Hello everyone: as of 7PM Pacific time last night; #TheCrownTundra chapter of #PokémonSwordShieldEX has gone live. So, here are my first impressions from my first couple hours of playing; and some of my thoughts on the Generation VIII beta that have come to light as I began playing and started drafting this. Once again, if you don’t have both versions like I do; make sure the pass you’re getting corresponds to the version of the game you have or else it won’t work. So let’s get started.
After obtaining the Crown Pass, you take a train to The Crown Tundra; where your adventure takes place under the eccentric Peony; a former gym leader in Galar. In addition to the new Dynamax Adventure being a fun challenge right out of the gate (I caught Suicune trying it out; but I had to do the challenge twice in Shield after my Joycon drifted to the wrong rental Pokémon); there are three central mysteries to solve for Legendary Pokémon: Calyrex, the “King of Bountiful Harvests,” the temples with the new Regi forms; and the tree that granted new forms to the Kanto Legendary Birds. I will do my best to keep things as spoiler-free as I can; so now that I have a brief summary of your main objectives; let’s talk about other aspects.
Further building on what the base game and the Isle of Armor chapter did; I really like The Crown Tundra and your central hub as a setting. The area is another extension of the Wild Area design; and it’s heavily-based on Scotland and ancient Gaelic myths. As someone who’s been fascinated by those stories for ages; I really enjoy that. Visually, I love how your base camp is in an old village in the snow; frozen in time in more ways than one. I’m eager to explore more of the tundra very soon; as it’s one of the most graphically-lush locations I’ve seen to date, juxtaposing snowy mountains with ancient temples. The gameplay builds on what these titles have already accomplished (especially looking forward to taking part in the Galarian Star Tournament after I clear the story), providing a good challenge for newcomers and true believers alike.
As for the leaks of these games’ beta as I began drafting my notes: I think it’s a fascinating reveal as someone who’s always been intrigued by game development. It’s more than just the monsters and concepts they used this time around: much like past titles, it’s a great look at how often that a game in its final release can be completely different than what it started as. A great example is how The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild changed from its initial reveal in 2011 to the game’s release in 2017. For fairly obvious reasons, I won’t be showing the leaks; but I will describe them briefly. Some of these builds date back as early as 2017, which does line up with the timeline we already have. Though many concepts from previous titles ultimately didn’t make it back in initially; the basic ideas are there in much earlier forms. There are rough layouts of the Wild Area, Dynamax Battles, the game’s setting; and other mechanics such as character customization and the Pokémon Camp. More information is coming as I type this; but it’s still quite the fascinating insight into game development. One of my favorite aspects of this series and other games I play is finding out what secrets they hold; whether or not they’re intended to be there.
That will be all for now: I will let you know more about this chapter as I continue playing it. Stay safe, reject fear; and embrace facts.
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