Let another life-long Pokémon fan add their own personal opinion to the mix! What do you mean everyone’s done this already? I want to talk about Pokémon Sword and Shield, dammit!
Citizen journalism is a pretty important discussion when talking about gaming journalism and it’s varieties. In the recent uproar leading to the release of the latest Pokémon games, I thought it’d be a perfect opportunity to talk about citizen journalism – as well as a Pokémon Shield review.
How citizen journalists did a better job than Nintendo
In 2016, the starter evolutions for Sun & Moon were leaked on 4chan months in advance, alongside a lot of other valuable information. Similarly, in May this year, we got our first glimpse of leaks for the latest games and that was it for a while. A lot of people suspected that TPC were running a tight ship after the last release, and they’d managed it pretty well. Weeks before release, we still didn’t know the starter evolutions, PokéDex size, or many new Pokémon due to a lack of official announcements. Until those floodgates opened once again to reveal the entire PokéDex.
Simply put, citizen journalism is the practice of ordinary people reporting news. With devices in our pockets connecting us to the rest of the world, anyone can report on something instantly via social media. These leakers, although illegal, produced information that was in the best interest of many fans. It exposed a lot of Game Freak’s problems early on, preventing a lot of people from buying the game. Without these leaks, I’d argue that there would be even bigger trouble as consumers cried false advertisement. I study communications and work in retail, so I’m pretty conditioned to advertising white lies. But, I mean, come on.
Game Freak and Nintendo were criticised harshly, to say the least, for not being honest about the newest additions to the franchise. Currently, it’s incredibly easy to lie to consumers and get away with it. It’s up to us as players, fans, and just ordinary people to call out the mistakes of our overlords.
Livin’ on a prayer
When I say ‘life-long Pokémon fan’, I mean it as literally as I can possibly get. As if the gift of my existence wasn’t enough, my parents planted a few packs of Pokémon cards into my cot as a gift to my brother. The next few years consisted of him smuggling me into his room to watch the Pokémon anime (wait, do I love Pokémon or is it Stockholm syndrome?) and teaching me how to play Pokémon Red. You may have guessed, I was indeed the coolest toddler around. Later on, at my religious primary school, my friends and I would pray every lunchtime for Pokémon to be real (as I said, I was very cool).
That was a lengthy way for me to phrase that Pokémon means a lot to me. Pokémon Sword and Shield have been my most anticipated Pokémon games for a few reasons. Galar is based on the UK, and I was thrilled to see some places that I could recognise. The graphics were also a huge step up from the 3DS, the customisation looked thorough, and there were some great new Pokémon to enslave. But the biggest reason for me to be excited was the Switch’s promise.
After playing Breath of the Wild, I really expected a masterpiece of a Pokémon game that I’d be playing for months after I’d completed it. Well, we didn’t quite get that, but that’s not to say they’re not good games.
Let’s talk about Dex, baby
As soon as I heard that Pokémon were going to be cut, I thought it’d be a dealbreaker. After many dramatic DMs sent to friends and referencing I wanna catch ’em all, not some of ’em! about 3000 times, there was a point where I realised huh, I’m probably gonna buy this no matter what because I have 0 self-restraint and don’t want to miss out on my dear Wooloo.
For me, a big part of the endgame is to hunt for my favourite Pokémon and compose my ‘dream team’. For others, it will be completing the entire PokéDex, which, if nothing else, is at least easier now? The freedom to play with whatever combination of monsters anyone would like is one of my favourite elements about the games, and I definitely felt the loss in the Sword and Shield endgame. I know a lot of people really don’t give a flying Farfetch’d what Pokémon are in, but you can’t argue that the decision split Pokémon fans completely.
However, whilst I felt the loss of my endgame dream team hunting, the lack of Pokémon really wasn’t noticeable in the main game. I spent a decent amount of time in the wild area and it didn’t seem at all like the Pokémon I was seeing were repetitive. Yes, it sucks that I couldn’t get a Salamence (or Suicune, or Tyrantrum, or Luxray, etc.) but, for me, the lack of Pokémon wasn’t at all noticeable during the bulk of the game.
Don’t forget about the price tag
As a broke student, I was determined not to pay £50 and managed to snag it for £35, because I care about being able to eat. My game purchase procedure (GPP, if you will) is usually a measure of how much I want the game and how long I will play it for vs. how much it is – which is probably more sensible than 90% of my other purchases (like buying 60 gingerbread men).
I finished Pokémon Shield in 22 hours after spending a decent amount of time in the wild area, exploring every single nook and cranny, and going out of my way to complete a few side missions and extra tasks. As this was a beloved franchise and a much-anticipated game, I was willing to pay a little more and overall, the game was pretty much worth the £35 I paid. Considering past games have taken upwards of 40 hours (not just because of the ‘I’m a child and this game is my second life’ clause) the difference in playthrough time was the major problem for me. I attribute a lot of the loss in time to the lack of grinding, which isn’t a bad thing at all and a huge quality of life change, but it seemed like I sneezed and the whole game was complete.
Born to be wild (area)
In all of my longing for a Breath of the Wild-style Pokémon adventure, the Wild Area allllmoost hits the mark. I loved being able to see Pokémon out and about, cycling around what felt like a truly lived-in world (and all the danger that came with it). But let’s get it out of the way: the tree. Yes, that one.
I don’t exactly think the tree is the issue for the Wild Area, but it does represent its problems on a bigger scale. The charm and beauty that other areas have in the game should’ve extended itself to what is the most visited and replayable area of the game. It feels rushed and empty when compared with the other towns and cities, the lack of detail is what gives it the N64 quality – and not in a good way.
The concept, however, is great. Again, it’s a step in the right direction, but with more TLC I could see it being one of the best features for a Pokémon game to have. Being able to see other trainers and more unity between online features makes it an immersive experience that feels more like an MMO than a single-player RPG.
The Journey
In the past, I’ve felt the Pokémon games leant a little too heavy into ‘this child is going to save the universe’ without much explanation. But this time around, it was an avoidance of everything a hero should be doing. Every time something happened, it seemed that Leon (the unbeatable champion btw) would go and handle it. For the player, it seemed as if we were completely outside of the main events until the very last moments.
It’s a difficult line to walk between having a believable plot versus an enjoyable one, and something I think is difficult to nail down in a Pokémon game. But it fell flat in Sword and Shield by keeping the player removed from the conflict entirely until the end, the story arc was more of a vertical line.
They definitely broke the mould with Team Yell, who weren’t too far removed from Sun and Moon’s Team Skull in terms of concept. For a region based on the UK, they definitely pinned down the hooliganism and even more modern fan culture. Whilst I’d love to have seen a bit more of their antics, they felt incredibly grounded to both the Pokémon world and our own. Overall, the story felt lacklustre but was improved by some genuinely good characters, such as Team Yell.
Everything else
Dynamaxing and gigantamaxing were this generation’s gimmick, featuring Pokémon growing supersized and occasionally changing in design. It felt very reminiscent of the now-retconned mega evolution, except so rare in its use. It could only be used in gym battles and raid spots, which arguably makes sense. However, there’s a serious lack of other places that it can be used. This, coupled with the fact gigantamax Pokémon can only be caught from certain raids, makes the feature incredibly exclusive. It’s a shame that Game Freak keep including one-off gimmicks rather than introducing things that could be used in generations to come, and I think they had something special with mega evolution. In my opinion, this has been the most ‘gimmicky gimmick’ yet.
The ‘black Wooloo’ of the games? CAMPING. My GOD, I love the camping feature. Half of my research for this review was scrolling through hashtags on Twitter to find the best of the best. It brings your Pokémon to life, much like my primary school wishes, and gives them a space to interact and just be adorable in general. To me, this is a feature that can only get better with time. Adding more interactions, toys, activities, and just general quality of life changes will easily make this a perfect feature. I can absolutely see the curry-making returning in future Diamond and Pearl remakes in the style of poffins, so here’s hoping they come to us soon!
Not to mention, the main standout of these games, the customisation. Obviously, the outfits were a big step up from the last few instalments, but there are so many other options that let you craft your own journey, even down to the number on the back of your tournament jersey. I spent an obscene amount of time making and trading the in-game cards with people, which I think is another unsung hero of the customisation features. Other options like your cycling outfit and tent colour were also amazing to see.
Should you buy it?
Not for full price. The PokéDex cuts, lack of endgame content, low playtime and general ’emptiness’ led to me giving this instalment a no. They’re bloody good games, full of some beautiful locations, great new Pokémon, and some all-around brilliant changes in the right direction – but it’s just not worth the £50. I enjoyed playing them, but can’t imagine paying that much for what I got. Here’s hoping they learn from their mistakes and take the feedback in their stride!
Do you agree? Have you given them a play yet or are you holding off? I want to know your opinions! Let me know!
