125) Pokémon Sword (2019)

Beginning development immediately after the completion of Sun and Moon, Pokémon Sword and Shield were the first fully new games in the series to be developed for the Nintendo Switch. As such, director Shigeru Ohmori came up with the idea of making Pokémon grow gigantic in size to capitalize on the system's high resolution and connectivity to the TV. He suggested the use of a sword and shield in order to defeat these giant Pokémon, which inspired the names of the games. The focus on strength also led the team in setting the games in the Galar region, which is heavily inspired by British folklore of giants and mythical creatures.

Our story begins in much the same way as any other Pokémon game with our character being given a choice of a fire, water, and grass type starter before setting out on their journey. One of the weaker aspects of this entry is the long-winded opening, which sees us meet with the region's champion, our rival, the regional professor, and the box art legendary all before we really set out on the adventure proper. This is mildly compounded by the lack of voice acting, which combined with the linearity make the opening feel somewhat hollow and annoying to revisit.

We're then let loose in what's known as the Wild Area, which is a considerably large, open world sandbox. This is a feature fans had been clamoring for, and it's sad to say that Game Freak dropped the ball a bit. While the idea is good enough, offering players a large set of biomes with weather that changes, thus allowing for a fairly large diversity in the Pokémon available, the decision to have each area's monsters locked to specific levels acts as yet another way to prevent players from straying from the intended path. This is compounded by the baffling decision to tie the player's badge count to the highest level Pokémon the player can catch, giving no incentive to brave further ahead. Worse still, there is a drastic lack of things to even do in the Wild Area, with only three entry and exit points, a near complete lack of trainers to battle, and nothing of value to find or uncover.

Outside of the Wild Area, the game is just as linear and on rails as previous entries, which is a blessing and a curse. The linearity makes it seem like we're on a guided tour, and makes revisiting the game all the more boring. On the other hand, the linear areas showcase some beautiful locales and show the team's strength in how they're laid out, with areas that open up as we progress and actual secrets for the player to find. For my money, I'd have honestly preferred the Wild Area be omitted and a larger focus on these areas be present, as they display just how half-baked the Wild Area truly is.

The story is, for the most part, your standard Pokémon fare. We have a few rivals, are tasked with collecting eight gym badges in the hopes of becoming champion, and there's a really dumb evil scheme at play in the background. Again, here the game shines in one aspect over the other, as the gym's are a fun mix of "puzzles" along with great gym leader designs. Keeping with the British theme, the gym's are modeled after soccer arenas, really selling the idea of Pokémon battling being a popular spectator sport. Unlike a previous gimmick mechanic, almost every gym leader utilizes the Dynamax feature, with most of them going further with Pokémon that can Gigantomax with special forms. They don't really make the gyms any harder, but they look damn impressive.

The other aspect of the plot, concerning a twist villain and our legendary encounters, are likely the worst I've seen in the franchise. While I won't completely spoil the plot, the primary conflict involves someone being unwilling to wait a single day as they try to prevent a problem that they themselves admit is over a thousand years away. It's utterly stupid and baffling, even for the standards of the series. It explains, poorly, why the Dynamax feature is exclusive to Galar, but that's a question I doubt anyone would have asked.

The true standout feature of the game is the myriad new Pokémon available, including new regional forms and evolutions of old favorites. I didn't know I needed a fighting type Farfecth'd or its evolution, but I won't deny how much I adore them. Few, if any, of the new designs miss the mark, and even the lesser among them have some fun lore or references to them. In addition, trainer designs, particularly gyms leaders, are all on point as well, and the game does much to expand the character customization from the previous entries. From a purely visual aesthetic, there's a lot to love in the Galar region.

On the whole, Pokémon Sword and Shield come off as an awkard but endearing stumble for the franchise onto home console. While there's little I'd say that is actively wrong with the experience, it's filled with a lot of odd missteps that I can't ignore. The Wild Area is ambitious, but ultimately barren and devoid of anything to do while also gatekeeping players in an antithetical manner. The story is completely stupid, but the characters bring an undeniable charm to it. The lack of voice acting, which I generally don't mind, is made all the more glaring with the slog of unskippable cutscenes and the completely baffling inclusion of a punk rock singing gym leader who is hilariously silent in his performance. While there's certainly a lot to like, especially as a longtime fan, it's impossible to ignore the multitude of issues that dampen an otherwise delightful experience.