Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield (2019, Switch)

[Hero-of-Time]

30 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Am expecting it to get utterly savaged by the review outlets (especially since most of the major media outlets hate Pokemon anyway).

Given the amount of apparent cuts in this game, I would be disappointed if the game didn't get called out by reviewers. I've just read this morning that it's looking like the GTS is gone is this as well and that trading has to be done like it was on Let's Go. That alone should be worthy of knocking the game down to a 5 out of 10.   

[Dcubed]

3 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Given the amount of apparent cuts in this game, I would be disappointed if the game didn't get called out by reviewers. I've just read this morning that it's looking like the GTS is gone is this as well and that trading has to be done like it was on Let's Go. That alone should be worthy of knocking the game down to a 5 out of 10.   

Well it's literally being released unfinished.  This is looking to be almost as bad as Mario Tennis Ultra Smash was at this point  

[Glen-i]

52 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Am expecting it to get utterly savaged by the review outlets (especially since most of the major media outlets hate Pokemon anyway).

Well, for what it's worth, I'll be handling the review for N-Europe.

We didn't get a review code though, so, you know, give me a week after it's released. I'll likely be in the minority of reviewers who actually delves really deep into the mechanics of the series.

19 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I've just read this morning that it's looking like the GTS is gone is this as well and that trading has to be done like it was on Let's Go. That alone should be worthy of knocking the game down to a 5 out of 10.   

While I certainly wouldn't miss the feature, (mainly because I trust the legitimacy of a stranger's Pokémon about as far as I can throw it) if that's the case, that only vindicates that I was kinda right about Let's Go bleeding into the main series in a negative way.

[Hero-of-Time]

16 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

While I certainly wouldn't miss the feature, (mainly because I trust the legitimacy of a stranger's Pokémon about as far as I can throw it) if that's the case, that only vindicates that I was kinda right about Let's Go bleeding into the main series in a negative way.

I would say it's baffling that GameFreak are getting rid of it but they have a habit of dropping features between entries. I agree with Dcubed in that it seems that the game is being shoved out the door without it being ready.

People are speculating that GameFreak may be locking GTS behind the Pokemon Home app. That would be a scummy thing to do. It would essentially force people to subscribe to it.

[Julius]

Easily one of the better trailers for the games:

Not long now! 

[Dcubed]

GTS is a huge loss, it’s how the majority of joe-average people used to trade online in Pokemon.  It’s been a core feature of the series ever since the series first introduced online play (even the Japanese version of Pokemon Crystal has a rudimentary rendition of the GTS with its Mobile GB Adapter enabled online mode!)

 

This is Game Freak making the most absolute desperate of cuts; cutting into bone here.  And quite frankly, I’m surprised that they prioritised Wondertrade over the GTS (though I’m guessing that Wondertrade would be significantly easier and quicker to implement than GTS; so if GTS couldn’t be done within the deadline, it makes sense that they’d go ahead and at least get Wondertrade in there).

Edited November 12, 2019 by Dcubed

[MindFreak]

27 minutes ago, Julius said:

Easily one of the better trailers for the games:

Not long now! 

Isn't the music in this kind of .. weird and bad?

Is GTS replaced by something else? Or did they just cut it in order to release it in a patch later on?

I'm looking forward to seeing the reviews. I may be handling a review of the game as well but haven't got a review code either, and at this point, I might actually give it a miss as I don't really look forward to the game that much. If I don't get a review copy, this is a game for next year, I think.

Edited November 12, 2019 by MindFreak

[Scratch]

I just wanna play it and it's only Tuesday. My god this week is going slow! 😭

[Goron_3]

3 hours ago, Dcubed said:

Am expecting it to get utterly savaged by the review outlets (especially since most of the major media outlets hate Pokemon anyway).

I dunno, I expect the bigger sites (IGN for example) to give it a good score simply because it's Pokemon in HD. 

I'm pretty down on the game tbh, at least from what I've seen. I'm worried that, much like the 3D games, the game will just be a linear 'follow the path' type game and not have the feeling of a proper adventure like the Gens 3 and 4 did. Sinnoh and Hoenn rocked.

That said, I also loved gen 5 and that was when they introduced a much more linear adventure. That said, both of those games still felt great to play. I'm not sure if it was down to pacing or difficulty though.

My final concern is that the game won't be balanced with Exp Share in mind like I originally hoped. Reviewers won't pick up on this so I'm going to hold off until the new year until you experts give me your proper opinions.

[Ronnie]

Half the IGN editorial staff seem obsessed with Pokemon, so no hate coming from there at least.

I'm sure it'll get in the 8/10 range.

[Ike]

2 hours ago, Goron_3 said:

My final concern is that the game won't be balanced with Exp Share in mind like I originally hoped. Reviewers won't pick up on this so I'm going to hold off until the new year until you experts give me your proper opinions.

It should be if it's forced on. Before they couldn't balance it because they didn't know if you have had EXP share on or off. 

But you never know with Game Freak.

I'm more annoyed if it gives all Pokémon EVs, gonna make EV training more of a pain.

Sad the GTS is gone, it was useful for getting all the starters.

[MindFreak]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/pokemon-sword-and-shield-review-thread.152612/ 
According to this thread, the reviews go online at 2pm UK time (3 pm CET).

[Hero-of-Time]

2 minutes ago, MindFreak said:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/pokemon-sword-and-shield-review-thread.152612/ 
According to this thread, the reviews go online at 2pm UK time (3 pm CET).

It's going to be interesting to see which reviewers have the courage to call out the cuts/bizarre decisions that have been made and score the game accordingly. 

[MindFreak]

Yeah. I don't know if I would let the cutting of certain Pokémon affect the score too much, perhaps just put it as a negative but it ultimately doesn't matter much to the gameplay experience that the score should reflect. Perhaps take a point off of presentation or something instead. Though I guess it depends on how many are cut (I don't know the exact number but have seen some range).

[Hero-of-Time]

Just now, MindFreak said:

Yeah. I don't know if I would let the cutting of certain Pokémon affect the score too much, perhaps just put it as a negative but it ultimately doesn't matter much to the gameplay experience that the score should reflect. Perhaps take a point off of presentation or something instead. Though I guess it depends on how many are cut (I don't know the exact number but have seen some range).

I'm talking about not just the cutting of Pokemon but the axing of the GTS, a range of moves now being gone and things like certain TMs becoming one use only again.

[MindFreak]

True, they have cut many features that made life better for players, it seems, and the sum of all that may affect the scoring.

[Ike]

15 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I'm talking about not just the cutting of Pokemon but the axing of the GTS, a range of moves now being gone and things like certain TMs becoming one use only again.

Wat?  

[Ronnie]

Not too bothered about TMs, HMs and GTS, as long as TX's and W52-Moves are still in the game, I'm happy.

[MindFreak]

Aww, no reviews today anyways. Well, we'll just have to wait.

[Rob3008]

I'm confused, how do people trade in this game if there's no GTS?

[Glen-i]

38 minutes ago, Rob3008 said:

I'm confused, how do people trade in this game if there's no GTS?

Directly with other people, kinda like the rubbish way of trading Let's GO had.

You'd have to organise it with someone in real life before hand and both go online at the same time and enter some code at roughly the same time as someone else.

That kind of direct trading is fine as an option, but the GTS was by far the most popular way of trading, thanks to how easy it was. It's still gets tons of use in all the 3DS games, yes, even X/Y.

2 hours ago, MindFreak said:

Yeah. I don't know if I would let the cutting of certain Pokémon affect the score too much, perhaps just put it as a negative but it ultimately doesn't matter much to the gameplay experience that the score should reflect.

It's a massive hit to anyone who plans on playing competitively. Pokémon is a game of strategy and cutting Pokémon means cutting any strategies that came with it.

For example, in Sun/Moon, I found some moderate success with a doubles team that utilised Electric Terrain thanks to Tapu Koko. It managed to make Raichu and Hawlucha really dangerous and I could use Alolan Marowak to counter anyone who tries to use that against me.

Remove Tapu Koko and half of my team becomes useless.

Of course, the meta changes every generation, but it would have been nice for something to fall back on, if any of the new Pokémon don't gel with my style of battling.

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I'm talking about not just the cutting of Pokemon but the axing of the GTS, a range of moves now being gone and things like certain TMs becoming one use only again.

The fuck? Please tell me you're mistaken!

[Hero-of-Time]

@Ike @Glen-i according to Era, certain TM's can only be used once and the lesser move TMs can be used multiple times. We'll find out soon enough if this indeed the case.

[Glen-i]

24 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

@Ike @Glen-i according to Era, certain TM's can only be used once and the lesser move TMs can be used multiple times. We'll find out soon enough if this indeed the case.

Well, now I'm praying that the one-time TM's can be reobtained as much as you like.

I shouldn't have to though, it was a problem solved by Black/White!

Edited November 12, 2019 by Glen-i

[Rob3008]

41 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Directly with other people, kinda like the rubbish way of trading Let's GO had.

You'd have to organise it with someone in real life before hand and both go online at the same time and enter some code at roughly the same time as someone else.

Jesus I'm actually so disappointed by that, it's highly unlikely I'll ever complete my Dex in that case. What a step backwards.

[Aperson]

Wait, no GTS?

 

I feel like that is such a silly decision when you're moving to a console which, let's face it, it is unlikely you are going to have more than one of in a single household. If you have a sibling who also plays Pokemon, is the expectation really to buy another Switch so both players can trade with each other? I was hoping to be able to use the GTS to get the Shield exclusives but that doesn't look likely to happen so I guess I will have to try and arrange trades with someone on here who has Shield.

 

I wasn't overly bothered by the removal of the National Dex because I like to use new Pokemon each generation and stopped transferring main team members across generations a long time ago. However, the removal of the GTS is very disappointing because even in a reduced pool of Pokemon it's going to be harder to obtain the exclusives that you don't have access to if you don't happen to know anyone with the other version.