#game-review #finishedgame2022 # Pokémon Scarlet  [Console:: Nintendo Switch] [Status:: Beaten] [Approximate Start Date:: 2022-11-22] [Finish Date:: 2022-12-15] [Clear Time:: 71h 45m] [Total Play Time:: 73h] [nReplays:: 0] ## [Rating:: 90] To put a singular number on this game is to really really really condense something far too nuanced. The game is incredibly buggy, graphically pitiful, and otherwise a rushed, barely-tested game. Pokemon and world elements pop in and out of existence at an alarmingly common rate. The windmills and flags move at 2 FPS when viewed at a distance. It looks atrocious for what one might expect. On the other hand, the world is extremely fun to explore and exist in. I think my best example of this is the stretch of the game where I had to find my way to Alfornada along a path that I was already somewhat familiar with. The map presented a few different ways to get there, but I always found myself going the wrong direction, and needing to reorient myself, but in a fun way. It was a genuine challenge to get to the place simply through navigation, but I didn't mind missing it since it opened a new part of the world to me. The Pokemon Company would do well to not mandate an annual major release if they want Game Freak to have any chance at making a polished game. Yet, I know that won't happen because every Pokemon game will PRINT money at this point. But in a way, I think Scarlet and Violet deserve to be those games. If, somehow, these games' performance issues do get patched and they do receive some kind of graphical overhaul (which is unlikely), these games have the potential to be the best Pokemon games of all time. If there are no fixes to the bugs and lack of polish, then the worst I can say is that Scarlet and Violet have some of the worst presentation of the best things the Pokemon franchise brought to the games. # Playthrough Notes Streamed the first playthrough, played offline the rest. Cycled through a variety of team mates given the way that the level scaling works. Incremental progress notes are: - nB $\equiv$ number of Badges obtained - nS $\equiv$ number of Team Star Raids - nT $\equiv$ number of Titans fought Also given as (nB, nS, nT) ## The Squad 1. Meowscarada (Woody) 2. Skeledirge (Akiedis) 3. Quaquaval (Quixote) 4. Clodsire (Torin) 5. Dauchsbun (Doughgerino) 6. Tinkaton (Pinkarella) 7. Cyclizar (Astrolite) 8. Arboliva (Sonia) 9. Garganacl (Braunbrix) 10. Bellibolt (MacSmoilie) 11. Lokix (Kamexna) 12. Pawmot (Pawmodore) 13. Annihilape (Meleemode) 14. Farigiraf (LongNeckLucy) 15. Volcarona (SelfLoveMoth) 16. Haxorus (Boxboy) 17. Armorouge (Mathblaster) 18. Baxcalibur (Stirling) Made sure that everyone was Level 70 before I beat the main story with exceptions of Woody at Level 72, and Pinkarella at 71. The main squad of new mons in the post-game has centralized to Meowscarada, Tinkaton, Garganacl, Annihilate, Armorouge and Baxcalibur. # General Thoughts ## 2B, 1S, 1T Update - [[Pokemon Scarlet is the Pokemon Game I've Wanted Since I Was a Kid]] - [[Level Scaling in Pokemon Scarlet Allows Me To Experiment with Party Members, which is fun]] ## 7, 3, 4 Update - [[Classes in Pokemon Scarlet as Tutorials works really well because it makes sense in-universe]] - [[Grinding in Pokemon Scarlet is Honestly Not So Bad]] ## 8, 4, 5 Update - [[Paldea's Backcountry is one of my favorite locations in Scarlet and Violet because of its isolation from the rest of the region]] ## Area Zero and Endgame Notes - [[Area Zero is one of the Coolest Places in any Pokemon Game because it is unexpected]] - [[On Professor Sada and Scarlet's effective use of Foreshadowing]] ## Post Game Notes - [[On the Ruinous Legendaries and the Hunt For Stakes being a Great Scavenger Hunt Sidequest that's actually finishable]] - [[On the Academy Ace Tournament as a Final Activity to Do in the Post-Game of Pokemon Scarlet]] ## Victory Road The gym portion of the game is probably the most standard part of the options. I think that they're trying to make them unique compared to the other two ways to play this game, which is admirable, but the gyms are often really easy just based on the level scaling. ### Brassius - Grass Did the Grass Gym first, the Sunflora hunt was an amusing challenge that allowed me to explore the city more. If only the Sunflora looked good lol. The fight itself is pretty easy and I wasn't really inspired by much of it. ### Katy - Bug Was overleveled for Katy since I had things already in the 20s. This made me realize that I really should rotate a LOT of my mons. The olive pushing challenge has the potential for a lot of silly physics since I bypassed one of the shortcuts but pushing the olive over the fence. Probably should've done this one first, but I don't mind. ### Iono - Electric This probably will end up being a product of its time, but I love how well Iono was written. The fact that someone donates during her stream is fucking hilarious ### Kofu - Water I found it amusing how everyone spoke about how "Kofu's gym test is the hardest one ever" and then we just have to cross the desert and return his wallet. ### Larry - Normal If the gym puzzle is the same very time, then this is easily skipped, which is amusing to me. Larry is an excellent character and I've been waiting for them to make a normal trainer who's just *a guy*. His Staraptor was actually kind of scary too. ### Ryme - Ghost The Double Battles made for an interesting and fun challenge, where I actually lost a mon or two! I think that it was important to have a gym battle be double battles so that players know how official tournaments play, and how those vary between the other gameplay experience of single battles. ### Tulip - Psychic "You and you Pokemon slayed." Straightforward. ### Grusha - Ice He's so cynical and edgy, which is not somehting I would've expected from hiws design. Cloud Strife-esque. The fight's neat enough. Minigame is very easy, but I can see how you could easily scale it. ## Starfall Street I actually didn't know that the first part of these challenges were like, autobattle raids, but that makes it really interesting to attempt. You pick the first three and then you go to town on the mons that the team presents. Also, *Clive*. ### Mela - Fire I like that it's a story of a bunch of students who were sort of the loners who were all friends, and something happened to make them rebel, and the point of this one is to bring them back to the academy. Did Mela first and used Quaxwell, Clodsire, and Naclstack which absolutely obliterated the raid portion of the battle. The actual fight with Mela was actually kind of tricky since Torkoal had the sun, and then I had to outlast the Revavroom in car mode. Mela herself is a fun character and I like the way she walks in her boots, given she can't bend her knees in the boots. She's pretty cute. The music rocks. Love the music. Top tier boss music. ### Giacomo - Dark He's neat, the boss fight was pretty easy though. I think he's supposed to be the first fight actually, but he's really not on the way as much as Mela is. ### Atticus - Poison His backstory, of caring about fashion and old stuff, while also being a Poison ninja is interesting. I like that his backstory shows what he looks like under his mask too, makes the revelation and flashback way more interesting. Fight itself was actually kind of tough, if only ebcause my only ground type was a Clodsire, though I was painfully overlevelled once again. ### Ortega - Fairy A little too easy given the circumstances. Thgere's a wide breadth of Fairies in this region but I didn't really feel all that troubled by the selection of raids. The field where the raid takes place can definitely make it a tricky challenge since you have to constnatly walk to the sparsely populated ares with mons to fight. ### Eri - Fighting Genuinely understand how this one could give people trouble if they're not overlevelled. The route to Eri forces you to take on the fighting types that are thrown out in front ofyou, rather than you going and searching out the Pokemon. This trial, as a result, actually feels like you're storming a base, and I love that it takes place in a place full of cliffs. Eri is actually tricky herself too. Clearly she's meant to be the final challenge before you take on everything else. She's also cute. ## Path of Legends This one's interesting since they feel like real boss fights in the world as opposed to the other two ones that feel less organically present. Arven is a cool guide throughout, and it's important to do this set of encounters first so that Koraidon can move around more. ### Klawf - Rock Pretty easy with Quaxwell, I imagine it would also be pretty easy had I used Floragato. Anger Shell could easily provide an "Oh shit" moment, but overall, it was a pretty easy interaction. I did appreciate how I could see the Klawf on the wall well before I engaged it, made me feel like I was in control of my adventure there. ### Bombirdier - Flying Bellibolt makes this fight a breeze. ### Orthworm - Steel FAST WORM!!!!!!! Chasing it was pretty fun, though admittedly I'm very overleveled. Skeledirge makes this fight a breeze ### Great Tusk - Ground Holy moly that thing was big. Like, I underestimated just how large that boy was. Pretty easily dispatched, but that's par for the course. ### Tatsugiri and Dondozo - Dragon If I didn't know about the gimmick with Tatsugiri and Dondozo, this would've been even cooler than it was. The reveal that Tatsugiri was actually the titan Pokemon and not the Dondozo is a cool fake out and I enjoyed the two-stage challenge as the final titan quest. Seeing Arven fully heal Mabosstiff is genuinely a great moment in the Pokemon franchise and i'm glad they were willing to make this storyline as heartarming as it is. I can totally buy into it compared to the Team Star one at times. # Favorite Moments / Memories - The Sandwich Physics are so stupid, I love it - Dalizapa Ridge is such a cool area, the cave system is really fun to explore compared to so many other cave systems in Previous Pokemon Games - Getting to Alfornada (7th gym), the maze-ness of the natural landscape. It was also fun to read the NPCs complaining about how lost they got getting to Alfornada. - Area Zero is an excellent endgame area # What were you doing when not playing this? - Was in Greece when the games first came out, so I played from behind of the pace - Found out Grace Stanke won Miss America 2023 while in the last little bits of Area Zero. - watching the [[Survivor 43]] finale while grinding in the Area Zero depth. # Relevant Links *Links to associated media.*