:

-The Wild Area really is a glimpse into what the future of Pokemon should be. Large, sprawling fields you can wander around in and explore, tons of Pokemon wandering around for you to catch. The only real issues I have with it are the amount of time it takes for the weather to change (supposedly about 2-3 hours which is slightly excessive) and the lack of trainers and general content in the Wild Area (not really much besides Max Raid battles and catching Pokemon). Beyond that, I wish more of the game were like this.
-I think they've really nailed down how to balance overworld and random encounters at this point. The overworld encounters really add life to the areas and make it easier to progress through the game without being forced to slog through as many random encounters, and they still have some random encounters to add a sense of surprise to the game. This is one gameplay element they absolutely should not remove the next game, it should be similar to this in every game from now on (they could tweak it a bit to give it the regional flair they love so much, but don't outright abandon this system).
-There's so many QoL improvements in this game, accessing the PC from anywhere, Name Rater, Move Deleter, and Move Relearner services in every Pokemon Center, the Escape Rope being a Key Item, Mints allowing you to change nature boosts.
-I really like most of the Pokemon this generation, they're all so charming and quirky. Ever since they've been cutting down on the number of new Pokemon in each generation it really feels like we're getting quality over quantity.
-

Spoiler

Field moves being all but eliminated is disappointing. Field moves add a lot of gameplay variety and puzzle solving to the overworld exploration and that element is missing from the game. I get that they won't bring back HMs because of the issue with being forced to learn those moves to progress, but outright eliminating field abilities is just throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Also the upgrade to the Rotom Bike that lets you ride it on the water is unlocked ridiculously late, I wish you'd have gotten it a bit earlier in the game.

-The gyms in this game feel exactly the way gyms should feel, like major battles in the game against tough opponents. The stadium feel, Dynamax, and the general lore of these gyms being major sporting events all give the gym battles a sense of importance that I feel has been lacking for a while now.

Spoiler

Also glad they copied the anime and made a tournament at the end instead of a traditional Elite 4.

-Dynamax is a serviceable enough replacement for Megas/Z-Moves, although I wish I could use it a little more. Gigantamax, though, really bothers me. The main reason being that it's restricted to only event Pokemon and Max Raid battles. IDK if this was revealed beforehand, but I didn't know about it and I was very disappointed when I found this out. It really undermines their efforts to make stronger/more competitively viable Pokemon more accessible, those Pokemon you raised from the start of the game and bonded with the entire time? Sorry Charlie, they'll never be able to do it. It's even more irritating since nearly every major character from the 3rd gym on Gigantamaxes their Pokemon.
-

Spoiler

Dark type gym! Poison type legendary! They finally did it. At least they're listening to little things like this.

-I really like some of the main characters and their character development in this game. Hop is kind of a typical friendly rival, but Bede and Marnie have really interesting personalities.

Spoiler

Bede is a refreshing change of pace from the slew of friendly rivals we've had for eons, and even after he gets kicked out of the gym challenge and Fairy-fied by Opal, he still has shades of being a smug jerk. Actually, I think he may be even more interesting than previous jerk rivals like Blue or Silver because he doesn't go full on BFF with you but he's also not as much of a jerk to you either. As for Marnie, she's also somewhat in between being a jerk and being friendly, she comes off as somewhat cold but she contrasts Team Yell's boisterous and disruptive nature by actually being somewhat helpful. And Sonia's progression from being her grandmother's assistant living in her shadow to a full-fledged professor in her own right was a joy to watch. I was thinking as I was going through the first part of the game that we saw so much more of Sonia than Magnolia and Sonia felt like the real professor and by the end of the game I was more right about that than I could've guessed. Those three characters are definitely the highlight of the game. On the flipside though, Rose and Oleana were really weak. There was so much potential for a good plot here, with Leon being an unbeatable champion and affiliated with two suspicious characters wielding a tremendous influence on the Pokemon League and the Galar region as a whole, but they just dropped the ball here. Leon's success isn't a result of Rose and Oleana fixing the league like we all thought, he just wins everything until you come along somehow which makes no sense (I want to say this is a plothole, but I don't think this technically counts as one). And Rose's actual plan was... to unleash Master Hand so kaiju Pokemon can power the region? No Rose, I don't understand, but not because I'm just a kid. The plan just doesn't make much sense without any explanation, which wasn't given. Also Leon was spot on when he said they could just wait until after the Champion Cup for all of this if it's really necessary. Or you know, 1000 years. This plotline is so bad even the game itself is making fun of it.

-

Spoiler

As bad as the plot was, they really ended it with a bang with the Max Raid battle against Eternatus. Teaming up with the box legends to take on a Dynamaxed legendary is definitely one of the highlights of this game.

-

Spoiler

I wasn't a fan of the music at first, it felt a bit off, but some of the later tunes are really good like Storming Rose Tower and Eternatus Theme 3 (the one where Zacian and Zamazenta team up with you).

-

Spoiler

There really isn't much to do outside of the main story. As usual in the 3D games, there's really no major sidequest (something like Contests, Secret Bases, Pokestar Studios, etc.) to spend your time on and this game could really use it.

-Dexit is really going to hurt this franchise in the long term, especially after knowing this game's regional dex.

Spoiler

400 Pokemon just isn't going to cut it, it leaves too many Pokemon out and doesn't instill a lot of confidence that they'll be able to bring cut Pokemon back reasonably soon. I could easily see some Pokemon being left behind for generations the way they're handling this.

All in all, this game was a fun ride and definitely feels like a step forwards for the series, but it still feels really bare in some ways and has a long way to go before it can stand toe to toe with other console games.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Do no past characters appear in the game?

 

[Alola]

Do no past characters appear in the game?

Charizard.

 

[Blast]

Do no past characters appear in the game?

I don't think so. It's quite surprising after SM brought back some of the most beloved past characters like Cynthia, Colress and of course Red and Blue to not have a single returning character in the game. Even Alola's professor was basically Professor Oak's Alolan form. With SwSh it seems they wanted to make a clean break from previous games in this regard, I can't remember the other regions even being mentioned aside from the non Galar form trade Pokémon. Honestly, I really liked Alola's feeling of connection to the rest of the Pokémon world despite being an island region, so Galar being completely separated from it all felt a little jarring.

 

[Cute Charm]

I can't remember the other regions even being mentioned aside from the non Galar form trade Pokémon.

NPCs mention Kalos, Alola, and Hoenn. The latter of which is said to be the home region of Kabu.

It's still connected to the rest of the world, it's just not connected through returning NPCs. This has happened before in Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Black, and White so it's nothing new for the series. It's just something people have come to expect after Jasmine showing up in gen IV.

 

[Esserise]

NPCs mention Kalos, Alola, and Hoenn. The latter of which is said to be the home region of Kabu.

Unova and Kanto each get a mention or two as well, excluding the trades. One NPC mentions the Battle Subway and a passerby in Motostoke says that curry is also popular in Kanto.

 

[Dieter]

So, I haven't finished the game quite yet, but at Circester (how do we pronounce that anyway? Sester?) I feel like I've seen enough of Galar to give my opinion on the games. Overall, this game gets a pass, which doesn't surprise me. But a sufficient grade is hardly something to write home about. Let's start with the positives:

Spoiler

• The many QoL improvements! The Link Box, the PC services, Mints, Exp Candies, HMs have definitely died an unmourned death, the general streamlining! That, and the UI, which is easy to use, nothing clunky about it at all. So interaction with the game is pretty positive overall
• Dynamax! I wasn't big on it at first, especially before release, but I've grown to like it. The fact its use is restricted makes it feel more special and spectacular, and while kaiju Pokemon sound a little silly, it fits in so well with the spactle that the Galar Gym Challenge is. It also feels fairly balanced, the way it in a sense combines Mega Evolution and Z-Moves
• The Galar region! I feel like it is well-designed, with interesting lore and locations. It actually feels like the region has its own culture, but without being a carbon copy of the UK. Aesthetically, towns and routes look interesting. Not to mention there's a fair amount of little hidden nooks where you can find people or items
• The new regional variants! I'm a sucker for variants, especially the regional ones, and Galar doesn't disappoint in that regard. Sure, they're still leaning towards Gen I 'mons, but all these lines save for Meowth could definitely use some attention. The fact that some of these variants can actually evolve into new Pokemon is pretty awesome too, and I'm curious to see what forms future titles will bring
• The new pokemon! Ever since we've gotten fewer new 'mons per generation, I feel like the quality of designs has improved. While I do think as a collection I don't love Galar's quite as much as Alola's or Kalos', there aren't any design I strongly dislike (anymore). Before release, with the leaks, I did not like the Blipbug-line's design at all. But reading its dex entries and seeing its model in motion has made it quite a bit better
• The Wild Area! I mean, isn't this more or less what basically every fan has wanted for the past 25 years? I really enjoy roaming around the Wild Area, see all these different Pokemon in their natural habitat, and the fact that even as a newbie trainer who's barely received their started, you can run into insanely strong pokemon. Not to mention some of the evolved 'mons are pretty terrifying when they chase you (in so far a Pokemon game can get scary)
• Max Raids! They're fun, and a good way to earn cash and items. It's a pity that 4 and 5 star raids are nearly impossible without an online subscriptions or nearby friends, cause the AI sucks
• The customization! I like how we can now have layers, as someone who in real-life loves to layer up. In terms of style, it's a definite improvement over Alola (although I'm not a fan of the tropical aesthetic, aso I am a little biased). My one qualm is that if you're not down for a casual or sporty style, there's not much left to pick from. I would have loved it if we'd have gotten some more business casual, some properly fancy, maybe some more out-there styles. If Rose can wear a suit, why can't I?
• The characters! I like their designs, I like their personalities (what we see of them), and I like that we can collect their cards. Bede is a pretty good rival, and balances Hop's much nicer tendencies well. I know some people complaint about the lack of jerk rivals we've had, but honestly? I don't think Blue or Silver are all that great, especially since I never had much difficulty defeating them. But Bede is prideful, and remains so (with fairly good in-game reason), even if his jabs at my capabilities did little
• The overworld pokemon! Combined with still being able to get surprise encounters, it really makes the world feel alive, even if some of the animations are kinda jerky
• The graphics and animations! Now, I know there are quite some complaints about these, but overal, I do think the graphics in the overworld are nice. While they're by no means pushing the limits of the Switch, they mostly don't look bad and there's a surprising amount of detail. Animations in Camp look good too, and make Pokemon look more alive than they usually do in battle. And save for most flying types, the 'mons wandering the overworld look fine

Now, for the negative, the disappointments, and the nitpicky:

Spoiler

• Gigantamax... While I like the designs of these forms, why oh why can't we make our own Pokemon eligible for it? Srsly, the only way to get them is in raids, which pretty much all are 5 star, which in turn you can't access until you have gotten all 8 badges. By then you probably have formed your team twice over! Would it be too much to ask for some kind of consumable that allows 'mons to gain G-Max status? Make it a rare reward or something to save up for, like bottle caps or mints
• The routes and 'dungeons'... Ok, so conceptually, most of the routes and 'dungeons' are interesting, their design is very much lacking. They're all pretty much short, straight roads. That's why I don't think places like the Galar Mines and Glimwood Tangle can even be called dungeons. There's zero exploration, you can't even get lost if you tried. And the aforementioned little nooks don't make up for it. And I think the dullness of the dungeons is partly to blame due to the lack of field moves, or similar abilities. There are no puzzles, no mazes, no obstacles. There's nothing to give you a sense of accomplishment for clearing them. Congrats, you manages to walk down a road! Really, especially Glimwood Tangle and Galar Mine 2 could use an extra level or two. Even if they'd have been optional for progressing to the next town. But the dungeon and route design of Galar is extremely economical
• The graphics and animations... While I wouldn't call Hop a Hau clone, the fact he does the same exact movement as Hau (the arm thing) over and over is a little grating. It's not even the gesture itself so much, as it's the excessive use of it. And I know everyone and their mom has complained about the Wild Area trees, but they're right. Actually, the whole Wild Area looks lacking in comparison to the rest of the region. And what's up with any kind of flying 'mon? Again, a much cited example, but while Wingull's floating looks good (really, I think its gliding suits it), their jerky rotations are grating. Sure, I'm willing to believe that many-winged 'mons could hoover and rotate mid-air like a helicopter, but anything bird shape? No way. And my final problem with this are probably the NPCs in the overworld. Most of them are so stiff, some don't even turn to face you when talking to them, a lot of an invisible border you'll bump into if you don't pay attention (and mind you, this border can get pretty big), and they're permanently stuck to their spot (which is nothing new for a Pokemon game, but feels so off now GF is trying to make the overworld feel more alive). And why do some of them, such as the police officer, look so soulless and terrifying? Really, that face will haunt my nightmares...
• The Wild Area... Great in concept, lacking in execution. Aside from Max Raids and the occasional salesperson, it's a pretty bland place. I don't have an online subscription, which I guess doesn't help, but I don't think it should be dependant on that either. Geographically speaking, it could have used some more diversity too. A bit of ocean or some snowy peaks would have been a great addition, especially considering the many ice types and wailmer being available. It doesn't help it's the least aesthetically pleasing location in the region either. And why must overworld models blip in and out of existence at a certain distance? Is it really too much to ask for a lower polygon model for more distant 'mons? I literally ran into a Snorlax, cause it didn't appear until I was right in front of it. A Snorlax!
• Sidequests... There's none. Nothing. Nada. And I don't think Max Raids really count, cause they're part of battling and catching Pokemon. Contests, Secret Bases, Movies, NPC quests, minigames. Error 404, page feature not found. There's a few mini quests, such as the letter delivery or finding a kid's mincchino, but those are solved in a couple minutes
• Dexit... Again, something everyone and their mom has already complained about. 400 Pokemon in a regional dex is not a bad number, so I don't think it's so much an issue during the main game. There's a big enough selection to make a good team with pokemon you like, but the total exclusion of so many 'mons is something that feels wrong. Not to mention we got a couple new ribbons this game, and as a collector it pains me my favourite Banette wil never be able to get those
• And I realise this is a Nintendo thing, but I think price and content aren't quite in sync with each other. It's a fairly steep increase that doesn't really feel like it pays off

So, that's pretty much it for my opinions on the game. If anything major changes, or I find new things, I'll probably come back to this

 

[Boss1708]

I honestly believe that SwSh is the most disappointing main series Pokémon game of all time.

• No additional Battle Facility other than a Vanilla Battle Tower (and even that has been nerfed compared to previous games!)
• A region that is basically a poor man's Kalos.
• No sidequest like Contests or Pokéathlon. Nothing at all.
• It's main feature, the Wild Area, is barren and gets repetitive very quickly.
• Max Raid Battles are a drag.
• Locking entire Pokémon formes (Gmax) behind a 3-turn-battle-gimmick is a really stupid decision.

The only good thing about this game, for me, is the new Pokémon introduced in Galar. I like them more than the Pokémon introduced in Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos and Alola.

 

[BackSet]

I dunno. It's less dissapointing than Johto. Everyone extols it's virtues and I go and look at it and play a bit and say "This is where the series peaked? Seriously?"

Anyway, I got through all 8 gym badges and got through Marnie and Hop's battles. At this point Bede has crashed the party and I have to fight him now. I had to stop playing directly after the fight started, though. Good thing I saved. I'm kind of worried, though, because my team isn't exactly equipped to deal with Fairy Types. I have no counters for Fairy Types.

Also, why is Hop's Cinderace so pathetic? It goes down in, like, one hit. What kind of ace is that!

 

[prog rocker]

I dunno. It's less dissapointing than Johto. Everyone extols it's virtues and I go and look at it and play a bit and say "This is where the series peaked? Seriously?"

In my case, I don't think it peaked there. It was just when it started being actually good. It feels more like a "first game in the series" than RGB did.

 

[BackSet]

The true champion of the game is this random Mailman I met on I think route 10 who was the hardest and most infuriating opponent in the entire game. He had a pelipeer and kept spamming Roost so no matter how many times I hit him, he just healed up and when he wasn't he was dropping my team like flies. Thankfully I finally got through the pelipeer and his Noctowl was much easier to manage.

 

[IncineROAR]

I just finished the main game in Pokemon Sword, overall I'd give the games a 6.5/10 - they aren't terrible, but it does indeed feel like Game Freak was forced to cut corners to get the game out in time.

Pros

-despite the quality of the visuals in places, the region is beautiful and it was nice to have a little more room to explore
-return of gyms, I enjoyed the trials concept in Sun / Moon - but I did not realize how much I missed the competitive battling within the game
-the new region isn't overloaded with a ton of legendary / legendary like Pokemon (aka ultra beasts or collector's items like the Tapus)

Equally Good and Bad

-wild area - I had fun with it although I think the marketing of the game overhyped it. it also feels really glitchy, but I hope that with software updates and regular maintenance, it becomes much more enjoyable
-the new generation 8 pokemon - they've grown on me, but there isn't much for new water / fire / grass types outside of the starters. Centiskorch is better as a bug type battler than a fire type. Aside from the Grookey line, none of the new generation's grass types appeal to me, and Drednaw (and it's pre-evo whose name I cannot remember) and Sobble are the only worthwhile water Pokemon imo. I don't feel like supplementing my team with a fire type from a previous generation..
-references to other regions - there was no obvious Kanto pandering, which was nice for a change, but with the history between France and England as allies and enemies, I thought there would have been some (even if minimal) mention of Kalos. When the players are discussing the origin of dynamaxing, there isn't even mention of ME or Z-moves

Cons

-Galarian Forms and the related new evos - the new regional Meowth sucks, and I won't be using Perrserker again anytime soon. I didn't bother with the regional Mr Mime because when I tried to catch one, I always seem to knock it out with one move, even if the hit isn't effective. Obstagoon is the exception to this, he's pretty cool.
-Leon - he's just really annoying
-Hop - he's like an annoying distant cousin of Hau. I literally think that GF saved time by recycling Hau's body movements.
-Dynamax / Gigantamax - really stupid feature, I rarely bothered with Dynamax, and I never Gigantamaxed a Pokemon.
Edit: as much as Gigantamax was pushed onto players during the marketing, it's pretty stupid to limit how and when someone can obtain one of these Pokemon.

The regional villain aka Chairman Rose who reawoke Eternatus is also really lame, turning themself in at the end? Hopefully the postgame ties up some of the loose ends I see .

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

It's less dissapointing than Johto. Everyone extols it's virtues and I go and look at it and play a bit and say "This is where the series peaked? Seriously?"

Depends on if you’re talking about HGSS or GSC, since I’ve seen those "best games in the series" comments only about HGSS.