Pokemon: Sword/Shield review: No crash, more suitable for new players

As the orthodox sequel to the well-known IP of "Pokemon", "Pokemon: Sword/Shield" has not been very good reviews since its debut.

There are two main reasons for the bad wind rating. First, it deleted a large number of Pokemons from historical works - about 400; The second is GameFreak's attitude of not thinking ahead, and the production level of a domestic copycat mobile game is not comparable, which makes players feel disappointed.

To be fair, continuing to use the 3DS model and technology on NS does seem to cut corners and cheat players. Especially after GameFreak promised to give players a "Pokemon model full body change", but was ruthlessly exposed by players.

In fact, many of the scenes and CG in the game reveal GameFreak's lack of "technical prowess." For example, when the player climbs the stairs, in addition to the protagonist can move up and down, the rest of the characters and Pokemon are not moving, as if time is standing still.

The battle effects between Pokemon are also in line with the works of the past. With the exception of a few featured skills that have their own specific moves, some generic skills have the same special effects. For example, the "evil attribute" ability "Bite", the animation of the jaw closing and biting has not changed since its appearance in the series.

The same is true of the "double kick special effects" widely circulated on the Internet. However, it needs to be noted that when the "Teng Chu young general" (the evolution of the rabbit) has not yet evolved into a "flash ace", the use of "two company kick" will rush to the enemy's Pokemon to kick two feet in front of it. This can only be attributed to GameFreak's technical laziness. However, the animation of the "Flame ace" must-kill skill "Flame ball" is also superior in the entire "Pokemon series".

As for game graphics and scene design, thanks to the Switch's more powerful body performance than the 3DS, Pokemon: Sword/Shield's performance in this area is also improved. But only to the extent that a rising tide lifts all boats. And this improvement is only compared to the "Pokemon" series itself, other "Ren" games, such as the "Mario" series and "Zelda" series, the progress in the picture has long been far behind the "Pokemon series".

In addition, some of the designs widely criticized by players in the past "Pokemon" have not been improved in "Pokemon: Sword/Shield". For example, you can't skip animations; Plot dialogue has no voice; Characters stiff expression, etc. Fortunately, the protagonist of this work is finally no longer a "smiling maniacal", and will frown in crisis situations.

In this way, "Pokemon: Sword/Shield" may be the most "collapse" in the opening of the "Pokemon" in the past.

But the game as a whole gave me the feeling that it was not as "the sky fell apart" as the rumor. In contrast, Pokemon Sword/Shield is perhaps the most suitable entry game for new players.

Because many of the improvements and optimizations in "Pokemon: Sword/Shield" revolve around the word "convenience".

The first is an overhaul of the riding system. Pokemon: Sword/Shield has eliminated the setting of "riding Pokemon", and players only have a "Lotom bike" to use for walking. The way to summon traffic items is also simplified, and you can switch between walking and riding modes with one click.

In contrast, this game has eliminated the road obstacles, and the player needs to pay attention to the height of the road in the scene; Water traffic problems can be solved by upgrading the "Lotom bike", and you can spend points to increase the speed of the bike several times. The game's transport system, the "Flying Taxi", also opened early, allowing the player to travel back and forth between recorded transport points before challenging the first dojo owner.

This simplification is perfect for new players.

Another handy point is that in Pokemon Sword/Shield, GameFreak has added automatic saving with The Times; And "Lestgo Pikachu/Ibrahimovic" in the "real-time exchange of peers and the box of Pokemon" function ported to the. Players no longer need to make frequent trips to the Pokemon Center to change their Pokemon lineup.

Of course, there are simplified parts, and naturally there are new parts to fill the game content. "Great" and "Wilderness area" are the highlights of this work. However, from the point of view of the performance of the game, "extremely large" is far from "wilderness area" outstanding.

"mega" is a feature system of Pokemon: Sword/Shield, similar to the previous games "Z" and "Mega". The super giant Pokemon will have a certain increase in the six dimensions, and the move will become a "super move", while dealing a lot of damage, affecting the status of all Pokemon on their own side or the enemy.

Very interesting design. However, throughout the plot, in addition to the dojo challenge, BOSS station and the final final, there are few other places where you can use "extremely large". It can be said that, except for the main story, you can hardly use "Super" in daily battles.

The experience is compromised when you can't use the power in your hands.

Outside of the main story, another place where "Super" can be used is the "Super group battle" in the "wilderness area". The Wilderness is GameFreak's attempt to create a semi-open world in the "Pokemon" series. And in the wilderness, players will finally be able to change their perspective by rotating the right stick.

The wilderness is divided into several different small areas. Pokemon inhabiting each zone vary in rank, species, and attributes. Another influence on Pokemon's attributes is the weather. Under the intervention of the weather, the types of Pokemon appearing in the same area will also be different.

As for the "extremely giant group war" mentioned above, it is equivalent to a copy of the crusade against the extremely giant Treasure Dream in the wild. Players can call the surrounding players online to fight together, but also pull the system assigned three NPCS to fight alone. As a matter of course, players can use the Super Giant to fight against the Super Giant Pokemon in the wild. And will surely capture the defeated super Pokemon.

Along with the wilderness areas, there is also a "camping system". By camping in the wild, players can play with their peers Pokemon, thereby increasing their likability. Cooking is the core of camping. By cooking the fruit, spices and other props they carry, they can make dishes with different flavors. The dishes in this game are limited to curry rice, and the system also scores the taste of the curry rice.

Compared to "Super", wilderness areas are significantly more playable and complete.

But the interesting new content of Pokemon Sword/Shield goes far beyond that. For example, in the Dojo Challenge, new dojo tasks are added that match the characteristics of each dojo. These missions are generally simple and fun mini-games, and in mini-games, complete the battle with the dojo personnel.

The final hall of the main battle, but serious has not changed.

Another detail is that the environment the player is in can directly affect the battle between Pokemon. For example, in the sand dune area with strong sunshine, the damage of fire skills will be greatly increased; In the snow, both sides of the Pokemon will be constantly hit by hail.

Therefore, choosing a specific Pokemon to fight according to the surrounding environment has also become an important message to pay attention to.

In some ways it seems to be getting a little complicated again, but if you simplify it too much, there's nothing to play. Even if you attract new players, you won't necessarily keep them.

However, with the current situation of "Pokemon: Sword/Shield", whether it can attract new players to start is still unknown.

However, for Lulina, I think there will still be a lot of players who will honestly place the "buy" button.