Pokemon Sword & Shield was filled with hype, hate and a clear split among the Pokemon community. There are people who attack it for having little improvement in graphical context, clonky game features, and the greatest of all, the “Dexit”—aka the decision to not include national pokedex in the game. There are people who also defend the game for having more “quality of life” improvement features such as the “wild area”, a somewhat unique story, and Grookey! (no joke)Still, let’s see why people are torn between loving and hating the Switch’s first core Pokemon game.
Pokemon Sword, Pokemon Shield and You
Remember the time when you played your very first Pokemon game? Well I did, and it was literally chills. I actually started as a Pokemon TCG fan since I was little, but just started in the Pokemon video game world not to long ago, just around the XY era, or Gen 6. The thrill of playing Pokemon again gives one a sense of nostalgia and excitement, but when you don’t experience that same excitement as before, maybe you’re gotten a little more mature and deep inside, you’re looking for a game more suited for you. Maybe, just maybe, you’ve outgrown Pokemon.
What I saying is that Pokemon Sword and Shield focuses more on the kids and people who are new to the Pokemon world. I admit that, as a Pokemon fan and competitor, Pokemon Sword and Shield tended to get pretty repetitive. I understand that some people here are looking for something new, but I guess it’s now more on our “gaming maturity”. We can ask ourselves, “Do we still love Pokemon? Or have my gaming tastes just matured?”
Pokemon Sword, Pokemon Shield and the Community
We talked about Pokemon and we talked about you and me, the individual game; now, let’s talk about the community. If you noticed, most of the rants and bashing on the game were from long-time hardcore Pokemon fans—the type who usually strive to complete the Pokedex on every game or try to catch all the shiny Pokemon. On the other hand, those who are defending it are either returnees (aka nostalgia seekers) or the new ones (those who haven’t played Heart Gold/Soul Silver yet). I think that without the National Dex, they deem Sword/Shield “too easy”, with no challenge and thrill whatsoever.
The community is torn, like a civil war. There are people who attack it like a Sword, and then there are people who defend it like a Shield. See what I did there?
Personal Take
What do I think of Pokemon Sword/Shield? It’s forgivable. Yes, I can see some flaws and shortcomings of the game, like graphics they could improve even a little on, weirder Pokemon designs, and all that, but I still loved it. I’m really hooked, especially with the Max Raid concept, since I’m a JRPG/gacha/Monster Hunter fan. Wild Area is fun, especially when I’m hunting shiny Pokemon. I’ll admit that there are better Pokemon games, but Pokemon Sword/Shield is a strong start of the game series in the Nintendo Switch. Rate: 8.5/10
gif credits: Nintendo
The Animated Scholar 