Current Events > Are there any good Pokemon games these days?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I haven't played a real Pokemon game since maybe Crystal. And whenever I check out the new games, the online consensus is that they're all awful in some way. I've been playing a lot of Go lately so I'm kinda familiar with later Pokemon.

Do y'all have a take on the Pokemon games (single player) out there these days? Or any you'd recommend? My girlfriend has a Switch I could use, and I'm assuming they still only exist on Nintendo consoles.

Yes, all of them. Sw/Sh on the Switch is weakest but S/V is much better

Scarlet and Violet are honestly the best games the series has ever had in terms of pure content. Your mileage may vary on the performance issues and how badly they affect your enjoyment of the game, but I did recently (briefly) start a modified Nuzlocke run a few weeks ago and they weren't as bad as I remembered. So either the move to an OLED made the difference, they've been patching it since release, or I got gaslit into remembering the problems as being worse than they actually were.

For the switch games

Let's Go is a Go-styled remake of gen 1,eh

SwSh is ok but generally dull

Legends Arceus doesn't play like a mainline game but it's great

SV runs horrendously and looks like an early PS2/GCN game but is otherwise really fun and has the best cast in the series

Scarlet and Violet run distractingly bad, but they're also somehow the best games since Black and White in terms of quantity and writing.

Legends Arceus actually runs great, it's different, but I absolutely love it.

Unofficial but Pokerogue is incredible.

Going back to play the modded games are fun as fuck

Dang does S/V really run that poorly? Sounds like it'd be a good bet otherwise. I was hoping for that more classical Pokemon journey.

But Arceus sounds pretty interesting too. I'll look into these a little more.

SwSh might be more up your alley if you want a more classic Pokemon game, but it has some pretty major flaws.

bloodydeath0 posted...

Dang does S/V really run that poorly? Sounds like it'd be a good bet otherwise. I was hoping for that more classical Pokemon journey.

But Arceus sounds pretty interesting too. I'll look into these a little more.

Yes. And I don't say this to poison the well, I mean it really does run so poorly it is impossible not to notice. But even so it is still one of the best Pokemon games out there. Especially the ending + DLC's.

Between the two I probably prefer SV because it has multiplayer, but Arceus is really special, and I'm more excited for LZA than I have been for most Nintendo products in a while.

Even Daredevil couldn't miss all the glaring performance issues Scarlet/Violet has.

To be honest, Scarlet/Violet bored me to death. I like the premise - an open world Pokemon game - and was really hyped for it. But in the end, I felt like the world somehow still was empty, and the game is not as open as it claims to be since Trainer levels don't scale so you're still a little rail-roaded down an intended progression. It does have variance since you have like 3 separate main questlines to go through, but it's small solace.

But I think it's me outgrowing the series a lot lately. It's hard for me to like the games with their dated JRPG battles that you just need to mash A through. Even the older games I tend to only really enjoy with speed-up from emulators.

I think the entries I enjoyed the most were Generations 5 & 7. 5 for having a storyline vaguely worth a damn, and Ultra Sun/Moon for being actually somewhat challenging.

But if I want a more fulfilling Pokemon experience, I feel like I'm stuck with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (I recommend the Explorers of Skies mod in my data dump in my sig if you haven't played it, it's a nice QOL touch-up for the game) or fangames/hacks (but I haven't touched many of them). Mainly because there are 3 things I'd like from Pokemon:

• A fulfilling story (which PMD has in spades)
• A fulfilling gameplay system (I want something more active and engaging than pure turn-based gameplay loops)
• Challenge (because the previous kinda falls apart if I can steamroll everything even without playing optimally). Most Pokemon games lack this, though, due to the target demographic (especially since Generation 6 with its Exp. Share).

PMD usually has the first one for sure (Super is an exception), and somewhat the second (but it can be monotonous sometimes). Rescue Team (the OG, not DX), Explorers, and Super has the third.

Another good Pokemon game I think worth mention is Legends: Arceus, just because it does somewhat shake up the turn-based battle system (it plays its turn-based mechanics a little closer to how Final Fantasy X did with its CTB), and playing in the field was just so fun, wandering around and catching and gathering shit (and it made it easy to forego battles). I'm really excited for the next game tbh.

Legends Arceus is so good it's the only game where I actually completed the dex, and in that game you have to catch multiple of most Pokemon to complete the Dex it's not as simple as others.

!!!FFX mentioned!!!

Now I'm really interested in Arceus.

Maybe I just try both; that and SwSh. It sounds like S/V is worth passing on for now.

One thing I did hear was how easy SwSh was? Like there was hardly any challenge. Not that the OG Pokemon were particularly hard either.

I'm also sort of removed from all the starters, and which one I'd like. Sun/Moon I've seen mentioned as a good gen before too.

When I went back to ScarVi to play the DLC, the performance issues in the main region seemed to be improved (presumably a patch that came at some point), so I'd feel more confident in the running of the base game.

That said, the payoff is that the new area from the second DLC ran worse than the base game ever did, so all of the issues seem to have been channelled there, haha.

That said, even though it's technically a mess, I have no qualms in recommending it. It's the best Pokmon game since HG/SS, and even surpasses that gen in some respects (namely story, writing and characters).

If the next gen is just "more of the same only this time it works" then I'll be delighted.

I really think you should consider Scarlet/Violet. As someone who doesn't play a lot of "high performance" games, I barely noticed performance issues with S/V other than the occasional glitch when sliding down a hill. Absolutely nothing that broke the game or made me go wtf (more like the occasional chuckle).

It really evolves the normal pokemon storytelling formula. Yes, you have your traditional 8 gyms, but it also adds two additional story branches, one where you have to take down the "Team" of the region through some arpg segments, and another where you have to track down and defeat "Titan" pokemon to get a special reward to help out a friend's sick pokemon. You can do these stories in any order, and the endgame after completing all three is arguably really good (especially when you add the DLC).

There's just something really cool about encountering the pokemon in the wild as you traverse, and being able to gain additional travelling methods to discover unreachable areas and finding hidden pokemon in them.

Also, I think this game really makes the side characters likeable and plot-relevant. Lots of reoccuring NPCs that you learn to care for, including your protagonist's main trio of friends. By the end of the game you can truly believe that they've all gotten to know each other really well and you're rooting for them. Not to mention some gut punches in the story that is typically unusual for a Pokemon game.

Sword/Shield just feels unfinished to me. The first half of the game is fine, but by the time you get to the last few badges, the paths that lead to those cities and the cities themselves feel a bit unfinished, like there could have been more there. And the story just gets weird towards the end, like it barely makes sense. But that's just me.

I like Scarlet and Violet and Legends Arceus. As others have said, the rom hacks right now are fantastic such as pokerogue and run and bun. There are a lot of great rom hacks atm.

But the best pokemon game right now is palworld

IMO not really.

The fan games and ROM hacks have been where the fun is at in recent years. Infinite Fusion alone is way more fun than any recent mainline game.

Legends Arceus was good tho

Arceus was surpringly good. A lot of people hated it but that game took many steps in what id like in future pokemon games. Really excited for Legends ZA

bloodydeath0 posted...

One thing I did hear was how easy SwSh was? Like there was hardly any challenge. Not that the OG Pokemon were particularly hard either.

I definitely felt like the mandatory exp-share broke the early stages - I was having to be a bit tactical in the early stages to not be too levelled - but it evens out. My issue with SW/Sh was the fact that the Wild Area obviously took so much of the programming time that the rest of the map suffered. The towns are great, but there's nothing in between them other than routes - no dungeons, no real caves to explore (unless you count a very occasional straight run for a few yards where the route briefly goes underground), no bases or towers...

Also recommending S/V and Arceus.

VeggetaX posted...

Going back to play the modded games are fun as fuck

What's the best mod you've come across?

No

MC_BatCommander posted...

IMO not really.

The fan games and ROM hacks have been where the fun is at in recent years. Infinite Fusion alone is way more fun than any recent mainline game.

Legends Arceus was good tho

Rom hacks mentioned!!!!!

Gaia, Crystal Clear (Open World Crystal with scaling gyms) and Unbound are all so fucking good.

AlCalavicci posted...

What's the best mod you've come across?

Any of them that let's you catch all Pokemon within that series. Don't have a specific name.

Getting so much whiplash. Thanks for all the intel.

I'd also love to be immersed in a good story. Not necessarily just go through the motions of a typical Pokemon game. If S/V scratches that more storytelling/cinematic itch then I'd be interested in trying. People seem to be pretty polarized on what they like more.

I sort of don't have the conviction to dive into modding/Palworld, sort of more into just getting a base Pokemon game and enjoying the adventure.

Scarlet/Violet are good, but they run like garbage at points. There's crazy pop in, frame drops, and such sometimes. But if you can overlook that, they're fun.

Legends Arceus is a fun choice. It's a bit more action oriented than the regular series. Lots of content and exploration.

bloodydeath0 posted...

Getting so much whiplash. Thanks for all the intel.

I'd also love to be immersed in a good story. Not necessarily just go through the motions of a typical Pokemon game. If S/V scratches that more storytelling/cinematic itch then I'd be interested in trying. People seem to be pretty polarized on what they like more.

I sort of don't have the conviction to dive into modding/Palworld, sort of more into just getting a base Pokemon game and enjoying the adventure.

Scarlet/Violet has arguably the best story in pokemon. The ending level is incredible and the music is fantastic

I really would consider palworld though.

scarlet and violet are honestly really, really good outside of the graphical issies and general bugginess

or just play gens 5 and 6, or romhacks

If you haven't played anything since Gen 2, do play Emerald and Platinum for a start.

bloodydeath0 posted...

Getting so much whiplash. Thanks for all the intel.

I'd also love to be immersed in a good story. Not necessarily just go through the motions of a typical Pokemon game. If S/V scratches that more storytelling/cinematic itch then I'd be interested in trying. People seem to be pretty polarized on what they like more.

I sort of don't have the conviction to dive into modding/Palworld, sort of more into just getting a base Pokemon game and enjoying the adventure.

Palworld has a better story than Pokemon though. Pokemon stories are glorified 40 hour "Now you know" GI Joe skits.

I actually find it interesting Palworld is still a thing lol. When it came out I thought it was more of a meme thing - over-the-top Pokemon with guns. But I understand it was actually a solid core game. Hadn't heard much about it recently though. Def will check it out more now.

Also, stupid question, does S/V look good when connected to a big TV? Or is it supposed to be more in the spirit of playing on the handheld. I've never really played Switch but my gf got Harry Potter for it (before we got a PS5) and it looks like ass Xd

Tyranthraxus posted...

Pokemon stories are glorified 40 hour "Now you know" GI Joe skits.

G.I. Jooooooe

bloodydeath0 posted...

does S/V look good when connected to a big TV?

Yeah, no lol.

It's always a little funny to me how people always say that they "don't know how to make a good Pokemon game anymore", but every time someone makes a topic like this asking for recommendations, it's always full of love for Scarlet/Violet* and Legends Arceus, the two most recent releases. Even Sword/Shield get some credit.

I guess they do still know how to make them.

*with the obvious caveat that the performance is under par

Scarlet/Violet do look "good" on a big screen TV, just don't expect anything mind-blowing from it like you would from a Xenoblade game. And although I never played Sword/Shield, I do prefer their character models over S/V, as they look much closer to an anime, but S/V does give all the Pokemon some really nice details that were never there before, such as scales on some snake and dragon looking Pokemon. But the environments are ugly and repeated patterns are extremely obvious and distracting.

S/V are very fun games and have the best stories, as others have said, which might surprise you when you get into certain scenarios.

Another recommendation for SV, and Arceus isn't bad if you want something different.

AlCalavicci posted...

Also recommending S/V and Arceus.

What's the best mod you've come across?

Im a huge fan of Crystal Clear - I cant imagine playing vanilla Gen 2 ever again.

As for mainline games, Arceus is neat and S/V are very fun despite the flaws (technical and in the implementation of open world)

Lets put it like this.

if S/V ran consistently averages. Not even good just average itd be consider the he best Pokmon game of all time by a wide margin.

I've been grinding my PMD rom hack. God it's so much work. PMD is so much better than mainline which is so sad that there has not been a new game in forever (aside from the RT remake)

bloodydeath0 posted...

I'd also love to be immersed in a good story. Not necessarily just go through the motions of a typical Pokemon game.

if you're willing to step outside the main series I think pokemon mystery dungeon explorers of sky is a perfect fit for both of these

^ this

Explorers of Sky is, imo, the best Pokemon game ever made.

Legends Arceus is the best, most original title in the series for quite some time. I read that you've been playing Pokemon Go, TC, so it's worth mentioning that capturing Pokemon is a big focus in this game as well, with similar mechanics. Battle system has been changed up so every Pokemon fights in two styles with more of an ATB system in place. Compared to most other Pokemon games of this time, the difficulty is a little higher too - even wild Pokemon ten levels below you can knock your creatures out in a couple moves. Your trainer is a fixture in all this too, as you can be attacked directly.

Highly recommended. There's a reason people are more hyped right now for the Legends subseries over the mainline games.

Agreed with the Legends Arceus recommendations. You can actually interact with wild Pokemon outside of the battle menu. Give them food; dodge their attacks on you, the trainer; throw pokeballs before they've even seen you. They give you a lot of different tools to work with and different pokemon react differently to them. All the different approaches to catching pokeymans makes it way more interesting.

Then the actual battle system is revamped too. Sometimes it's better, sometimes it's screwy, but it's neat anyway.

The performance issues in S/V boil down to visual bugs and some lag at the start of battles in populated areas. You definitely notice it, but do background NPCs losing frames of animation as they get further away really hurt your experience? Not really. S/V is astronomically better than Sw/Sh. The only thing that truly hurts that actual experience is when raids glitch out.

S/V also has amazing QoL updates (some present in Legend's Arceus). You can relearn moves anywhere, including TM moves you erased. All daycare functions can be done through a picnic, which you can do almost anywhere. Menu navigation is good. If you level up pokemon and they want to learn a move you don't want, hit B instead of scrolling down to "don't learn" and pressing A. This sort of thing save hours of text time over a playthrough.

Although I still think Legend's Arceus is the best. It's the most immersive pokemon game for sure.