POKEMON SWORD AND SHIELD (Game Freak/Nintendo – Switch – November 15, 2019) – Hot off the Nintendo Direct, Pokémon Sword and Shield looks visually stunning while delivering long awaited features to the franchise. The Gala region looks to be flush with life, colorful environments, and dynamic weather systems. These weather changes reflect in a new gameplay mechanic which makes only certain pokemon appear during specific weather patterns. Not much was detailed on this besides the rarity and skill needed to catch one of these pokemon…
Some new features announced today are sure to appease the hardcore pokemon fans and casual players alike. One long desired feature has been added: seeing wild pokemon roaming free. This is only present in an in-between cities region called Wild Lands. Hell, it wouldn’t be pokemon without the addition of some kind of gimmicky ability. The ability called Dynamax is a powerful one that changes your pokemon into a giant monster in the scale of Godzilla.
The last big feature demonstrated was raid battles. You can now team up in the Wild Lands with 3 friends to battle a Dynamax version of a wild pokemon; the strategy, here, is that only one player can have an active Dynamax on the battlefield. Sadly, I can see this turning into a “who spams button faster” scenario when playing with random players, which can only lead to a frustrating trend.
Lastly, let’s talk about the pokemon. You get to pick from the usual grass, fire and water type. Their names are Grooky, Scorbunny and Sobble. None seem to exciting to me. They also teased the new Legendary pokemon, which coincide with the game version you choose to buy.
With new features and graphics that compare to Breath of the Wild, Pokemon Sword and Shield looks to be shaping up for greatness. So the big question is, which will you choose on November 15th?
-Ronny Lecuyer