Despite the latest installment in the Pokémon franchise still full of bugs that can make or break the game for players, one enthusiastic fan is insistent Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are much better than Pokémon Sword and Shield.
In a subreddit dedicated to the Pokémon games, a longtime player detailed his experience on July 12, noting he was returning after not touching a Pokémon game since Pokémon Blue.
“After having played [Scarlet and Violet] to completion and going to [Sword and Shield], I can safely say, anyone who has played those two and come to [Scarlet and Violet] and believes [Scarlet and Violet] is filled with bugs and is bad, etc., has lost the plot!” they said.
Such a strong statement goes against the majority of fan opinions, at least at the time the game was released. Largely regarded as a game with a fantastic storyline but serious quality-of-life issues and glitches, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was the first main series Pokémon game to completely use an open world.
The longtime player, who admittedly hasn’t played any of the recent games besides the two in question, referenced the world and navigation of the game’s incredible story as a high point in their experience. But they were also insistent that many quality-of-life changes from Sword and Shield made the newest game better, not worse. They mentioned ease of traveling from one area to another, accessing Pokémon boxes, and even the game’s UX/UI as markedly improved from prior games.
Related: Shiny Pokémon can spawn out of bounds because Scarlet and Violet is still broken
Though many fellow players agreed that the quality of Scarlet and Violet‘s story and the freedom the open world allowed the player made their experience better, the bugs and glitches are just too much to not take into consideration. Even riding Miraidon or Koraidon comes with a range of clipping issues and other functional problems.
“[Scarlet and Violet’s] lag and slow loading times are trash though,” another fan commented, adding that they tried to pick the game back up but were frustrated by how slow navigating the game was, from menus to interacting with the world.
Other players mentioned using the boxes to organize their Pokémon not only takes forever but is also more difficult than in previous Pokémon iterations since moving multiple Pokémon at once becomes a huge chore.
A recurring theme among commenters was that the player who made the post may not have taken into consideration the two DLC expansions offered for Sword and Shield: the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra.
“I think Isle of Armor was my favorite Pokémon experience to date,” one player said, hoping any upcoming content for Scarlet and Violet can match the quality of its predecessor. Players in the thread went back and forth about which Sword and Shield DLC was the best, but almost all commenters agreed it raised their overall experience with the game significantly.
Overall, the main differences between the two games seem to be the open-world concept, the number of glitches and bugs, and the overarching narrative elements. While one longtime fan thinks Scarlet and Violet have Sword and Shield beat in every way, not all of the community agrees, though the newest Pokémon games might still come out on top.
Players are eagerly awaiting the next part of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, the next content update for Scarlet and Violet, which is slated for fall 2023.
