My only firsthand exposure to Pokemon games on Switch was New Pokemon Snap, which isn’t even a mainline installment, so I’m mostly out of the loop when it comes to Pokemon discussion. For reference, the newest Pokemon game I own is Ultra Sun on 3DS and the Gen 1 and 2 games on Virtual Console. But from what I’ve gathered being a passive observer, being a Pokemon fan during this console life cycle has certainly been a rollercoaster.
The Let’s Go games seem to have gone down alright, being a gateway for uber-casuals and lapsed Pokemon fans to jump into the franchise on an all new console back in 2018. But then came Sword and Shield, the first proper new generation games on the Switch. We all know about the National Dex controversy, but regardless they still sold tens of millions of copies despite the groaning from longtime fans. At least this was the first generation to introduce paid DLC expansions, which seemed to paper over the cracks somewhat.
I see almost no enthusiasm for the Diamond and Pearl remakes nowadays. ILCA’s first stab at remaking a beloved Pokemon generation seemed to play it as safe as they could, which sort of led to its downfall. Now I could be wrong about this so please correct me, but it seems to me like these are regarded worse than Sword and Shield. And what I do know is what I just mentioned earlier, that these remakes aren’t fondly remembered today.
But then came Pokemon Legends Arceus. This was the much needed shakeup that the fans have been asking for, and it seems to be the best thing to come out of Generation 8 altogether. Open zone environments, real time catching, emphasis on lore, the works. Of all the mainline Pokemon games to come out for the system, this one was the one that tempted me the most. And here’s hoping the Gen 6-inspired successor coming next year delivers as well.
And finally we have Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. I was initially unenthusiastic during the initial reveal, even thinking it was the long anticipated Detective Pikachu 2 for a minute. But then I saw it was Gen 9 and my reaction leveled out. But as we saw more footage closer to launch, the hype did begin. And when the game finally released in late 2022… I was crestfallen. The game looked ugly, the framerate issues were too numerous to ignore, and there were frequent reports of crashing and save data wipes. I avoided this one like the plague, because I did not want to support such a rushed product and I just could not look past all the glitches. I’m not sure what the consensus will be in a couple of years, but I hope the fans got some kind of salvation here.
by Asad_Farooqui