By bringing plenty of new content, revamping old mechanics and changing the traditional storyline of games in the series, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet show a glimpse into a new era of the Pokémon franchise.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet take place in the newly-introduced region of Paldea, which is based off of Spain.
Players take on the role of a new student at the prestigious Naranja or Uva Academy.
The school’s name varies depending on the version of the game, but the basics are the same.
Once enrolled, players are given their first Pokémon and encouraged to take part in the school’s independent study, known as the Treasure Hunt, to find their own passion.
The Treasure Hunt opens up the opportunity to explore three storylines, each with its own colorful cast of characters.
These storylines each have their own distinct plot as well, and are entirely separate from each other.
Victory Road is the standard, run-of-the-mill Pokémon storyline, featuring gym battles and the Pokémon League.
Starfall Street focuses on taking down the “villainous team” of the region, the delinquents known as Team Star.
Path of Legends is a quest for a mythical plant known as Herba Mystica, rumored to be able to cure any ailment.
These plotlines tie together for the finale of the game.
No spoilers here, but be aware: the ending of Scarlet and Violet is more intense and emotional than any main series game thus far.
The player is also given the opportunity to explore a fully open world, with the assistance of a rideable Pokémon: Koraidon for Scarlet, Miraidon for Violet.
The rideable Pokémon are a huge quality-of-life boost to the franchise, considering that it makes traveling to specific parts of the map much easier than in previous games.
“Pokémon Sword” and “Pokémon Shield,” the previous generation of games, featured the Wild Area, which was a pseudo-open-world setting, but this is the first main series game to have a true open world.
All catchable Pokémon can be found wandering around the map.
This adds a much more life-like feel to the game.
The picnicking mechanic was added to the game as well, so players can host picnics, play with their Pokémon and make sandwiches with their friends in multiplayer mode.
The picnics have their own customization options, allowing players to add some personal flair to their picnics instead of just their characters.
The new games also have made the field trainer battles optional, meaning you can play through the entire game without needing to battle any random trainers- something that many Pokémon fans despised in older games.
Although the game is overall very good, it does have some faults.
On release, the game was riddled with bugs and glitches.
Players found everything from simple graphical glitches messing up character models to clipping through the map and falling into a void forever.
The good news is that Nintendo addressed these bugs quickly, and the first major patch was released a few weeks after release, on December 1.
Nintendo has promised to fix the glitches and performance issues in the game, so that issue is already being resolved.
Overall, “Pokémon Scarlet” and “Pokémon Violet” is one of the best installments of the entire franchise.
Charming characters, new features and a truly interesting storyline all come together to make an excellent game, especially for the slow-changing Pokémon franchise.