A J

Unbiased, this game represents the abandonment of Gamefreak to its Original Fanbase and a failure to maintain, much less improve upon their previous Mainline games. Sun and Moon were not only engaging, but they were twice as much game to play. It goes without saying that the rehashes of Sun and Moon were a sham, but even they were more fun to play than Sword and Shield. Abandoning nearly 80% of the previously introduced Pokemon and benching some of their more creative ideas for Teapots and Apples confirmed some of the more horrific rumors floating around months before launch. I smoked this game, well rested, in 2 days and the newly introduced Wild Area made level grinding such a joke I didn't even have to try; this game was easy enough for a preschooler to beat every challenge presented without fail. (The creators of the Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest franchises might also check into the Post End Story portion of the game: The sound affects and surrounding aura used during the Catch Mechanic Battle with either the Sword Pokemon or Shield Pokemon are 100% knock off from a Super Saiyan Power Up.) In closing, these latest Mainline introductions were the absolute worst, and fell short of a previously set bar. Hopefully the next attempt will contain less fruit and cookware and more challenging puzzles, more creatively designed pokemon, and a more engaging story that doesn't take a weekend to destroy.