Finished a painting of Floragato around the time I started playing Pokemon Scarlet, which launched last month on November! I was hesitant to play this entry in the franchise at first. The pre-launch info & screens were not the most appealing to me as we approached the launch date, especially after how much I enjoyed Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Then upon launch, I saw the plentiful accounts and growing backlash toward the performance issues the games were having. I planned to wait and see when Nintendo would patch the performance issues.
I was still curious about the games, though, especially as the backlash grew. I started watching a few commentary videos on YouTube, and stumbled across one that was less one-sidedly negative than many of the videos on there at the time. This video emphasized how the gameplay itself was quite revitalizing for the Pokemon main series franchise, while not downplaying the serious and unacceptable performance issues. The commentator guessed that the developers for this game were likely overworked, and this was probably why there were so many technical issues in this iteration. He emphasized how the underlying gameplay seemed very thoughtful in terms of mechanics – the game design itself being solid, and introducing many new concepts that the mainline Pokemon franchise has needed for years.
I’m glad I stumbled across his video, because his commentary was what swayed my opinion on waiting for a performance patch. I decided to purchase Scarlet the same day! I am so glad I did, because it didn’t take me a long time playing to realize that, yes, this is the best mainline Pokemon game since probably the Black & White generation of games.
i’ll link the video below & continue this post under the cut due to length!
I really enjoyed this video! I’m unfamiliar with most YouTube content creators, but this guy’s channel & style of commentary was definitely my favorite among the videos I found while browsing YouTube in the days after launch. I like how he is not overly negative in his videos, while still clearly pointing out the legitimate issues in the games. I recommend his video & checking out his channel!
I also saw a Reddit post the other day on r/PokemonScarletViolet which encapsulated what I love about this entry in the series. The title of the thread says it all, haha, and you can also read the thread & view the clip for yourself here: The best gimmick I’ve seen so far. Wild Igglybuff get blown away when it’s stormy.
I left a comment on the thread that said,
“It’s small touches like these that are really making me enjoy Pokemon Scarlet. :) It’s clear a lot of love and passion went into this title, and the technical issues likely the result of time crunch.”
There are so many small touches like this that as I played, the developer’s passion for the franchise shone through. A commenter replied to me concurring many of these small touches that show how much the devs love this franchise. One of their examples was about how,
“Arcanine watches your back when out, which lives up to the canonical guardian role it plays.”
They mentioned other examples, as well – feel free to read their full comment in this thread here if you’re curious! I really enjoyed reading their thoughts.
I am thoroughly enjoying this entry in the franchise, and really binged it for one or two days over the Thanksgiving holiday! I sadly haven’t been able to play as much as I would like to because of life obligations, but I look forward every time when I have the chance to continue further. I love exploration and sandboxy games, and this game scratches that itch incredibly well.
This game was also the first time I’ve ever stumbled upon a Shiny Pokemon (excluding Pokemon Lengends: Arceus), and I am absolutely tickled by how my first mainline series Shiny is Shiny Lechonk. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Shiny, haha. (Incidentally, I think the first Shiny I’ve ever seen in any Pokemon game was Shiny Psyduck in Arceus.)
I was in disbelief when I saw it, because I’ve never seen a Shiny in the main games before. I saw it within the first 1-3 days of playing, and the next morning or the morning after, I was in further disbelief upon seeing a Shiny Hoppip! I’ve never particularly liked or disliked Hoppip before, but something about its Shiny variation is so darn cute to me!
eldrige is a 2D artist living on the West Coast of the United States. They are a fan of anthro and Pokemon art, and love creating paintings that bring joy and delight!
Like eldrige’s art & have an idea you think fits their style? Commission eldrige here!
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