Pokémon Scarlet & Violet - PLEASE TAG SPOILERS/LEAKS

[KHCast]

55 minutes ago, Sonicka said:

Graphically speaking, this is far superior to Legends Arceus - I get the feudal-era vibe that game was trying to emulate, but it was a poor trade off for my tastes and made the game feel empty and barren for the most part. Visually, pokemon needs a vibrant colour palette and this is delivered in here in buckets. There are also all these neat little visual touches with the flowing grass and sparkles on the lakes and sea which is also very welcoming. It's not like, standout switch visuals or anything, far from it - but it's matches the world I personally would have pictured Pokemon to look like. In terms of the style they went for with the NPC's this time - I'm a purest in what I like... buuut I don't hate what they did here, it meshes well with the art style of the game very well and I soon gelled into them not looking all regular long eye'd anime anymore. 

Eh, I never jived with the new design, and the colors for this one seem a bit too vibrant and shiny imo. I think I still prefer Arceus visual and aesthetic wise it felt a lot more atmospheric while keeping things simple and familiar 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Please tell me this isn't true.

[Sonictrainer]

12 minutes ago, Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon said:

Please tell me this isn't true.

Sort of?

You can change your hat, gloves, glasses/shades, socks, shoes, other clothes, and even wear jackets over your school shirt, but your character will still rep the shirt and pants (either as shorts or jeans).

I'm not sure if this changes after beating the main game though.

[Sonicka]

2 hours ago, KHCast said:

Eh, I never jived with the new design, and the colors for this one seem a bit too vibrant and shiny imo. I think I still prefer Arceus visual and aesthetic wise it felt a lot more atmospheric while keeping things simple and familiar 

That's fair enough. I think I defo sit on the polar opposite for that title for my visual tastes - gameplay helps make up for this (and gameplay always should be key), but Legends strived a little too far into the beta-build looking category for my liking, especially with it's odd bluey sheen that glossed all the surfaces. It ran well enough though. But I didn't feel like I could "live" in that world - although that was probably the point considering the era and storyline / concept behind it. I do prefer the NPC/main character design looks of Legends though, it keeps with the usual character type designs I'm used too. 

 

1 hour ago, Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon said:

Please tell me this isn't true.

Yeah, this does suck. As mentioned above you can change other things around it (and the customisation on the character itself is a lot deeper), but man, I really don't want to wear school clothes throughout this game... even though thats one of the themes. 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

5 hours ago, Sonicka said:

That's fair enough. I think I defo sit on the polar opposite for that title for my visual tastes - gameplay helps make up for this (and gameplay always should be key), but Legends strived a little too far into the beta-build looking category for my liking, especially with it's odd bluey sheen that glossed all the surfaces. It ran well enough though. But I didn't feel like I could "live" in that world - although that was probably the point considering the era and storyline / concept behind it. I do prefer the NPC/main character design looks of Legends though, it keeps with the usual character type designs I'm used too. 

 

Yeah, this does suck. As mentioned above you can change other things around it (and the customisation on the character itself is a lot deeper), but man, I really don't want to wear school clothes throughout this game... even though thats one of the themes. 

So, what does this game get right?

[Kuzu]

The gameplay is way better as usual and speaking strictly as a competitive player, some of the changes I find to be....interesting. 

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

28 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

The gameplay is way better as usual and speaking strictly as a competitive player, some of the changes I find to be....interesting. 

Oh? Do tell. While the game is a buggy mess, there is still the chance that there's a good game buried down in there.

[Sonicka]

6 hours ago, Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon said:

So, what does this game get right?

I think a lot of my comments got lost at the tail end of the last page typically. My experience based on the first handful of hours:

• A Vibrant Colour Palette - there are neat little visual effects and lovely BOTW style long grass that I would expect to see Pokemon roam.
   
• Surprisingly there is some Excellent Open World Design here, there's this wonderful sense of verticality to the first area that makes just that section in itself feel massive in scope.
   
• The Pokemon inhabit this world. They have habitats and some of them hang about in clusters. They run away / hide / follow you / react to the environment appropriately / watch you battle / look worried in the background as you capture other Pokemon. The world feels lived in.
   
• Pokemon no longer just spawn in front of you on the map, nor do you enter random battles in long grass (unless you literally run into something small and don't see it).
   
• Like Arceus before it, battles stay in the Open World. There's no moving to a battlefield which helps make everything feel cohesive and live when other things are still going on around you.  
   
• Miraidon / Koraidon. I know that lot aren't that hot on these designs - but in terms of visual storytelling they won me over very quickly and are some of the best animated Pokemon in the game. I care about my mount an awful lot. 
   
• The Let's Go mechanic. As this exists, I don't miss the 'dodge' move too much or 'instant catch'. Used correctly and you can power through certain areas with your lead Pokemon if you wanted and it can be useful for grinding low levellers or getting your team up to speed.
   
• You can still sneak around and catch Pokemon Off guard, or lock on and throw a Pokeball at them to start a battle.
   
• Terastilising (sp?) might be the most interesting battle mechanic yet, doubling your type moves if it's the same tera type or outright changing your base power moveset if it's different. This could make for some very interesting battle scenarios later on or against RL players. 
   
• The UI and shortcuts. this has been a complaint for some but I personally have found this to be the quickest menu system which gives you fast access to your Pokemon & items for rearranging your wares compared to past titles. It doesn't interrupt / pause the flow of the game either which is a nice touch. There's some nice shortcuts to be found as well (such as fast healing). 
   
• I haven't unlocked my ride fully yet, so have found that if you drop off a cliff Rotom (your phone) will save you. You also get the option to fast travel back up to the area that you fell from which is such a godsend. 
   
• The adaptive music, love this. Oh, and there's much more music from Toby Fox than I realised. YEEESSS.  
   
• I've not tried the Multiplayer out fully yet, but this is one of those neat features I can't wait to trial with a pool of friends. This is also where a large amount of those bizarre human contortion bugs come from as it struggles rendering your mates on screen simultaneously. I've seen this sort of jank in other games so it's nothing new to me - but they've certainly taken the weirdness to another level in Pokemon! XD
   

3 hours ago, Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon said:

Oh? Do tell. While the game is a buggy mess, there is still the chance that there's a good game buried down in there.

Personally, I think there is.

I also believe the entire situation has been slightly overblown as (apart from some performance & camera issues) I haven't been dealt a particularly bad hand by the game that's made it unplayable or distracting as social media will have everyone believe. There's some problems and jank that needs to be sorted out, sure - but the same can be said of Sonic Frontiers and I still had a wild time with that game regardless of its issues

Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving Game Freak a free pass by any means for what they do need to fix - but so far the game hasn't presented itself to me as a buggy unplayable mess. 

[DaBigJ]

No fucking way.

[KHCast]

It’s honestly wild seeing everyone on Twitter go “yeah it’s a mess, BUT it’s super fun I had a good time and it’s one of the best games in the series”

 

like sure mechanically from a gameplay perspective maybe, but like…doesn’t this effectively negate the outrage? Like, I’m not seeing what the incentive for GF is to improve here in future if they’ve witnessed first hand people still shower them game with praise, and hand over their money, and treat the shitty stuff as an aside that doesn’t effect their overall enjoyment. It really just tells me if I was one of these company executives, that I can get away with this stuff with little consequence.

Especially when you consider patch culture and how that ALREADY convinced AAA companies that they can release shitty broken products now and just patch them later 

[Sonicka]

The problem is that Pokémon sells regardless of the quality of the final product.

The other issue is that there is a really good game in here under the tech issues. Potentially it has enough merit to be the best Pokémon game in the series in terms of progressing the series forward IMO, It just wasn’t ready for release. Not that TPC care all that much. 

I really can’t imagine that GF are happy with this either and are probably embarrassed by the situation. I mean, they are human beings at the end of the day and to me this just reeks of unreasonable deadlines and not enough resources (which is ridiculous considering). But a large portion of the money pool is spent on the marketing hype, so they have to follow through with their goals.

IMO, the better plan would have been to let the BP / SP remakes at the tail end of 2021 see fandom through the year, release Arceus now in time for Xmas 2022, which would then give the Sc/Vi devs more time to tidy this gem up for a 2023 release window. But TPC are greedy buggers, and some corporate bigwig probably thought 3 big games in one year would amount to large revenue returns so they could reap the rewards. 

It sucks because whilst I really enjoy this title, I’m not immune to seeing how much better it COULD have been. This then has the downside of giving off the impression that this quality of game is acceptable. I mean, it defo isn’t an unplayable mess by any means - but it is an untidy game world due to the lack of polish. 

Sw/Sh, BD/SP, Legends, and now Sc/Vi - it’s the same song and dance, unfinished feeling products rushed out to the shelves. But they sell because the IP is Pokémon, and it’s a global selling phenomenon. 

 

[Sean]

Friend gifted me this game so I'm gonna dive into it soon but I've already been getting the best entertainment from the Twitter clips alone, thank you Game Freak

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

This....this right here is truly the peak of mankind.

[Tornado]

10 hours ago, KHCast said:

Especially when you consider patch culture and how that ALREADY convinced AAA companies that they can release shitty broken products now and just patch them later 

To be fair, patch culture only applies if you give a shit enough to patch it!

[Soniman]

I actually don’t know how consistent Game Freak is with that stuff, hopefully the sheer DAMAGE this games unfinished state is doing to the brand will light a fire under their ass and start working on one asap

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

It is definitely a frustrating bout we have here. On closer inspection,  I do get what people mean about the prospects of their being a great game buried beneath all the glitchy rubble.

Now, hopefully GameFreak don't take the backlash as a sign to not change anything and don't regress.

[Kuzu]

Pokemon has one of the most outspoken and loyal consumer bases on the internet, no surprise they'll downplay the issues and focus on the positives.

And unlike good ole Sonic 06, Pokemon has enough goodwill built up where this probably won't affect anything about the franchise in the long term.

 

Like this is embarrassing for a franchise like Pokemon but its popularity is iron clad at this point. The main difference is that these are issues that go beyond just fanboy rage at Dexit.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

I like how everyone seems to have taken a liking to Larry for being a generic overworked salaryman

Spoiler

who's also a gym leader and Elite Four.

 

[Soniman]

So in spite of all of the week known technical and visual issues, the sales were record shattering, bad word of mouth has done nothing to stop it. This is the best Pokémon launch of all time.

Man

[KHCast]

And yet Twitter will probably be shocked when the next game doesn’t improve in its technical quality and is another rushed out product 

[Sonicka]

Not surprising this is their biggest success. It’s had a strong marketing campaign until release, it’s their first open world title, and no one cares enough about the problems. TBH even the loudest of twitterers detailing the games bugs are still the vocal minority in comparison. 

Almost everyone I’ve spoken too either IRL or online that have this game day say exactly the same few things - this is the 3D Pokémon game they always wanted, Pokemon finally pushed forward into the open world at last, or that the game is a fun, engaging or engrossing experience to play. 

The Bugs? The Glitches? The Unpolished issues? These can be easily overlooked or ignored for 90% of the player base, especially the much younger audience. Some people have even claimed they haven’t come across any issues whatsoever (which frankly, I find very hard to believe).

Unfortunately I’m part of the problem and am in the majority that just don’t care enough about the bugs to not be having such a fun time with this game. It is that good. 

Frankly, this is probably the best worst Pokémon game ever released. And Gamefreak should be simultaneously proud and embarrassed. 

Arceus also somehow just Won a Golden Joystick award for best Nintendo game of 2022. There’s really no justice in this world. 

[DaBigJ]

2 hours ago, Soniman said:

So in spite of all of the week known technical and visual issues, the sales were record shattering, bad word of mouth has done nothing to stop it. This is the best Pokémon launch of all time.

Man

So essentially, Pokemon doesn't have to try anymore? Great, I love it when unpolished games get rewarded.

Yet when other franchises get busted releases they get shat on and flop. But I guess Pokemon can get away with it at this point. 

[Sega DogTagz]

There was no doubt this game was going to sell. All the negative feedback we've been launching is more likely to rustle a few eye lashes than deliver a full on black eye.

 

It just kills me that the major companies, with the biggest budgets can feel good about setting trends like this. All your doing is normalizing buggy, unfinished messes and showing other devs that they can get away with this kind of thing. Now we get to look forward to another few years of every other dev on the planet weighting the potential cost benefit of shoving their products out the door half baked. Corporate profits over Professional Pride.

 

You wouldn't accept this trash from the chef making your food or the guy building your house. Vocal minority or not, this level of indifference is predatory because they know people will buy it like a drug.

[Kuzu]

Brand power matters above anything else. It doesn't matter if the games are shit if people are still enjoying them at the end of the day.  The goal of a brand is to make money and that's exactly what these games are doing.

Obviously this is disheartening if you're a fan who wants what is best for the series and hate to see it squander its potential like this yet still be rewarded, but you can't really dictate how other people spend their money sadly.

 

So...I'd say either just leave well enough alone or....use your anger and salt to get good enough to get into the industry and change it from within :V

The second isn't even a joke.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Given the overall improvements to the franchise....I'm not too surprised that the game has sold well. It controls like a travesty, make no mistake, but it provides a lot of new bouts and features that are quite a marvel to the franchise.

Now, one thing to note, is that the problems were indeed bad enough that fans got Nintendo to actually grant refunds.

 

For all the cash that Game Freak may be rolling in from this, heads might roll if the concern is raised over the fact that things got bad enough that the best move considered was to straight up allow refunds.