Pokémon Are you still gonna get Sword and Shield?

[Pellie]

Since more and more fans are about to boycott Sword and Shield, mainly because of the
fact that there will be no National Dex anymore, means a whole bunch of Pokemon are not
in the games, as well as other certain issues, I would like to know who of you here in the
forums still get the games and who will also gonna boycott the games.

My hype is gone right now, so I will not buy the game (planned to get Sword) on release
day. Maybe to a much later point as a used game at GameStop, if my hype is coming back.

 

[Fey]

Undecided, barely leaning toward YES

I honestly can?t say at the moment. The news about the reduced Dex is definitely disappointing, but my priority is still the overall look and feel of the game. Even though the gameplay footage left me feeling severely underwhelmed, I?m still holding out hope that it?ll shape up into a decent game. My expectations are lowered, but I?m still willing to give it a chance to win me over before release.

Signed,
a cautious optimist

 

[rianne]

I'm still going to get the game.

 

[Alienfish]

I don't even have a Switch, but even if I had, probably not. I mean if you can't carry over things at all and they are gonna be that basic, please no.

 

[Coach]

I was on the fence on getting the game anyway, but the fact that not all pokemon are in the game made my mind up that I'll just skip it. I still haven't finished some of the 3ds games so I can just finish those instead. It's almost laughable for a franchise so profitable to release a new game which has blatantly cuts corners.

 

[Tao]

I don't really care all that much that all the Pokemon are in it. It's a new generation on a new system, I don't expect them to remodel and animate 800 Pokemon and if they ported old models they would stand out like a sore thumb from the new ones. In fact, I would rather they do what they've done and put resources into new content than wasting it by redoing a bunch of Pokemon, most of which the majority of people probably won't ever see or care about.

It would be nice if they kept adding old Pokemon via patches or at least made them all availble again in future titles for the sake of post game, but as a stand alone title I really don't care.

 

[watercolorwish]

If I get a Switch for my birthday I'll probably get Sword. Graphical errors are annoying and ugly like everyone is saying, but I always played Pokemon for the story so I hope this one is good

 

[MapleSilver]

I'm not going to get this game. I was already starting to lose some interest in the main series games (a common occurrence for longtime fans) and this destroyed it for me. That's not to say I still don't enjoy Pok?mon as a whole, but I have no interest in a game where I can't even have most of my favorites. I'm still interested in seeing the world they have constructed, but I can go watch a let's play for that.

 

[-Apples-]

Just because not all of my favorites will appear doesn’t mean I won’t get the game. I will still get the game, something I’ve bern firm about since the February direct. Bad graphics? At least isn’t cheesy like Super Mario 64.

 

[Midoriya]

Yes, I’m still getting the games. I don’t care that the national dex was removed because I play each new Pokemon game for the new Pokemon that are in it, not to be able to use any Pokemon available. I also don’t think the graphics are that bad and that they’ll get better as times goes on until the release of the game. Also, Pokemon is kind of my favorite Nintendo franchise, so it would be a sin for me not to buy every mainline game in the series, lmao

 

[Maiana]

I haven't kept up with any S&S news, so I didn't know about any of this ;o;
I am still going to get the game though. It'll give me something to do while I wait for Animal Crossing.

 

[oath2order]

Without National Dex, I'm going to wait to see if the post-game is any good.

Which it won't be.

So no I won't

 

[Halloqueen]

I'm firmly in the Not Sure category as of this time. Some part of me is still sort of interested because of new Pok?mon like Grookey and Corviknight, but the inability to freely use any Pok?mon from the series in any subsequent playthroughs (I like to make themed teams after my initial, fresh playthrough of a new generation) is a giant issue for me. Being able to breed a team of whatever Pok?mon I wanted to use on a team with egg moves, optimal Natures and Abilities, 5-6 IVs, etc. has been an important part of my engagement with the series for a number of years now. While we don't necessarily know now how severe the cuts to the available Pok?mon are at this time, it doesn't really bode well for me.

It's fun to experience a new region with its new Pok?mon for that first run, but it's nowhere near as fun as the experiences I've been able to make for myself up until now. Hampering my ability to do as I'd please leaves me, to some degree, with a bit more of a catered experience that I don't believe I'll be nearly as invested in. I started playing the way I do for a reason, to keep things interesting for myself, because I found the standard casual play kind of boring and bland after a while. As such, I don't know whether continuing to follow the series is going to be worth it or if I'll just stick to the older games going forward.

 

[Roobi]

If I end up getting a Switch I won't get Sword or Shield. Gen 6 are the last Pok?mon games I enjoyed playing (and I still love them). The new visual style and features of the latest games just bothers me. To me it doesn't feel like Pok?mon anymore. I guess I'm too used to the simplified chibi/sprite look, though I can imagine newer players really liking the new designs and open world elements. It's just not for me, I suppose.
There's nothing about the announcements for S&S that could spark any enthousiasm on my part. The Dynamax mechanic looks so boring and tedious I'd do anything to avoid it if I could. At least I was crious enough to try gen 7 and even completed the game.

 

[HappyTails]

Yes, I'm still planning on getting it.

I've never really cared about the Pokedex in any Pokemon game I played and I'm not going to start now. But what is bugging me though is the giant Pokemon. That's just unnecessary. But that's just my opinion. Still not enough to keep me from buying the game though. I want to see the new Pokemon and what the Galar region is all about.

And like some people have said, it will be something to play until the game I really want comes out. That game being Animal Crossing New Horizons.

 

[Milleram]

I was leaning towards "no" initially, seeing as I didn't care much for 'Let's Go Eevee.' This is the first I've heard of the removal of the National Dex. That was always a big part of the game for me, so I can't imagine what would compel me to buy it now. Still, Pokemon was a big part of my childhood and one of my favourite franchises, so it makes me sad to think that I won't be picking up Sword or Shield at all. Like OP said, I definitely won't be buying it on release day. I'll wait a while and give it some more thought.

 

[ams]

Yeah totally. I actually think excluding the national dex is a good addition. All the people hoarding pokemon from previous gens made the online stuff and in game collecting way less fun to me. Plus I think I'll live if Klefki and other forgettable pokemon stay in the past.

 

[Jason Voorhees]

Nope.

I just saw a video comparing Sword and Shield to a 20 year old game, and the the graphics in the 20 year old game were better.

 

[Lanstar]

Yeah totally. I actually think excluding the national dex is a good addition. All the people hoarding pokemon from previous gens made the online stuff and in game collecting way less fun to me. Plus I think I'll live if Klefki and other forgettable pokemon stay in the past.

Sadly, as long as a Pokemon is in the Galar Pokedex, people can still import their hoarded pokemon from older games, so your complaint will still exist in these games anyways.

Honestly, If I really must get these games, I'll buy them on the used market. Otherwise, I'll skip them. The problem is beyond the culling of Pokemon, though - It's that from the info we have so far, the franchise just hasn't improved in quality and innovation in comparison to other Nintendo franchises.

 

[Midoriya]

Honestly, If I really must get these games, I'll buy them on the used market. Otherwise, I'll skip them. The problem is beyond the culling of Pokemon, though - It's that from the info we have so far, the franchise just hasn't improved in quality and innovation in comparison to other Nintendo franchises.

How though? I’m genuinely confused at this part. I mean, aside from the graphics for Sword and Shield not looking that good and some other minor things, in what ways have other Nintendo franchises improved in innovation and quality that Pokemon hasn’t? There have been a lot of new features and things added in gens 6 and 7 that differentiate it from the first five gens of Pokemon, so I’m curious for an explanation of how this is so.