Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield (2019, Switch)

[Jimbob]

Wonder if they'll have Pokemon running around in the wild as they did with Let's Go.

But at least we have something on a new mainline Pokemon title, which is good.

[Hero-of-Time]

7 minutes ago, Jimbob said:

Wonder if they'll have Pokemon running around in the wild as they did with Let's Go.

But at least we have something on a new mainline Pokemon title, which is good.

I won't be happy if they don't. That's the one main thing I wanted from Let's Go.

As @drahkon mentioned the other day, the Dragon Quest XI overworld is the perfect template for a Pokemon game and it saddens me to see that this does look like more of the same. 

The game looks colourful but the framerate seem to be all over the place in the trailer. Considering how poorly Sun and Moon ran on 3DS, I guess this shouldn't really be a surprise.

Hopefully there will be more changes and surprises shown that do effect the main game. Like many gamers, I'm not fussed about the post game training and raising stats for competitive play, so if the main part of the game is the standard typical things like going from one gym to another without any real ability to explore then I won't be best pleased.

[Sheikah]

It's nice to see a proper 3D game with full camera control (you would hope) but at the same it still looks so dated. I know a lot of Japanese dev studios have really lagged behind the West in that aspect but I was hoping for a bit more. I wish Game Freak would hire new staff or get with the times from a technical pov. Gameplay looks to be the same thing as it always is too. Walk past a stranger, have them ! and then engage in a battle. Meh. Will we also have "All your Pokemon got experience thanks to XP Share" pop up after every. single. battle. too?
Not sure if sarcasm? That's all we heard for a good year or so, over and over.

I was thinking that. The graphics in these games look disappointing - I first thought of a PS2 game when I saw this. They could have done much better.

[Sheikah]

The fixed camera angles, the corridor based world design, the walking past a random person and a ! appearing, the same vacant looking character trainers, picking a starter Pokemon from the same three types, the walking through the same tall grass to be ambushed by wild Pokemon etc, starting off in your house, probably with your mum downstairs to see you off before you meet a professor and your rival etc etc... It's just the same game over and over. And yes I'm sure there's differences once you dig into it, but the overall design of the games have stayed the same all this time. Maybe Sun and Moon changed things a bit by not having gyms but overall it all just seems so formulaic. I think a lot of people wanted a BOTW style shake up to the formula, something completely different but it looks to just be more of the same, with HD graphics.

And technically speaking I'm watching the trailer again and it looks an absolute mess. Shadows flickering like mad, muddy textures, and the whole thing looks like it runs at 20 fps (at most).

It just seems like such a waste of one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world.

Couldn't agree more with you.

 

@Glen-i I think you're missing the point in talking about how many changes there are - they're not changes that really matter to anyone but the hardcore. I've played quite a few Pokémon games over the years and like Ronnie says, the things that don't change are the things that need to change. Pokémon is probably the most conservative franchise out there and it's frustrating to me that they don't challenge themselves to improve their main titles in big ways.

 

Just a minor example, but why does Pokémon need to have a fire, water and grass Pokémon starter? Would it kill them to do something different at the start?

[MindFreak]

6 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

Just a minor example, but why does Pokémon need to have a fire, water and grass Pokémon starter? Would it kill them to do something different at the start?

I hate this too, but it's the only true triangle there is in the type matching. Fighting, Psychic and Dark would be another if Psychic is able to actually hit Dark - such a shame, would be amazing if this was possible.

I agree, though, it would be nice with a true change to the formula but we haven't seen much other than the basics which is perhaps only to reassure the fans that Let's Go didn't mean all that.

[bob]

I hate this too, but it's the only true triangle there is in the type matching. Fighting, Psychic and Dark would be another if Psychic is able to actually hit Dark - such a shame, would be amazing if this was possible.
I agree, though, it would be nice with a true change to the formula but we haven't seen much other than the basics which is perhaps only to reassure the fans that Let's Go didn't mean all that.

You only need a triangle for that one battle with your rival at the start though. You could drop that and then give three (or even more!) random type pokemon to choose from at the start.

[Sméagol]

I thought it look great, but then again the only games I've played are Green and Let's go Eevee. Even more convinced I'm picking this up, but no idea which version yet, and which starter to pick. I do find it a bit disappointing they didn't take some bits from Let's go, like the Pokémon visible in the world, and a partner Pokémon following you. But I'm excited to finally get to meet some new Pokémon. Just out of curiosity, where there actually any new Pokémon shown? Besides the starters that is?

[Aperson]

4 hours ago, Sheikah said:

Just a minor example, but why does Pokémon need to have a fire, water and grass Pokémon starter? Would it kill them to do something different at the start?

Because it is the only triangle with a logical explanation that makes sense to people who've never played the games before.

 

That said, I get what you mean and the popularity in downloads of Pokemon Uranium before that got DMCA'd is evidence that a lot of people want to see this series change things up a bit. Yet, I don't think I quite see that happening too much, I think the Pokemon Company and Game Freak may have a policy of minimum expenditure for maximum profit or something like that, with anything new added being something that can be advertised to sell the game. But then you get the problem that Game Freak "doesn't distinguish between new features and experiments" which suggests that they have a certain way of working right through the company and aren't willing to deviate from that way of working.

 

That being said, in the Direct Morimoto did promise that changes would be made while still keeping the structure of a traditional Pokemon game so I'm going to wait and see what they actually change. I was extremely hyped for Sun and Moon last time around in part due to the 20th anniversary but also because it actually looked like they were finally changing things up. I then played Moon and while it was far from perfect and was missing good features from previous games it became my new favourite Pokemon game.

 

But in the end Uranium was an example of the potential that the series COULD have but is playing it safe.

[Sheikah]

Because it is the only triangle with a logical explanation that makes sense to people who've never played the games before.
 
That said, I get what you mean and the popularity in downloads of Pokemon Uranium before that got DMCA'd is evidence that a lot of people want to see this series change things up a bit. Yet, I don't think I quite see that happening too much, I think the Pokemon Company and Game Freak may have a policy of minimum expenditure for maximum profit or something like that, with anything new added being something that can be advertised to sell the game. But then you get the problem that Game Freak "doesn't distinguish between new features and experiments" which suggests that they have a certain way of working right through the company and aren't willing to deviate from that way of working.
 
That being said, in the Direct Morimoto did promise that changes would be made while still keeping the structure of a traditional Pokemon game so I'm going to wait and see what they actually change. I was extremely hyped for Sun and Moon last time around in part due to the 20th anniversary but also because it actually looked like they were finally changing things up. I then played Moon and while it was far from perfect and was missing good features from previous games it became my new favourite Pokemon game.
 
But in the end Uranium was an example of the potential that the series COULD have but is playing it safe.

I'm sure there's a million ways they can explain the mechanics of the game to people who have never played it before without putting the 95% who've played it before through the same rigmarole.

They could even make a beginning island tutorial or some shiz where you can go to only if you select that you're a new player at the beginning. Loads of options but still the same old setup, game after game.

[Aperson]

Personally I think there should be an optional tutorial. I get why they have it in there, but everyone being forced to do the tutorial is annoying for people like me who've played every generation.

 

The only logical story explanation as to why they do it is because your character is still a kid and therefore has no experience of ever doing this before, they would need to learn from someone to begin with. That's fine, but giving us a menu on whether we actually want to catch a Pokemon or not. There is hope that Game Freak will seriously consider fan views on these kind of things because everyone hated HMs for so long and when Sun/Moon came out they FINALLY got rid of them and that opened up a lot more choice and variety of in-game team moves and composition. You no longer had to run with some Pokemon having only three real moves to use on your team or running with only 5 Pokemon and the other being an HM Slave, or having to constantly swap out your Pokemon from the PC whenever you needed them. I never felt too inhibited by moveset limitations as I never really kept status moves on the team and played the "attack attack attack" style all the way back since Gen 1, with it taking until Gen 4 for me to finally train a full team of 6. But with no HMs I could carry some moves like Stealth Rock, Synthesis and Nasty Plot that I would not have normally considered before. In the past, getting a Pichu with the move Nasty Plot might have meant that I would delete that move at some point in spite of the fact that it's actually a really good move, but no, that little Pichu is now a Level 100 Alolan Raichu and STILL knows Nasty Plot because I realised that I don't actually need two Electric moves like I have on my Luxray on Pearl.

 

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. When they bring it up in game, they should ask if you want to know how to catch a Pokemon and you should have the option of saying "Yes" or "No". Easy, simple effective method to allow veteran players to skip the tutorials while still ensuring newcomers have the opportunity to learn. I hope Game Freak realises that not everyone likes to do the same tutorials every single time, and Morimoto in Sun/Moon proved that he was willing to shake things up from how it has been done before which is very welcome.

[Glen-i]

12 hours ago, LazyBoy said:

As someone who has skipped a couple generations, how has the collecting improved? 

Also where would I be able to find your thread you mentioned where you discuss how the series has evolved? I wouldn't mind a read. 

Off the top of my head, we've got stuff like Critical Captures, Chaining Pokémon, as well as numerous improvements to the breeding mechanics. The Gen 3 remakes had a device that let you choose what Pokémon in an area you encounter next (Provided you'd seen it once).

There's also online trading and of course, being able to transfer your Pokémon between the games through cloud storage.

Here's the thread, it's very cool and not even remotely nerdy.

11 hours ago, MindFreak said:

I hate this too, but it's the only true triangle there is in the type matching. Fighting, Psychic and Dark would be another if Psychic is able to actually hit Dark - such a shame, would be amazing if this was possible.

Ice beats Flying beats Fighting beats Ice.

It's not quite as easy to grasp as Fire - Grass - Water. But it does work with no immunities in there. You could also substitute Ice for Rock and it'd still work.

Shut up! I'm not a nerd!

EDIT: Oh, and Gen 6 kinda already did Psychic - Fighting - Dark.

The starters final evolutions got those three types added to them.

Chesnaught was Grass/Fighting, Delphox was Fire/Psychic and Greninja was Water/Dark.

DOUBLE EDIT: Oh yeah! Fairy beats Fighting beats Steel beats Fairy.

OK, I'm gonna stop now...

Edited February 28, 2019 by Glen-i

[Dcubed]

Fire/Water/Grass is the sensible choice for the starter triad because it is easy for anyone to grasp.

 

Plus Gen 6 already incorporated the Psychic/Dark/Fighting triad into the final evos of all three starters anyway; so that idea is not new.

Edited February 28, 2019 by Dcubed

[Hero-of-Time]

6 hours ago, GenericAperson said:

Personally I think there should be an optional tutorial. I get why they have it in there, but everyone being forced to do the tutorial is annoying for people like me who've played every generation.

THIS. 

The start of some of the Pokemon games are painfully slow and I would love the option to skip all of the tutorial nonsense and just get straight to it. There are many gamers out there that have played through numerous games in the series and I imagine most would like this option to be put into the game. Given how many entries have been released its baffling that it hasn't happened yet.

I wonder how Pokemon Bank will work with this? I have to imagine they are prepping a PB app for the Switch so that people can transfer over their living Pokedex. 

[Hero-of-Time]

Someone over on Era pointed out that those fake Pokemon starters we got a while back were actually pretty close to the mark.

I still want that platypus.  

[Hero-of-Time]

Interesting. The person named the games and region setting a week before the Direct. I wonder if there is any truth to the armoured evolutions? Given the setting I suppose it would make sense. If true, the series really is leaning into Digmon territory some more. 

 

[Dufniall]

The thing that I noticed in the trailer were:

- The shot where your protagonist walks into the stadium, he looks like he is wearing a sports outfit? Pokémon soccer?

- When the logos are shown in the end you hear crowd cheering. So again it seems that a stadium setting is going to be a thing. Combined with the theme, I want Pokémon jousting matches.

I wonder what they are going to do with the theme, Sword and Shield sound quite competitive, war-themed even. It wouldn't surprise me if competition is going to be a big thing. Maybe Sword and Shield are two factions, or teams, and we will see some Splatfest-like competitions going on, both offline and online. So choosing your version will have a bigger impact.

Anyway, time will tell! Too early for me to decide on anything.

[MindFreak]

Third entry name? Pokémon Knight? 

[Dufniall]

[bob]

 

I think I actually prefer these as a 2D sprite style. They don't look so blob-like and actually seem different from one another.

 

 

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, Vileplume2000 said:

- The shot where your protagonist walks into the stadium, he looks like he is wearing a sports outfit? Pokémon soccer?

Not the first time that's happened...

That's one of the games in the Pokeathelon. A feature from HeartGold/SoulSilver. It even changed the trainer's outfit when you took part.

Perhaps what we see in Sword/Shield is an evolution of this?

[Julius]

35 minutes ago, MindFreak said:

Third entry name? Pokémon Knight? 

Could be.

Though, I'm praying that we don't get a third version this time around, to be honest. I feel like Game Freak took a huge step backwards by bringing out Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon -- yeah, I know they were only really just put out to hold people over in a rather low effort way until Let's Go came to Switch, and to keep Pokémon an annual title, so it was virtually unavoidable. But still: they were the first enhanced version games we've had in the core series in nearly a decade (since Platinum!), and historically speaking, the enhanced versions don't exactly set the world on fire (to be very clear: by Pokémon sales standards; almost any other franchise would gladly take these numbers!): 

Sadly the graph also shows why we won't be getting another sequel any time soon... 

With the introduction of the Let's Go sub-series (I acknowledge that it's cisnidered part of the core series, but it has its own brand name and mechanics, so that's why I refer to it that way), I don't think that Game Freak has any reason to go back to enhancing recently released games as they have in the past. It seems like they utilised an improved of the Gen VI engine, which I imagine cuts down on costs considerably, so it's got that going for it too. It'll be interesting to see if they continue to utilise and improve that engine for Let's Go, or if they use Gen VII's engine next time around.

My guess would be that we see Let's Go games biennially, in-between core series games set in new regions and remakes of games in the most recently utilised engine. At the very least, I imagine that we'll see one more pair of Let's Go games after the success of Pikachu/Eevee, and they'll probably decide whether to continue the sub-series if it remains successful. So, I think we'll see something like:

• Sword and Shield in 2019

• Let's Go [insert cute, marketable Johto Pokémon here] in 2020

• Diamond and Pearl remakes, utilising the Sword and Shield engine, in 2021

• Let's Go [insert cute, marketable Hoenn Pokémon here] in 2022, assuming that the brand continues to be successful -- and that Game Freak actually want to continue with the . Otherwise, Gen IX?

This is all assuming that they're going to continue with the Let's Go games for the foreseeable future -- and I don't see any reason why they would pull the plug on those yet. 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Julius

[Shorty]

15 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I won't be happy if they don't. That's the one main thing I wanted from Let's Go.

 

I mean, you're not going to be happy then, because there's not much to see in the trailer but if one thing seems completely clear it's the return of random invisible encounters in tall grass

[Glen-i]

Honestly, I'd be amazed if we saw Diamond/Pearl remakes in the more traditional style in the near future.

Gen 4 fans got shafted so hard by Let's Go. They were this close.

EDIT: So I was looking at the official website for S/S and it only just dawned on me that Sobble is a chameleon. A Chameleon that is blue.

This means three things.

1. Sobble is well on track to being best starter ever.

2. We might actually get a chameleon Pokémon that isn't rubbish in a fight.

3. Game Freak are defo spying on me.

Edited February 28, 2019 by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

18 minutes ago, Shorty said:

I mean, you're not going to be happy then, because there's not much to see in the trailer but if one thing seems completely clear it's the return of random invisible encounters in tall grass

Yeah, I noticed that but i'm secretly hoping that there's a toggle option or some areas that allow for it....long shot, I know.

[Aperson]

Funnily enough, when I saw the term "Armoured Evolutions" the first thing I thought of was Digimon too.

 

Also, anyone find it a coincidence that they are releasing a Pokemon game set in the UK in the year of Brexit?