Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: 11-18-22
Okay let’s talk about the new Pokémon games. They certainly garnered their fair share of controversy, and I will get that out of the way first. It is completely fair to criticize the game for being buggy and slow. Switch games are expensive, and when you buy a game for full price you expect it to work, and the release date makes it obvious that they were trying to get it out before Christmas and didn’t have time to completely finish it. This isn’t just a Pokémon problem as games are extremely hard to make and timing is everything. The game was mostly fixed by the time I played it, but with some Pokémon only appearing in the first few months there was actually a reason to be an early adopter. So that’s the negative side. It’s something that will always be discussed, and hopefully it’s a lesson that Nintendo and others will learn from although they probably won’t. Now with that out of the way let’s get to the fun part. Just what is this game like?
At first Scarlet and Violet sound like a radical departure from previous games. So many of the old conventions are gone. There are no more ledges, not long caves full of Zubats, and trainers don’t attack unless you talk to them first. Pokémon wander all over the place instead of being exclusive to tall grass and caves. The most famous change, however, is the new open world concept. I have to say the open world was extremely fun, and it really does change things. Change is a good thing, but what’s interesting is how much the radical changes actually strip the game down to its pure essence. This game is 100% pure Pokémon.
If your main goal in Pokémon is catching and training than this might just be your perfect game. The story starts as a slim one, and you’re sent out into the world within the first hour. Up until its surprisingly poignant and serious conclusion the plot is mostly confined to quest locations without much in between. This means that it’s time to get out there and catch some Pokémon. They are everywhere in this game, and while a 400 entry Pokedex doesn’t sound that gigantic, in practice it is almost overwhelming. I found myself constantly catching and raising Pokémon to a degree that I had never experienced before. It’s much easier to plan for specific destinations, so I could always put together a team strong against local Pokémon and level up quickly. All the quests are labeled with Pokémon type, so that’s easier to plan for as well. It’s all about character building, training, party building, and hunting. I love that all Pokémon are visible now. I’m not forced to fight 100 Weedles while looking for that single rare Pikachu. I can target higher leveled creatures and raise levels without nearly as much tedium. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had more fun catching and raising Pokémon before, and that’s with 20+ years under my belt. It’s certainly the high point of the game.
My one major gripe is that it doesn’t lean into the open world RPG concept enough. Within the first hour of gameplay all the quest locations are marked on the map. It’s not like and Elder Scrolls game where everything is wide open and discovering new locations will open up new quests. I know some of you are going to groan when you read this, but I really would’ve enjoyed more fetch quests. In a game that’s all about leveling up it’s nice to have more excuses to explore. Why not throw in a wider variety of quests? Side quests lessen the grind and encourage exploration. Why not have random townspeople asking for you to defeat 10 Nosepasses? I promise that kind of thing is fun.
That gripe is a little bit more personal I know, but another more general critique I have is that many of the new features don’t add much to the game. You can now make your own TMs by collecting certain items and spending points. It’s a neat concept, but I just never felt the need to make TMs all that often. Sure I used it occasionally, but considering the sheer amount of crafting materials that are out there it feels like the developers were expecting me to make hundreds of TMs. Then there’s the controversial sandwich making. I had fun making them, and I love the eating animation, but the perks that came along with the sandwiches never seemed to add up to much. The fact that you have to actually set up a picnic and then build the sandwiches yourself piece by piece makes it take too long to be enticing as well. Still, it is fun to see just how much bacon you can pile onto one sandwich.
Overall, however, I had a great time playing Scarlet (it was three dollars cheaper than Violet in case you were wondering why I chose it). The focus on training motivated me more than some of the older games in the series. I wasn’t stuck walking back and forth on a higher-level road slowly inching forward. The world was big enough that I always felt like there was somewhere new to discover. In a way it almost seems futile reviewing a Pokémon game this long into its history. If you’re a fan of the series than there’s no reason you won’t like this one. You probably won’t like everything about it, but I don’t see how a Pokémon fan could play this game and not have fun. I know I had a great time with it. I probably had more fun with Scarlet than I did with Pokémon Legends: Arceus even though Legends is probably the better game. The series just has a golden formula. There are always things to complain about, but unless something goes wrong main series Pokémon games will always be fun.
So here’s where I add this game to may rankings, and it shows where my loyalties are. This is certainly not the greatest Pokémon game, but I’m still ranking it all the way up at #8. I just love Pokémon games, and I had much more fun with it than any game ranked lower. That means that I have a new game in my top 10, and it’s interesting that only three of them didn’t originate on Nintendo systems, and even those were eventually ported over. I swear I’m not a Nintendo loyalist. I can’t help it if they have so many great games. Right now, the highest rated game that has never been on a Nintendo system is Viva Pinata at #15. I need to expand my horizons and play more games on other consoles. Are there any good Sega games out there?
The List: Ranking List
