Our final impression about Pokemon Sword and Shield: the most ambitious game in the series

Pokemon Sword and Shield

Galar's champion "Leon" stood in front of a crowd cheering his loudest voice and showing "Charizard" the full glory of Gen 1 before moving to the title screen. 

Pokemon Sword and Shield

 has a big opening with enough enthusiasm and excitement to make me want to cheer me too.

After all, this is the first major game of Pokemon released on a console. Expectations are high and its unique introduction sets the stage for what will come next.

Of course you are not a hero yet,

Go straight to the lush garden outside your home and you will clearly see that there is still a long way to go before someone cheers your name.

Played the first 90 minutes of Pokemon Shield.

Although my adventure was barely just the beginning, I immediately felt that I had many interesting ways to spend my time and every option was as exciting as its predecessor.

From the rewarding and challenging battles of "Max Raid" to the new ways to train and connect with Pokemonate, it seems obvious that Pokemon Sword and Shield will be the most ambitious game in the series.

Wooloo is at the center of the spotlight

After you leave your home you will meet your rival "Hop" , who is already accompanied by his Pokémon partner, "Wooloo".

For the first time ever, your opponent has two Pokémon partners that you have to face both in your first battle. But Hopoo's Wooloo isn't the only important pokemon you'll have to face. One of the earliest plots of the story offers another Wooloo Pokemon that needs to be saved, and this cute sheep is also one of the first Pokémon you can catch in the tall grass after you get Leon's first Pokemon Starter. 

That's right, you'll get your new friend from the hero.

As with many Pokémon fans, I loved Wooloo the moment it was revealed, but I was nevertheless surprised to see him occupy a prominent role at the beginning of the game.

Wooloo is set to be the unofficial mascot of Pokemon Sword and Shield, and is perfect given the game's frame.

Additional movie scenes give meaning to major battles

While battles with adolescents and random coaches keep the same loop in play (i.e. talk, battle, win or lose with a comment at the end), fighting more prominent opponents offers an extra layer of story around them. In turn, your opponent will make a comment in the form of a very brief film scene.

It's quick enough to neglect it if you're not interested in the story, but I was pleased to have an extra way of seeing the story and gameplay that fuses together in a more consistent and credible way. The additional context adds weight to the battles and helps establish the characters a little more.

Set as much as you like

I can't express how excited I am about the character customization options in the game. There are 10 categories of clothing to choose from: sweaters, hats, pants, dresses, socks, shoes, bags, hoods, glasses and gloves. We had a quick look at what customization has been offering over the last few months, and what I had to see in the game didn't disappoint me. These clothes are actually very stylish! These famous pokemon shirts are still available, but fortunately there are plenty of alternatives like casual trousers, finally.

Clashes are not completely random with a lot of surprises

The classic random encounters we've seen in major Pokemon games are changing in Pokemon Sword and Shield. We first saw this change in June, but seeing it on the ground gave me more confidence about the new system that gives players more choice about when to engage in wild Pokemon battles.

While some of the Pokémon you can pick up are visible all over the world like
 "Pokemon Let’s Go", you can grab others that appear as an exclamation mark among long grass patches both inside and outside the "Wild Area" .

These exclamation points are random in the sense that you don't know what pokemon you will face, but you can usually see and avoid the battle before you start if you want to.

Avoiding pokemon in the grass requires you to quietly sneak up at your fingertips when passing by.

People who prefer to be caught by a sudden battle can simply run through the tall grass at full speed.

Generally, an exclamation mark appears before you fight, but if you run
 you won't have time to notice it.

But the random confrontations that come because of the exclamation mark offer more than a surprise to the players.

Some Pokémon can only be found through indiscriminate encounters, giving players a great incentive to run into the unknown.

Catsh them if you can

Pokemon Sword and Shield retains the spirit and identity they have held for years: treating the player as if it were the first time he played Pokemon, which can be annoying for many old fans. Although GameFreak still makes you push through these educational dialogs, I was pleasantly surprised that I could start my own set of pokemon before being directed to do so. Shortly after you get your first Pokemon, you have complete freedom to head to town and walk through the long grass as often as you like. I already had 5 Pokemon balls in my bag (Thanks, Mom!) So I spontaneously grabbed Pokemon.

A few minutes later Hop explains how to catch a Pokemon, but I already had one (you're late, Hop!). This is not the educational experience that the fans were demanding, but it was good that it gave you more freedom without getting rid of the whole education.

Technical defects

Visually, Pokemon Sword and Shield looks great, but I was a little disappointed to see that, similar to Pokemon Let’s Go, Pokemon may simply appear and disappear as you walk forward.

This may not be a problem in the herbs because the pokemon always appear and disappear from the eyes with the grass, but it remains strange to see the Pokemon shrink to the point of disappearing randomly when it comes to leave the area.

The same problem applies to non-playable coaches as well. The street may be completely empty, but walk a little further and suddenly one of them will stand by a rock.

First impressions of the Wild Area

Somewhat early you'll take the train to the Wild Area, which looks like a coach's stadium. Expect a lot of places to fight, the Max Raids to take part, and dealers to buy goods from them. This area seems to be the largest area we will explore in Galar, and there are some features of this area to make navigation more enjoyable. Such as the ability to access your computer (where pokemons that aren't on your team) are stored directly from lists while in the Wild Area.

The freedom to rotate the camera in the Wild Area was excellent and I could only get excited to see a winged pokemon fly through the air and "Onix" writhing through the grass as the snow gently fell from the sky.

The region was not packed with pokemonas as much as it wanted, but more creatures could appear under different weather conditions.

Some sections of the area are not immediately accessible, giving players more to explore later.

You can earn an exclusive currency in the Wild Area called "Watts" by fighting trainers or getting closer to the dead Max Raid Battle locations.

These coins can be used to buy items from merchants roaming the area, who sell things like camping kit, materials and ingredients to cook delicious curries. Some of the items they provide are sold exclusively in this area.

During the game experience, I couldn't camp or cook a curry, but camping basically works like the Pokemon-Amie feature, giving you a chance to connect and play with your friends from Pokemon. One of the Nintendo representatives compared it to Pokemon Ranch (which was not very successful as a private game but it looked very good as part of a much larger experience).

Curry ingredients can be obtained by finding, buying, or giving them to you. The same applies to the same recipes that can be found, purchased, obtained as a gift or discovered through your own experiments.

Anxious optimism: Developed local and collective play online

The local and online game modes allow players to fight, exchange, visit each other's camps and work together in Max Raid battles in the Wild Area. You can even see real coaches roaming around this area.

That you can use so that you and your friends can enter the Wild Area together. Unfortunately, this specific marker is limited to this only location outside the Wild Area rather than to any location within it. Of course you can tell players to go to a specific area within the Wild Area from there, but not being able to use anywhere except this site seems like a missed opportunity to provide easier coordination. In addition to organizing battles, raids battles, and exchanging with your friends, you can designate yourself as someone looking to fight or exchange and agree with other online players looking to do the same.

Max Raid battles are full of challenge, and fun to watch

My first "Max Raid" battle with Sobble entered level 7 and a team of 3 unplayable characters to help me.

You can't fight Max Raid battles alone, and given the strength of these Pokémon you won't want it either. We won the battle but a lot of unplayable pokemones fainted in the meantime, pitch conditions changed several times, a storm threatened to end the whole thing, and we needed several roles
 (in addition to Dynamaxing Sobble) to win.

"Gigantamax" Pokemon (a giant case that only exists for a specific Pokemon) can only be captured in Max Raid battles or received through special events. But what attracts me more than the difficulty of getting Pokémon is the scene of these Max Raid battles. It's a kind of greatness that reminds me of Pokemon Stadium. At one point, a huge block of stones emerged from the ground and landed directly on one of the Pokémonati. His crushing vision to the end was terrifying.

Similar to " Pokemon Go " , everyone has a chance to catch the Pokemon you just defeated in the Battle of (Max Raid).

But unlike Pokemon Go, only one of you needs to catch it and you all get this Pokemon.

Of course you don't have to expect that Max Raid battles will be even more fun with friends.

Once you walk through an active beam of light as the Max Raid battle takes place you have the option of inviting them.

Between Pokemon Jobs that can be accessed from your computer, to the ever-changing weather, the ability to navigate without consuming a slot in your team with Pokémon with a specific HM, simulators in camping and cooking, and group phase integration, there seems to be Something always happens in the world of Pokemon Sword and Shield and you are in the middle of all this action.

The main platform is no longer just a platform anymore.

But it's a full playground stadium.

This time Pokemon looks bigger than ever.