Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Switch 2 Review – More To Chewtle On

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Update on Version 2 of the Nintendo Switch: The arrival of the new console has brought a significant improvement in the performance of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. This free update offers stunning 4K graphics when docked, and ensures a smooth 60 frames per second experience for both docked and handheld gaming sessions. After extensive testing, I’ve noticed that the games run and play noticeably smoother.

On the initial Nintendo Switch, a turbulent Casseroya Lake in northwestern Paldea was especially challenging – even after several software updates, I found myself reluctant to visit that lake for item gathering or shiny hunting. However, on the new Nintendo Switch 2, it functions smoothly no matter where you are in the world. Furthermore, lengthy loading times have been significantly shortened to just a few seconds.

Although there have been enhancements, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet don’t stand out as the most visually stunning Pokemon games yet. The environment appears dull and empty, while the character designswith exception to the intricately detailed and lively Pokemonseem basic and lifeless. In spite of boasting 4k resolution, there are numerous low-quality textures and instances where visual glitches may appear during combat. It’s unfortunate because games like Pokemon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee or even Pokemon: Legends Arceus have a strong visual presence, but they too faced criticism for their graphics.

Despite an unexpected rise in the number of Pokemon visible at once, which gives Paldea a livelier vibe, this development is particularly exciting for me (shiny-hunter enthusiast) since locating and generating rare Pokemon has become less challenging.

On the Switch 2, the horsepower significantly improves the speed of menu navigation, especially with regards to Pokemon Boxes. If you’re someone who spends significant time arranging your Pokemon and creating diverse battle teams, you’re probably familiar with how sluggish it was to navigate those menus, often having to wait several seconds for a character model to appear. However, with the Switch 2, browsing through your boxes has become effortless.

Jake Dekker suggests reconsidering Scarlet and Violet after their initial release, despite any performance or visual concerns. Beneath its problems and controversies, this latest mainline Pokemon game stands out as one of the most intriguing in years. Its unique structure offers players unprecedented freedom to explore the world, while Terastallization mechanics have revitalized competitive play and made it a captivating experience both to compete in and watch. Additionally, the Indigo Disk DLC presents some of the toughest challenges GameFreak has added to a Pokemon game in quite some time. If only they would bring back the Battle Tower!

You can read our original review of the Switch version, published on November 21, 2022, below.

As a dedicated Pokemon fan, I must say that while Pokemon Legends: Arceus hinted at an open-world Pokemon game, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have fully immersed themselves in this new approach, breathing life into the mainline series. This revised take on the classic Pokemon formula offers a challenging and satisfying journey through Paldea, one of the most engaging Pokemon adventures yet. What truly sets these games apart, though, is their non-linear progression. Scarlet and Violet subtly nudge you towards certain locations, but it’s your unique path through the vibrant region of Paldea that makes each experience unforgettable.

Scarlet and Violet begin similarly to many traditional Pokémon games: You wake up at home, encounter your rival, choose one of three starting creatures, and before you know it, you’re venturing out into the world and capturing a variety of these fascinating beasts. Even though the initial tutorial might seem somewhat excessive for seasoned players, it moves swiftly. In no time, your energetic, combat-craving rival, Nemona, lets you loose, allowing you to explore a significant portion of the map, challenge trainers whenever you please, and catch wild Pokémon. The pace slows slightly as it introduces characters and the primary storylines, but not for long. Soon after, you’re free to traverse Paldea in its entirety.

In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the duo’s power stems from their unfettered freedom, which transcends the conventional boundaries of an open world. From the get-go, you have three distinct routes to tread: The Path of Legends, where you chase down and vanquish oversized Pokemon; Operation Starfall, involving this generation’s Team Rocket; and the well-known Victory Road, where you confront eight gym leaders. Unlike past games, there is no set sequence in the narrative. While trainers and wild Pokemon grow increasingly challenging as you journey away from Mesagoza, the central city of Paldea, nothing explicitly hinders you from confronting one of the game’s toughest gym leaders head-on. In fact, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet deliberately withhold information about an area’s difficulty until you actually arrive there.

In an unconventional way for a level-based RPG game, the lack of clarity about certain areas and the absence of random encounters prompted me to venture off the usual path, discovering hidden locations that traditional Pokemon games would have kept blocked. The density of Pokemon throughout the map encouraged this kind of exploration. For instance, Pawmi, a cute electric-type rodent, usually travels in groups; Psyducks stroll through fields and sometimes take a dip in nearby streams; and Pichus are often found napping under shady trees. Similar to Arceus, I frequently chased after new Pokemon I saw from afar, leading me to territories I wasn’t quite prepared for. Sometimes these impromptu journeys would result in my entire team being defeated, but other times I’d acquire a powerful new Pokemon to add to my collection.

It seems as though Game Freak has removed the training wheels on Pokemon in many aspects, making my journey feel more challenging than ever before. Frequently, I found myself battling against gym leaders, colossal Titan Pokemon, and Team Star bosses who were significantly stronger than my own Pokemon. More often than not, my creatures were underleveled compared to their opponents, compelling me to think creatively rather than relying on the standard rock-paper-scissors type matchups. In numerous instances, factors like natures, abilities, and held items, aspects I seldom considered during a typical Pokemon game’s main story, proved crucial in helping me squeeze out victories against trainers who would have otherwise defeated me.

In the game, Terastallizing adds an extra layer of complexity to encounters with trainers. Typically, when you face off against these trainers, they will Terastallize their last Pokemon, which can change a Pokemon’s elemental attributes. Each Pokemon in the Paldea region has both a Tera type and its standard type or types. In most cases, the Tera type corresponds to one of the Pokemon’s standard types. However, you might encounter some Pokemon with a Tera type different from their standard type, like Brassius, the Grass-type gym leader who uses the Rock-type Pokemon Sudowoodo, but whose Sudowoodo has a Grass Tera type. When this Sudowoodo Terastallizes, attacks that would normally be effective against it, such as Water or Grass attacks, become less effective. Many trainers use Terastallizing to compensate for their weaknesses, making the final battle slightly tougher if you aren’t well-prepared or underleveled.

Hey there! As a gamer, I’m not saying you should follow my exact footsteps in Scarlet and Violet. Instead, feel free to take on challenges that match your current level and stick to safer zones while you grow stronger. The beauty of this game lies in the vast exploration opportunities, diverse Pokémon to catch, and multiple main objectives scattered across the map.

Even when I found myself a bit underpowered for some tougher spots, I never felt like my only choice was to grind levels by fighting wild Pokémon over and over again. So, have fun, explore, and make this adventure your own!

The “Let’s Go” feature has made grinding less time-consuming than before, since it lets the first Pokémon in your party automatically fight wild Pokémon. Even though auto-battles don’t provide as much experience as regular battles, you can engage in numerous encounters with wild Pokémon very quickly because decisions are made instantly.

In the lively region of Paldea, Scarlet and Violet subtly hint at certain spots, yet it’s the unique journey you carve out for yourself that truly leaves an impression.

In this new game version, auto-battling plays a dual role, linking with Technical Machine (TM) crafting. Unlike previous games, obtaining a TM now allows you to create copies of it at Pokémon Centers. Battling wild Pokémon results in materials for crafting, and the most efficient way to acquire these materials is through auto-battles. However, even though auto-battles simplify TM crafting significantly, I’d prefer an option to purchase the ones I need directly. Each TM comprises parts from specific Pokémon, so it’s necessary to locate and battle those Pokémon multiple times to gather the required components for crafting.

Here’s a simpler and more conversational way of explaining the same concept:

You can change your Pokemon’s moves whenever you want! So, if you accidentally changed a move, don’t worry – just go to your Pokemon’s summary menu and it will let you learn that move again. This works for TMs too; once you teach a TM to a Pokemon, that move becomes a part of its move set forever. This might seem like a small change, but it makes it so much easier to try out different movesets quickly!

As a gamer, I’m thrilled about the changes in Scarlet and Violet that revolutionize breeding, something last altered way back in Gold and Silver. Instead of using Daycares like we did before, now if you arrange a picnic with two compatible Pokémon in my party, they’ll leave eggs in a basket. It might seem a bit messy, but it sure does save a lot of time! The best part? Eggs gathered during a picnic automatically go into my boxes, sparing me the hassle of constantly shuffling my party to make space for new eggs. In just 15 minutes of relaxing at a picnic, I ended up with over a dozen eggs that magically appeared in my Pokémon box – a much more efficient and convenient method compared to cycling around Daycares and waiting for eggs to show up!

The improved breeding method suggests a potential simplicity in obtaining shiny Pokemon. Although I haven’t fully optimized the chances yet, it appears that the overall experience might be significantly less laborious compared to earlier times.

Discussing the competitive Pokémon landscape without mentioning battles is challenging. The introduction of Terastallizing has the potential to mix things up significantly, but predicting its exact impact is tough at this point. In principle, a competitive team could exploit more vulnerabilities due to this mechanic, since each Pokémon can have three distinct types – the standard two and an additional Tera type. This allows for a party of 18 different types if every Pokémon is utilized. I’m optimistic that it will lead to a much more diverse range of competitive Pokémon and innovative strategies, as typing plays such a crucial role in team composition.

Despite my eagerness to try out these tactics, I find it challenging since Scarlet and Violet don’t have a Battle Tower. While there are engaging post-game challenges, the lack of a proper Battle Tower makes it tough to tinker with various teams and explore new strategies in a casual competitive setting where the stakes aren’t high.

As a dedicated fan, I believe the absence of the Battle Tower in Scarlet and Violet is probably due to their focus on expanding online functionalities. What sets these games apart is the cooperative play feature, which allows you and up to three friends to traverse Paldea simultaneously. We can battle trainers, catch wild Pokémon, and accomplish story quests, all while our companions are on different parts of the map. When one player triggers a Tera Raid battle, everyone else in the session gets notified and can join with just a tap. It’s a fantastic addition, but it seems somewhat surface-level. Interacting with other players for trades or battles isn’t as seamless as I’d like; you need to use the Poke Portal menu instead. Additionally, catching Pokémon from the other game version isn’t possible, even when joining someone else’s game. The cooperative play also seems to have opened the door for some bugs and glitches, although my experience so far, aside from a few connection hiccups, has been smooth. Hopefully, as I delve deeper into these games over the coming weeks, the experience will become more enriching with less technical issues. It’s delightful to see friends roam around in your world, but it doesn’t significantly enhance the overall gaming experience.

It’s great news that the multiplayer aspects from Sword and Shield are back, and they’ve been improved here. You can easily connect to servers through the menu, enabling you to engage in battling, trading, mystery gifts, and surprise trades with just a few clicks. While Pokemon games and Nintendo still have room for improvement to rival their competition online, the process is smooth and hassle-free.

In Scarlet and Violet, the sense of freedom they offer comes with a noticeable trade-off, particularly in their visual presentation. These games appear somewhat unpolished. For instance, there’s an early scene where you chase your rival to the top of a lighthouse, which seems designed to be a signature moment in open-world games, offering a panoramic view of the world below. However, due to the muddy graphics, this stunning vista falls flat. From afar, Mesagoza appears as a collection of off-white shapes, the trees look more like green blobs rather than actual trees, and the spinning Poke Ball above the Pokemon Center moves at a slow pace, barely keeping up with a few frames per second.

The main characters and Pokemon are vividly depicted, but other aspects of the game lack detail. Textures are absent, distant objects appear pixelated and unstable, and Pokemon and NPCs often seem to materialize and disappear due to insufficient draw distances. Additionally, battles fought on uneven terrain may cause the camera to pass through the ground.

This year, games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Bayonetta 3 have highlighted the aging capabilities of the Nintendo Switch. However, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet seem to be straining the hardware beyond its limits. Compared to the visual shortcomings in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the strain on the eyes is quite pronounced whether you’re playing handheld or docked.

Luckily, Scarlet and Violet seem to perform quite smoothly in my playtime so far. While they may not offer buttery-smooth 60 frames per second, I haven’t noticed any slowdowns or significant drops in frame rate. It’s good to know that, even with all the visual imperfections, the games manage to maintain a decent level of performance. After all, while a game like Pokemon doesn’t necessarily need top-notch performance, it’s reassuring to see that they can handle themselves well.

Despite some flaws related to undercooked presentation and visual issues, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have proven to be the most impressive mainline Pokémon games in quite a while. They effectively expand upon the open-ended design introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, offering creative and unexpected enhancements. Likewise, they continue to deliver the same level of depth that the main series is renowned for.

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2025-06-24 22:10