General Discussion

Have not played the games yet but I'm hoping to get Scarlet for Christmas

kinda upset about the state of the game tbh,
I do wish that the creators get breaks and like, not crunched to hell....
like, idk, i just think that the 1 year per game schedule seems kinda... soul and body crushing

I'm super torn on the game! on one hand I feel bad for even buying it since supporting any game clearly produced under horrific crunch makes me feel icky- not to mention that buying it tells the companies 'no it's ok, you can release super buggy, low performance games and no one minds so much' which... obviously I don't want to do!

But on the other hand, this game feels like it's really taking in community feedback with how they've made core functions like shiny hunting, IV/EV training and thus getting into competitive pokemon much easier and simpler to use.
The story in this game is also pretty phenomenal, I honestly think the character writing in particular is gold standard and the way they created such a dramatic tone shift at the end was very impressive!
I adore the whole cast of pokemon available- the returning guys are excellent and all the new pokemon are wonderful! The soundtrack was pretty great too, barring maybe the terrastalisation gym theme which plays unfortunately often for how grating it is.

Emphasising first that the game's major graphics issues are unacceptable, the few fully animated scenes were really impressive to see, that was the first time a 3d pokemon game actually looked up to code (aside from glitches), and I hope in future we can see a whole game animated like that! Maybe :') Here's hoping.

So yeah, overall I'm pretty on the fence, if I had to rate the game overall it'd probably be like a 8/10- I'm honestly being way too nice about the glitches etc :/ There's a certain level of quality, polishing and general care they haven't provided in years, and it's just sad to see. But at the end of the day, the games are still super fun and do show innovation and growth, but that's the problem. There's only hints of those things, and only minimal evidence of them. Even dedicated fans seem to be struggling to defend the franchise by this point.

I have Scarlet! I knew I would love it, even with its issues aside. I also feel bad for buying it and directly supporting the crunch they put these devs under. I wish they would stray from the strict schedule of every 3 years and they JUST put out Legends: Arceus this year too.
I keep crying playing the game because I love it so much!! I love Pokemon so much!!!!! The story is so good!!! I love a lot of the new designs!

My smallest complaints: The poor graphics, the textures being repeated are so obvious on like, cliffs and stuff. It's like GameCube level or worse, but it reminding me of GameCube games just adds to the nostalgia factor tbh. I hate the walk cycles going down in framerate from not even that far away, that kind of drags me out of the "immersion" or whatever.

My biggest complaint though, and I have no idea if it was an intentional choice: shinies. I loved how they sparkled and made a noise in the overworld in Legends: Arceus. I pass by so many of them now without even knowing it!

More random thoughts: I'm genuinely surprised I loved all the starters this gen, and all of their evo lines. I had such a hard time choosing between Sprigatito and Fuecoco. I chose Sprigatito in the end but I'm thinking about getting Violet now too and choosing Fuecoco in that.

The criticisms of the game are justified and it's a total rushed, broken, buggy mess.
That being said, I've had more fun with it than I have with a Pokemon game since before the release of SuMo.

The gameplay is fun
The story is one of the best, if not the best I've seen from Pokemon (There were some moments that made me tear up and the ending is genuinely fantastic). Game Freak's writing really shines when it focuses on smaller, more personal character moments.

This is the first game that's even got me slightly interested in creating meta raid mons and shiny hunting.

I'm just a bit sad, because I feel like if it had one more year worth of development, it would be the best Pokemon game in the series. I really wish GF wasn't shackled to this one game a year release schedule. I do believe they still have love for the series and new, creative ideas, I just don't think they have the time to execute it and refine it properly (and take care of themselves as humans).

bad bad bad. the graphics are hideous, the gameplay isn't anything I couldn't get from another game, and the game can barely run at 20fps. It stutters more then I do!! I didn't buy the game but I played a friend's and only did for like 2 hours(when I play a video game its uasilly for like a whole lazy day if I like it)
but this is what happens when a company keeps pushing its employees to brink in order to squeeze out a half-finished product.
I'm glad people can enjoy but its not for me

I'm so mad at myself. I just failed a scream tail on a broken spawn area for shinies. It had red eyes but I ran away like an idiot.