Once more it was time to play a digital cock-fighting game! I mean, that’s basically what it is, right? With a plot, of course. A plot which is the same in every single Pokémon game: evil organisation (usually with a non-evil front) want to capture Pokémon for $reason so they can get Ultimate Power or something. All while your 10 year old avatar is rapidly rising from having a single feeble creature to being King Of All Pokémon Trainers and has to save the world at the same time.
This game is the same, in most aspects, as all the others I’ve played. Sure, this retains the 3/4 overhead view of the Nintendo DS original (and looks a lot like the recent Link’s Awakening remake) rather than have a fully 3D environment like Pokémon Sword, but that doesn’t change the gameplay at all. In fact, in battle screenshots you’d be hard pushed to tell which of the Switch Pokémon games I was actually playing.
Importantly, it doesn’t matter about being almost the same. Being almost the same actually works because the formula is sound and so remains fun, and it’s only really the catching and fighting Pokémon that you want from these games, is it not? Change that too much and you might break it.
So I beat all eight gym leaders, defeated Team Whoevertheyareinthisone, took on (and walked over) the Elite Four, and then trounced the supposed “champion”. It was all very easy, but I had a nice time and there’s more that opens up to do after the end credits, so although I’ve completed it, I’m not done with it just yet!
