I am definitely enjoying the Wild Area, and I’m still exploring parts of the map to train and catch good monsters for my roster. I only kind of skimmed the now-infamous “Affleck leak,” and I’m only just now getting more details to corroborate the information it contained. Though sometimes these can be red herrings in this day and age (such as the infamous “Grinch leak” last year for “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate”), most of what I’m seeing definitely checks out. Least of all, the leak confirmed details surrounding the story and monsters before many of them were officially revealed. Least of all, monsters such as Sirfetch’d and the villain faction of Team Yell were confirmed well before their official reveals; and I can also verify the information about the exclusive gym leaders and monsters was accurate. I am definitely enjoying the stage 1 and 2 forms of the Galar starters, especially in the case of Cinderace and Inteleon. All three fit the setting in some way, in both design and special moves. Cinderace resembles a soccer player with its special move, Pyro Ball; which makes me want a new Mario Strikers game, or at the very least the previous ones getting rereleased on eShop. As for Inteleon, with its Snipe Shot: “Hey boys, it’s a spy!”
The control is very natural for traversing the in-game world, and despite what some claim, the user interface and type balance are changed so subtly that it’s a natural progression from what the previous titles established. Though not everybody was into the visual style, I think the graphics being stylized is the right way to go. The detractors’ claims were never going to work on someone like me, who still plays games from earlier console generations. Besides, it’s actually pretty fitting for the setting; combining colorful stadiums full of giant monitors with steampunk-infused castles and rustic villages. In-game dialogue is peppered with British slang terms (Hop calls you “mate” as his friend, running shoes are called “trainers” in apparel shops, and so on), and I’ve often joked about the bag my avatar got from his father as being “bigger on the inside.” One of the police officers I battled with was even named (who else?) Bobby.
Though I concede I also had mixed feelings towards the changes from previous installments at first, in a way; approaching the titles with this design philosophy actually makes sense from every angle I can look at it from: if a developer has finite resources of time, money, and manpower; it’s considerably more important to me that they’re invested into making the game work rather than trying to cram in so much stuff that nobody can tell what they’re actually trying to do, leading to the game being a buggy and disappointing mess (looking at you, Anthem).
I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating that throwing money at a problem doesn’t automatically solve it. It’s also not the first time they’ve had to make this call: well before the series became the phenomenon it is now, there were monsters and ideas that didn’t make the cut in the original games before they influenced later ones.
By that same token, there are contingencies for the near future; least of all this mobile app they’re coming out with in 2020: probably going to opt into it when I get a chance. It’s not like the older days, where you had to physically take your Game Boy to special events that only took place in some areas. I’ve already opted into the special Meowth, probably going to figure out the other special monsters after I beat the main quest.
I am quite pleased with the experience so far, and I definitely think it was the right call to focus on the gameplay and world-building this time around. Whatever lies ahead for the series, I look forward to seeing what comes next. Later.
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