Pokemon

The ninth generation of Pokémon begins with Scarlet and Violet from developer Game Freak.

There's no understatement in saying one of the biggest media franchises in the world has never seen expectations like this. Some of that is because of the usual base expectations such as expected Pokédex expansion, new starters and the hope things can be even better than the last mainline release, Pokémon Sword and Shield from 2019.

But much of the hype is also a product of some of the game's big promises. This is the first mainline open-world, non-linear effort in the series. It boasts three branching storylines and a slew of modernizations to bring the series up to speed with the video game landscape.

A huge step forward for the series, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet can't escape one thing—a serious give-take balance that will earn loads of praise and but understandable frustration, too.

Graphics and Gameplay

Scarlet and Violet presents a mixed bag of presentation that makes it easy to appreciate while also easy to point at the flaws.

Pokémon themselves are as expressive and colorful as ever, whether following the trainer around in the open world or within a battle. It's the latter where some might feel some Sword and Shield-esque disappointment, though, as the 'mons generally still do basic animations in a fight.

Exploring that world is downright intimidating due to its scale. It's the first time Pokémon has ever felt this big. But the look of it, with muddy textures and uninteresting things going on—including Pokémon out in the wild that sort of just stand around—is another bit of that give-and-take balance. It's easy (and jarring) to tell when inside a small area like a gym lobby or during a key battle that the resolution and looks get an upgrade because there isn't as much for the game to juggle.

Stylistically, there's a notable push away from traditional Pokémon and toward Pokémon Go given the appearance of Pokéstops in Paldea. There are a healthy amount of these found out in the world and they also come equipped with a market and TM machine.

Otherwise, each city and area feels as unique and colorful as fans have come to expect, with a Spain-esque feel. There's the bright colors of a seaside city, sprawling beaches, muddy canyons, massive vertical snowy spaces and other biomes that fittingly house appropriate 'mons to pursue, along with secrets to uncover.

Unfortunately, exploring the cities is an exercise in managing expectations. It's sometimes difficult to tell which doors players can actually interact with, and many doors open but don't lead to an interior, just a menu to buy sandwiches and the like. It ends up feeling like an "almost there" compromise as the series still works toward matching modern open-world contemporaries.

Battles against other trainers now start after talking with them as opposed to the old-school eye-contact initiation, which might be a bit divisive for the fanbase.

Those battles won't shock longtime fans or be too difficult for new players to understand. Players form a team of six based around double-digit elemental types with strengths and weaknesses and have at it.

The big new buzzword and mixup to the gameplay is Terastal. Players can activate this to alter or enhance a elemental typing and to form a crystalline on a chosen 'mon while matching an elemental "Tera Type." This is useable once before players must recharge it at a Pokécenter.

This is actually a really, really important mixup to the tried-and-true formula. With Pokémon able to use elemental moves previously unavailable to them (while also earning the strengths and weaknesses of that typing), players can actually creatively cover gaps in their otherwise traditional party with careful implementation of Terastal usage. That's something capable of mixing up gameplay for casual and top pros alike.

Wild 'mons with interesting Tera typings can be found in the world via Tera Raid Battles. Like Sword and Shield's Dynamax Raid Battles, players will team with four other players or NPCs and must defeat the Pokémon within the time limit for a chance to capture it.

Players aren't limited to traditional battles with wild Pokémon either. Auto-battles mix up the formula in a fun way. Players can let their first Pokémon out of their ball and direct them at fights that will play out while the player explores. The usual details still decide the outcome of the auto-battle and provide experience in a fun streamlined manner.

As far as catching and expanding a team, throwing a Poke Ball at a 'mon out in the world doesn't actually attempt to catch it, but merely initiates a battle. Thankfully, the game doesn't draw inspiration from others and require anything that asks the player to endlessly capture multiples of the same Pokémon.

The three branching storylines each offer distinct gameplay experiences, too, which is a nice, if not cliché cherry on top.

The typical gym path is the traditional route fans know and love. But the small challenges before earning permission to battle the gym leader is much better thought out this time as opposed to the tacked-on minigame feel of the Sword and Shield challenges.

The pursuit of the game's five Titans is also a fun challenge that mixes up the usual gameplay flow. Players have to find, then overcome what are essentially big boss battles in pursuit of a narrative goal.

The base takeovers of Team Star fall a little flat in that they are effectively auto-battle minigames (defeat 30 Pokémon in 10 minutes with auto-battles) before another boss battle. The latter, at least, provided some of the game's biggest challenge, though it could have been the order in which they were tackled.

Overall gameplay pacing is something that might frustrate players. Battles in Scarlet and Violet might be the slowest-feeling in the series. Animations, status card pop ups and more just take a lot of time. Early in a playthrough, for example, one Pokémon players can acquire gets certain boosts and debuffs after its health falls past a certain threshold. It requires sitting through five status cards to pop up and the accompanying power-up or power-down animations, which can happen every battle.

Unfortunately, the game has crippling performance problems.

These issues will vary in their level of annoyance based on a player's tolerance but frustrate most in open-world exploration, especially during otherwise cool weather effects. Pop-up is a major issue, to the point of blades of grass spawning with the player as they run or items appearing out of thin air. Some simply pop in and out, constantly. Actual traversal with the legendary beasts, besides being unintuitive, frustrates because they obstruct the view of wild Pokémon that are way too small, causing the player to run into battles without wanting to do so quite often.

The game also simply suffers from framerate issues. It's very distracting to see NPCs struggling to walk in the background of scenes. The farther away a player gets, the worse it looks. One early city has a windmill that skips through its spin unnaturally at all times.

Because of the oft-tedious nature of exploration in the world and slow manner of battles, players might find themselves avoiding wild Pokémon pretty much always, instead relying on the auto-battles to level.

On paper, these games are effectively handheld games that can be blown up on a television. But on a console as powerful as the Switch where other heavy hitters haven't encountered these problems, they won't escape the comparisons, and probably shouldn't, especially not for the official games of one of the biggest brands on the planet.

Story and More

Scarlet and Violet branches into three story arcs with the Paldea region—Path of Legends, Victory Road and Starfall Street.

At the onset, players choose from starters Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly, then quickly stumble into a rideable Pokémon with a background story, Then, those three paths, "Legends" being the pursuit of Titans, "Street" being the group of truant students in a rival faction and "Victory Road" representing the traditional pursuit of the Pokémon league.

While the story starts a little weak (chosen one receives many chosen one things), it's not a spoiler to suggest the three paths don't stay that basic or predictable, to the point this might stand in the minds of players as some of the best tales told yet in Pokémon games.

It is quite refreshing to have major subplots and threads to pull upon instead of just speedrunning the standard eight-gym experience. There's a lot of heart and meaning put into those non-gym storylines, which is fun now and encouraging for future installments.

Narratively, it's really cool that the character's main rival again picks the starter Pokémon that the user's is strong against—her excuse is simply that she's already a master-level trainer and she'll raise that one alongside yours. But that same narrative logic doesn't apply to say, gym leaders, who are simply stuck with the same level of Pokémon at all times.

Which brings things to an important point—actual story progression is a bit of a mixed bag.

Technically, players can go challenge any gym they want. But those specifically have set levels. There isn't level scaling and a Pokemon's behavior toward the player still remains tied to how many badges they have won.

One nice thing worth considering? While players can tackle all three storylines at once, they could also choose to tackle one at a time. Saving the gym leaders for last, for example, with a re-tooled team so things aren't too easy, could be fun. Players shouldn't have to create their own workarounds like this because the game doesn't scale, but it's better than nothing.

When not battling or traversing the world, players can pop into the revised camping mechanic and have a little picnic with their 'mons. This includes interacting with them as usual, plus the ability to make sandwiches from ingredients found around the world.

The TM Machine is a new system in which players can craft their own TMs. It goes the heavy RPG route, too, requiring all kinds of new materials. This can be as simple as picking them up off a defeated Pokémon from auto-battles.

Regardless, it's actually really cool to earn the TMs. Players did in the past via exploration and gym leaders and still do, but putting effort into crafting a sought-after one feels rewarding.

Overall player customization is going to be something that causes a bit of a ruckus too. Players have more hair and face customization than any game in the series. But clothing customization has regressed to only a small number of school outfits, to presumably fit the narrative. It's a step back that seems at best strange, and one could argue it clashes with the story. If players are on a school-sanctioned adventure, can't they wear whatever they find along the way too?

As expected, this installment comes with the usual online suite, including Casual, Ranked, Online Competitions and Rental Teams. It's again as robust as it needs to be, in addition to the usual trading functionalities.

One thing that will get lost in the headlines about the poor performance of this release is the streamlined approach to many things that benefit players. A simple press of a button heals Pokémon in the party with carried items. Players can make 'mons relearn moves on the fly. Boxes to swap around Pokémon remain available from the menu. Upon exiting the map after setting a destination, the game turns the player in the direction they need to go. It's little things that make the experience easier and shine, even more so if a post-launch update manages to speed the game up.

Speedrunning Tips and Esports

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlbIxRUpFMM

Given the flexibility the game now provides compared to the rest of the series, speedrunners should tear Scarlet and Violet to shreds.

Removing the linear structure of the game means runners can gun for the powerful holdable items and areas with certain 'mons right away. Even the most basic of traversal will get the job done, too.

And don't forget the creativity that will undoubtedly go into runs once ideal routing and strategies emerge.

One scenario: While this game is huge, the mismash of design ideas will leave it super exploitable to speedrunners. It won't be long before runners figure out how to take say, a level 20 'mon into an area with level 55 'mons and status effect them into getting captured. With just one occurrence of this, they can ride that over leveled pickup through the majority of the game's challenges.

Given these circumstances, runs will have to fall under certain restrictions, surely. But even the most basic of advice is to chart out a planned path of gyms based on the strength of the chosen starter against the first chosen gym, then picking up wild 'mons strong against the subsequent chosen gyms.

Fast travel and in-depth options like making certain TMs on the fly makes things simple. Runners can largely ignore certain open-world diversions and focus on the traditional gym storyline while riding type advantages boosted by holdable items and a level advantage.

On the Esports front, much of the mentioned online infrastructure will mean this game has the same competitive viability as Sword and Shield. Add in a ton of new 'mons and the way the Tera Type mixes things up and the meta should see a refreshing overhaul that feels new for much of the game's early lifecycle.

Conclusion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTPjbuRhAsY

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet leaves little room for debate—this is the best, most enjoyable mainline game in the series and even a major step up for those players who didn't vibe with Sword and Shield.

There hasn't been a Pokémon experience to this scale, nor has a story branched in so many interesting ways. The gameplay is tight, the numbers of things to do and explore is immense and it's simply a fun experience for newcomers with resounding depth for speed runners, competitive players, Nuzlocke attempts and so much more.

But the plodding pace, droves of technical issues and stumbles in well-trodden territory by others in the industry will rightfully come under fire.

Pokémon is evolving. But whereas fans were hoping for a way to skip the evolution animation with the press of a button, they're forced to wait it out. That wait has been excruciating, but evolution is still fun, too.

Scarlet and Violet sets a new bar for the series as a superb foundation for DLC add-ons and sequels while doling out more of what established the series as a juggernaut in the first place.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a dream come true for children who grew up with the original games, TV show and movies in the '90s. This is the closest game we have to replicating the TV show and movies, and it is an absolute joy to experience. For gamers who have fantasized for decades about being able to freely journey into an open-world area to uncover the wild life of Pokemon while completing quests, Legends was well worth the wait. 

There have been many spinoff Pokemon games released since the '90s, but Legends is the perfect game to accompany the mainline series. The open-world hub areas with third-person action exploration leading directly into the familiar and comfortable turn-based gameplay is a perfect blend of styles to present a welcomed twist on Pokemon games.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is such a blast to play and a step in the right direction for what gamers have desired that it should be part of the rotation for mainline Pokemon games every two (or three) years.

         

Gameplay, Difficulty and Exploration Impressions

Legends is a great entry point for newcomers to open-world games, similar to how the original Pokemon games were great entryways to RPGs.

The map is excellent. Objectives, waypoint markers and button inputs are cleanly displayed and easily defined, which makes gameplay and exploration extremely accessible. In some other open-world RPGs, such as Xenoblade Chronicles 2, it can be difficult to see exactly where the objective marker is guiding toward, but in Legends it is clear to see if the player needs to go high or low to reach the destination.

The open-world hub areas are big enough to spend hours exploring, but they aren't overwhelming or daunting. Like previous Pokemon games, the player will eventually discover Pokemon to assist in traversal, which opens up many more possibilities for fun and quicker exploration—but more importantly, different aspects of the terrain for each map.

A common complaint of previous Pokemon games is that the difficulty is far too easy and most gamers can just coast through the game, mostly using just one or two overpowered Pokemon. This game is far more difficult than previous Pokemon games, and the player will always have to be aware of their surroundings. From the start, it feels like enemy Pokemon are more powerful and hit harder in this game.

While playing at a steady pace at one's own leisure, this game should definitely present more of a challenge and require far more strategy during battles. Every player needs to make sure they have a plethora of revive, potions and berries available because enemy Pokemon can quickly wipe out half of the party. 

Wild Pokemon are often very aggressive too, even attacking the main character. The player will need to have their head on a swivel and be mindful of triggered Pokemon rushing to attack from the side or behind. The dodge mechanic will be extremely useful while the player swaps to the Pokemon they want to battle with to try to get the upper hand. 

A great aspect of the open-world nature is that if the player tries to battle a Pokemon with another enemy Pokemon nearby, they may have to battle two or even three Pokemon at the same time.

Regarding gameplay within the Pokemon battles, each Pokemon's moves have three options: regular moves, strong moves and agile moves. Regular moves are base moves that do standard damage and require normal PP usage, while strong and agile moves should be used to try to gain an advantage during a battle or to deal the final blow to end a battle. Strong movies boosts power, lowers user's action speed and uses more PP than usual, while agile moves reduces power, raises user's action speed and uses more PP than usual.

The introduction of three different types of options for a single move is a fantastic twist on the traditional turn-based gameplay to provide another layer of strategy not often seen in a Pokemon game. 

Action order, like in some other turn-based RPGs, shows when each Pokemon will act next during the battle. This is always welcomed in turn-based games because it helps the player further strategize during battle. Including the action order makes even more makes when considering the use of strong and agile moves, but more importantly, when battling against multiple Pokemon at the same time.

Legends: Arceus also offers a nice variety of boss and mini-boss battles out in the world and during the main quests. For example, not every battle is just turn-based with Pokemon leading the way. This game really makes the player feel like they're more involved in the gameplay by incorporating the main character into certain encounters while bouncing between Pokemon battles and other mechanics to provide greater gameplay variety than traditional Pokemon games.

Amid uncovering the mysteries surrounding the world (no story spoilers here), filling out Pokedex is still a top priority as previous games.

There's an amazing mix of old-school and new-school Pokemon to keep players guessing who they will discover out in the open-world areas. Considering that's such a major part of the fun of exploring, the different and specific Pokemon in the game won't be mentioned, other than to say that there's definitely enough for fans of all generations to feel happy.

Of course, a major gameplay feature is the ability to capture Pokemon, so nailing the act of throwing a Pokeball is vital.

Developer Game Freak implemented smooth controls and options for capturing Pokemon. The act of throwing a Pokeball is extremely easy, as it feels like a traditional third-person action game in that the player can hold down ZL to focus on a target and then use ZR to throw the ball at the Pokemon. As always, there's many different types of Pokeballs, but there's also an abundance of items the player can use to distract wild Pokemon or gain an advantage during exploration in order to make an easier catch.

It can't be stressed enough how important it is to make sure an abundance of Pokeballs are available during exploration, so be mindful of money and materials to buy or craft Pokeballs.

Legends offers a nice spin on the way the Pokedex operates, with several different criteria to meet for completing each Pokemon's specific entry in the Pokedex. As a result, it feels like everything matters when out in the world. For example, defeating and/or capturing the same Pokemon many different times is now tracked in the Pokedex in order to max it out. Another fun and unique task, for example, includes capturing a Pokemon without being detected. 

Completing the Pokedex will either be a completionist's dream or nightmare, but it at least adds stakes to the encounters (whether outright capturing or battling). This is all a smart way to increase the player's involvement instead of feeling like they can just do the same thing with every encounter.

One amazing feature is the ability to evolve Pokemon from the menu instead of it automatically happening like in some previous entries.

The player will receive a notification that the Pokemon can be evolved and then the player can decide when to do so from the menu screen. Players can also pay for new moves for their Pokemon at the training grounds and even master moves depending on specific conditions. It's important to remember that a Pokemon's moves can be changed from their menu screen, as it won't be immediately triggered after a battle like in previous games.

One downside is that players can't switch Pokemon on the fly from menus, which is an amazing quality-of-life feature in recent Pokemon games. However, the party can be switched by visiting a camp instead of having to go all the way back to the home village, which is easy to do thanks to the excellent fast-travel feature.

Crafting and money are extremely important. The economy is very well done as the player will get money after submitting a field report when looking to head back to the main village after adventuring in the hub areas. There will be opportunities to earn items through side quests and mining items out in the world, which of course can be sold for money.

Another cool wrinkle to exploration is being able to find lost satchels from other gamers. Once found, gamers can go to the "Lost and Found" menu to turn them in for MP, which is separate currency that can be spent at a certain shop. 

There's tons of side quests, which help make the world and the village feel like lived-in places. There's also a good amount of quests tied to the day-and-night cycle, which further enhances the atmosphere to create a lifelike world. Of course, more side quests will unlock depending on certain conditions being met throughout the main journey.

From a technical perspective, the graphics have the usual Pokemon charm to it, which is always pleasant. Whether playing on a TV or in handheld mode, the game is vibrant and performs well. It's still awesome to play a Pokemon game on the big screen, but there's always that comfortability of playing in handheld, which is even better if playing on the new Switch OLED screen.

The game will definitely draw comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with some of the visual and audio cues (in addition to some collectable elements and using pins as waypoint markers), but the art style of Breath of the Wild should prove to have more longevity than Legends.

The biggest disappointment is still some of the pop-in around the open world despite not being the most detailed or intensive environments. However, it's awesome that there is minimal load times throughout the game. Another fantastic feature is being able to save seemingly anywhere and anytime, plus the Switch can be put in sleep mode and pick right back up where the player left off.

Overall, this is a well polished game that didn't experience any glitches that can often hold back other open-world style games.

          

Conclusion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUW1ZWAq09M

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is packed with content to keep people playing for dozens of hours. There's a plethora of Pokemon, customization options, quests and secrets to uncover. The game is also perfect for implementing post-launch expansion packs, similar to how Pokemon Sword and Shield received two major expansions after launch.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a must-experience game for Pokemon fans and a must-play game for Switch owners looking for an entry point into the world of Pokemon. Legends should be treated as an essential mainline series along with the traditional games because this was an excellent debut.

Pokemon goes back to its classic roots with Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on the Nintendo Switch.  

A remake of the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl classics from 2006 on the Nintendo DS, the pressure on the updates is immense. It's not only a winter release on a system with a staggeringly amazing library, but those classics also redefined and reshaped what we know as Pokemon today. 

Not only is this is the first mainline offering in the series since 2019's Pokemon Sword and Shield, they are the first mainline games not developed primarily by Game Freak, with Nintendo giving the duties to developer ILCA. 

With such a resoundingly strong base and some smooth modernized decisions by the team behind it, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl offer up a must-play experience for series veterans and newcomers alike. 

    

Graphics and Gameplay

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl offer a breathtaking trip back to the Sinnoh region.

It's simply outstanding to see some beloved areas recreated with the power of the Switch. Whether it's Floaroma Town's breathtakingly colorful landscapes or trudging through chin-high snow up north, each of the unique locales from the original is stunning, even if it isn't punching the nostalgia button for newcomers. 

In fact, it still stays 100 percent true despite translating everything to 3D. The camera angle, speed of travel and even memorable soundtrack for each area gets presented in the most modern way possible within this gorgeously selected art style. 

The overworld art style, especially in terms of characters, might be divisive. The smaller, short-armed and short-legged look will be off-putting to some, especially when those same characters are drawn normally in battle sequences. But it keeps some of the spirit and feel of the original.

Back in the day on handheld systems, that's truly how characters looked in the overworld as 2D sprites while also being drawn normally otherwise. It just feels right, and trying to go uber-realistic with character models would probably look terrible in the Pokemon world (where houses are too short and skyscraper-tall monsters aren't actually presented that way, anyway). 

Battles use full 3D models for all involved, including the star of the show—the Pokemon. The move to 3D and modern attack effects on the screen are a welcome addition to the otherwise classical-feeling experience. 

Trainers also get the 3D treatment to more iffy results. It's funny to see a duo of trainers from the same team have the exact same defeat animation one after another. But it's charming rather than prompting the feeling that "this is glitchy and should get patched." 

Elsewhere in battle, move lists for each Pokemon now describe how effective the move will be, if at all, against an opponent. That seems to unlock after trying it at least once and is another modernization that helps speed things along at a fun pace—no more putting a console down to Google what the heck Lucario is weak against. 

Unlike Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee, the battles with random monsters aren't avoidable because players can see them walking around the overworld. The game thankfully keeps the original, tried-and-true method of random encounters in grassy areas. 

Maybe the most controversial feature is the Exp. Share, which can't be turned off. It lets all of the Pokemon that didn't even participate in a fight or capture earn experience, too. Back in 2006 and earlier, in order to train up a team, players had to grind out fights with each team member at the front of a battle. It would seem like this sort of feature removes some of the grind and difficulty. 

But the team behind the game has done something right from a delicate balancing standpoint because it doesn't trivialize the difficulty by any means. In fact, some of the nostalgic roadblocks remain—a certain early gym leader's Pokemon is still giving out massive beatdowns and sending teams back to the Pokecenter free of charge in 2021, and it won't take veteran players long to figure out who. 

Not far behind in importance, though, is the shakeup to HMs. Instead of slapping as many HMs on one Pokemon as possible (come on, everyone had an HM slave in past games), moves like Fly, Surf, etc. that navigate the world now have "wild" Pokemon come and do it for the player when prompted. It's a smooth way to modernize the mechanic and, in most player's cases, frees up move slots, if not provides a sixth Pokemon on the team. 

In attempting to weave in some of the original's features, these updates offer up the Poketch. It's an emulation of what the second screen on the DS used to look like, letting players fire up HMs, check friendship statuses and more. It's a little silly, if not intrusive in 2021. A touch screen and the features presented were a big deal back in 2006—not so much now. 

Note that this doesn't touch much on the how and why of overworld progression. The same path, pacing and fun gym puzzles from the original releases make it in and were part of a classic set of games for a reason. This is a fun romp on the gameplay side that is smartly balanced and great looking, perhaps more so than it was during the original release. 

     

Grand Underground and More

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXfkBnKC6jo

Beneath Sinnoh's surface is the Grand Underground, an updated take on the original games' Underground. 

It's a sprawling area with different biomes and Pokemon that appear in the overworld, just like in the newer games in the series. Players can build bases, unearth items that help certain types of Pokemon spawn in the tunnels and it and boasts online play, too. 

If players weren't a fan of Raids and the mini-open worlds in more modern releases, they probably won't be in love with this, either. But it's a nice thing to have that is totally skippable. It's hard to complain about having an entirely new world to explore underneath the main game itself, especially for those desperate to carve out the most robust Pokedex of all. 

Speaking of the Pokedex, the list of included Pokemon feels expansive, but not overly so. There will be a vocal portion of the fanbase that decries the lack of including every single Pokemon ever, but it's safe to say this feels manageable and fun to collect. That serves as a backdrop behind the same old story, where the team of baddies tries to pull off a master plan at the same time the player's character leaves their small town in an effort to tackle eight gym leaders. 

These remakes are also just a breath of fresh air in this department besides simply having a manageable collection task. Players who yearn for the classic feel of the series and aren't big on all of the complex things added as of late like Gigantamax forms and Mega Evolutions will feel right at home with the simplicity of it all.

Or, for players who don't want it simple, there's still a complex and surefire competitive scene brewing once again. Back in 2006, while major online games like Halo 3 were blowing up at the time, paving the way for what we have today—not to mention streaming platforms like Twitch—the original Diamond and Pearl releases were right there. Which is to say, online battles on the Switch are sure to be a big part of the gameplay loop. 

These remakes also heavily lean into customization while harnessing the upgraded graphics. 

Ball Capsule customization stickers are back and earnable for accomplishing various feats. These actually produce new animations when throwing out a ball in battle. 

There's also a shop that lets the player change their appearance, which gets reflected in the minimal animations they appear in during battles. Side activities like Super Contest Shows and romping through Amity Square with a player's team following behind return as well, giving immersive things to do in the world besides grinding levels and collecting things. 

As expected, the game runs great in handheld mode or up on a big screen. And a laundry list of modern-feeling options lets players tailor the experience to their needs, such as text scrolling speed and whether battle animations play at all. 

   

Esports and Speedrunning Tips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjuMJBWHA5E

It's only fitting that remakes of these classics produce a massive competitive community. 

The original Diamond and Pearl, besides being the first to have online battles and trades, introduced the physical/special split, which was a groundbreaking innovation for the series that jump-started the uber-competitive battle scene that still continues to this day.

And continue it shall, as thanks to services like Discord, platforms like Twitch and so much more, the esports scene is sure to be booming quickly after release. The simpler mechanics compared to modern games—but with the same depth that made the classics hotbeds for competitive scenes—might bump viewership more than the modern games. 

As for speedrunning, the obvious applies. Cranking up the text speed, turning off battle animations and spending nearly every bit of currency earned on repels and health items is the key to a fast time. 

Granted, players will need to memorize where to go when and how (though the pause screen does just straight-up tell the player, too), plus how to tackle puzzles quickly. But mandatory trainer battles will provide enough experience necessary to beat the whole game, so the trick is otherwise finding the right team and using repels to avoid random fights while also ignoring non-essential buildings scattered throughout the world. 

Serious runners will eventually need to get into the nitty-gritty to compete for world-record times, such as using a specific Pokemon with a specific move (example: paralyze gym leader's final Pokemon on first turn) in certain spots. 

But when first starting? The basics above will actually produce a pretty shocking time. The trick is to master the rest—world records from the original games check-in just under the four-hour mark. 

      

Conclusion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFYWqO-kGOE

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are just great Pokemon games. 

It helps that the source material changed the iconic series forever, of course. But this is a really smooth retelling of the tale, with just enough in the way of modernization to make things feel great without going overboard and muddying the experience. 

While the art style might not end up being for everyone, it's hard to imagine most players revisiting these games won't have an ear-to-ear grin once the soundtracks get pumping and the gameplay loop kicks into full gear. 

Maybe more so than modern releases like Pokemon Sword and Shield, this is the perfect jumping-on point for new players, too. It's showcasing where the series has been and where it's going without getting bogged down in the complexities of experimental additions to later games. 

Simple but deep as a player wants it to be, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes done perfectly and, though it might take a long time given the wealth of content here, it should end up having fans demanding even more revisited classics just like this. 

New Pokemon Snap's long-anticipated arrival faces a plethora of challenges.   

It seems hard to imagine now, but the original Pokemon Snap on Nintendo 64 was something of a cult classic that flew under the radar a bit while the anime genre was really just getting off the ground. 

Twenty-two years later, developer Bandai Namco Studios is in charge of not only a juggernaut of a franchise with a classic property, it has to modernize it in the face of dramatically different technology. 

1999 was a long time ago. Snap's return boasts modernization, going from a time filled with rolls of film to straight-up Instagram-style editing of digitized snaps while aiming to retain that classical feel fans remember with such fondness. 

There was never any doubt a follow-up this long in the making was going to be an instant hit under the Pokemon umbrella.

      

Graphics and Gameplay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J991KIyenEc

Snap takes place in the Lental region, which is typical Pokemon. Fans know what that means—luscious green forests, sprawling, sunny beach areas, deep, dark undertones to cave-like areas and a fitting classical soundtrack that always kicks in. 

Players of any Pokemon release over the last 20 years know all too well how varied and gorgeous the locales can look. This isn't competing for the best-looking game on Switch title by any means, but it's a looker nonetheless. 

The good-looking backdrops that smoothly take on new life during the night are merely a backdrop for what's really important, of course—the wildlife serving as the subject of the photographs. 

It's very apparent the art direction and presentation is going out of its way to bring out the personality of each Pokemon. This isn't a one-off situation where players (or trainers, technically) in the base game see the 'mons a bit during a battle and not again. It's seeing all sorts with different personality types in their natural habitat and merely observing, which is not only a great, immersive feat. 

Some Pokemon will approach the player, especially if prompted. Some will even wave or hit a pose. Others will ignore the player or outright become somewhat hostile. All make for good photos in some fashion or another. 

Assisting the immersion factor is the expected Pokemon sound design. The tunes are liable to get stuck in a player's head, and the ambient noises and monster-specific roars are in good form here. Maybe most jarring is the odd voice acting, which happens sporadically and often a person in the background makes a noise or quip that doesn't line up with the speech bubble the player has to read. 

Aside from that, this is a next-generation-feeling Snap game. It should be considering the series skipped three console generations, but it hits the high bar regardless. 

On the gameplay front, players plop down in the Neo-One and follow it along set paths in regions while snapping photos. The quest? Filling out a photo-version of the Pokedex dubbed the—you guessed it—Photodex. 

This is about as simple as it sounds, with some of the buttons on the controller not even featured in the game. There's a zoom function and a camera to rotate, plus a few odds and ends like scans and items. But this is a timing-based ordeal that's pretty fun, as even the slow crawl of the Neo-One can become tense while hunting for the perfect shot. 

There's a to-do list of challenges to tackle, sometimes on specific routes at certain times, sometimes not. Some of these can be as simple as catching a Pokemon at night yawning, others much more complex. 

That's where a lot of the fun in Snap resides—embarking on a route in pursuit of rare challenges or interactions. Oftentimes players get just one fleeting chance at these per run, which adds a surprising bit of tension to what is otherwise a slow-paced on-the-rails experience. 

There hasn't been a ton of innovation in the how to trigger some of these interactions, though. Throwing a fluffruit, performing a scan or even playing a Melody tool gives a chance at special reactions. 

Even if there aren't a ton of new ways to do it, the sense of achievement from getting that picture-perfect moment that will earn a huge grade from the professor is still gigantic. 

Professor Mirror grades pictures on a star-based system that weighs size, pose, direction, placement and other Pokemon. He grades photos once and players can't edit them until after the grading process, of course.

One important feature: The Photodex can only hold one photo of each 'Mon across four star ratings. Players have to choose wisely when it comes to keeping star-rated photos. And in a similar vein, it's a little disappointing players can only choose one photo of each Pokemon from a route per run. 

Editing is a smooth modern addition to the game that is easy to use. The expected subjects are here—players can crop, re-center, alter brightness, blur and focus. There are filters, frames and stickers, too. 

The editing experience is an eye-of-beholder thing. Players who just want to get out on the routes and gun for high grades won't use it much. But players who want to take their hard work online and check out what others have posted can find almost the same amount of replayability.

     

Story and More

Like the presentation department, longtime players know what to expect from Snap. 

The player character drops into the world and eventually stumbles his or her way into being an assistant to Professor Mirror while he combs the land for photos in the pursuit of mapping the region. His assistants Rita and Phil are the usual Poke fodder, with something of a rival in there for good measure. 

With the gameplay so engrossing, Snap didn't need much more meat on the bones for the story. But there's a little there via the Illumina phenomenon, which is a new revelation in the world players will have to investigate that features Pokemon out in the world glowing for a mysterious reason, which eventually leads to the players using the Illumina Orb.

The story weaves through the standard fare for the overarching franchise, with the real centerpiece the gameplay experience itself.

 Completing routes and tasks earns Expedition Points, which boosts Research Level for a given route. And doing this changes everything within a route, from which Pokemon appear on a specific route at what times to their behavior, which could lead to even better moments, scores and experience gains. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a modern Pokemon game without a discussion about inclusion and omission. 

The list of Pokemon these days is staggering. Back before the calendar turned to 2000, the original game hardly featured half of the original 151. The count here is well up over 200. That's not a ton compared to just how many Pokemon exist now as the series flirts with the 900-range (even Shield and Sword didn't have every Pokemon, which was a source of controversy), but it's a huge number regardless, never mind the different behaviors and, thanks to the story, versions. 

There is an interesting thing to keep in mind if the number of Pokemon creates controversy, though—there are only so many stages in the game. It's clear the idea was to keep a theme running for each one, so non-fitting monster types in certain stages wouldn't make sense. Maybe there's a chance more Pokemon enter the game if the team behind it adds more stages in the future as DLC. 

So far, the online functionality Snap promises seems robust enough to keep players coming back for more. Best of all, it should be interesting to see how this game takes on a life of its own over actual social media. Back in 1999, the original didn't have the takeoff potential. With all sorts of media platforms to interlink players around the globe, how this one develops and sustains itself over time could decide future innovations, both in the Pokemon series and gaming as a whole.  

Speaking of functionality, the game is yet another big hitter that doesn't suffer much in handheld mode, if at all. Taking a game like Snap on the go is just another stroke of brilliance on Nintendo's part after conceptualizing the Switch hardware itself. 

While Snap isn't bogged down with a ton of options for players to modify, it does come up huge with a critical one—the ability to change cursor and camera speed. Snap is slow by default, so players who wish to whip the cursor and camera around faster are free to crank it up to 10. 

    

Conclusion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d5zofUi-Wc

It would be hard to imagine the Snap revival better than this. 

In fact, one could almost credit Nintendo for pumping the brakes on another entry in the series until the perfect hardware arrived. That's the Switch, which outputs superb visuals and has that important handheld functionality just perfect for this particular series. 

While the target audience is clearly children, the layers to the gameplay and the overarching status of social media globally make this one of the more engrossing titles on the Switch console. 

If there isn't another Snap for two decades, this one is better positioned than the last to stand the test of time. 

If you've got $750,000 burning a hole in your pocket, well, congrats. But also, you could be the owner of a complete set of 1999 Pokemon first edition cards. 

According to TMZ:

"The folks over at Goldin Auctions will soon auction off this 103-Pokemon card set that's in mint condition and expected to fetch upwards of $750,000. The collection includes the highly sought-after Charizard card. Each card is gemstone certified. Goldin says while the cards have rounded corners, the Professional Sports Authenticator has given it a Gem Mint 10 grading... meaning they're virtually perfect cards."

Lovers of Mewtwo and Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Squirtle, this is your chance to spend an obscene amount of money to add the first-edition versions to your collection. 

Sure, you could buy a house with that sort of money, but did anybody ever care about Ash Ketchum's house? No, they cared about his Pokemon. So, uh, go catch them all!

The Pokemon series continues to enter uncharted territory to interesting results with Pokemon Sword and Shield on the Nintendo Switch.  

Launched in November of 2019, Sword and Shield was the first mainline entry in the storied series to appear on a normal console as opposed to a handheld system. It received generally positive acclaim while introducing the Galar region, beefing up the immersion and leaning into a tried-and-true gameplay loop while also making a few big missteps—including the number of Pokemon in the game and some polarizing open-world elements. 

Now Isle of Armor takes the next leap for the franchise, as it is technically the first downloadable content (DLC) for the series...ever. Promising a response to fan feedback, important additions and an extension of a story mode, it has a chance to push one of the most beloved franchises on the planet to further modernization while continuing to triumph in terms of accessibility with deceptive depth of gameplay. 

     

Graphics and Gameplay

Isle of Armor was never going to rewrite the book on Sword and Shield visually, for obvious reasons. 

Yet there was some wiggle room for creativity and an expansion of ideas through presentation to create a deeper sense of immersion. 

And that's exactly what happens. 

The same painstaking detail has gone into the little things for the DLC. Everything remains colorful and pleasant to look at, and the small details in Pokemon behavior are there again. But so are what seems like more animated NPCs, making them less stiff and no longer looking like something ripped out of a handheld game and tossed on to a normal console. 

Creativity comes via the variations in locales. The expanded beaches, for example, give off the right vibes of blistering heat between relaxing points of shade. A few varied biomes smartly house appropriate wild Pokemon to encounter, too. 

From an immersion perspective, it's nice to see so much attention to detail in diverse environments. It hurt in the base game to realize there weren't any amazing set pieces, like superyachts or evil corporation bases, to work through. Players were generally whisked from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible.

The same feels like it applies to the new Wild Area. The sprawling one from the base game was a fun idea but largely felt like a slog after long. These more condensed, detailed biomes remove some of the monotony. Weaving through a cave system to get spit out on an unexpected part of the island is a highlight and a good example of how much exploration is an emphasis of the experience. 

Some of the base-game "buts" apply to the visuals of the expansion, too. Looking at the game and DLC as a handheld game blown up on big screens paints a pretty picture. But throwing it up against some of the Switch's heavy hitters makes it look rough by comparison, which isn't what one would expect given the powerhouse status of one of Nintendo's flagship franchises. 

Understandably, things haven't changed too much on the gameplay front. And that's a good thing coming from the base game—a smooth experience with quality-of-life upgrades compared to previous entries in the series didn't need a ton of help when it comes to the battling. 

As always, battling remains simplistic at face value, but it has some incredible depth for those who look. New Pokemon added to the game and a few competitive-based tweaks only further the notion. It still feels like there are far too many textboxes when in a battle at times, but getting as much info to the player as possible remains as important as ever. 

Traversal is where the DLC appears to beef up the experience. It feels like the new areas have bike travel in mind, which means the sprawling open spaces are something trainers can zoom through. And it's an absolute blast to feel somewhat stranded out in the middle of a big body of water and have water-based 'mons shooting at the trainer over the waves left and right.  

Some of the items within that exploration experience still suffer from issues, though. Max Raid battles remain a fun idea, but they're wildly repetitive. And actual level scaling seems off, so protection against things being too easy for those tackling the DLC after beating the main game doesn't feel right. 

But as a whole, the Wild Area, in particular, is something players will likely feel happy to return to often because of the upgrade it represents over the original. And some little tweaks here and there, plus the new restricted-battle challenge (pick three 'mons to go against a gauntlet of trainers), provide decent endgame fodder before heading off to towers or online. 

   

Story and More

At its most basic, the DLC area is available right off the normal Wild Area and takes a zoomed-in narrative focus compared to the base game. There's drama at a dojo to take care of, and the reward is a Kubfu, a 'mon for trainers to level to 70 via the Tower of Darkness or the Tower of Waters, which dictates how it evolves. Doing so opens the door to more challenges. 

There are some other goodies tucked into the tight experience, like cosmetics, a Diglett hunt numbering 150 and some new max raid battles. 

More Pokemon narrative is always a welcome sight, though here it's extremely brief and something akin to what players would see in a typical RPG sidequest: Go here, find a few items, work through a few battles, done. 

Maybe the most frustrating development is the annoying rival characters, depending on which version a player has. This isn't Hop-level bad, but like him, they're treated as punchline relief and not serious threats—serious threats in a Pokemon game again would be a welcome sight. 

The Wild Area presents the biggest uptick in quality. While not as big as the one in the base game, details like caves and verticality make it fun to explore. 

One of the details players will probably figure out quickly is the player agency. There's nothing tying them down into doing one thing upon arrival at the Isle. Fully exploring the bigger-than-it seems area, going after Pokemon or just looking for hidden items instead of playing the story is an option.  

Overall, The Isle of Armor presents some good quality-of-life improvements. The open spaces feel more designed toward quick bike travel, there are some more cosmetic options and trainers can transform a typical Dynamax into a Gigantamax. 

One other big note? Pokemon can walk behind and follow the trainer out in the wild on the Isle now, but it's strictly limited to there, not base-game areas. It's a welcome addition, though simply odd it wasn't in the base offering, especially after Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee didn't have many problems making it happen. Criticism of this sort of feature only making it into a paid DLC area is a fair point. 

     

Esports and Speedrunning Tips

Sword and Shield originally made massive strides for the activity of the competitive scene via things like changing a Pokemon's nature, streamlined breeding and even move sharing. 

The expansion capitalizes on this theme to great results.

This DLC at least offers some beefed-up details for the competitive scene. Tutors teach new moves that could have some serious competitive uses, and one NPC will wipe a Pokemon's EVs. With EV grinding a little streamlined and a Cram-o-matic offering the ability to combine items to lessen the grind, it initially looks like it will be easier than before to assemble a preferred competitive team. 

Add in new Pokemon to the roster and more transformations and a streamlined, albeit expanded competitive scene awaits. It's a little more accessible than before given some of the upgrades here, and it will also feel fresher, adding legs for the community. 

As expected, speedrunners have torn up the base game, too, to the tune of top global times in the range of only four hours. 

The usual suspects for Pokemon speedruns persist: Blow through dialogue; capitalize on the early unlocks of bikes and fast travel; form a team of 'mons with wicked speed—even if they're glass cannons—to farm experience points that are now shared throughout the party. 

Some of these tenets will carry over to blazing through the DLC. Memorization of areas and the process of getting through things as fast as possible on subsequent runs will remain key. But the streamlined nature of the rather brief DLC means even leveling a certain Pokemon to 70 doesn't require one strict strategy to achieve. 

Provided runners tackling the DLC don't get too distracted with the open-world areas or details, this should be brief. That's especially the case considering there shouldn't be any rules against starting the DLC after directly beating the base game. 

    

Conclusion

Pokemon fans aren't going to want to miss Isle of Armor, simple as that. While brief, it's more of the same formula with plenty of new additions, including tweaks that will push the series forward in good directions.

As a whole? It's a breath of fresh air to avoid having to start everything from scratch on a new save because a third complementary game dropped at a later date with updates. This is new-age stuff, booting up the same save file and getting those updates in the form of a DLC. Is it setting an industry standard for content and features for an expansion? Hardly, but it's a nice step in the right direction for a franchise that needed some modernization in this area. 

Besides this simply being a fun romp with some more smart quality-of-life additions, it goes a long way toward building hype for the fall's next DLC release to see how that offering can also push the series forward as it gets comfortable on home consoles.