Marigold Avenue

Pokémon scarlet and violet; a let down in AAA gaming. A showcase of what Pokémon could be. Fully open world, 3 separate but intertwined story quests, interesting gym leaders, and diverse content, it shows what gamefreak is capable of. However with their current release of the game, the frame rate is unacceptable, and glitches abundant. However with all the negativity, I still believe Pokémon Scarlett is one of the more enjoyable and diverse Pokémon games I’ve played, with all wrong they do a lot right, however I still sadly rate Pokémon scarlet and Pokémon violet a disappointing 6.5/10

What I believe made this game so fun and what I want to touch on first, the open world:

Now yes open world usually isn’t that big of a deal in other video games especially not for me, with being so easily overwhelmed by too many options I usually don’t find open world too appealing, but with Pokémon it opened so many possibilities. Unlike Legends of Arceus where it promised an open world and you were stuck to certain parts of an area, Scarlet and Violet are true open world games with Pokémon flying, running and digging all around you!! This is where the game shines, there’s no more random battles nor black loading screens from area to area, just wide open area for you to explore with your Pokémon. It kinda felt like I was experiencing playing Pokémon a whole different way and that was exciting enough for me to push through the glitches and abysmal frame rate. And what I found was endless adventure and honestly quite a lot of fun, running into highly over leveled Pokémon or finding a really cool TM location, or even finding a new Pokémon in a weird place! I really think the switch from open area to open world gives this game endless possibilities and just unfiltered fun. With the map size being relatively large, it has plenty to do, with 8 gyms, 5 hideouts 6 titan Pokémon and a wide array of options in the end game to defeat you’re left with a lot to explore and a lot to do. 

The story

In Pokémon the story was usually, you’re a kid from some small town and you’re going to try and beat all the gym leaders and be the very best that no one ever was blah blah blah. But what I love in this game is you have so much to do. With gyms, hideouts to clear out, there’s “titan” Pokémon to defeat, and all along the way it’s all open world. At first I felt too overwhelmed with the options I had at my disposal so I took a quick break from the story, filled my pokedex, explored and I had quite a lot of fun, my original rating was a 5/10 but once I completed all the story Quests just knew it deserved more. For a Pokémon game it touches on some more mature topics, such as bullying, accidental neglect, and getting consumed by your dreams. Having your work become your life and missing out on the memories you could’ve made with the ones you love. Surprisingly the game takes itself quite  seriously in ways that even as a Pokémon fan i could not have expected, of course it’s still a kids game and doesn’t truly dive into its mature content but it truly shows what Pokémon could offer in the future. 

The multiplayer:

Pokémon scarlet and violet not only introduces an open world, something we’ve never seen before in Pokémon but also co-op!! Something I know as a kid I always wanted. Now with co-op available you can trade and battle right in your world, see your friend riding around, catch Pokémon together and even fights gyms with your buddy around! While Nintendo’s online is still quite behind the times, Pokémon makes use of the link codes very often, needing them for trades, battles and even co-op invites. Personally I felt as if the reading and battling were smoother than ever, even with little icons showing what your trading partner is missing for their pokedex! Battles are quite similar to previous gens with you being able to make multiple teams and chose between them before the fight, and also letting you chose some music, but the co-op and Tera battles is where the multiplayer shines, having your friends in your world is just straight up awesome, catching Pokémon together, running around exploring together, something I always wished as a kid and it only took them this long. Tera battles are quite similar to gmax battles with up to 4 players against a giant AI Pokémon, that you can choose to catch or release at the end! I actually found these fights quite difficult at times! But extremely rewarding. The multiplayer is just another step in the right direction.

The good  bad and the ugly.

Well, there’s the good, the bad and the ugly. I’m sure you’ve seen it but the glitches and frame rate in this game are not only abundant but unacceptable. You can’t blame the hardware of the switch, it’s able to run Breath of the wild, links awakening and even Mario odyssey beautifully, it’s no longer a “the switch is just not a performing console” it’s a “let’s release this game way faster than we should to get money quicker.” And that, in my opinion is the most disappointing fact yet.

In conclusion 

Pokémon violet and scarlet are easily the most fun I’ve had in recent Pokémon games in a while. With co-op, better multiplayer, craft able TMs, an open world to explore, multiple stories to finish and an interesting post game, it was shaping up to be one of the best Pokémon games to date, with adding over 5+ new mechanics to the world of Pokémon and are fantastic editions to the Pokémon catalogue.