Introduction:
Pokemon is one of my favorite game franchises of all time. It has had a lot of successful spin-offs, from the social commentary of Pokemon Ranger to the heart-string pulling of the Mystery Dungeon series, Pokemon knows where it's at when it comes to creating new game. Enter Pokemon Quest, a Free-to-Start game that dropped for the Nintendo Switch out of nowhere. Literally. There was no build up for it. Anyway, how does this free addition to the Franchise measure up against my judgement? Let's find out, shall we?
How it Looks:
The game opens up to a new art-style for the game, in the same vein as to how every sub-franchise tries to have it's unique look. Pokemon Quest's style is box-like, almost like a smoother Minecraft look to it. This is by no means a bad thing, but there's little to look at in the game, except Pokemon and repeated or nearly identical locations that change in coloring and little more. This makes Pokemon Quest one of the least interesting games to look at, as the aesthetic grows old pretty fast. Not only that, because the game only has the first 150 Pokemon, it tends to feel very repetitive, as you'll start fighting your way through the same Pokemon over-and-over again. Something that's good to point out is that Shiny Pokemon, alternate-colored versions of existing Pokemon, actually apear in this game. How much this really matters is up to everyone who plays it, but to me, it's something worth mentioning, though it doesn't really do much to break the monotony of the game play.
How it Sounds:
To be perfectly honest, I play this game on mute. Not because I don't like the sounds, but because I usually leave it running and only use it to get the next expedition running (More on this later). However, the sounds are all there, all Pokemon like, though it doesn't really do much. The attacks' generic sounds get boring fast, and the sounds of the Pokemon, though following through with the original sound design of the games (Not like the anime), it doesn't provide much in the way of breaking the monotony.
How it Plays:
Here's Pokemon Quest's biggest flaw. There is no 'Game-Play'. You don't do anything, per se, and that's a problem. The way the game works, you pick three Pokemon to be your party, then you send them on expeditions, which just means you're watching three Pokemon fight groups of other Pokemon and all you can do is press the buttons at the bottom, two actual Attacks per Pokemon, up to six Attacks. Most of the time, you'll just watch the Pokemon fight on their own, which is counter-intuitive. No one played Pokemon for the cooking, after all. And, speaking of Cooking, it seems Nintendo saw that people loved Breath of the Wild and said 'lets add cooking to Pokemon', then removed everything that made Pokemon enjoyable. Cooking isn't intuitive, the recipes don't actually help, and the game uses a color system that doesn't correlate to the Pokemon in any shape or form, as I got a Digglet to appear from a soup specifically oriented at 'Red' Pokemon. And that's one of my biggest grievances with the game: It doesn't tell you what anything means! Your recipes are shown but only the results and a hint, so you don't know exactly how to replicate it, unless you specifically took the time to learn it. Pokemon have 'colors' but there is no actual description of which Pokemon are 'Red' or 'Blue', as other Pokemon that don't have those colors still appear around the place. Even though certain Areas have a specific type that increases the Power of specific Pokemon Types, there are Pokemon that might appear in these areas with Types strong against the Pokemon getting the Boost. When the list of Pokemon grow, so does the tediousness of finding Pokemon, and you'll either have to make a list of your own, or try and guess whether you already have that particular Pokemon more than once or twice (Since you'll probably want to evolve specific Pokemon). Not only that, but Evolution doesn't work the same anymore, either, so Pokemon like Eevee that have special rules have different rules, while Pokemon that evolved from trades only evolve at impossibly high levels.
How it Stories:
There's very little story to the game. It starts you off with a story of some sort, but you spend so much time without hearing about it that you forget, but it's something about you going to a new island and trying to find a series of Statues that open the Chamber of Legends. I think. It's the same generic story of Pokemon, just bypassing the GYMs and replacing the Badges with Statues. Nothing really interesting here, people.
Verdict and Conclusion:
As much as I'm genuinely enjoying leaving it running in the background while I do other productive things (Like writing this Review), Pokemon Quest falls far too short of the standards played by the Pokemon Franchise. I give it a very small, very dignified 2 stars out of 5, it keeps the two stars because it's free, and you can enjoy it without spending any real money. And, because Kabuto is the most adorable little thing in that game. Like, seriously. Just, so cute.
No comments:
Post a Comment