Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Review: A New Open-World Attempt, Can Nintendo Switch 2 Bring a Better Experience?

Hello everyone, I'm your old friend, a seasoned Nintendo Switch gamer and game critic. Today, let's talk about the controversial yet highly discussed Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. As the ninth-generation mainline Pokémon sequel, it boldly adopts an open-world design, attempting to bring players a brand-new adventure experience. However, how does it actually perform? Let's delve into it together.

1. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Game Overview

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a Nintendo Switch role-playing game developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, released simultaneously worldwide on November 18, 2022. The game is set in the Paldea region, a new area with vast lands and diverse ecological environments. Players will play as a student, entering either Naranja Academy (Scarlet) or Uva Academy (Violet), freely exploring the open world, catching Pokémon, completing various tasks, and ultimately uncovering the secrets hidden in the Paldea region.

2. The Open World and Exploration in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

The biggest highlight of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is undoubtedly its open-world design. The Paldea region is vast and boundless, connecting various towns and landmarks. Players no longer need to follow a linear progression of the storyline step by step, but can freely choose the routes and order of exploration. This freedom greatly enhances the game's sense of immersion, allowing players to truly experience the joy of adventuring in the Pokémon world.

The terrain of the Paldea region is rich and diverse, including grasslands, forests, deserts, snow mountains, lakes, and more. Different regions are inhabited by different Pokémon, and players need to adjust their strategies according to the environment in order to successfully catch their desired Pokémon. In addition, the game also features many hidden locations and secrets waiting for players to discover and explore.

However, the open-world design also exposed some problems:

• Map Design: Although the map is vast, it lacks sufficient guidance, making it easy to get lost. The distribution of Pokémon in some areas is too dense, leading to a slightly repetitive exploration experience.
• Interactivity: The interactivity of the open world is insufficient, many environmental elements cannot be interacted with, reducing the sense of immersion.

If the future Nintendo Switch 2 can significantly improve its performance, it may be able to better present a more detailed open world and make environmental interactions more abundant.

3. The Story and Characters in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

The story of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet adopts a multi-line narrative approach, allowing players to simultaneously pursue three main storylines:

• Victory Road: Challenge gym leaders and ultimately become the champion.
• Path of Legends: Find and defeat the five Titan Pokémon to gain Herba Mystica.
• Starfall Street: Confront Team Star and save bullied students.

These three storylines intertwine and eventually converge into a complete story. The plot itself is not complicated, but it excels in its fast pace and engaging nature. The character development in the game is also quite successful, such as the enthusiastic and friendly Nemona, the mysterious professor, and so on, all of which left a deep impression on players.

4. Gameplay and Combat in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet retains the classic Pokémon battle system, requiring players to formulate reasonable tactics based on factors such as Pokémon attributes and skills to defeat opponents. The game adds a new "Terastallizing" mechanism, which can change the attributes of Pokémon, bringing more possibilities and strategies to battles.

In addition, the game also adds the "Let's Go" feature, allowing players to send out Pokémon to automatically explore the surrounding environment, collect items, and engage in battles. This feature can reduce the burden on players, allowing them to focus more on the main storyline and exploration.

However, there are also some problems with the combat system:

• AI: The enemy AI is somewhat weak, lacking challenge.
• Balance: The abilities of some Pokémon are too powerful, affecting the balance of the game.

Hopefully, after the release of Nintendo Switch 2, Game Freak can optimize the AI and balance to bring a more challenging and interesting combat experience.

5. Graphics and Sound in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

The graphics of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are one of the biggest points of contention in the game. In Nintendo Switch mode, the game's picture quality is not outstanding, with issues such as blurry textures, severe jagged edges, and frame drops. Especially in crowded towns or during fast movements, the frame drop phenomenon is particularly obvious, seriously affecting the gaming experience.

Graphics Issues:

• Frame Rate: Unstable frame rate, especially in open-world scenes.
• Textures: Texture quality is not high, lacking detail.
• Optimization: Insufficient game optimization, resulting in hardware performance not being fully utilized.

Considering the hardware limitations of the Nintendo Switch and the vast open-world design of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the poor graphics performance is understandable. If it can run on the Nintendo Switch 2 and be better optimized, it is believed that the graphics performance of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be greatly improved. Players can refer to nintendo switch2 first look to learn more about Nintendo's new console.

Sound Effects:

• BGM: The game's BGM quality is excellent, creating a good atmosphere.
• Sound Effects: The Pokémon cries and skill sound effects have been carefully designed to enhance the game's sense of immersion.

Overall, the sound effects of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are still commendable, making up for the shortcomings in the graphics.

6. Multiplayer and Social Features in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet supports local and online multiplayer. Players can explore the Paldea region with friends, exchange Pokémon, and battle. The game also adds the "Tera Raid Battle" feature, allowing players to team up with other players to jointly challenge powerful Terastallized Pokémon.

The addition of multiplayer features greatly enriches the game's gameplay, allowing players to share the joy of adventure with friends.

7. Ratings and Summary of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Overall, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a game with both advantages and disadvantages. It boldly adopts an open-world design, bringing players a new adventure experience. The plot, characters, and battle system also have certain highlights. However, the game's graphics performance is poor, and the lack of optimization affects the gaming experience.

Ratings:

• GameSpot: 7/10 (Reference: https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-review-a-world-worth-exploring-if-you-can-tolerate-its-faults/1900-6480007/)
• IGN: 7/10 (Reference: https://www.ign.com/articles/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-review)
• Metacritic: Average Score 72 (Reference: https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/pokemon-scarlet)

Advantages:

• Open-world design, high degree of freedom
• Multi-line narrative, tight plot
• Added Terastallizing mechanism, more strategic battles
• Rich multiplayer features

Disadvantages:

• Poor graphics performance, lack of optimization
• Map design lacks guidance
• Some AI design is poor

Summary:

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a controversial but worthwhile game. If you are a fan of the Pokémon series and can accept its graphical shortcomings, then this game will definitely bring you an unforgettable adventure.

Looking Ahead to Nintendo Switch 2:

Considering the game's optimization issues and graphics performance, the performance of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on the Nintendo Switch is clearly limited by the hardware. If it can run on the Nintendo Switch 2 and be better optimized, it is believed that this game can show even greater potential.

Players can follow nintendo switch2 compatibility to learn whether Nintendo Switch 2 is compatible with current games. In addition, price is also an important consideration, and you can refer to nintendo switch2 price to learn more.

Hopefully, the release of Nintendo Switch 2 can bring new development opportunities to the Pokémon series, allowing players to experience more perfect Pokémon games.

8. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Beginner's Guide

For novice players who are new to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, here are some beginner tips:

• Choose a Starter Pokémon: Choose a starter Pokémon according to your preferences. Their attributes are different and will affect your subsequent adventure experience.
• Familiarize Yourself with the Controls: Familiarize yourself with the game's controls, including movement, combat, menus, and so on.
• Explore the Paldea Region: Actively explore the Paldea region to discover new Pokémon and items.
• Complete Tasks: Complete various tasks to gain experience and rewards.
• Train Pokémon: Increase the level and abilities of Pokémon through battles and the use of items.
• Join the Community: Join the Pokémon community, exchange experiences and share tips with other players.

9. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Advanced Tips and Strategies

For players who are already familiar with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, here are some advanced tips and strategies:

• Understand Pokémon Types: Master the type matchups of Pokémon and develop more effective tactics.
• Match Skills Reasonably: Match skills reasonably according to the attributes and characteristics of Pokémon to improve combat effectiveness.
• Utilize Terastallizing: Use the Terastallizing mechanism flexibly to change the attributes of Pokémon and deal with different enemies.
• Breeding: Obtain more powerful Pokémon through breeding to improve the overall strength of the team.
• Shiny Hunting: Obtain rare shiny Pokémon through repeated attempts.
• Speedrunning: Master speedrunning techniques to complete the game as quickly as possible.

10. Frequently Asked Questions About Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Q: How to level up Pokémon quickly?

A: You can quickly level up Pokémon by challenging Gym Leaders, Titan Pokémon, and Team Star Bosses, as well as using Exp. Candy and other items.

Q: How to get rare Pokémon?

A: You can get rare Pokémon through breeding, trading, and special events.

Q: How to increase the power of Tera Blast?

A: You can increase the power of Tera Blast by increasing the effort values and nature of Pokémon.

Q: How to find hidden items and locations?

A: You can find hidden items and locations by carefully observing the map and environment, and using items such as compasses.

I hope this article can help everyone better understand the game Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. If you have any other questions, please leave a message in the comment area, and I will try my best to answer them. I wish you all a happy game!