I went into Legends Z-A with trepidation, given the technical issues presented by Scarlet and Violet but ended up pleasantly surprised by how Game Freak has rectified many of them. Here are the biggest ones which have been addressed, and deserve praise where it's due:
Game released fully featured: The Switch 2 version shipped with version 1.01 already installed on the game card, suggesting the game was ready to go in a polished state. There is a small patch for the Switch 1 version which enables online play, but this is far as as you can get from Scarlet and Violet's rocky launch.
Choppy animation resolved: In Scarlet and Violet the decimated animation was an eyesore. While games like Kirby and the Forgotten Land also utilise it, outside of a few egregious instances it is no where as noticeable as it was in Scarlet and Violet. Luckily
Draw distance surprisingly good: In the Switch 1 handheld footage here, even distant NPC rendering is much better than I expected with simulated crowds in the far distance animating at full rate.
Scope reigned in, for the better: A lot has been made to highlight how it only takes 7 minutes to run around the circumference of Lumious City. But that misses the point – somehow it took me 35 hours until the credits rolled. Legends Z-A instead focuses more on density over scale – there are hundreds of NPCs with unique dialogue (addressing an issue in previous Pokemon games where NPC dialogue in towns became at a premium), there are hidden discoveries to find, rooftops to scale, battle zones to strategize in. While I'd love there to be more indoor dungeons, the game also doesn't feel half-baked because the scope was reigned in to an appropriate level.
The lighting artists did a great job. This is particularly true in interior locations like the hotel, restaurants, and story locations that I wouldn't want to spoil. But even outdoors they've made sure that almost every material has a fitting shader applied to it, making the game look a lot less flat than I was anticipating.
Framerate is solid. As depicted by Kimagre gaming, even Switch 1 sees a dramatic improvement here.
Resolution is prioritized over raw detail. It's surprising how close the game sticks to native resolution in handheld mode and docked modes on Switch 1. It could go far lower in exchange for more environmental detail – similar to Xenoblades 2 and 3 – but I think the focus on readability works in the game's favor too. Given how much time you spend on rooftops hunting for Pokemon and other items, being able to clearly see into the distance has its benefits. On Switch 2, DLSS "Lite" makes this even better.
Of course, there's still plenty of room for improvement. Game Freak should have been invested in voice acting for the small handful of full-on cinematics. And an extra level of detail should have really been made for those windows – only the entrances to key buildings have been fully rendered. But it's a significant improvement beyond Scarlet and Violet. With Game Freak allegedly dropping Switch 1 for the gen 10 games, there's much to look forward to.
by LightPad
14 Comments
They didnt learn from Scarlet and Violet, development started after Arceus
Lesson that Gamefreak learned:
Pokemon fans buy anything as long as the Pokemon logo is slapped on it
Do you really need to spam this on every pokemon related sub?
I don’t quite get what you mean with your first point, like SV also had a 1.0.1 patch which was mainly to enable online functions (and change the Ruin 4’s stats)
Oh, don’t worry, this is Gamefreak we’re talking about–they’ll unlearn all these lessons whenever it’s convenient for them.
I’m not actually a Gamefreak hater or anything, I think they’re generally doing the best they can with what they have, but saying they learned a lesson or anything just doesn’t check with everything we’ve seen in the last 30 years. Improvements have no logical link to improving as game developers, they just happen and then vanish just as quickly.
We also learned our lesson and we are not buying Pokemon games until they get better
Scarlet and Violet would have had very little impact on this games development. Any learning would have from PLA.
What I learned is that I shouldn’t buy any pokemon game until they make actual games instead of doing bare minimum
Which is sad cause I love no franchise more than pokemon, but the games are no longer cut out for my standards, although I rarely get into games these days so I suppose that might not be bad
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The scope brings me to mind Link’s Awakening and its Koholint Island: It’s admitedly a very small setting but it is absolutely STUFFED with content and every single screen has something! Dialogue, treasures, secrets, doors, etc. It’s pretty exciting.
Wait, do you actually think Game Freak learns from their mistakes and listens to their fanbase?
I like the overworld encounters in s/v better. Felt likr an actual ecosystem. I hope they keep that going forward
ZA’s new real time take on battles is fun, but Scarlet / Violet is better at everything except for the speed of battles and some technical stuff.
The thing is this only happened because Nintendo pushed back the switch2 console release, they learned nothing from the complaints.