Tag: pokémon

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet offers the best and worst Pokémon experience in years

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Pokémon SV) are the latest entries in the mainline Pokémon video game series.

Scarlet and Violet offer some of the best new ideas implemented into the Pokémon franchise since the series started getting weirder after Generation 5’s Pokémon White and Black (back in 2010). The titles fix issues that avid fans have wanted rectified for years, and are altogether a better experience than Pokémon Sword/Shield or Pokémon Sun/Moon, some of the series’ most recent mainline games.

Unfortunately, these fantastic concepts and new features are overshadowed by disappointing visual glitches, game crashes and bugs. While I still had an outstanding experience during my time with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, all of the issues make the game difficult to recommend.

MissingNo.

It’s worth discussing the titles’ issues first, before delving into what’s good about the game.

Bugs and glitches aren’t new to Pokémon games. For example, capturing Mew and the infamous MissingNo. are two bugs in Pokémon Red, Blue and Green from way back in 1996/1997. However, no Pokémon game has had the number of bugs, visual glitches, and game crashes as consistently as Scarlet and Violet.

I experienced a few game crashes and visual hiccups like Pokémon falling off cliffs to their deaths, wild Pokémon walking through my battles, weird evolution glitches that create double Pokémon, ridiculous frame rate slowdowns, weird camera angles, Pokémon getting stuck in walls or the ground, and wall and ground clippings that are especially noticeable when catching Pokémon.

I’d also randomly encounter a problem where I can’t interact with the overworld and have to open my game menu and map before it starts working again. This is on top of nearly minute-long loading screens whenever I’m in a gym battle, and other 30-second game pauses that make it feel like the game’s going to crash at any moment. Overall, Pokémon SV is slow. Pokémon battles, talking to NPCs, navigating menus — everything about the title is incredibly sluggish, even for a Pokémon game. Some players have experienced glitches far worse than what I’ve encountered, which you can check out here.

Scarlet and Violet are supposed to be AAA titles, but they play like a pre-beta build of Skyrim. Sure, the Switch is an aging system, but that doesn’t excuse these games’ issues. For instance, Switch games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade: Chronicles 3 and even Pokémon Legends: Arceus run better than Scarlet and Violet. They’re also all on the Switch, with the former two also being completely open-world titles.

Game Freak and The Pokémon Company: this is inexcusable. It’s obvious Pokémon SV needed a few more months of polishing before release. I’m not sure what company is to blame, but the end result isn’t impressive as a long-time Pokémon game fan.

Three stories in one

Beyond the unavoidable glitches and bugs, Pokémon SV manages to still be some of the best games the series has offered in years.

You’re a student who’s tasked with three main quests: you have to find Herba Mysticas to help heal your friend’s sick Pokémon, put a stop to Team Star’s school bullying, and complete Pokémon‘s regular gym battles to become the Pokémon League champion.

When I first learned about these three stories, I thought everything other than the main gym challenge would be a waste of time and that I’d focus solely on the gyms. However, I changed my tune when I actually started playing. When you’re able to tackle any of these challenges whenever you want, it creates a totally different experience.

I saw a giant Klawf (a Rock-type crab Pokémon) on the side of a cliff and decided to investigate, which initiated the Herba Mystica storyline. The Herba Mystica challenges all essentially work the same. You find a giant ‘Titan’ Pokémon, battle them and get their HP pretty low. They then run away and eat some of the Herba Mystica and become stronger.

Then your friend Arven joins, and it becomes a two versus-one battle. You finally defeat the Pokémon and take the Herba Mystica for yourself. Arven makes the Herba Mystica into a sandwich, and then your Legendary rideable Pokémon (Koraidon in Scarlet and Miraidon in Violet) eats it, which helps it regain some of its strength. Herba Mysticas replace Hidden Machines (HMs) from previous generations, such as Surf, Fly and Rock Climb, and give these abilities to your Legendary, allowing you to travel the world more easily.

After figuring that out, I tried completing the Herba Mystica challenge before doing anything else. However, solely doing that becomes hard because of the level gap between the five Titan Pokémon. So, in between these challenges, I faced gyms and battled against Team Star. Unlike previous games, you have the freedom to tackle gyms in any order. I technically went from the first gym leader to the fourth one (based on levels). I found the fourth gym leader especially difficult, so before navigating to the fifth gym, I headed towards the second and third gyms to level up.

Facing Team Star was also more difficult than I’d assumed. To take on this part of the game, you need to head to a Team Star base and battle it out with a new mechanic that lets you send out three Pokémon to face off in quick Auto Battles in rotation. If you don’t have a type advantage, the experience can be tougher than expected. Following the Auto Battles, you’ll then face off against the Team Star boss’ who uses a Revaroom, a ghost engine that possesses cars.

What’s different about these stories is the narrative elements they bring to Pokémon. With them, you get two different storylines that are actually interesting and even heart-wrenching. You also learn a lot more about some of the characters in the game. And at the end, all three of these stories tie into one. A solid narrative isn’t something that Pokémon has a lot of experience in, so I appreciated this new form of storytelling.

I really like the narrative direction of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet because it offers a different pace than what we’re used to. Recent games in the series haven’t really offered a deep narrative with stakes, but trying to heal Arven’s Mabosstiff, learn what’s going on with Team Star while putting a stop to school bullying, and uncover what’s in the Great Crater, is interesting and compelling.

The Terastal Phenomenon

Alongside improved storytelling, Pokémon SV offers some of the best gameplay we’ve seen yet in the franchise. One of my favourite things from Pokémon series is trainer battling, and I like how Scarlet and Violet is full of it. That said, making eye contact with a trainer doesn’t initiate a battle like in previous games, and the battle music now commences if you start a conversation with them.

Unlike Sword and Shield, there are plenty of trainers to face, and there’s even someone who will reward you with items the more battles you take part in. Alongside actual trainer battles, there’s the option for ‘Auto Battling,’ which allows users to send out their Pokémon to go out and fight other random wild Pocket Monsters and gain experience. It won’t net you as many experience points as a normal battle, but after a few battles, it starts to add up.

Pokémon SV also has the new Terastal Phenomenon, which lets you Terastallize your Pokémon to swap out their type. If you have a Pikachu with a flying Tera type, when it Terastallizes, it’ll turn to Flying type, getting rid of its Electric type. I find this to be a better battle mechanic than Dynamaxing and Z Moves from the last two generations.

And while I haven’t done any online battles yet, you can imagine the various strategies that could be implemented with Terastallizing in mind.

The Paldea Region

The new Paldea region also offers cool new Pokémon with inventive designs, like Flamigo, for example. The game scales back on some of those huge eyes, small-headed cutesy/chibi-style Pokémon (Sobble, I’m looking at you) and has added several top-tier creatures that are reminiscent of Pokémon from the series’ second and fifth generations. The naming conventions are also stellar, like Oinkloigne, Fidough and Nacli (Salti for the salt Pokémon). We haven’t seen clever names like this in a while.

The region is the largest out of all the mainline series, with parts in hidden underground caves, icy mountains and sandstorm-filled deserts. And with the ability to climb nearly anything, you can reach points that you’d never be able to in older Pokémon games. There’s so much more exploration in this title that it’s somewhat disappointing all Pokémon Centers, Gyms, Titan Pokémon and Team Star challenges are already placed on your map from the beginning. It would have been great to explore and find these out for yourself, but at the same time, that could make the game too difficult for its younger audience.

While gym leaders and other special NPCs can Terastallize their Pokémon, you can also catch these Pokémon in the wild. You can partake in a Tera Raid Battle, where three other trainers (either random NPCs or your real-life friends) can join you. In these battles, you’ll face off against a large Terastallized Pokémon, which you and your team will have to defeat. Once defeated, you’ll have the opportunity to catch it. There are just random glowing Pokémon in the wild which can also be Terastallized, but you have to face them one-on-one.

This also might be the easiest game to catch Shiny Pokémon; I’ve already happened to catch three without even seeking them out. However, if you’re hunting for a specific Shiny, there are ways to improve your odds. For instance, when you set up a picnic and make a sandwich, it’ll increase the chances of seeing certain types of Pokémon, but you can also have the sandwiches increase the chance of making a shiny. This is also the only way to get Pokémon Eggs.

Paradox Pokémon

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are some of the best entries in the series, but unfortunately, they seem to have needed several more months of development. Game Freak, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo should have never released a game this rough. This isn’t a small indie series — it’s the highest-grossing media franchise in the world.

Hopefully, these rampant issues are fixable with an upcoming software update, but we’ll have to wait to find out. If Pokémon Scarlet and Violet receive an update that solves these issues, you should definitely pick up the game. This story will be updated if an update is released.

The game offers new gameplay and battle mechanics, cool Pokémon designs, and some exciting narration. After you complete the three stories, there’s still more to discover and a lot more battles to have, which filled me with joy.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are available now for the Nintendo Switch for $79.99.

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though we may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that helps fund the journalism provided free on our website.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s technical issues are inexcusable

Last week’s launch of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was… rough, to say the least.

Quickly, players took to social media to report all kinds of technical issues with the games, including low-quality textures, choppy framerate and game-breaking glitches. As the tech gurus over at Digital Foundry put it, Scarlet and Violet are “comprehensive technical failures.”

And yet, Scarlet and Violet sold 10 million copies in their first three days, setting a record for a Nintendo game debut. What’s more, many have said they simply don’t care because they’re enjoying the open-world games. Honestly, this has all been incredibly disappointing to see because, quite frankly, it’s inexcusable that these games are in such an abysmal state.

Since the games have come out, I’ve seen a few excuses thrown around. The most common one has been to blame the Nintendo Switch itself. After all, the nearly six-year-old console is underpowered compared to other gaming hardware. But that’s only part of the picture, and two things can be true at once.

Yes, the Switch is dated, but that also doesn’t mean you can’t still do impressive things on it. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a Switch launch title, had a big open-world yet didn’t suffer from the same technical issues. Or look at Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which launched earlier this year on Switch, features a sprawling explorable setting and while looking and running far better than Scarlet and Violet.

Digital Foundry even wrote extensively about how impressed it was with developer Monolith Soft’s optimization work on the Xenoblade threequel, which is also up for Game of the Year at The Game Awards. Ultimately, this isn’t even a question of being some sort of graphics snob — it’s simply expecting a game that plays decently well. You know, buying something and having it actually work properly. And that’s the thing — Nintendo is, on the whole, one of the best in the business for that. Part of the reason why games like Mario, Zelda or even, say, this year’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land are so well-regarded is that they’re incredibly polished. When you buy a Nintendo exclusive, that normally means high-quality — except, it seems, when it comes to Pokémon.

There’s also the fact that Game Freak should be better than this. If you didn’t know, Pokémon is the highest-grossing media franchise of all time. We’re talking bigger than Marvel, DC, Star Wars or Harry Potter. It’s not unreasonable, then, to expect better. In fact, it makes it all the more embarrassing that we see smaller developers with far less in the way of budgets or resources working on Switch exclusives who are nonetheless able to avoid releasing Scarlet– and Violet-level of broken games.

I’ve also basically seen excuses like “well, it’s fun” or “oh, it’s a kid’s game and my daughter likes it, so it’s fine,” which are likewise baffling. So many games are both fun and for kids that also just work — see practically every Nintendo first-party game, like the aforementioned Mario. Part of the brilliance of the company’s games is also that they have universal, all-ages appeal, so trying to diminish that only for Pokémon simply makes no sense. It also ignores how many adults no doubt still play the series. That’s also to say nothing of the many other “fun kids games” that simply aren’t as sloppy as Scarlet and Violet.

Only with Pokémon do we get these sorts of caveats. For months, Sonic Frontiers was lambasted for looking rough-around-the-edges, but that’s okay since the hedgehog is everyone’s favourite punching bag. People may have disappointingly forgotten it, but CD Projekt Red was rightfully mired in controversy over a disastrous Cyberpunk 2077 launch. The little indie team of Hello Games was eviscerated for mishandling No Man’s Sky. I could go on. But with Pokémon, people don’t seem to care. Why do we hold other developers, even indies, to a higher standard than the company behind the literal biggest media franchise of all time? And because people looked past Scarlet and Violet‘s issues and gave Game Freak record-breaking sales, it sends the message that such shoddiness is acceptable. Why even put in the work to polish something when you’ve been told it’s unneeded?

To be clear, I’m not calling individual Game Freak developers lazy. They no doubt work very hard on these games and developers would obviously want to release the best game possible. Instead, it would almost certainly be, as is usually the case, an issue on the business side of things. I have no insider knowledge, but it certainly reminds me of a similar issue that we’ve seen with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the content is being churned out at such a fast rate that individual titles suffer. In the same way that VFX studios simply can’t keep up with that pace, it seems as though Game Freak — which has maintained an annual release pattern and also had Pokémon Legends: Arceus this year — might have been spread too thin.

I also absolutely don’t fault anyone for liking Pokémon. While the series has been far too creatively stagnant for me, personally, there’s nothing wrong with playing and enjoying Scarlet and Violet. What I find troublesome is that people so willing to go to bat for a billion-dollar corporation. You can simultaneously have fun with this first true open-world Pokémon game while also not excusing its issues. The nostalgia some have for Pokémon is almost unparalleled, and it apparently prevents many from even remotely criticizing any of the series’ games.

That said, it has been nice to see some people more appropriately critical of the games. On top of Digital Foundry, it was nice to see IGN‘s Rebekah Valentine both praise the core design and call out Game Freak for the “numerous ways in which Scarlet and Violet feel deeply unfinished.” And some people on Twitter, when they’re not excusing the issues or simply laughing at them, have expressed similar statements. I just hope people remember all of this come next year’s inevitable Pokémon game and hold Game Freak to even a slightly higher standard.

Image credit: Nintendo (via @t_a_b_e_r_u)

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Pokémon releases nostalgia-filled interactive gallery of past games

Ahead of the launch of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the Pokémon Company has released a gallery showcasing the history of the video game series. Unfortunately, the clip is mostly in Japanese, and a simple translation page on Chrome won’t help.

However, looking through this online gallery at all the box art for the Japanese versions of the games is still cool. Clicking on individual pieces in the gallery will show images of the game it’s from. Again, they’re only in Japanese, but it’s still full of nostalgia. As you continue through the gallery, the music also changes depending on the title you’re going through.

It’s a very cool interactive gallery that brings you through all the previous mainline series games. This makes me more excited for the upcoming Pokémon games Scarlet and Violet on November 18th.

Source: Pokémon

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Pokémon shows off Iron Treads and Great Tusks alongside event Charizard

The Pokémon Company’s latest trailer shows off glimpses of what might be two new forms of a generation-two Pokémon, the Dragon Tera Type, and more.

First, let’s get into what might be evolutions or a new form of the rock/ground-Type Pokémon, Donphan. According to the Pokémon website, there will be a Scarlet Book and Violet Book, which are record expeditions written from a long time ago. The NPC Arven will carry one of these books, depending on which game you’re playing.

The first we’re seeing of this book is a look at two “monsters” known as Great Tusk and Iron Treads — which both look to be forms or evolutions of Donphan. All we know, however, is Great Tusk will be in Scarlet, and Iron Treads will be in Violet.

While unconfirmed, it looks like there will be ‘past’ and ‘future’ forms in these upcoming titles. This wouldn’t be the first this has been theorized, given the legendary Pokémon Koraidon and Miraidon and the professors Turo and Sada.

Alongside Great Tusk and Iron Treads, we saw the first look at the Dragon Tera Type. With the Dragon Tera Type, we learned that there will be an event in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, letting players compete in a Raid Battle to catch a Charizard with the Dragon Tera Type and the Mightiest Mark. A Mightiest Mark is a unique Pokémon memory that appears in the Status Summary for Pokémon caught in seven-star Tera Raid Battles. A Pokémon with the Mightiest Mark will be classified as Unrivalled, and you’ll only be able to catch one of them per save file.

This Charizard will be available from  Thursday, December 1, 2022, at 7pm — Sunday, December 4, 2022, at 6:59pm ET and also Thursday, December 15, 2022, at 7pm – Sunday, December 18th 2022, at 6:59 pm ET.

You can find these special Charizards in Black Tera Raid crystals.

Over the weekend, the Pokémon Company also revealed Gimmighoul, a Pokémon that hides in chests and has two forms. The second form, ‘Roaming Form,’ is when a Ghimmighoul leaves its chest and carries a small coin on its back. It seems that this Pokémon can only be caught in this form in Pokémon Go.

It’s worth noting that there are a lot of Pokémon leaks currently circulating, and if you’re like me and want to stay unspoiled, you might want to start muting  “Pokémon” from your social media.

Source: Pokemon (1), (2)

Categories
Mobile Syrup

What’s your favourite Pokémon game?

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are only a couple of weeks from launch and will feature all-new Pokémon, a completely new adventure, new game mechanics and more. However, ahead of their release, let’s talk about our past favourite Pocket Monster titles.

Pokémon started back in 1996 with the first two games, Red and Green, in Japan. Nintendo and the Pokémon Company then brought Pokémon Red and Blue (instead of Green) to North America. While these games are great, they aren’t my personal favourites, or where I started with the series. I didn’t begin my journey with the Pokémon franchise until Gold and Silver on my transparent-purple Game Boy Color. These games offered more than any other Pokémon title, as you fight 16 Gym leaders instead of the base eight available in every other game.

In 2009, these two games were remade into Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. They included new game mechanics like Pokémon trailing behind you and the chance to capture creatures from outside of the Johto and Kanto regions.

HeartGold and SoulSilver are my favourite Pokémon games; they feature the best of the original Silver and Gold with added bonuses. I’m hoping that the Pokémon Company brings these two titles to the Switch one day (even in the Let’s Go style), but for now, I’m looking forward to Scarlet and Violet.

Let us know your favourite Pokémon game in the comments below. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launch on November 18th for the Nintendo Switch.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Pokémon taps into influencer power with latest Scarlet and Violet trailer

The Pokémon Company has released a new trailer for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and it’s probably the weirdest video we’ve seen about the game so far.

The trailer stars Iono, Levincia’s Gym Leader who specializes in Electric-type Pokémon, and also doubles as an influencer. The virtual influencer has pink and blue hair with matching Magnemite. She calls them hairclips, but I totally think it’s the real Pokémon.

In the video, Levincia talks about her life as an influencer for a couple of seconds and then starts playing ‘Who’s That Pokémon,’ asking her viewers to guess her Pokémon partner.

She describes the Pokémon as having “Squishy” texture and being electric-type. Further, she says it has two bumps on its head that can be mistaken for eyes and says that it has an easygoing vibe. This doesn’t fit any current known Pokémon, so this Pokémon must be a creature native to the Paldea region, and one we haven’t seen before.

And that’s where the trailer ends. We don’t get to see the Pokémon and just get a lengthy video of the gym leader and her V-tuber personality. Hopefully, the Pokémon Company doesn’t wait long to release the second part of this trailer.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release on November 18th.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

You can now buy official Pokémon Crocs in Canada

Pokémon Crocs are now available in Canada.

The collection features options for both children and adults and a 5-pack of Jibbitz with Kanto Pokémon. You can head to the Crocs Canada website to check them out.

Below are all of the Crocs:

These Crocs are only around while supplies last, and oddly the Jibbitz aren’t available in Quebec.

Source: Crocs Via: RedFlagDeals

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer reveals totally new Pokémon Wiglett

In the latest Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer, we see a special showcase of the Pokémon World Ecology Society with various clips of a new Pokémon called Wiglett.

While it looks like the Diglett that’s been around since Pokémon Red and Green, Wiglett isn’t the Paldean form of the Pokémon, but a new species entirely. In the video, we see so much more of the Pokémon than we’ve ever seen of Diglett, revealing that the Pocket Monster likes to stretch from its hole.

Details are currently scarce, so we don’t know its type, abilities or anything else outside of its name. Hopefully, the Pokémon Company will fill in some blanks sooner than later.

The actual Diglett will be in the game as well.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet come out on November 18th.

Via: Serebii

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Ed Sheeran teams up with The Pokémon Company on ‘Celestial’ song

Ed Sheeran has partnered with The Pokémon Company to release a new song inspired by the massively popular monster-catching franchise.

On Twitter, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter confirmed that a new Pokémon-themed single, “Celestial,” will drop on September 29th. When Sheeran collaborated with The Pokémon Company last year on a special Pokémon Go performance, it was focused on existing, non-Pokémon-related songs. “Celestial,” however, directly leans into Sheeran’s love of the series.

He briefly teased “Celestial” earlier this week in a social media video offering a glimpse at his large Pokémon plushie collection. He also got a Squirtle tattoo in celebration of the song. As one Twitter user pointed out, Sheeran has even been publicly professing his love for Pokémon since at least 2011 when he described Pokémon Black as “wicked.”

It’s unclear exactly how Pokémon will factor into the song, but Sheeran did share a doodle of himself with a Pikachu on his shoulder in his tweet. Presumably, the music video will feature Pokémon visuals and other inspired flourishes, which is what we saw in previous Pokémon collab songs from the likes of Katy Perry and Post Malone.

Outside of Sheeran’s upcoming single, The Pokémon Company is gearing up for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which will launch on the Nintendo Switch on November 18th, 2022.

Image credit: @edsheeran

Source: @edsheeran

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nintendo announces Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Switch OLED Model

Nintendo has announced a Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Switch OLED Model featuring art inspired by the upcoming games.

Both the legendaries Koraidon and Miraidon are featured on the glossy front side of the white system’s dock, with a design inspired by the series’ iconic Poké Ball on the back. The system itself has illustrations of the three starter Pokémon, Spirgatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly and the Joy-Con controllers have the Switch’s emblems.

The OLED Model features an adjustable stand, a dock with a wired LAN, 64GB of internal storage, enhanced audio and more.

The system will cost $469.99 CAD and launches alongside the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games on November 18th. Recently, Nintendo released a new trailer showing off some new game mechanics, new Pokémon and more about the game’s story mode.

Source: Nintendo