For the past 20 years, Pokémon has been one of the most popular intellectual properties on earth. In fact, Pokémon is literally the highest grossing media franchise ever, taking in around $95 billion since its inception in 1996.
While the series has garnered huge successes in mediums like film, television and even music, it is undoubtedly most known for its video games. Aside from a plethora of spin-offs, the core series has lived solely on Nintendo’s handheld consoles, leaving fans wondering what a core Pokémon game would look like on a home console.
With the release of “Pokémon Sword” and “Pokémon Shield” on the Nintendo Switch, we finally know. For the first time ever, trainers all around the world experienced a brand new Pokémon adventure on the big screen.
So, in anticipation of the big release of the two games, staff writers Connor Holt and Jake Yoder decided to each get a different version of the game and each present their thoughts on the almost identical games.
Pokémon Sword — Connor Holt
I’ve been playing Pokémon since I was in elementary school, having bought and played every entry into the franchise, some dozens of times. Of course, all these games have been on handheld consoles, and because of the move to the home console, I had built up the games in my mind to the point where my expectations might have become too high. Upon completion, I felt angry — betrayed even — by the Pokémon Company for the product they had produced.
As I played through my copy of “Sword,” I kept telling myself that the greatness of the game was coming, and that by the time I finished I’d likely be able to say it was the best Pokémon game ever produced, but instead it didn’t even come close.
If I were to compare “Pokémon Sword” and “Pokémon Shield” only to other Pokémon games, there are a number of things that do shine about it, but also a number of things that it pales in comparison to.
To begin with what it improves on from previous games, its music track sets a higher standard for the franchise, with the greatest of all the tracks, in my opinion, coming from an area known as the Slumbering Weald.
Secondly, it took what “Pokémon Let’s Go” did with Pokémon roaming in the overworld and improved upon the system, allowing for players to see Pokémon of all levels, strengths and sizes roaming the wilds together as if they truly lived in those places. Whereas in all previous games, the only place you’d see higher level Pokémon were areas only accessible later in the game.
A third way the games have improved upon the world you experience, is that it makes an effort to highlight the culture of the region. This trend began most clearly with the generation six games of “Pokémon X” and “Pokémon Y,” bringing us to the French inspired region of Kalos, but then diverged heavily in generation seven with “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon” where I feel they went too far with the changes they made to the games’ format. Generation eight has melded both of these concepts of altering the norm and showing us a unique place within the wider Pokémon world, without shaking up the formula too much as to alienate older fans.
Furthermore, there is a set of collectible cards throughout the game that give deeper background information on the main cast of characters, allowing for a deeper look into the characters that play into the narrative. In the past games, the lives and backgrounds of the characters hasn’t been hit upon much, but this new inclusion is a nice addition that enhances the world you experience.
These factors combined with the generally improved graphics from the previous games has provided for an enhanced world in comparison to past games. But even with all these improvements, the game still felt lackluster, with omissions that hit critically.
The biggest among these that outrages the fans, is the omission of what’s called the National Dex, meaning that while Galar boasts a huge number of catchable Pokémon in-game, more than half of all Pokémon can still not be obtained through any means. This doesn’t hinder the main game on its own, but without all the Pokémon being obtainable, like they have been in all previous games (save for “Pokémon Let’s Go”, which allowed only the original 151), the mantra of “Gotta Catch ‘em All” is thrown out the window.
But for me personally, the greatest of all offenses this game makes is the omission of challenging gameplay. Part of the reason this has happened is because of the new level-gain system that began implementation back in generation six. While it allows for the use of more Pokémon throughout your game, it also serves to make the game much too easy.
There was not a single time playing this game that I felt challenged. In fact, for the majority of all the battles I actually defeated every opposing Pokémon in a single hit. And like I said, part of this is due to the new leveling system, because it incentivizes playing with a full team throughout the entire game. It gives you the ability to swap Pokémon in and out, but it also keeps the team at the same level as the opponents at any given point in the game.
“Pokémon Sword” and “Pokémon Shield’s” leveling curve is actually rather good, as I never became over-leveled, but at the same time a lot of the challenge in the earlier games came from the level gap between you and your opponents.
Furthermore, if you’re looking for a game with an exciting, immersive story you’ve come to the wrong place. As I was playing through my copy of “Sword,” I kept thinking that the story would pick up where it typically does, sometime between the sixth and eighth gym badges. Except it never did, and when it did finally begin, it was needlessly dramatic and contrived, trying to create suspense and tension where there was none.
Simply put, you can’t convince me a character is in any danger if the entire game has been using its time to tell you how invincible they are.
Despite everything disappointing about this game, it isn’t the worst Pokémon game at all. In fact, I’d have to rank it close to the top if only for its massive improvements upon the graphics, music, and world depth.
Pokémon Shield — Jake Yoder
While Pokémon has always been a big part of my life, I haven’t played one of the core games since “Pokémon X and Y.” With the announcement of “Sword and Shield,” I knew it was finally time for me to return to the world of Pokémon. While fully aware of all of the controversy surrounding the games before their release, I still went in skeptically optimistic.
For the most part, I found that the game was exactly what I expected it to be: fun, but not amazing.
The main part of the game that really bothered me was its graphics and technical fidelity. The game seriously looks like an up-rezzed 3DS game or a particularly old Xbox 360 game. While the models of characters and Pokémon look nice, many environments — especially the Wild Area — simply looked bland and muddy.
My game constantly dropped below 30 frames per second outside of battles, especially when I connected to the internet. This is completely unacceptable in 2019, especially in a game as big as “Pokémon Shield.”
Despite these flaws, I found myself immensely enjoying the rest of the game. While it certainly wasn’t reinventing the wheel, the game was letting me have fun playing Pokémon for the first time in years.
“Pokémon Shield” has some of the best music I have heard in a video game. Remixes of classic Pokémon tracks are out of this world and every single new track is amazing. Honestly, the game’s soundtrack is without a doubt its best quality.
This game had so many things I had always wanted from a Pokémon game: a semi-open world, Pokémon roaming around the environment, and bigger, more exciting gym battles. All of these additions really added to my enjoyment of the game but, sadly, they weren’t enough to make the game truly special.
While many complain about the lack of a National Pokédex in the game, I feel like the 400 or so Pokémon already included were enough for me. I love almost all of the new Pokémon designs and the ones that returned were a joy to see.
“Pokémon Shield” simply doesn’t feel like the first home console Pokémon game. It feels like a ported 3DS game more than anything. I was expecting some sort of huge leap forward for the series and I just didn’t get that.
All of my complaints aside, I still had a ton of fun playing this game. While it wasn’t the big jump that the series needed, I got to enjoy a Pokémon adventure on the big screen, and that was enough for me.
Final Scores:
Pokémon Sword: 6.5/10
Pokémon Shield: 7/10
