Many people, myself included, were excited to see what the next generation of Pokémon could bring especially after the release of Legends Arceus. The games were announced to be the series’ first step into open world, a request fans had been asking for years. We had gotten a feel of what an open world Pokémon game would be like with Legends Arceus having its open zone areas and Sword and Shields with its wild areas. Although, those were just a taste of what a fully open world Pokémon game would be like.
But, on November 18, 2022, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were released allowing fans to experience a fully open world Pokémon game for the first time. The day-one experience for thousands of players was an unfinished and broken state. Numerous reports came out during release day that the games were filled with numerous glitches and technical problems. Games had been crashing constantly and players were falling through the world map. Although the games show signs of a rushed development to meet a release date and an obvious lack of polish, Scarlet and Violet are now my second favorite games in the series and are the most fun I’ve had with a Pokémon game since Black 2 and White 2 back in 2012.
I will preface this review by saying I have not encountered any glitches along my journey, and I have beaten the game. The newest generation of Pokémon is incredibly fun and an experience I recommend to any fan of the series or anyone looking to hop into it. Players are introduced to the Paldea region, the region taking heavy influence from Spain. The region is lush and colorful and filled with different areas for the player to explore and never get bored of. Once players get past the opening tutorial the region is theirs to explore in any order. The game emphasizes that you can complete any story in any order. For the first time along with an open world, players are given three separate storylines to follow. You have the basic become-the-champion storyline from previous games and stop the evil team.
Although I won’t spoil the ending, Team Star has easily become my second favorite evil team. A third story is introduced of finding herba mystica, which can only be obtained by defeating titan Pokémon. You’re journeyed with Arven, a new character to the series and who’s story is emotionally gripping. Though all three companions that accompany you being Nemona, Penny, and Arven are all fantastic new characters into the series and ones that I hope to see more of in the future. The new Pokémon are also all designed well and for once I can say I don’t dislike any of them. The new mechanic of this generation is terastilization. This allows Pokémon to change their typing in battle, while visually not that appealing it adds a new layer of strategy that freshens up battles.
While the game is a technical mess, there’s a lot of great new ideas, characters, and heart in these games that I think switch owners should experience. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in giving it a go. It was my second favorite game of 2022 and made me remember why I love Pokémon.
4/5
