Hang on, is this another video game set in England? Has there ever been another point in history where we've been looking at 3 big releases set in the British isles? I don't think so. Forget those hacking simulators set is dystopian London or that terror attack in Piccadilly Circus, (Thanks again, Modern Warfare) this is the game that will truly capture the majesty of England. If by majesty I refer to torrential downpours and fields of evil roaming sheep. (In fairness I cannot confirm whether real English sheep try to attack you upon making eye contact, personally I try not to look at them.) Will the switch's first proper Pokemon title live up to the high bar that Game Freak repeatedly set themselves? Well it's on my home turf, so it better!
Unsurprisingly, I have a history with Pokemon. As, I assume, does everyone who was a child during the syndication of the Ash Ketchum show. Though it may look silly now, back then Pokemon was the highlight of my post-school day in addition to Yugioh, Beyblade, Sonic X and- oh my god, I'm a Weeb, aren't I. But can you really blame kid-me when that original show kicked off with one of most rocking theme tunes ever put to children's TV? Easily the most memorable and best part of the show was Jason Paige's oddly sincere vocals from that guitar-strewn introduction. He made me want to be the very best, like no one ever was. Shame the show was a poorly written mess that insulted my intelligence even back then. I'm not even kidding, I would sit down for the theme tune and then wander off or change the channel; all because the accompanying show was that bad.
When it came to the game, however, I stuck by it a little bit more. Pokemon Yellow was the first handheld game I ever owned for my Game Boy Color and was honestly the last one I'd ever need. Due to the portability of the console, I played that game everywhere and for as long as possible. I remember days when I would play the game from the light of my window in the morning and keep going until it was too dark outside to see the screen anymore. I was enamoured by the collect-athon gameplay, the training of my Pokemon and exploring of the world. I would have days hunting in the safari zone to fill up the blank spots on my Pokedex or training my Pikachu and Nidoran combo team on low level mobs. (In hindsight, an extremely inefficient way to farm EXP.) I was the prototypical Pokemon nut.
But that wasn't the height of my Pokemon addiction, not by a long shot. Later I would get my Game Boy Advance and my favourite entry of the entire Pokemon franchise, (so far) Pokemon Emerald. Emerald seemed to solve every issue I had with the dual releases of the Pokemon generations. (Yeah, that's right! Even as I kid I saw through that cheap gimmick for the cynical marketing ploy is really is.) Emerald wasn't sharing half it's content with another, practically identical product, No, Emerald was uniting the very best elements of Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire into one feature compete game! I'm fairly certain that you still couldn't fully complete your Pokedex without utilising the trade feature, which required having real human friends; (What's up with that, Nintendo?) but you could get both of those games legendaries: Groudon and Kyogre; as well as my favourite Pokemon of all time: Rayquaza. And let's be honest, getting the legendaries is all that really matters in the end isn't it? So, with all that to offer would be safe to say the Pokemon Emerald was my dream game, at least for a while? Why yes, yes it would. Why else would I have played that game until by Game Boy Advance broke and then emulated it on every emulator capable device I have owned since? I have that sucker on my phone right now I love it so much.
Pokemon Emerald boasted a vibrancy in its presentation that non of the previous entries had. The Hoenn region was colourful and vast; spanning land and ocean, from subterranean caverns to a burning volcano and allowing you to tread the ocean floor and trudge through fields of ash. It was the first time I truly felt like I was going on an adventure in a video game, and the first time I found out that I loved going on adventures. I even resonated with the delightful simple and easy to comprehend story. Themed around Ruby and Sapphire's villains in a silly plot about eco-extremism that gets out of hand and needs to be resolved by a ten year old. Even now, Emerald remains my favourite of Pokemon's plot lines.
Since then I haven't remained as close to the Pokemon franchise as I would have liked. Not just from growing out of the proposed age demographic (I mean I already told you how I still play Emerald to this day) but more because it moved out of the range of accessibility to me. While I progressed onto console gaming, Pokemon went down the road less travelled; and it made all the difference. In the relationship. Between myself and the franchise.(Forced Scott Peck reference is forced.) The deal was really sealed when Pokemon released on the Nintendo DS; A system, I hesitate to admit, that I have never owned in any form. As such it would be years until I ended up owning a system with a mainstream Pokemon planned for it. 13 years in fact. Because it is now, in 2019, that we have finally crossed paths again and I couldn't be more excited. Like the days before reconnecting with the one who got away, I cannot contain my nerves and anticipation.
Will Sword and Shield Deliver. If what I have seen so far is any indicator: yes. The game looks every bit as pretty and simple as one would expect from a Game Freak creation. Characters are anime-esque 3d sprites that lean heavily off of the visual style established in Sun and Moon, but they are still designed in a way to highlight the world in which they now inhabit. The Male and Female PC's have touches of English and Scottish designs in their garb and both now sport stylish longcoats, prepared for the inevitable downpours we all expect in England. (Though I must say the fact that Nessa wears a bikini seems a little off brand for Britain. It's never the right climate for swimwear over here. Ever.) Galar is realised as hills worth of countryside interspersed with small towns and one bustling capital. I've also noticed touches of steampunk in the building aesthetic too which seems fitting seeing as how the steampunk genre is heavily inspired by England's industrial age.
The meat of the game is, of course, the Pokemon collecting and the battle systems; and these systems have had a few new additions. The one everyone is talking about right now is 'Dynamax'. A mode which is designed to boost the spectacle of Gym fights and raid battles. Both Pokemon are given the chance to balloon to a huge version of themselves and fight with specific powered moves that impart secondary effects. Crowds cheer as hits land and neon lights glitter in the massive stadiums. Game Freak really wanted to bring the epic nature of the Gym battles to life in a way previous games just didn't. (Without several boxes worth of pre-amble.) In a way, I suppose this is Pokemon's version of a 'set peice' moment. Big, loud and memorable. Smaller touches include the way in how trainers can now throw a little bit of dialogue in the middle of a fight, similar to the mid-battle taunting mechanic of Star Wars: The Clone Wars only hopefully a little less awful. The result is a dynamic (See what I did there?) twist upon the time honoured turn based systems Pokemon was founded on.
Okay, so maybe Pokemon Sword and Shield isn't poised to rewrite the way we see Pokemon games going forward, but it is showing small improvements that the diehard will appreciate. That's more then you can say about some yearly sports titles. Of course there will always be touches that I don't necessarily like that others will; such as the way how random encounters have been replaced with in-world sprites letting you know exactly where your enemy is. But in the end, none of these changes are big enough to break the experience or make it, really. Fans of Pokemon will likely love Sword and Shield and those who dislike it probably won't have their minds changed. I think I've made my stance clear, I'm ready to jump back into my favourite collect-athon franchise once again.
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