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The release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on November 18, 2022, marked the beginning of the ninth generation of the franchise. With them, Game Freak delivered on their promise of an open-world and an open-ended gameplay.
Unfortunately, they made one too many compromises in the process. The absence of level-scaling and many optimization problems meant a greatly flawed, even if not completely unfulfilling gameplay experience.
The additions these games make to the franchise are delightful. However, the cost at which they come might not feel completely worth it, especially when the fundamentals start feeling sloppy. Critics as well as regular players are taking to the internet to talk about these issues.
If not addressed at the earliest, the problems might lead to repercussions for the franchise and its future.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet get many things right
These games introduced over a hundred new species of really well-designed pocket monsters. The new battle mechanic, Terastallization, doesn’t feel like a gimmick for the sake of it.
The multi-threaded storyline present in the titles has the most scope of any entry in the series. The developers also managed to create a truly open world for the first time in the history of Pokemon games.
Storytelling in the games is on-point
Unlike their predecessors, Scarlet and Violet have three separate storylines and a final path that opens upon completing all three. They delve deep into the characters’ motivations and deal with more mature subjects with respect. Individual NPCs in all three storylines are able to shine and add to the depth of the story because of how good the writing is.
The games don’t feel like they are made just for kids. This increases their appeal to older players who have grown up with the series and continue to take part in its offerings.
First truly open-world Pokemon title
This is the elephant in the room when it comes to discussions around the new Pokemon games. Generation IX breaks away from 26 years of linear, straightforward RPGs that have been a hallmark of the franchise.
Players are free to explore and interact with any (interactable) part of the map as soon as they finish the primary tutorial phase of the games.
This distinct element of discovery and surprise while exploring different areas of the map is present in the titles, which is further sweetened by the freedom to go wherever and whenever the heart desires.
This sweetness, however, is short-lived. Multiple bugs and an unfortunate short-sightedness on the developers’ part leash the players right back into the linear structure of the franchise.
Where Scarlet and Violet start going wrong
It is quite difficult to pinpoint exactly where because there are many problems with these games and they are quite spread out. The biggest of these is the absence of a level-scaling system. Aside from that, there are pervasive performance as well as graphics issues that are prominent in the titles.
Level-scaling is absent in the game
Level-scaling is where the world dynamically levels up with the player to provide a constant challenge, primarily by upping the foes' stats. This mechanic is absent from Scarlet and Violet’s universe, thereby greatly restricting the games’ open-world potential.
The games allow players to visit any part of the map and complete missions in any order of their choice once the tutorial is over. However, because they lack a level-scaling mechanism, fans have to follow a particular order determined by the developers. If they do not, some areas of the map feel near-impossible to defeat, while others are cakewalks.
A great way to understand this is the order in which the Gym challenges are to be done. In previous generations, they had to be completed in a predetermined order. In Generation IX, in theory, at least, the player can choose to challenge a later location first. But if they directly go to fight the Alfornada Gym right off the bat, they would most likely be decimated by Tulip’s level 44-45 Pokemon.
Conversely, if the player manages to defeat the stronger trainers first, the early parts of the games would seem too easy and boring. Having a level-scaling mechanism, would, therefore, do away with the concept of "early" and "late" parts and let fans explore the map as they wish.
Poor optimization and graphics hamper the gameplay experience
All reviews of the games note that the performance optimization is poor and the gameplay experience involves lags and bugs of multiple natures. Framerate drops are common whenever there is more than one texture on the screen.
One of the most significant parts of the games, Pokemon battles, is filled with bugs: abilities like Huge Power and Knock Off don’t trigger, it takes an unreasonable amount of time to switch Pokemon during battles, and so on.
The worst part about these bugs is the occurrence of crashes that corrupt saved files and disrupt players’ progress. These bugs permeate into the online environment as well, where people vanish and communication errors force them to disband and reform groups in order to continue playing.
The graphics in the game are also very inconsistent. Some of the main character models and Pokemon look very well crafted, while a lot of the environment looks roughly finished.
It is true that the world of Pokemon was not built on the back of mind-blowing graphics. However, considering the Switch console can handle good fidelity, investing in this department might prove significantly advantageous for the franchise's future.
Conclusion
An open world and additional features are great leaps forward for the Pokemon franchise.
However, Game Freak must keep in mind that a lot of their growing base of players consists of veterans who have been with the series since its beginning. Nostalgia is something that draws them. Poor game optimization and overall sub-standards should not be the price they have to pay simply for the sake of novelty.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet do shine a light on the path ahead for the franchise’s potential but they are also cautionary tales for the perils future versions will have to steer away from. It is to be seen if, like the protagonist of the games, the developers take on the challenge and brave through the hurdles they face on the journey.
