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[Fake]

Your post had an error, weirdly. Dont worry, I fixed it

I would say that, but Switch is what making Xenoblade devs let down, not the lazy stuff.

In fact, Xenoblade and Bayonneta games just need a more powerful Switch to make things better... unlike Game Freak .

 

[Kacho]

Welp time to weigh in.

Let's get this out of the way first. The game runs like shit. Low resolution, frame rate, tons of pop in.

Putting that aside, it does feel kind of amazing they got this game to run on the switch at all. There can be a LOT of characters on screen at a given time, and cutscenes feature high quality models and even ambient occlusion. That was a real shock for me.

With performance out of the way; the game is great. The intro is a little hand holdy for about an hour, and then you are left completely alone to do whatever the hell you want. No one forcing you to go a specific route, do any given thing. The only direction the game's narrative gives you is "do what makes you happy." And it's wonderful.

This game can be quite difficult. The strongest non legendary wild Pokémon I've found was level 75. Unless you pick a team or 6 and focus entirely on them, there will be quite large jumps in difficulty and you will black out and scurry back to the Pokémon center. With so many Pokémon to catch all over the place, and easy access to the box, I found my team to be a revolving door that required a decent bit of grinding to stay powerful enough for the next challenge.

There are a lot of great quality of life changes. Trainers no longer force you to battle. You can turn off new move notices and just make your Pokémon "remember" any move it would have available at that given level. If you choose to leave move notices on, simply pressing cancel twice dismisses the message, rather than cancel and confirm. It's a small thing but it streamlines the process that was otherwise somewhat tedious. Learn this? No. Are you suuuurre? Ugh yes I'm sure. Gone.

There are plenty of new monster designs that are genuinely really good. Some of them are whatever but a lot of them are the best the series has seen in a long time. Feels like a return to gen 1-2 design principles of less is more.

And the music?! It's fantastic. Wild battle themes change depending on the area you're in, and team star has some genuine bangers. Stopped on my turn to listen more than once at just how good the track was. Can honestly say it's the first Pokémon game I would ever purchase a soundtrack for.

TL;DR: The graphics suck. A bad developer is asking too much of this ancient hardware. That aside, the designs, world, music, quality of life changes, and sense of freedom are amazing. The most fun I've had playing a Pokémon game in years, and reinvigorated my interest in the series.

Thanks for the write up. Have you completed it? If so, is there enough interesting things to do in the end game? Recent entries have lacked in that area IMO.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

Arceus was OK but I have almost no interest in this, especially when you consider that this looks like a fucking mess from a technical standpoint.

Also there are some weird posts about it being about the hardware. The game looks bad graphically and that isn't due to the hardware. Zelda BoTW and many other games on Switch look great whilst running reasonably well. Can we just agree that Game Freak aren't interested in doing better from a graphical perspective, or at least do not have the expertise to make a better looking game?

 

[hemo memo]

Speaking of technical messes… when is this going to unlock digitally? Can a nice soul put a count down?

 

[Dr.Morris79]

I would say that, but Switch is what making Xenoblade devs let down, not the lazy stuff.

In fact, Xenoblade and Bayonneta games just need a more powerful Switch to make things better... unlike Game Freak .

I have to agree! We're seriously getting to the point where a potato has more ooomfph than current Switchs.

 

[Hero_Select]

Anybody who thinks the awful performance is because of the Switch is either ignorant or stupid.

Dragon Quest XI, Xenoblade 2/3, BOTW, Mario Odyssey, Nier, Monster Hunter etc etc.

They all look great on the Switch and run extremely well throughout. This is a Game Freak problem that has persisted since the series moved to 3D. They just don't have the talent - which is still baffling when you take into consideration how well the games sell, let alone everything else Pokemon related. They should be embarrassed.

 

[Comandr]

Thanks for the write up. Have you completed it? If so, is there enough interesting things to do in the end game? Recent entries have lacked in that area IMO.

Spoiler: Postgame and the future

The post game is pretty minimal. After the credits roll, you're invited to go fight all of the gyms again. You can then battle against the school in an elite 4 style tournament, or go find more Pokémon, as encourage by professor Jacq. Make sure you talk to him a few times in the biology room. He gives you goodies like False Swipe to help you catch more Pokémon. Wish I knew that for my Breloom. T-T. Careful observers will notice there is a corner in the north eastern part of the map that is completely greyed out, and is otherwise inaccessible. Your ride Pokémon will not scale the wall. Sleuthers have also discovered a line of code that checks for DLC. I think it's a given that the two are related. With exactly 400 catchable monsters in the Pokédex (not including any transferred in from Home) I think savvy Pokémon hunters will be able to complete the dex quite quickly, though some of the game specific paradox Pokémon are quite hard to find. /SPOILER]

 

[Teslerum]

Spoiler: Postgame and the future

The post game is pretty minimal. After the credits roll, you're invited to go fight all of the gyms again. You can then battle against the school in an elite 4 style tournament, or go find more Pokémon, as encourage by professor Jacq. Make sure you talk to him a few times in the biology room. He gives you goodies like False Swipe to help you catch more Pokémon. Wish I knew that for my Breloom. T-T. Careful observers will notice there is a corner in the north eastern part of the map that is completely greyed out, and is otherwise inaccessible. Your ride Pokémon will not scale the wall. Sleuthers have also discovered a line of code that checks for DLC. I think it's a given that the two are related. With exactly 400 catchable monsters in the Pokédex (not including any transferred in from Home) I think savvy Pokémon hunters will be able to complete the dex quite quickly, though some of the game specific paradox Pokémon are quite hard to find. /SPOILER]

Sounds disappointing.

Especially since this is the series that blew my mind in terms of post-game back in the day when we could go back to Kanto in Gold/Silver.

 

[Saber]

Sounds disappointing.

Especially since this is the series that blew my mind in terms of post-game back in the day when we could go back to Kanto in Gold/Silver.

Post-content is basically non-existant since Sun and Moon. They found a very good way of forcing people to buy DLCs, not to mention "raise" the amount of available pokemons.

 

[Xellos]

It doesn't look that bad going by the Nintendo Life video. Then again I recently played through No More Heroes 3 on Switch so maybe that game's open world sections are coloring my expectations. I had a great time with NMH3 despite the performance issues, so I'm hoping for the same here.

Looking forward to Switch 2 though; have been for some time. Many Switch games would benefit from updated hardware.

 

[AetherZX]

Sounds disappointing.

Especially since this is the series that blew my mind in terms of post-game back in the day when we could go back to Kanto in Gold/Silver.

That version of Kanto was barren though, and Johto barely had anything meaningful to it as is.

 

[touchfuzzy]

It doesn't look that bad going by the Nintendo Life video. Then again I recently played through No More Heroes 3 on Switch so maybe that game's open world sections are coloring my expectations. I had a great time with NMH3 despite the performance issues, so I'm hoping for the same here.

Looking forward to Switch 2 though; have been for some time. Many Switch games would benefit from updated hardware.

I think this is more of a Game Freak problem than a Switch problem. I expect their game(s) for Switch 2 to also look and run badly.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

We're hitting the point where it feels better to call Switch a handheld system with the ability to connect to a TV, instead of a home console that you can take portable.

 

[Saber]

That version of Kanto was barren though, and Johto barely had anything meaningful to it as is.

In Gold/Silver they probably outdone themselves in terms of expansion taking into account the hardware limitations of that time, not to mention the cartridge size. Also, GS are a 23 year old game so I'm not sure it's even worth calling it "barren" when we're talking about a GBC game. Unless you ever played GBC games with as much as content as those ones.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Speaking of technical messes… when is this going to unlock digitally? Can a nice soul put a count down?

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Release Date And Time

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be released on Friday, November 18th. Nintendo does not announce release times, so these are a best-guess based on previous first-party game unlocks:

• North America
  • East Coast US: Friday 18th November 2022, 0:00am, ET
  • West Coast US: Thursday 17th November 2022, 9:00pm, PT
• Europe
  • UK: Friday 18th November 2022, 0:00am GMT
  • Rest of Europe: Friday 18th November 2022, 0:00am CEST

 

[Fake]

 

[CherryFalls]

Another classic from gamefreak!

 

[Kacho]

 

[Fbh]

AC: Black Flag's (honestly) closest direct comparison would be it's open sea (and forts), which is just that, 80% open sea.

All of the actual landmarks that you do the majority of ground gameplay in are contained open areas that load/stream in. It's "openworld", but not in the same vein as BOTW/Pokemon Scarlett Violet

How is it not in the same vein?
From what I've seen (and the little I've played) Pokemon Scarlett/Violet is 80% empty grassy (or sandy) fields with a couple of pokemon standing/moving around.
The open world in black flag is entirely seamless with no loading, the big center city of Scarlett/Violet is actually behind a load screen.

If you want older stuff Dragons Dogma or even Skyrim look significantly better and perform better too

 

[Tg89]

embarrassing.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

I watched Calebhart play the game earlier for a little bit. He was in a class room and in the cutscene all the kids were animated at 2-5 frames. It was simultaniously the best and worst thing I've ever seen in a video game.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

 

[Celcius]

Yikes! Nintendo used to mean quality but this doesn't look like it should be allowed to be sold. They need to pull this from the marketplace like Sony did cyberpunk!

 

[playsaves3]

Pokemon name alone will make sell, GF don't even need to try anymore.


One day the Xenoblade devs will take pkmn franchise and make a decent game.

Just give the Pokémon franchise to drayano

 

[Danjin44]

It's getting hurt by its performance, looks like a Gameboy game and it's struggling to run properly.

Yes, the Switch is old, but this is more of a Game Freak issue, they should be able to produce something considerably better than this.

This is what a new Pokemon game should look like in this day and age:

Or this....

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Wow, Nintendo Life is ripping this game on the technical performance, camera problems, pop-in, frame rate issues, etc.


I knew GameFreak is lazy, but holy shit, this game feels like a rushed product.

Also performance discussed by GameXplain:


GameFreak shit the bed.

Bu-bu-but the press is biased towards Nintendo's first party and always gives them a pass for bad performance!
Nintendo fucking Life not giving this a 9 should shatter some people's preconceptions.

I'm glad to hear the game is good, in spite of the technical flaws. I haven't played a Pokémon game since Sun, but this one sounds interesting. I'll wait though, maybe they'll patch it so it runs decently (who am I kidding? It's Game Freak).

 

[Raonak]

Gamefreak really need to overhawl their engineering team. Imagine how good pokemon games would be if they actually invested in some R&D

 

[Gambit2483]

How is it not in the same vein?
From what I've seen (and the little I've played) Pokemon Scarlett/Violet is 80% empty grassy (or sandy) fields with a couple of pokemon standing/moving around.
The open world in black flag is entirely seamless with no loading, the big center city of Scarlett/Violet is actually behind a load screen.

If you want older stuff Dragons Dogma or even Skyrim look significantly better and perform better too

Haven't played AC:Black Flag in a while but was pretty sure some of it's major hubs and map events caused a loading screen...or was the game entirely seamless/load free, like BOTW (outside of shrines)?

 

[Saiyan-Rox]

 

[Danjin44]

Mario + Rabbits 2 did much better job with open areas....

Switch can do much better than what GameFreaks is putting out.

 

[Kamina]

Just to be clear, yes, I think this is both a hardware and Gamefreak issue. Iirc Monolithsoft (Xenoblade Chronicles) did assist them with the game to some extent.

And yet Xenoblade Chronicles 3 looks and runs magnitudes better than whatever Gamefreak pushed out once more.

 

[Fbh]

Haven't played AC:Black Flag in a while but was pretty sure some of it's major hubs and map events caused a loading screen...or was the game entirely seamless/load free, like BOTW (outside of shrines)?

Ok so I googled it because it has been a while since I played and you are right the 3 major cities do have a loading screen. But the the rest of the world is seamless.
Just like Pokemon which, as mentioned, also has a loading screen for its major city (which pales in size and detail to those in AC).

 

[TLZ]

Also performance discussed by GameXplain:


GameFreak shit the bed.

Looks like he liked everything but the performance and bugs. Also says handheld is the way to go. He gave it a "Liked it a lot" rating.

 

[Mownoc]

The lowest rated mainline Pokémon game yet... Again.

Game Freak cannot handle the development of this series.

 

[Kamina]

If God of War had released in a state with such performance drops, potatoe graphics and camera issues it wouldn't have gotten such positive ratings. The pink glasses some are still wearing for the Pokémon brand really are hard to take off it seems.
I skipped Sword/Shield and i will skip this game.

 

[Jsisto]

Man…I hate to be such a grump, but looked at the complete list of new Pokémon on serebii, and this is the most boring looking, uninspired cast of new Pokémon yet. I see maybe one or two that look cool enough that I'd want to seek them out.

So many of them have…for lack of a better description…completely dead, emotionless looking eyes. Almost machine like.

 

[Jsisto]

Or this....

Lmao. Thank you for this. Anyone blaming this on the hardware needs a reality check. This is a rush job from a developer who at this point is synonymous with rush jobs. They're on super strict timelines to meet their marketing goals to be in line with all the other Pokémon media and merchandise. Has a Pokémon game EVER been delayed? This seems to be the only franchise under the Nintendo umbrella to always come out on time and never be delayed, and that says a lot about the care it's given at the development level. I'm officially done.

 

[Danjin44]

Lmao. Thank you for this. Anyone blaming this on the hardware needs a reality check. This is a rush job from a developer who at this point is synonymous with rush jobs. They're on super strict timelines to meet their marketing goals to be in line with all the other Pokémon media and merchandise. Has a Pokémon game EVER been delayed? This seems to be the only franchise under the Nintendo umbrella to always come out on time and never be delayed, and that says a lot about the care it's given at the development level. I'm officially done.

Xenoblade 3 also didn't got delayed, in fact the release date got pushed up.

 

[Gambit2483]

Ok so I googled it because it has been a while since I played and you are right the 3 major cities do have a loading screen. But the the rest of the world is seamless.
Just like Pokemon which, as mentioned, also has a loading screen for its major city (which pales in size and detail to those in AC).

You sir, have my respect.

 

[Danjin44]

Also.....

 

[jshackles]

This is the first pokemon game in... 20 years(? or longer?) that I've not pre-ordered, and that I don't plan on playing.

I liked Sword, but the open world parts of that were easily the worst sections of the game. Hated the open world aspects of Arceus. Now fully open world, combined with bad graphics and shit new pokemon. Pass.

 

[ikbalCO]

Graphicsvise, yes game freak is obviously a very lazy and maybe an incompetant developer, but nintendo do need to hurry with a more powerfull switch model.

Latest games do look like shit.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

game is up in EU

 

[kiphalfton]

It's getting hurt by its performance, looks like a Gameboy game and it's struggling to run properly.

Yes, the Switch is old, but this is more of a Game Freak issue, they should be able to produce something considerably better than this.

This is what a new Pokemon game should look like in this day and age:

3D Isometric games with fixed camera have always been where it's at. Absolutely beautiful and charming if done right. And that's the thing, is the Pokemon game did used to be super charming when it was on GBA and before.

Graphicsvise, yes game freak is obviously a very lazy and maybe an incompetant developer, but nintendo do need to hurry with a more powerfull switch model.

Latest games do look like shit.

At this point it isn't even about the hardware, as you still get shit looking games on PS5 from lazy/cheap Japanese devs.

I think most game devs stopped at PS3 level graphics and said screw it. Which I understand to some extent, due to budget, but there are some crisp looking games that have grass textures/etc. that are more cartoony graphics wise.

 

[Lokaum D+]

* 2010
* 3 v 3 full dinamic battles
* 3 "trainers" on the field (9 characters on the screen at the same time )
* Runs great on switch
* Looks better then any main line pokemon released since 2010

There is no excuse for GF laziness, imo every reviwer that gives this game anything above 5 is part of the problem and at this rate we ll have the same shit pokemon games for the next two decades.

 

[sachos]

Sadly it doesn't matter, it will sell 20 million in first week. Damn it looks and runs ugly, 100% devs fault, the Switch can do better and i don't understand why Nintendo do not put more love into their biggest franchise (i mean, i do, but still). Even a score of 76 seems way too high for such big tech issues. I hope Oliver at DF tear it apart.

 

[Camreezie]

The performance concerns are worrying , however the Meta doesnt have me worried as the highest is sun and moon and those games were terrible

 

[Captain Toad]

Xenoblade 3 also didn't got delayed, in fact the release date got pushed up.

Nintendo will finish a game and just sit on it until an ideal time. Xenoblade 3 was likely known it would be ready by summer, even when they announced its fall release.

But, they decided it would be better to hold onto it since Splatoon 3 was releasing then. When Splatoon needed to be delayed, they likely just internally decided to swap the dates.

I believe Nintendo has several finished games that they are sitting on, until they believe gives them the best chance for success. Games such as Metroid Prime Remake, as well as Windwaker and Twilight Princess (HD Deluxe).

 

[midasmulligan]

I think it's clear to Gamefreak and the gaming community that no one cares about Pokémon's performance, ever. When people care, stuff gets pulled from stores a la cyberpunk. The signal is clear, turn Pokémon games out as fast as possible with minimal effort and collect increasing amounts of revenue. I would be embarrassed to put out quality like this, but when you continue to sell millions of units, it's hard to believe you're doing anything other than what the market wants.

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

I think it's clear to Gamefreak and the gaming community that no one cares about Pokémon's performance, ever. When people care, stuff gets pulled from stores a la cyberpunk. The signal is clear, turn Pokémon games out as fast as possible with minimal effort and collect increasing amounts of revenue. I would be embarrassed to put out quality like this, but when you continue to sell millions of units, it's hard to believe you're doing anything other than what the market wants.

Pokemon's never been about graphics or performance, and honestly it shouldn't focus on those aspects either. Sure if the quality is as bad as some of those videos suggest that's one thing, but good graphics and performance don't make a bad game good, nor does bad graphics/performance make a good game bad. Sure you'd love to have a good game with good graphics and good performance, but I'll always prioritize the quality of the game over what it looks like or how it runs