Michael Lane

Very poor optimization and quality. Graphic issues from every angle; and no, it's not just the graphic art style. Frame drops, poor rendering, game/system crashes. This game would be awesome if you could even enjoy the story; but when the game freezes because it can't keep up with it's own mess of "too much" on screen. (looking at you grass gym test...) Game freak has certainly stayed too far behind the times and cannot release a quality game. When NPCs appear out of nowhere because the engine forgot to render them as you walked through town; when you're only a few "feet" away from a moving object and it's choppy movement appears as a sloppy flip-book. I've been a fan since the very beginning; Legends: Arceus and Scarlet/Violet should be "everything I've ever wanted" in a pokemon game. But they just can't execute. Pretty sad for long-time fans. EDIT: I changed it to 2 stars because Pawmi is now a thing; it and its evolutions are the new Pikachu... Fight me... :D EDIT 2: As of 12-12-22 There have been some minor updates to the game. Performance dropped more in the open world, there are more "disappearing" landscapes during battles than ever before. It's as if half of the ground disappears and you can see "underneath" the world - which just looks like untextured water. Changed to 3 stars because I finally finished the game (both of them) and they truly have the best stories in the series yet, and are great additions. These technical issues though are only getting worse.

This game is a great addition to the franchise for players both young and old to enjoy. While it is lacking in a National Dex, it makes up for this in many features never-before-seen.