You Don't Ever Really Grow Up
Every November since 2007, I've played a Pokémon game. My family never did much during the Thanksgiving holiday, so I'd usually burn through a game then, even the year I first got Stardew Valley. The need for it was a little different this time around, because I really needed this Pokémon game for my sanity. The job market and overall state of the country (I'm in the southern US) have been eating me alive. Things do feel a little hopeless.
I'd say by and large, playing this game has helped. It didn't knock down my productivity too much. Also, I really think Zygarde is a Digimon. I believe this so strongly that I made a silly little graphic to explain.
I'm a biased Pokémon stan and really loved Scarlet & Violet (SV) despite the performance issues. Legends Arceus (PLA) was really fun, but felt a little hollow. Hisui had this sense of scale, but the design was just so plain and repetitive. ZA suffers from that a little bit as well, with little variation between buildings and streets. It's often hard to orient yourself to your location. It's a little disappointing given that the game takes place in a single city and it would make a lot of sense for there to be variation. PLA had different weather and topography that served it well. You don't really feel this in ZA until you go to the sewers a little over halfway through the game.
On a more positive note, the graphical fidelity and performance are great on my OG Switch. The battle transitions are seamless, and the moves look great. There really doesn't feel like much of a difference between the overworld and battles. I do miss the transition into battles that PLA had, but it fit the game's vibe. The real-time combat is fantastic.
The new mega evolutions are absurd and fun like they've always been.
I wasn't too invested in the story, which was an issue I had with the original Kalos region offerings. This region really seems like vibes first story second. I'm curious about how a return to Unova will feel. Those games were my favorites. How can you not think Haxorus is the coolest Pokémon ever?
I've still got a little way to go as far as beating it. I completed the wild zones, but not all the research requests. I think I might actually have to interact with another person to do a bunch of trade evolutions. First-world problem meets GameFreak removing a feature (think link cable evolution item in PLA) between releases.
This game improves on both Scarlet & Violet and Legends: Arceus, refining their core innovations. GameFreak has faced more scrutiny and fan criticism (mostly deserved) because of how these games look and the little change between them. I've come to terms with the slow pace of progress between releases. That's definitely not the ideal way to review stuff, but between Pokémon games and Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, I'm less critical than most. They bring me joy and don't insult my intelligence. Anyway, I think if you've ever enjoyed a Pokémon game, you'll like this one. If you're over 10, this won't tip the scales in my opinion.
Maybe I'll start reviewing things and posting them here. I should probably finish whichever of Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl I own.