Pokémon Shield - Nintendo Switch

I have not fully beaten the game but i did make it to the third gym and a route beyond that and i was not expecting it to be this good :) with past games, u just simply go in the gyms and beat some trainers to get to the gym leader. This game still holds true to that but they added a gym challenge to spice things up. Gym challenges are certain objectives u have to do while you're also beating the trainers and its just so much fun and the scenery as u walk in is so breathtaking :) once u complete the challenge, the doors open and tons of people r cheering making u feel like actual pokemon trainer :D When the first gym leader dynamxed his pokemon, it makes things a bit tougher as it did way more damage than what i expected it to even though his pokemon isnt super effective against mine. That forced me to dynamax and set up defensive moves such as light screen and reflect and held up just in time for the 3 turns to be over and his pokemon reversed back to being tiny. I ended up beating the gym with red hp. The second gym was easy to beat since i had an electric type corgi and the 3rd gym gave me a bit of a challenge since i didnt have any pokemon with type advantages but still managed to win my second time around :)This game has more freedom to roam around when ur done interacting with the main characters and theres lots of hidden stuff on the roads that shine as ur passing through. The diversity of old and new pokemon is outstanding as well. Theres lots of pokemon to choose from in every route. Even in the beginning of ur journey, u can start fishing with ur fishing rod so u can mix and match the perfect team from the start :) i would also advise being very careful in the wild area because i got my butt kicked with a level 45 Galvantula while i was just level 12. I was lucky to escape with my last pokemon still unfainted xD i was dumb enough to interact with it since i thought i would be lucky enough to catch it but found out u have to beat a certain amount of gyms in order to catch high level pokemon or else it'll just tell u that it wont let its guard down. Its the same concept as having a certain amount of gym badges to make high level pokemon from trades obey u. I had to find out the hard way lolNow for the designs of the new pokemon and graphics of the games. Everyone has their own opinions on this ever since it was announced that there was gonna be no national dex. Personally, i avoided the leaks so idk what im expecting to get. So far, i love every single pokemon i have come across. Some r weird and funny looking but they do grow on u as u figure out they are really good in battles :) when they evolved, i still love the designs and was so surprised of the typings that were added and became even more useful to keep in ur team. It is true that many battle move animations and models r reused from past games but it really shouldnt matter all that much as alot of old moves have new animations and the pokemon's colors and textures look way better than the previous generations. The graphics in the wild area is the best ive seen except for the trees. The weird part is, the berry trees in the wild area look completely fine and fit well with the good graphics so my guess is that the company didnt really bother making those normal trees look as good since u cant interact with them at all and in my opinion thats completely fine. The graphics in the towns, caves, and routes are completely breathtaking so theres nothing negative i can say there :)Despite lack of national dex i will say this. Overall, this game deserves its 5 stars and worth every penny. The variety of pokemon, the fun battles, and both ur awesome and jerk rivals make it a really fun experience for both oldschool and new trainers to enjoy. As i stated, i avoided every single thing about this game besides the announcement trailers from pokemon and nintendo so i was nervous since so many people were stating that the animations were garbage. Playing this game, i just dont see anything wrong with how it looks and how the pokemon move. The game and its scenery looks absolutely beautiful. I really recommend this game to at least be given a chance. I know it will be worth the gameplay :)

There was a lot of controversy going into Sword and Shield, what with the #Dexit issue and the accusations of the developers not living up to their promise of a better looking, technologically improved game from the last generation of games. I went in not sure how I was going to like the game.I've played for a few hours now, and I can solidly give this game a great rating.In many ways, this is the same Pokemon storyline you've always had - you, a young kid, goes off on a quest to complete a Pokedex, battle gym leaders, and become the Champion. I'm not expecting differently from a Pokemon game. But moving the game to a console makes the game feel amazingly more immersive. X and Y really bumped things up graphics-wise, and this game takes things up another notch. Are there some occasional frame rate issues? Yes, particularly during battles. But they are small issues/drops in quality, and honestly, if you're buying this for a younger kid, I doubt they'd notice or care.The immersive nature of the world means Pokemon are much more visible - they're literally just running around the world. And when you walk into tall grass, they're visible. You can run up to them, or run away from them, and sometimes they'll even follow you around! This is especially true of the wild areas, which is where the game truly shines, I think. Wild areas are super open spaces with tons of Pokemon that allow you to battle, explore, and see lots of Pokemon, making the game a bit less linear than previous versions. There are also "super strong" Pokemon you need to avoid fighting until you're capable of beating them, so these areas have long-lasting value.The new Pokemon themselves seem great! I always try to grab as many "newbies" as I can when starting a new version, and I haven't been disappointed so far. Version exclusives for Shield are Galarian Pontya/Rapidash and new versions of Corsola/Cursola, which is now ghost-type (get it? Because climate change is bleaching corals? Nintendo went there!), as well as some other Pokemon from previous versions, like the Larvitar and Lotad lines.The Nat Dex controversy still stands - it personally doesn't bother me, as I hardly ever bothered completing it anyways, and would rather use new Pokemon to test them out, but it has been a dealbreaker for some fans. There is no National Dex after you beat the game. That being said, there's still a lot of Pokemon to choose from! I'm willing to bet any fan could find favorites from past generations in the there somewhere.Bottom line - are there some technical issues? Yes. Is there a National Dex? No.But this is a solid entry in the line-up, and the changes from past generations are fun and exciting. I can't wait to finish the game, continue exploring, and, of course, go buy the other version so I can do it all along.