Board 8 > Is Pokemon Sword/Shield Good?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Should I buy it? I was more into Pokmon back in the original era, Red, Gold, and I think I played one of the DS ones once. Should I get it and which one?

It's good, not great. It feels like it's missing content. The DLC adds content to make it better but then you're paying more than $60 total for the "full" package.

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No but maybe yes is the answer to this topic.

What does the dlc add?

Its good, but you can a fair amount was rushed in the second half to hit a good release window. DLC includes new areas, some new Pokmon and access to lots of older legendary Pokmon I think

Well I havent played a real full game since Gold/Silver so Im sure Ill still be wowed. Thanks for the responses yall.

I mean, this is the worst game since at least Ruby and Sapphire.

But if you never even played those have at it.

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From what I've seen online, Sword/Shield seem to be better received by the casual/lapsed players, like you.

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Yeah if you are an old player like me where I have played from the start all games multiple times then you will not like it. BUT if someone is like you will ove this game.

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i've played every gen pretty extensively and loved swsh

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Not Dave posted...

i've played every gen pretty extensively and loved swsh

This.

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no

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It's not great. It's still enjoyable to an extent, just because the Pokemon formula is so rock-solid to this day. But there are plenty of issues which dampen the replay value and leave a bad aftertaste in general.

-The visuals are ugly as sin.
-Anemic post-game content.
-Poor story and dialogue even by Pokemon standards. Two characters in particular, Hop and Bede, are insufferable.
-Many Pokemon are unobtainable. (See: "Dexit")
-The new Gigantamax Pokemon were implemented in an asinine manner, and I can't even imagine how grating it would be to collect them all.
-The final locations were noticeably rushed; one town is literally a corridor.
-Joining online raids and trades is an exercise in tedium.

But on the bright side:

-The new Pokemon designs are uniformly strong and quite possibly the best of any generation since the first.
-Great soundtrack.
-The new "Wild Area" and raids are good fun (aside from Gigantamax bullshit) and add some longevity.
-One of the better campaigns gameplay-wise, thanks to quality-of-life improvements and some good gym battles.
-Great variety of early-game Pokemon, so you can readily customize your team early!

As you can see, it's a decidedly mixed bag. I can't speak on the DLC, though, and I also haven't played since late December. So perhaps they've improved some things?

If you do get a copy, I recommend Shield - the exclusive Pokemon were cooler IMO. But it's easy to obtain the other version-exclusive Pokemon through raids anyway.

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Little kid me would have loved that they finally had a full console Pokemon game.

TheCodeisBosco posted...

-The new Gigantamax Pokemon were implemented in an asinine manner, and I can't even imagine how grating it would be to collect them all.

uhh they've done events covering all the gmax pokemon by now

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Yeah I got all the Gmaxes pretty painlessly by just waiting for their turn in the event cycle.

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Yeah getting the Gmaxes is only a problem if you have no patience and refuse to wait for the events.

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when it comes to single player content for story purposes and whatnot, no. it starts strong and then drops so hard it'll give you a concussion.

beyond that though? easy to "catch 'em all" with the limitations of a single game. the idea of catching a bunch of Pokemon is okay. breeding has never been easier too.

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If you want a story to be invested in, SwSh arent great.

If you want really good presentation and just the general Pokmon formula, theyre great.

They also make it super easy to get into competitive.

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HashtagSEP posted...

Yeah getting the Gmaxes is only a problem if you have no patience and refuse to wait for the events.

I would say this would be a problem in the future when they drop support for the game, but let's be real, gmaxing is getting cut in the next game so there's really no point in getting them after the new game comes out.
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I am with Mewtwo59 on this. I spend so much time to get all these Gigan Forms and in the next generation they will be cut. So what is the point?

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Im gonna go on record and say that I think the Well this may not be in the next game, so I cant enjoy it in this one argument is one of the dumbest arguments people make about games

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Most of the issues that people had with it were due to the game not having 1 or 2 features that a previous game in the series had, or because it didn't have all 1000~ Pokemon. It added plenty of new things and arguably does a lot better than other games though. If you haven't played any recent games, you won't notice any negatives, and in fact, will probably feel amazed how good the series has got. Definitely buy.

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HashtagSEP posted...

Im gonna go on record and say that I think the Well this may not be in the next game, so I cant enjoy it in this one argument is one of the dumbest arguments people make about games

That's not the point I was making. Who still plays the old gen when the new one comes out? What's the point of going out of your way to get something you can't use in the new one that you're probably going to play more? It'd be like someone playing through USUM just for the totem Pokmon.
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That's good that they've covered all of the Gmax events. I honestly thought they would have stretched it out longer.

I still think the Gmax events/distribution model is highly flawed. In a game this starved for postgame content, being able to hunt down the raids on one's on terms would have actually gone a long way in keeping the game interesting. As it stands, I quickly decided "Nah, this shit isn't worth waiting for" and never came back for any events after Snorlax. I have a feeling many people did the same.

Also, fuck the Gmax catch rates for raid guests. Totally takes the fun out of joining those raids. (Maybe they've improved those since I last played too, though?)

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TheCodeisBosco posted...

It's not great. It's still enjoyable to an extent, just because the Pokemon formula is so rock-solid to this day. But there are plenty of issues which dampen the replay value and leave a bad aftertaste in general.

-The visuals are ugly as sin.
-Anemic post-game content.
-Poor story and dialogue even by Pokemon standards. Two characters in particular, Hop and Bede, are insufferable.
-Many Pokemon are unobtainable. (See: "Dexit")
-The new Gigantamax Pokemon were implemented in an asinine manner, and I can't even imagine how grating it would be to collect them all.
-The final locations were noticeably rushed; one town is literally a corridor.
-Joining online raids and trades is an exercise in tedium.

But on the bright side:

-The new Pokemon designs are uniformly strong and quite possibly the best of any generation since the first.
-Great soundtrack.
-The new "Wild Area" and raids are good fun (aside from Gigantamax bullshit) and add some longevity.
-One of the better campaigns gameplay-wise, thanks to quality-of-life improvements and some good gym battles.
-Great variety of early-game Pokemon, so you can readily customize your team early!

As you can see, it's a decidedly mixed bag. I can't speak on the DLC, though, and I also haven't played since late December. So perhaps they've improved some things?

If you do get a copy, I recommend Shield - the exclusive Pokemon were cooler IMO. But it's easy to obtain the other version-exclusive Pokemon through raids anyway.

I am too tired to type so i'll just quote this post

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TheCodeisBosco posted...

Also, fuck the Gmax catch rates for raid guests. Totally takes the fun out of joining those raids. (Maybe they've improved those since I last played too, though?)

They did, the catch rates are good during the events.

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I cant call it a good game, or even a finished game. But it was an enjoyable game.

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mnkboy907 posted...

They did, the catch rates are good during the events.

Nice! Good on Game Freak. (Man, that feels weird to say.)

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Its an objectively bad game but theres some fun to be had with it

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Mewtwo59 posted...

That's not the point I was making. Who still plays the old gen when the new one comes out? What's the point of going out of your way to get something you can't use in the new one that you're probably going to play more? It'd be like someone playing through USUM just for the totem Pokmon.

I was replying to Safer.

I don't disagree that there's less of a point if a new game is already out. But the point NOW is to have fun NOW and not base enjoyment on future games.

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But Mega Evolutions were in multiple games you know. Gigans forms are only in Galar, they have established that.

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If you can't have fun with something in a game right now because a future game in two years might not have it, that's a personal problem.

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Nanis23 posted...

I am too tired to type so i'll just quote this post

I'll also add that lack of exploration is the biggest flaw
No mazes
Every "dungeon" is a linear corridor
No secrets to find

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TheCodeisBosco posted...

The new Pokemon designs are uniformly strong and quite possibly the best of any generation since the first.

Gen 2 best Dex tho.

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Shouts out to Nanis for mentioning some legit points I neglected to include in my OP.

RyoCaliente posted...

Gen 2 best Dex tho.

Definitely a respectable choice. I really love the GSC sprite style, which further endears those Pokemon to me. Gen 4 is another batch that's close to the top.

Gen 5 was my overall least favorite in terms of Pokemon designs. But even then, it gave us the GOAT (Stoutland).

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By Pokmon standards not all too much. Bosco covered that nicely.

But it's a good game!

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red13n posted...

I mean, this is the worst game since at least Ruby and Sapphire.

But if you never even played those have at it.

Original Diamond/Pearl is easily worse than both base RS and SwSh
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I'm waiting for the DLC content...

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