Why Pokémon Sword And Shield Make Many Fans Unhappy

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 04:29

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of Wild and Mario Odyssey have shown what a Nintendo Switch debut should look like, both combining the familiar with appealing innovations and deserve their popularity. Pokémon remains in the sacred Nintendo Trinity, but Let's Go Pikachu and Evoli disappointed die-hard fans with renewed declarations of love for the first generation and a large portion of Pokémon Go. Game Freak put them off on the next project, but even the game duo that appeared in November did not even begin to meet the veterans' expectations.

For example, the new graphics may look chic, but they are not a massive leap. Popular mechanics are still simply left behind and replaced by even more spectacles. The basic concept remains the same and the innovations seem almost unrealistic. Instead of the customizable level of difficulty that has been desired for years, players get Dyna-Raids, Dynamaxing, Gigadynamaxing and, as recently became known, DLCs as pre-order bonuses for the first time. It almost seems as if someone wants to distract them from the biggest annoyance with new drama: the Pokémon deletion.

Grab them all once

Many things were announced at this year's E3, but hardly a surprise was received as negatively as the interview with Jun'ichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori about the upcoming Pokémon games. The developers announced that for the first time since the third generation, not all pocket monsters will appear in the game. There was criticism on the Internet, dislikes and downvotes, and game freaks' attempts to explain only poured more fuel into the fire.

Pokémon developers have never been particularly interested in balancing, but suddenly it is a major argument for deletion. The Nintendo 3DS has faced the full Pokédex for years, but the stronger Nintendo Switch suddenly has memory issues. A zebra in New York / Einall or Hawai / Alola without a Hula Pokémon Blubella is fine, but suddenly Pokémon have to fit into the region. Darlings, arduous breeding, shimmering luck - they all have to wait with a bit of bad luck on the reserve bench this time and many players see red.

Two steps forward, one step back

The Pokémon World Tournament, competitions, the Player Search System, mega developments, the following Pokémon, active flying, seasons - what do these things have in common? They were all heavily advertised peculiarities, enjoyed great popularity and were nevertheless often found in just one game. Year after year it means buffing up new mechanics and forgetting what has been learned or loved. Potential joy about innovations can hardly arise, because all long-time fans are aware that they will probably disappear anyway.

Otto normal player is not interested in all of this and for him sword and shield will probably feel just as great as all previous Pokémon games. But the core players lack the usual pre-release euphoria. The tone online is unusually rough and in forum posts there is often a lot of anger and a certain sadness. Numerous long-time fans simply no longer want to support a studio that apparently ignores them as a target group. The question remains: what's next? Only game freak can give the answer.