I have been playing Pokémon since Pokémon Blue hit the shelves, and I got hooked on them (game-wise) when I bought Sapphire with my hard-earned money. So I still buy every Pokémon mainline game when they arrive, no exceptions – nine generations later. I often pick the ‘lesser’ purchased version, going with Blue, Silver, Sapphire, Pearl, White, White 2, Y, Moon, Ultra Moon, and Shield (I also bought the remakes, but I made the same choices there). So, fast forward to the announcement of gen 9. I picked Violet – even though I’m a fan of history. I just had an underbelly feeling I should run with Violet. And I was right (except for a few version exclusives). Let’s do this!
For the sake of this review, I’m going to assume that everyone reading this at least has a basic understanding of what Pokemon is. So, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are set in the Paldea region of the Pokémon universe, which appears to be loosely based on the Iberian Peninsula. The player visits the Naranja (in Scarlet) or Uva (in Violet) Academy in time for the annual Treasure Hunt, where the rival character, Nemona, encourages the player to explore Paldea and find their own treasure. This is where Scarlet and Violet shine; instead of the usual track to the championship, it’s time to power up and pick one of the three stories to chase. Three, you say?
Three for the price of one!
You can pick between three storylines by breaking with the usual Pokémon storyline. Starfall Street has the player facing off against a gang of rebellious students called Team Star. The Path of Legends storyline has the player team up with Arven to explore the Paldea region to fight giant Pokémon and obtain the Herba Mystica. Victory Road follows the series tradition of fighting the region’s eight Gym Leaders to face the Champion and become the best Pokémon Trainer. Unlike previous titles in the mainline games, there is no set order for the player to meet the Gym Leaders. I’m not going to spoil much more of the story since you can experience that for yourself (and like I said, it’s three stories in one).
Gameplay
Gameplay-wise the latest addition to the mainline series feels like a hybrid between traditional Pokémon games and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The game’s central premise is still the player that obtains creatures known as Pokémon, primarily through catching and trading, and uses them to explore the world and battle other Pokémon trainers. In Violet, however, we gain open worlds, including urban areas and open wilderness without borders between the two, unlike previous installments in the Pokémon series. In Arceus, you still had a bit of teleportation from one area to another, so this is a significant step in the right direction.
Another upgraded version of earlier tested gameplay is the mounting system. To assist in travel, Koraidon, Miraidon, and the Pokémon, Cyclizar, can be used to traverse the environment. What starts as a simple ‘bike’ mechanic can quickly evolve into more than just driving around town. Another addition is a mechanic called “Let’s Go,” which allows the player to send out a Pokémon to roam the overworld and automatically battle wild Pokémon; rumor is that it also helps in evolving certain Pokémon. In addition, co-op play with up to three other players is included, which means you can get couch/tv co-op with your significant other, children, friends, and other random players and achieve your treasure hunt together.
Tera Gimmick
The new mainline games often introduce a new function, like Mega Evolution, Dynamax, etc. For example, Scarlet and Violet introduce the Terastal phenomenon, which gives Pokémon a crystalline appearance, as well as changing a Pokémon’s type to match that Pokémon’s “Tera Type,” as well as unlocking special moves such as Tera Blast, which, when used by a Terastallized Pokémon, becomes a move of the same type as the Pokémon’s Tera Type. This is one of the more clever gimmicks in the later mainline games and is a better addition than Dynamax. Especially since the fact that a Tera type is not always the same as the main Pokémon type. This can result in some pretty weird type changes that can be used to your advantage (or the disadvantage of your opponent).
The future of Pokémon?
I did not like Sword/Shield. I never clicked with the game or how it presented itself. Call me old school, but I did not need an open-world Pokémon game in my life (yeh, I hear you, boo, snap it). I was a big fan of the games until gen 5; after Black/White (1/2), the games changed into X/Y, and this was the first game that didn’t grasp me like the previous gens. Sun/Moon did a great job of pulling me back in, but Sword/Shield killed it off again. I enjoy playing a game in a particular set path – with some freedom to pick my assets.
Sword and Shield throw you into the open world setting with a guided path – but Scarlet and Violet give you freedom with a bit of a nudge in the right direction. How the world is formed in Scarlet and Violet feels more logical than in Sword and Shield. With its regions and climates, I think Arceus set the tone in the right direction, which evolved into an open world with quest options – but some restrictions on where to go. I’m not preaching for a return to the 2D settings found in a game like Ruby/Sapphire since Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl tried that (with chibi models) and failed a bit (I enjoyed them, though). I’m just hoping they will evolve the way Scarlet and Violet tackle the Pokémon world into a more stable world, with more ‘depth’ added to its surroundings.
Conclusion
I did not mention the glitches or frame drops for a reason. Yes, I encountered some frame drops (and stiff walking people), but no, I did not find any other weird glitches. However, I feel that Scarlet and Violet should have been polished a bit more before shipping them out. A month more of patching and bug fixing should have and could have prevented the problems faced with this release. Did I enjoy the game? Yes, I did, and I’m still enjoying the game since I haven’t caught every Pokémon I wanted and need to trade some of them with friends of mine. Did it rekindle any old love I had for the series? I sure did; I’m happy with the gen 9 Pokémon and laughed at some of the concepts they came up with. However, I feel they should have polished a bit more, which reflects my grade on the game. It could have been higher if the game worked as it should have; don’t skip out on it; it’s much less of a hassle than some clickbaity articles are making it out to be. Now join me in singing the Pokémon Rap gen 1 through gen 9; I’ll start: I want to be the best there ever was, To beat all the rest, yeah, that’s my cause! Electrode, Diglett, Nidoran, Mankey, Venusaur, Rattata, Fearow, Pidgey…
