Thoughts on playing Pokémon Vermilion/Purple: The content is great, but please don’t get stuck | 4Gamers

If you want to tell which console game has the largest audience in Taiwan, then the “Pokémon” series ranks second, and there may be very few games that can be ranked first. The latest “Pokémon” series “Pokémon Crimson/Purple” was finally officially launched last week. How is the ninth generation doing this time? The following will be the editor’s experience in this game.

Starting from the NS generation, there are “Pikachu/Ibrahimovic”, “Arzeus” with slightly different gameplay from the original series, and the remake of “Crystal Diamond/Bright Pearl”. Compared to the last time it was not on the market, “Pokémon Sword/Shield”, which has been rejected by many players due to insufficient Pokémon collection. Therefore, “Zhu/Purple”, which is the authentic work of the series this time, is already the fifth Pokémon work on NS, but it can be said to have given many players “real” expectations.

This expectation can be said to be satisfactory in places, but it is still regrettable in places.

A vast new world, but locked down

Compared with “Pokémon Sword/Shield”, there are still some points with fixed perspectives. This time, “Pokémon Crimson/Purple” has achieved a 3D perspective in almost all aspects, allowing players to turn around at any time. The whole world is also a seamless map, all wild Pokémon can encounter enemies, and the new “Let’s Go” system “walking animals” and battle acceleration are all part of the progress.

Also, like the previous Pokémon, this time “Pokémon Crimson/Purple” still has a multi-round design. After the first round of the main line is over, there are a few second rounds of stories and storylines, and then you can high-five stars For the above crystallized Pokémon, collect a total of 400 Pokémon illustrations and finally form your own team and battle with other players.

In the battle part, the end game breeding conditions are simpler than in the past. The “too much crystal” changing Pokémon attributes will inevitably play a special role in the battle, and the future battle will be more insidious and changeable. In addition, the PvE part also emphasizes the challenge of Pokémon Taijing, so “Pokémon Zhu/Purple” is a very playable game.

In addition, light content picnics and selfies are also done quite well, even if it has little to do with the intensity of the battle, it is also a great interactive system for ordinary players.

But in such a world, it also exposed the old problem of GAME FREAK’s lack of technical skills, especially when you often encounter Pokémon fighting, broken images, and worn models.

And the worst thing is the delay caused by insufficient computer resources, I believe that all the players who have played have obvious feelings. Although the Switch body performance is not high, it is also very important whether or not the software is optimized or how to “fool” the player’s eyes with various techniques (such as static rendering of vision or imposing certain rules to control the appearance on the screen, the number of objects).

The delay this time not only caused visual discomfort, but also made the story performance too slow, and the battle process also had to be lengthened. And since it occurs quite frequently, I believe GAME FREAK is also aware of this problem, but so far there is no answer yet. Of course it’s not an accidental error, but let it really happen.

On the map, the worst design is the city. Perhaps this is the first time such a world has been created. Most of the buildings in the city are not accessible and are mixed in design with the accessible buildings. The small map is not marked, and many of the appearances are not. It is easy to judge what is being sold. Although not every house needs to have content, the whole “town planning” can obviously have a better design.

Challenge the open world, but still missing many details

This time, “Pokémon Vermilion/Purple” adopts an open world for the first time, which allows players to explore freely and incorporates part of the design of “Arzeus”. At the same time, it is more advanced. This time it can be said that the wild area of ​​the previous “Sword/Shield” has been enhanced. Like Arceus, a true 3D world.

Not long after starting, players will soon be able to receive the “Road of Champions”, “Road of Stardust” and “Road of Legends” assignments.The treasure masters.

The order of these three courses is free, and it is also free to challenge which level in the three courses first. After all three paths are finished, the last and real main mission will begin. Conceptually, the deal was a success.

It is also highly recommended that Pokémon trainers in the wild do not rush to force the activation of the battle when they see you, but the player will actively go to the dialogue to activate it.

However, it is a pity that “Zhu/Purple” failed to introduce dynamic levels this time. This time the adventure starts from two directions, which makes it easy for players to go one way first and run to the other after the the level is higher Accordingly, but it is a non-demanding dish.

In addition, due to the level problem, although it is said to be an open world, there is actually a rough order. After all, even if the familiar attributes are incompatible, but the level is too low, there is still no need to fight, which is a shame.

This time “Zhu/Purple” has taken on a realistic style. The size of the world is really satisfying. Pokémon has also “slightly” added some ecosystems, and the characters have also added more personalized facial features. You can also run online in each other’s world.

But it also created some problems. For example, character costumes are limited to uniforms, baby Pokémon are really small enough for people to see out the window, and it’s hard to complete the ecosystem.

The story is more inspiring, but there is no voice

While many people always joke that Pokémon’s story doesn’t matter at all, it’s true that since Pokémon is a universal IP, it’s not enough to write too much blood into the story. However, the story this time, I believe most people agree that it is better than “Sword/Shield”, and also much better than some previous series, and can be called the highest in the story at present.

Among the three routes, “Champion’s Road” has the flavor of Pokémon passed down from generation to generation. However, the gym owner’s design is more realistic. I believe that when many people see the appearance of the thunder gym owner and Qishu live broadcaster, there is “Dou Nei” on the screen, and they are very interesting. Also, there is Aoki, a social animal employee, and various other realistic gym owners, unlike some previous projects which are more fantasy.

In “Road to Stardust”, the story of the villain “Team Star” this time explores common modern school bullying. “Road of Legends” tells the bond between humans and pets, which is also a very suitable theme for “Pokémon”.

And the final main line also performs very well. Of course, we will not spoil this part and let the players experience it in the game.

The downside is that it’s already 2022, and I still don’t do the voice acting that I don’t want to miss. As each generation’s storyline continues to deepen, I believe a lot of people will think “it would be better if this storyline had a voice” while playing.

It’s true that Pokémon is a media IP, so once a voice actor takes on a role, it can mean a long build time (as well as games, animations, and other audio products). Another possibility is that the plot has been revised many times up to the last moment. But these are definitely not unsolvable problems: Qishu’s promotional video before the release can also be dubbed into Chinese and Japanese, but it goes silent after entering the game.

I can only say The Pokemon Company and GAME FREAK, everyone bought a lot, okay?

To sum up, “Pokémon Crimson/Purple” has actually met the players’ expectations for the ninth generation to a certain extent, and has made a certain degree of progress in the four main elements of Pokémon. These points can be commended.

But it’s a pity that the details of the game still reveal the old feeling, especially the lag caused by insufficient resources. If autosave is not used, it may even cause a crash and the game progress will go to waste.

In the experience of “Arzeus”, the editor once said that after the NS generation leaves the comfort zone of pure handhelds, it will be a big challenge for GAME FREAK. Of course, GAME FREAK is still on its way to catching up with other players in the industry even though it is one of the most profitable IPs in the world. We can only hope that GAME FREAK can accumulate more experience and resources in the Switch generation, and recreate a famous game role in the next generation.