Patatoa

I don't want to seem like some sort of Pokémon stan. At the same time, I don't really feel any obligation to be incredibly judicious with sharing my opinion. I'm not a venerated source of critical validation. I like to share what I like, and if you're reading this, you're at least morbidly curious. I very recently spouted my feelings towards the Nintendo Switch's mainline Pokémon games (Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee and Sword/Shield), and now, I'm deep enough in the newest installments, Scarlet & Violet, to say &em; these are fantastic Pokémon games too! In some respects some of the best!

Scarlet & Violet are noteworthy for their commitment to change in the typical Pokémon approach. The most obvious of which being their mesh of the free-roaming Legends of Arceus gameplay with the structure we've come to expect. While at first I came to miss the stalking and catching of Pokémon alá Arceus, I got back in the battle-and-catch groove. (And now you can sneak up, throw your Pokémon to catch the opponent off-guard for a free turn!) In addition to the typical eight gym leaders, S/V adds two other plot lines to follow: the school gang Team Star and the Pokémon Titans Quest with Arven. You can tackle these plot points in any order, though you are somewhat level and ability gated. It's enough that even in the early game it doesn't feel like its sticking to the typical script.

🥲. By far the worst part Arceus was the intrusive story. Pokémon has added more and more story to the games since Gold & Silver, but the deftness really dipped in the 3DS era of games. Aiming high, landing in the foot. Arceus really was the nadir where it felt interminable, got in the way of what I was looking to do, and caused me to not play if I knew I was about to endure a protracted cut scene. Sword & Shield was much safer in that it had just enough story to tie things together. Scarlet & Violet feels like its going to go down the goofy Sun and Moon era story route where it leans in really hard into the setting ("Hey! We're in Spain!"), but when you start progressing down the Team Star and Titan storylines, they more than make up for the time you're spending away from the same old game loop. The gym leader plot line is ho-hum &em; whatever. But the other plot lines are incredibly affective. I never thought I'd get my emotions stirred up in a Pokémon game, but it happened a number of times. I won't get into spoilers, but some of the most touching and adorable stories told in a video game in a while. The first and so far, only time the story is a selling point in a Pokémon game. Whoever was in charge of this needs to stay in charge.

Another compelling part of Scarlet & Violet is the map. Less like the dead and empty terrariums of Arceus, and more successfully teeming with life like Breath of the Wild. There are countless times where I needed to put the game down but, "what's that glowing thing?", "woah, is that a bicycle dragon?", "holy crap, a Dratini? I need to catch that!", "A Chansey outbreak?!" As addictive as the gameplay loop always is, it's never drawn me in quite like that. The picnic/sandwich making side game is alright, and the sandwich effects are helpful and worthwhile. It's easy to get sidetracked. Which is the problem I want to have in a video game.

Upon launch, all the ink was about bugs and glitches in the game. "Oh, don't buy the game because the graphics glitch out if you do this set up I did" My brother in Christ, if you're even thinking about it, you're already going to buy it. It's a time honored tradition to both trash the graphics in a Pokémon game and for a Pokémon game to have glitches. We adore Missingno, and we all learned the Mew glitch. There's so much that's been put in these games that it's impossible to please everyone. "Oh no, only 500 Pokémon are in this one", "I wish Pokémon-amie was brought back", "We should bring back HMs!" All valid, grammatically, but nothing that should deter anyone from playing. Anyone complaining about graphics in a Pokémon game is a wuss.

I took this screenshot because, hey! Mew Truck! But it came out...unfortunte... Now you have to see it. Goodbye! As I said in my last write-up, the Pokémon loop is as good as it ever was. Some of the newer Pokémon have interesting powers in dual battles, so if anything I wish there was more opportunities for those. If you were on the fence for any reason I stated, or neglected to, I recommend seeing what all this Pokémon fuss is about by checking out Scarlet & Violet. At least if you think you'll have enough free time.