In January of last year, rather than announcing a third version; sequel or “Ultra” version that previous generations got; Pokémon decided to do something a little different for this time: the first expansion in the main series history. Though some fans were split on the matter; others were intrigued to find out what that would entail. As someone who falls into the latter camp; I was quite pleased with this first effort as a whole. So, much as I did with the main game; let’s take a look at the “Expansion Pass” for Pokémon Sword and Shield!
I will be splitting this look into two sections for each chapter, since much of what I said about the main game carries over here. Each new element will be treated as part of its respective chapter; so let’s start with The Isle of Armor; which released on June 17 of last year.
I wasted no time in opting in, and once the day came; I was given my ticket in the form of the “Armor Pass.” After taking a train and a Corviknight Taxi to reach the island, I went there to train; as was my rival; an aspiring gym leader. Depending on which version you play, you contend with the poison-type trainer Klara or the psychic-type specialist Avery. I rather like their designs, and despite their condescending behavior; I do rather like pulling their pigtails and serving their proverbial “humble pie.”
Our teachers during the stay are the eccentric martial arts master Mustard and his wife Honey. On top of the condiment being pretty tasty, feel free to insert a Beatles or Incredibles reference here.
Anyway, the setting is based off the real-life Isle of Man off the coast of England; and the island is another take on the Wild Area concept: the island is one big Wild Area, which reintroduces many monsters from the entire history of the series and an entirely new one that’s key to the story of this section: Kubfu!
In order to train Kubfu, you are given three tasks to accomplish on the island. The first task is chasing after three Galarian Slowpoke; one of which has absconded with the dojo’s uniform for new students! After defeating them and reclaiming said uniform, you are officially taken under Mustard’s wing; and upon completion of the trials; you will be given a special armor that’s the dojo’s prize.
The next task revolves around gathering ingredients for the “Max Soup,” which will not only be key to bonding with Kubfu; but can allow your partners to gain the ability to “Gigantimax” upon consuming it. It takes three “Max Mushrooms,” and the mushrooms can be found on the island, mainly in the Forest of Focus.
The final task is to bond with Kubfu in order to train it into Urshifu in the Towers of Two Fists! Depending on the training method; its form will be different depending on which tower you decided to train in. I went with the Tower of Darkness in Sword and the Tower of Waters in Shield.
The island is also the host of side activities to enjoy: on top of getting rewards to flesh out the dojo from Honey; you can also search for Alolan Diglett hidden around the island in exchange for Pokémon! That alone kept me busy well into this year; and I’m almost done in both versions. My favorite might actually be the Cram-O-Matic; an invention made by their son, Hyde. The device allows you to get items by combining them inside; including bringing back Poké Balls made from Apricorns from Johto!
In between it all, you not only train under Mustard; but the gym leaders from the base game also come to train on the island! Additionally, Mustard was also Leon’s sensei a long time ago! Of course, to close out the story portion of this part of the pass, you get to fight Mustard! He’s a real go-getter; and he uses the Urshifu form opposite the one you choose!
As a quick aside before I get to the next half of the pass; I do like how this expansion reintroduced the walking Pokémon. Much like Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, it’s something that was found in the data for Sun and Moon, but couldn’t be included due to technical limitations.
On October 22 of last year, the second half of the pass went live with The Crown Tundra! This chapter is named for the area where the story takes place, which is heavily based on the mountains of Scotland. Upon taking the train there, you are assigned research tasks alongside the rugged explorer Peony and his daughter Peonia. Peonia would have been the research partner already, but as his teenage daughter; she has a different way of research than her dad.
This leads into a new game mode that’s one of my favorite aspects of this chapter: the Dynamax Adventure. Not only is it a gauntlet of Dynamax Raids, but several Legendary monsters from previous games make their return! It’s something I’ve really enjoyed doing over the past few months; though I do admit I had to to the first challenge twice to get Suicune in Shield after my Joycon drifted to the wrong rental Pokémon. I got a Sobble pro controller to avoid a repeat of that.
This section also revolves around the legendary Calyrex and his steed; which varies depending on your actions in the story; and I will get to that in a bit.
Anyway, after making base camp in the small town of Freezington; which has been frozen in time in more ways than one; you are given a series of tasks by both Peony and Sonia. I mentioned in my review of the base game how much I love her, so let’s continue.
As I mentioned, the first task is known as “The Secret Bonds of Sovereign and Steed;” where you must not only find out about the legend of Calyrex, the “King of Bountiful Harvests,” but also capture said steed for Calyrex! This involves finding more about his history with the town; and Calryex using Peony’s body to speak. Heh- wouldn’t be the first time in the series.
In order to help earn the trust of said steed, you need the Reins of Unity to bond Calyrex with his steed. Also, the steed depends on what you feed it in each version. In Sword, I went with the Ice Root Carrots for Glastrier, in Shield, I used the Shade Root Carrots for Spectrier. Lastly, and after you meet with Calryex and Peony at the Crown Shrine at the peak; you get to battle and capture the monster. I actually like the design and story behind him, and the Triforce symbols on his neck.
The second task is called “The Terrible Titans: Lurking Locked Away,” which sees the return of the titans from Hoenn; but also introduces two new ones: Regieleki and Regidrago. The latter reminds me a lot of Klaptrap especially. You have to capture Regirock, Regice and Registeel before you decide which one to face in the Split-Decision ruins; and for the most part; the methods to find and capture the other ruins were easier than basically having to learn Braille in Generation III; apart from having to find a backup Everstone in Shield, since I don’t use them that often (typically sell them; didn’t know they were required to enter one of the dens).
The third and final story task is called “A Legendary Tree of a Legendary Three,” where you have to catch the Galarian forms of the Kanto Legendary Birds. The Galarian Articuno was the easiest for me, since that was in the same area I already was. Galarian Moltres was on the Isle of Armor from the previous chapter; which was a bit tougher; and the hardest to track and capture was the Galarian Zapdos; who has drawn a lot of comparisons to the “Expresso” mount from Donkey Kong Country. Between that and the aforementioned Regridrago, guess I have that game on my mind lately. This concludes the story portion, with Peony and his daughter continuing their research with your help; and, depending on whether or not you’ve cleared a bonus adventure with the Ultra Beasts or the Isle of Armor chapter (I had done the latter well before this chapter went live); you then get a message from Leon.
This leads to one of the biggest additions to this entire pass; one that’s contributed to some of the time I’ve spent most: the Galarian Star Tournament. This mode assembles the entirety of the cast of the game. You can unlock more each time you defend your title, with the last couple being Sordward and Shielbert. They’ve made up for their antics in the base game by investing in this tournament. Though they’re not the best battlers, they make up for their behavior with “LOADS OF MONEY!”
Now that’s a British reference I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get in, yet here we are! With this, and over 480 hours logged combined between this pass and the base game; can I finally start wrapping this up.
Having spent extensive time in both the base game and the expansions to write this review; I can honestly say that as their first attempt at this distribution method, this may not have been the breath of fresh air the base game was; but it’s an easy 4 out of 5 at least. It basically fills the same role a third version, sequel or “Ultra” version normally would. This whole “charging extra for the full experience” argument doesn’t make much sense to me when like most first-party Nintendo games; the base titles are a complete experience. This is no different than the Splatoon 2 “Octo Expansion” (which I got alongside the base game) or the pair of Fighter Passes for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (which I opted into before I even knew who’d be joining the fight). Suggesting otherwise typically isn’t how game development works, nor is it how product development works in general. I reaffirm this was the intended plan. Even factoring in the current situation, the development cycle thankfully wasn’t altered in any way. These titles weren’t made by Bethesda, after all.
So, I definitely wouldn’t hate these just because I played Okami as well. On the contrary, the amount of other titles that didn’t quite measure up or were outright bad that I’ve played over the past year helped me appreciate Generation VIII and other ones in my collection more. As for the brief loading moments, like before; any detractors only get one: I guess we know what the developers’ favorite Metallica song is- “Fade to Black!”
Now that I’ve finally finished this review; I intend to keep playing these games along with other titles in the series, past, present and future. I hope you’ll all find something to enjoy; and I will continue to look forward to the upcoming Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl this November and Pokémon Legends Arceus in January! That will be all for now, see you soon!
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