Pokémon’s 9th gen brings problems

Pokémon is one of the longest running franchises in gaming history starting in 1996 and having games come out consistently since then. Pokémon  is in its 9th generation of games with the most recent release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The release of these games have not been without controversy mostly because of the games performance running very poorly. 

The game was full of glitches and bugs upon launch and while at the time of writing it has gotten better lots of bugs still remain. The backlash due to performance has led to the games being some of the lowest rated mainline games. Although the game is very fun regardless of bugs.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are some of the most fun entries in the franchise with much more content than any other Pokémon games.

The main draw of Pokémon games is the route of Pokémon champion in which you have to challenge all 8 gyms then defeat the elite four. Pokémon violet changes the formula by adding gym tests which are mini games played before each gym that you have to complete before challenging the gym leader. These tests range from yoga to snowboarding and are a welcome change to the formula. The gyms themselves are pretty fun but aren’t a big challenge as long as you pay attention to levels you need to be. The elite four is fun but the champion you have to fight at the end is the easiest champion in any Pokémon game I’ve played. It was honestly a disappointment to sweep them. My main complaint with the champion route is that you cant view your badges in a nice box like in previous games.

One of the new routes in the game is the new path of legends which tasks you to find the Herba Mystica which you have to defeat a titan Pokémon to obtain which are just bigger Pokémon that have several phases. After you obtain the Herb you get an upgrade to the legendary Pokémon  you ride throughout the game. The path also has the character Arven who is actually interesting and has real character development which is rare for a Pokémon game. A problem I have with the Path of Legends is that all the battles are insanely easy and I didnt lose a single one. 

The final route you can do is starfall street where you have to fight the game’s villains team star. The starfall path is pretty fun but it feels like having your Pokémon auto battle you is a cop out. I would much rather have to fight in a gauntlet of real battles. I feel like this would make it harder. Starfall street is probably the worst part of the game because of how short and hands off it feels. A compliment I will give to starfall street is that the battle with the mastermind is really fun and is one of my favorite battles in the whole game.

The new Pokémon  added in this game are some of my favorite Pokémon  to come out in a long time. The new gimmick of terastalizing allows you to change the type of your Pokémon  and increase The power of some moves. It’s a nice option to have but most of the time I never use it.

The main draw for this game is that it’s the first open world main line Pokémon game. It’s great to be able to tackle any gym in any order. The feeling of being free to do whatever you like is great and it makes the game’s theme of a treasure hunt feel like an actual treasure hunt. A problem I have with hunting Pokémon is that there’s no overworld shine for shiny Pokémon  until you actually engage them in a battle. This is a problem because a lot of the new shiny Pokémon aren’t very different from the way they usually look. Another thing I wish returned from Pokémon Legends: Arceus is able to catch Pokémon without engaging them in a battle because it speeds up catching Pokémon significantly.

Pokémon violet and scarlet are a step in the right direction. But a step in the right direction means nothing when the same problems that have been in the franchise for years have not been changed or improved. I would recommend Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to people who haven’t played a Pokémon game before as a great start in the franchise.