Pokemon Shield Nintendo Switch Game (Ntsc)
A new generation of Pok mon is coming to the Nintendo Switch system. Become a Pok mon Trainer embark on a new journey in the new Galar region and unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pok mon Zacian and Zamazenta! Explore the Wild Area a vast expanse of land where the player can freely control the camera. And participate in Max Raid Battles in which players will face off against gigantic and super-strong Pok mon known as Dynamax Pok mon. Begin your adventure by choosing one of three new partner Pok mon: Grookey Scorbunny or Sobble and encounter new and familiar Pok mon as you catch battle and trade. Players can control the camera and explore the vast areas around them in the Wild Area. Team up with other players locally or online in the new multiplayer co-op Max Raid Battles. Trainers who possess the special item Dynamax Band can Dynamax their own Pok mon. Get ready for the next Pok mon adventure in the Pok mon Sword and Pok mon Shield games.
A new generation of Pok mon is coming to the Nintendo Switch system. Become a Pok mon Trainer embark on a new journey in the new Galar region and unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pok mon Zacian and Zamazenta! Explore the Wild Area a vast expanse of land where the player can freely control the camera. And participate in Max Raid Battles in which players will face off against gigantic and super-strong Pok mon known as Dynamax Pok mon. Begin your adventure by choosing one of three new partner Pok mon: Grookey Scorbunny or Sobble and encounter new and familiar Pok mon as you catch battle and trade. Players can control the camera and explore the vast areas around them in the Wild Area. Team up with other players locally or online in the new multiplayer co-op Max Raid Battles. Trainers who possess the special item Dynamax Band can Dynamax their own Pok mon. Get ready for the next Pok mon adventure in the Pok mon Sword and Pok mon Shield games.
A new generation of Pok mon is coming to the Nintendo Switch system. Become a Pok mon Trainer embark on a new journey in the new Galar region and unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pok mon Zacian and Zamazenta! Explore the Wild Area a vast expanse of land where the player can freely control the camera. And participate in Max Raid Battles in which players will face off against gigantic and super-strong Pok mon known as Dynamax Pok mon. Begin your adventure by choosing one of three new partner Pok mon: Grookey Scorbunny or Sobble and encounter new and familiar Pok mon as you catch battle and trade. Players can control the camera and explore the vast areas around them in the Wild Area. Team up with other players locally or online in the new multiplayer co-op Max Raid Battles. Trainers who possess the special item Dynamax Band can Dynamax their own Pok mon. Get ready for the next Pok mon adventure in the Pok mon Sword and Pok mon Shield games.
A new generation of Pok mon is coming to the Nintendo Switch system. Become a Pok mon Trainer embark on a new journey in the new Galar region and unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pok mon Zacian and Zamazenta! Explore the Wild Area a vast expanse of land where the player can freely control the camera. And participate in Max Raid Battles in which players will face off against gigantic and super-strong Pok mon known as Dynamax Pok mon. Begin your adventure by choosing one of three new partner Pok mon: Grookey Scorbunny or Sobble and encounter new and familiar Pok mon as you catch battle and trade. Players can control the camera and explore the vast areas around them in the Wild Area. Team up with other players locally or online in the new multiplayer co-op Max Raid Battles. Trainers who possess the special item Dynamax Band can Dynamax their own Pok mon. Get ready for the next Pok mon adventure in the Pok mon Sword and Pok mon Shield games.
in 27 offers
The lowest price for Pokemon Shield Nintendo Switch Game (Ntsc) right now is $50.00 at The GameFarm, compared across 16 retailers.
The all-time low was $33.32 on 28 July 2026 — today's price is 50% above the lowest ever. It has been notably cheaper before — worth setting a price alert.
Prices last updated 21 Aug 2026.
Last updated at 21/08/2026 07:13:01
Pokémon Shield for Nintendo Switch
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Pokemon Shield (Nintendo Switch) Complete CIB Physical Cartridge PAL
Delivery $10
Pokemon Shield - Stander Edition - Nintendo Switch Game Deals - Solid Game Cassette Support For
Free delivery
Pokemon Shield Nintendo Switch Game Deals 100% Official Original Physical Game Card Genre RPG
Free delivery
Pokémon Shield - Standard Edition (nintendo Switch, 2019)
Delivery $11.70
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Pokemon Shield - Nintendo Switch
Delivery between 26 Aug – 2 Sept $35.31
Pokemon Shield - Switch - Super Retro - Nintendo Switch Steelbook (With Game/Cosmetically Damaged)
Delivery $7.95
Nintendo Switch Pokemon Shield Multicolor PAL
Delivery $19.99
Pokemon Shield
Delivery $11.41
Pokemon Shield
Delivery $12.91
originally posted on bestbuy.com
Overall a good edition to the Pokemon franchise. The game is definitely a lot more polished then previous versions as well as the regions do feel a lot different then each other. The Wild area is great for picking up a variety of pokemon and you will be returning back there after each gym as well as a lot after finishing the story of the game and entering postgame. The raids idea is great and allows people to really interact more together which is definitely a plus and the customization of your actual player is nice with the clothing options. However, I don't really like they replaced Mega evolutions for Gigantamax completely and there is no Mega Evolutions whatsoever which basically makes a lot of viable pokemon now not so viable. Rest in Peace Mawile, Sableye, ... MoreOverall a good edition to the Pokemon franchise. The game is definitely a lot more polished then previous versions as well as the regions do feel a lot different then each other. The Wild area is great for picking up a variety of pokemon and you will be returning back there after each gym as well as a lot after finishing the story of the game and entering postgame. The raids idea is great and allows people to really interact more together which is definitely a plus and the customization of your actual player is nice with the clothing options. However, I don't really like they replaced Mega evolutions for Gigantamax completely and there is no Mega Evolutions whatsoever which basically makes a lot of viable pokemon now not so viable. Rest in Peace Mawile, Sableye, Pinsir, and More. I also am not a huge fan of really having a variety of different pokemon on each game. If you only pick up one version of the game you can never get all the pokemon unless you trade or have a friend playing the opposite version or if you buy the opposite version and replay the ENTIRE game. Although this is not new for pokemon it is just a gripe and wish they would change it.So takeaways the game is beautiful in comparison, good story, good character customization, good online battles/raids, Variety of new pokemon, good post game options.Bads: Need both games or a lot of trading, Graphics in comparison of other games could be better, They took away a big part of the game (mega evolutions) and forced gigantamax on the playerbase (you can't battle online without gigantamax evolutions included). Raids are good but tedious with no guarantee and unless your glitching it, is impossible to predict good pokemon. It is also WAYYY too easy to level up with the EXP candies.
originally posted on store.nintendo.co.uk
I think Sword and Shield makes some good improvements on previous games in the series, while also making a number of bad choices.Pros:- Music is amazing as always- New wild Pokemon system is great- Graphics vs DS games looks awesome- UI improvements are very nice- Wild area is a nice innovation- Currys are cool- I like Gigantamax as an idea- I think the design/lore behind the new Pokemon/Galarian forms is really goodCons:- Story is very weak, there seems to be very little story at all. Compared to Sun and Moon's story which had a lot of interesting aspects and characters, this story feels quite empty. It's basically just two kids go on a journey and then some bad stuff suddenly happens at the end. It's also a bit confusing in parts, like Eternatus just comes out of ... MoreI think Sword and Shield makes some good improvements on previous games in the series, while also making a number of bad choices.Pros:- Music is amazing as always- New wild Pokemon system is great- Graphics vs DS games looks awesome- UI improvements are very nice- Wild area is a nice innovation- Currys are cool- I like Gigantamax as an idea- I think the design/lore behind the new Pokemon/Galarian forms is really goodCons:- Story is very weak, there seems to be very little story at all. Compared to Sun and Moon's story which had a lot of interesting aspects and characters, this story feels quite empty. It's basically just two kids go on a journey and then some bad stuff suddenly happens at the end. It's also a bit confusing in parts, like Eternatus just comes out of nowhere... Team Yell is a nice idea but I feel like you also need a 'bad' team as well.- It's way too easy. I've played a lot of Pokemon games in my time and they're usually not too hard to be honest but this was on a different level. I usually struggle with the Elite 4 at least but in this they were pitifully easy... The champion was somewhat of a challenge but not too hard to be honest. It's too easy to just roll entire teams throughout the game with just one Pokemon with a strong move. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to introduce level scaling for trainers because people progress at different rates through the game.- Although the graphics are good, the world design is sometimes a bit bland. Even though you have the more superior processing power from the Switch over the DS (which has been demonstrated by games like BOTW), it feels like that power isn't being fully utilised. The town designs are still quite minimal and bland. It feels like you could still add a lot more atmosphere.- The cutscenes are very hit and miss. Some of them are very cool and fun whereas others don't really make sense or even seem unfinished.- The game seems unfinished or rushed in places. Small things like the fact that there's no animation for taking a flying taxi and other things where when I saw them I thought, "Huh, I thought there would be more to that."In summary, it's a good and fun game but it could be much better. For the next one, I hope you try and keep the best bits from this one but return more to the form of the previous games.
originally posted on store.nintendo.co.uk
Loved the game! Only concern is, just four things. I found it quite out of place to suddenly introduce the villain of the game towards the very end of the game. It’s much more fun when the villain has already appeared ages ago in the game and the player strives to beat them throughout the journey, alongside a group of lackeys that stop you with an actual evil goal — different to Team Yell since they didn’t exactly have a very “evil” goal. The post-game story is usually what I am excited and satisfied with after beating the main story, but this time it was not exactly satisfying as it usually was for me. Long-time fans in particular usually look forward to seeing the Looker in the game and it was disappointing to not see him again. Apart from that in particular, the ... MoreLoved the game! Only concern is, just four things. I found it quite out of place to suddenly introduce the villain of the game towards the very end of the game. It’s much more fun when the villain has already appeared ages ago in the game and the player strives to beat them throughout the journey, alongside a group of lackeys that stop you with an actual evil goal — different to Team Yell since they didn’t exactly have a very “evil” goal. The post-game story is usually what I am excited and satisfied with after beating the main story, but this time it was not exactly satisfying as it usually was for me. Long-time fans in particular usually look forward to seeing the Looker in the game and it was disappointing to not see him again. Apart from that in particular, the post game story was too short and could have used some more activities and a storyline that emotionally pulls the player in — I didn’t really feel that when I was playing and trying to beat the two villains in the Post-Game story. As well as that, it would have been nice to see an introduction of a new character to aid you in the Post game story or a character (that has some loveable traits) who you go up against (rather than the two we got, as to be honest, their designs were....not likeable...and their personalities weren’t so unique.)And finally, it would have been nice to have had more extras after beating the main story and the post-game story — mainly with npc interactions as many players do enjoy interacting with NPCs after beating the game and completing their various given tasks or talking to them about something interesting. We did get this in the game but not so much that would have been more fun. And the last thing is — I’d LOVE to be able to bring out my Pokémon out of the ball again, it was an enjoyable feature in Heart Gold and Soul Silver, as well as in Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee — it seems to realistically bring one closer with their Pokémon partner. The Camp feature was fun but this is something I’d like to see making a comeback.Overall though, apart from these, I loved the game, the characters and the gameplay. Only thing is after the Dex Cut, lots more things could have been included that would have perfected the game.
| Hardware Platform | Nintendo Switch |
| Product Dimensions | 6.6 X 4.1 X 0.4 inches |
Pokémon Shield for Nintendo Switch
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Pokemon Shield (Nintendo Switch) Complete CIB Physical Cartridge PAL
Delivery $10
Pokemon Shield - Stander Edition - Nintendo Switch Game Deals - Solid Game Cassette Support For
Free delivery
Pokemon Shield Nintendo Switch Game Deals 100% Official Original Physical Game Card Genre RPG
Free delivery
Pokémon Shield - Standard Edition (nintendo Switch, 2019)
Delivery $11.70
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Overall a good edition to the Pokemon franchise. The game is definitely a lot more polished then previous versions as well as the regions do feel a lot different then each other. The Wild area is great for picking up a variety of pokemon and you will be returning back there after each gym as well as a lot after finishing the story of the game and entering postgame. The raids idea is great and allows people to really interact more together which is definitely a plus and the customization of your actual player is nice with the clothing options. However, I don't really like they replaced Mega evolutions for Gigantamax completely and there is no Mega Evolutions whatsoever which basically makes a lot of viable pokemon now not so viable. Rest in Peace Mawile, Sableye, ... MoreOverall a good edition to the Pokemon franchise. The game is definitely a lot more polished then previous versions as well as the regions do feel a lot different then each other. The Wild area is great for picking up a variety of pokemon and you will be returning back there after each gym as well as a lot after finishing the story of the game and entering postgame. The raids idea is great and allows people to really interact more together which is definitely a plus and the customization of your actual player is nice with the clothing options. However, I don't really like they replaced Mega evolutions for Gigantamax completely and there is no Mega Evolutions whatsoever which basically makes a lot of viable pokemon now not so viable. Rest in Peace Mawile, Sableye, Pinsir, and More. I also am not a huge fan of really having a variety of different pokemon on each game. If you only pick up one version of the game you can never get all the pokemon unless you trade or have a friend playing the opposite version or if you buy the opposite version and replay the ENTIRE game. Although this is not new for pokemon it is just a gripe and wish they would change it.So takeaways the game is beautiful in comparison, good story, good character customization, good online battles/raids, Variety of new pokemon, good post game options.Bads: Need both games or a lot of trading, Graphics in comparison of other games could be better, They took away a big part of the game (mega evolutions) and forced gigantamax on the playerbase (you can't battle online without gigantamax evolutions included). Raids are good but tedious with no guarantee and unless your glitching it, is impossible to predict good pokemon. It is also WAYYY too easy to level up with the EXP candies.
I think Sword and Shield makes some good improvements on previous games in the series, while also making a number of bad choices.Pros:- Music is amazing as always- New wild Pokemon system is great- Graphics vs DS games looks awesome- UI improvements are very nice- Wild area is a nice innovation- Currys are cool- I like Gigantamax as an idea- I think the design/lore behind the new Pokemon/Galarian forms is really goodCons:- Story is very weak, there seems to be very little story at all. Compared to Sun and Moon's story which had a lot of interesting aspects and characters, this story feels quite empty. It's basically just two kids go on a journey and then some bad stuff suddenly happens at the end. It's also a bit confusing in parts, like Eternatus just comes out of ... MoreI think Sword and Shield makes some good improvements on previous games in the series, while also making a number of bad choices.Pros:- Music is amazing as always- New wild Pokemon system is great- Graphics vs DS games looks awesome- UI improvements are very nice- Wild area is a nice innovation- Currys are cool- I like Gigantamax as an idea- I think the design/lore behind the new Pokemon/Galarian forms is really goodCons:- Story is very weak, there seems to be very little story at all. Compared to Sun and Moon's story which had a lot of interesting aspects and characters, this story feels quite empty. It's basically just two kids go on a journey and then some bad stuff suddenly happens at the end. It's also a bit confusing in parts, like Eternatus just comes out of nowhere... Team Yell is a nice idea but I feel like you also need a 'bad' team as well.- It's way too easy. I've played a lot of Pokemon games in my time and they're usually not too hard to be honest but this was on a different level. I usually struggle with the Elite 4 at least but in this they were pitifully easy... The champion was somewhat of a challenge but not too hard to be honest. It's too easy to just roll entire teams throughout the game with just one Pokemon with a strong move. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to introduce level scaling for trainers because people progress at different rates through the game.- Although the graphics are good, the world design is sometimes a bit bland. Even though you have the more superior processing power from the Switch over the DS (which has been demonstrated by games like BOTW), it feels like that power isn't being fully utilised. The town designs are still quite minimal and bland. It feels like you could still add a lot more atmosphere.- The cutscenes are very hit and miss. Some of them are very cool and fun whereas others don't really make sense or even seem unfinished.- The game seems unfinished or rushed in places. Small things like the fact that there's no animation for taking a flying taxi and other things where when I saw them I thought, "Huh, I thought there would be more to that."In summary, it's a good and fun game but it could be much better. For the next one, I hope you try and keep the best bits from this one but return more to the form of the previous games.
Loved the game! Only concern is, just four things. I found it quite out of place to suddenly introduce the villain of the game towards the very end of the game. It’s much more fun when the villain has already appeared ages ago in the game and the player strives to beat them throughout the journey, alongside a group of lackeys that stop you with an actual evil goal — different to Team Yell since they didn’t exactly have a very “evil” goal. The post-game story is usually what I am excited and satisfied with after beating the main story, but this time it was not exactly satisfying as it usually was for me. Long-time fans in particular usually look forward to seeing the Looker in the game and it was disappointing to not see him again. Apart from that in particular, the ... MoreLoved the game! Only concern is, just four things. I found it quite out of place to suddenly introduce the villain of the game towards the very end of the game. It’s much more fun when the villain has already appeared ages ago in the game and the player strives to beat them throughout the journey, alongside a group of lackeys that stop you with an actual evil goal — different to Team Yell since they didn’t exactly have a very “evil” goal. The post-game story is usually what I am excited and satisfied with after beating the main story, but this time it was not exactly satisfying as it usually was for me. Long-time fans in particular usually look forward to seeing the Looker in the game and it was disappointing to not see him again. Apart from that in particular, the post game story was too short and could have used some more activities and a storyline that emotionally pulls the player in — I didn’t really feel that when I was playing and trying to beat the two villains in the Post-Game story. As well as that, it would have been nice to see an introduction of a new character to aid you in the Post game story or a character (that has some loveable traits) who you go up against (rather than the two we got, as to be honest, their designs were....not likeable...and their personalities weren’t so unique.)And finally, it would have been nice to have had more extras after beating the main story and the post-game story — mainly with npc interactions as many players do enjoy interacting with NPCs after beating the game and completing their various given tasks or talking to them about something interesting. We did get this in the game but not so much that would have been more fun. And the last thing is — I’d LOVE to be able to bring out my Pokémon out of the ball again, it was an enjoyable feature in Heart Gold and Soul Silver, as well as in Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee — it seems to realistically bring one closer with their Pokémon partner. The Camp feature was fun but this is something I’d like to see making a comeback.Overall though, apart from these, I loved the game, the characters and the gameplay. Only thing is after the Dex Cut, lots more things could have been included that would have perfected the game.
I used to play Pokemon all the time as a kid but haven't really bothered to buy any of the games since Sun and Moon. Wanted to get back into it before the Sinnoh remakes came out so I decided to pick this one up even though I didn't have high expectations based on all the negative things I had heard.It ended up being a lot more enjoyable than I expected. Sure, there's issues like easy battles until the end of the game, lack of major villains for most of the game, smaller Pokedex, etc... but it's still an enjoyable game even though it's geared towards kids. I binged it and it brought me back to the hundreds of hours I spent grinding my team to high levels. I guess even after 10+ years some things never change.The music is great, the character interactions are ... MoreI used to play Pokemon all the time as a kid but haven't really bothered to buy any of the games since Sun and Moon. Wanted to get back into it before the Sinnoh remakes came out so I decided to pick this one up even though I didn't have high expectations based on all the negative things I had heard.It ended up being a lot more enjoyable than I expected. Sure, there's issues like easy battles until the end of the game, lack of major villains for most of the game, smaller Pokedex, etc... but it's still an enjoyable game even though it's geared towards kids. I binged it and it brought me back to the hundreds of hours I spent grinding my team to high levels. I guess even after 10+ years some things never change.The music is great, the character interactions are entertaining and I liked how they incorporated the box legendaries into the story as more than just a plot device for the evil teams. I didn't expect to become invested in the game that much but I did.I'm glad I purchased. I understand older fans feeling left out but I think that people have such high standards that they aren't willing to give anything a chance. If you are just here to play a Pokemon game and have some more "casual" fun then this is definitely a great game.My biggest complaint is that the Dynamax pokemon are way too loud. Turn the volume down on your TV or adjust the in-game sound settings. I had my TV volume ridiculously low and they were still so loud that people in the next room over were asking me what was going on.
Initially I thought this game wouldn't be worth purchasing because upon looking at the game and the details provided, it seemed to be severely lacking for a Pokemon console game. It came off as a game that was meant to be on the 3DS, but ended up getting ported to the Switch. I also kept asking myself where is the justification for the increase in price?After waiting almost a year I finally gave in to my craving to play a Pokemon game, and I am glad that I ended up purchasing this because despite this not being the Pokemon game fans have wanted on a console, the game is very fun. The visuals can sometimes look rough in some areas, but overall it looks good and I'm having a balst doing max raids.It is unfortunate that all Pokemon are not included in this title ... MoreInitially I thought this game wouldn't be worth purchasing because upon looking at the game and the details provided, it seemed to be severely lacking for a Pokemon console game. It came off as a game that was meant to be on the 3DS, but ended up getting ported to the Switch. I also kept asking myself where is the justification for the increase in price?After waiting almost a year I finally gave in to my craving to play a Pokemon game, and I am glad that I ended up purchasing this because despite this not being the Pokemon game fans have wanted on a console, the game is very fun. The visuals can sometimes look rough in some areas, but overall it looks good and I'm having a balst doing max raids.It is unfortunate that all Pokemon are not included in this title but there is a good amount to make anyone happy. There is DLC that adds new locations and quite a few Pokemon, so that may be something else you may want to purchase, although not necessary. Ultimately, this is the most fun I have had with a Pokemon game in a while.
I found this game to be very fun to play through. I went into it a little wary, but was pleasantly surprised by what a good time I had with it.There are a ton of new Pokemon to discover- most of them weren't even hinted at before release. Most of them felt like really solid designs too, with very few that seemed like filler. Personally, I was disappointed in all 3 of the starter lines for the Galar region, but others may disagree. Fortunately I felt like the rest of the new designs were much stronger than what they gave us for the starters.Going in I thought some of the features in this generation seemed gimmicky and not very appealing, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed them. Dynamaxing, though unlikely to make an appearance in future generations, is ... MoreI found this game to be very fun to play through. I went into it a little wary, but was pleasantly surprised by what a good time I had with it.There are a ton of new Pokemon to discover- most of them weren't even hinted at before release. Most of them felt like really solid designs too, with very few that seemed like filler. Personally, I was disappointed in all 3 of the starter lines for the Galar region, but others may disagree. Fortunately I felt like the rest of the new designs were much stronger than what they gave us for the starters.Going in I thought some of the features in this generation seemed gimmicky and not very appealing, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed them. Dynamaxing, though unlikely to make an appearance in future generations, is pretty fun for what it is. Max raid battles are really fun too (although the high difficulty ones are very frustrating if you have to play with AI partners)The wild area really gives you something to keep coming back to. I find it really fun to just explore it, see what raids are available each day, and see what Pokemon pop up in different weather.The game looks great visually, and the music is fantastic.It's not a perfect game however. The story in this one is incredibly thin- bordering on nonexistent at points. Overall, the main story and gym journey feels pretty short too. There's still things to do after beating the game, but if you mainly play the game for story I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.There were some puzzling design decisions made- like giving no option to turn off the exp share feature like in other entries to the franchise, Also, there is no way to grow your own berries- which is particularly disappointing considering how crucial they are to the new cooking system. You still get plenty of opportunities to collect berries, just no way to direct which berries you get.And of course there's the controversial huge dex cut. For me personally, this ended up being less of an issue than I anticipated. Are there Pokemon that I love that are missing from this game? Yes. Is that disappointing? Absolutely. However, there are still a wide variety of Pokemon populating the region, and you have so many to choose from. While I did miss some of my favorites, it didn't feel like an empty region. There was a good mix of Pokemon, new and old, to be found along the routes and especially in the wild area. They put enough in to make it feel like every area had a healthy variety of Pokemon to find, but not so many that it felt overwhelming.Ultimately, while the game does have its flaws, I am giving it an excellent rating based purely on the fact that I had a blast playing it.
To start with, I'm not a long-time Pokemon fan by any means. I didn't play my first one until a few years ago, so I don't have any nostalgic or fond memories of playing the games or watching the show as a kid.This game really embodies a lot of what I've come to know about the series, the good and the bad. There are things it does excellently, and there are things that I think really needed some reworking at best.Gameplay:For the most part, the gameplay is standard Pokemon. You run around capturing monsters and battling trainers, with the goal of eventually becoming strong enough to be crowned as the Pokemon Champion - the most powerful Pokemon trainer in the region. It's honestly a lot more fun than I'd expected as a gameplay loop, and if you're looking for ... MoreTo start with, I'm not a long-time Pokemon fan by any means. I didn't play my first one until a few years ago, so I don't have any nostalgic or fond memories of playing the games or watching the show as a kid.This game really embodies a lot of what I've come to know about the series, the good and the bad. There are things it does excellently, and there are things that I think really needed some reworking at best.Gameplay:For the most part, the gameplay is standard Pokemon. You run around capturing monsters and battling trainers, with the goal of eventually becoming strong enough to be crowned as the Pokemon Champion - the most powerful Pokemon trainer in the region. It's honestly a lot more fun than I'd expected as a gameplay loop, and if you're looking for that, you'll definitely get it with this game.Now there are some things that are different between this game and the previous entries in the series. To start with, tall grass behaves a little differently than you might be used to. Rather than having completely random encounters in it, you'll see Pokemon spawn, and you can choose to engage with them, or try to avoid them. This makes it so that you don't have to deal with an obnoxious amount of battles when you're just trying to get to the next story area. Some of the Pokemon will chase you for quite a ways if they notice you, some will approach and stop at a certain distance, and some are so ridiculously fast that you have no chance of getting away if they notice you. I think it's a great way of giving more control to the player, and I utilized it quite a bit as I played. If you've ever played Dragon Quest XI or Final Fantasy XIII, the random encounters often behave like they do in that game. I should mention that there are still encounters in the grass that are a little harder to avoid - an exclamation point will appear and the grass will rustle, but you won't see a Pokemon. Those are random encounters that are still avoidable, but it's a little harder to do so.Another new thing about the game is what they call Dynamaxing. Essentially, you or your opponent's Pokemon (only a singular one) will grow really big... and that's kind of it. The attacks don't really do a whole lot more damage than normal ones, and most of the Pokemon in the game do not change their design at all when they do this. There are a select few that actually have a design change when they Dynamax - in that case it's referred to as Gigantamaxing - but personally, I never had any in my party that could do this at any point. Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing is only possible in select battles, however. Most gym battles and a few story battles allow it, but otherwise you're not going to encounter it very often. I expected it to be an annoying mechanic to deal with, and it kind of is, if only because it doesn't really change anything you're doing as much as you'd expect for how long each dynamax animation is. By the way, it only lasts 3 turns, which I understand, but at the same time it makes it even less of a challenge or threat to deal with when you encounter it.There are a lot of quality of life improvements from previous entries here. For example, you don't need to go to a Pokemon center to access your box. You can swap Pokemon from your box to your party and back from the regular menu, and it's extremely helpful. You don't need to go into the key items menu or make a shortcut to use your bike - you just press a certain button once you have it. You don't need to teach Pokemon TMs or HMs at all to navigate the area - most of those sorts of things have been streamlined in some way, which I have mixed feelings about, to be honest. Pokemon Centers are home to the nurse (of course), the PokeMart, and an NPC who will do anything from name rating to move forgetting, all in one location. It's really convenient and I have no qualms with it.In terms of building friendship with Pokemon, the main way to accomplish that this time around is by going camping. In most of the overworld, you can set up camp. Your party of Pokemon will be out, strolling around the campsite, interacting with each other, getting stuck on an invisible wall for no apparent reason. You can cook curry for them, using berries and various ingredients you'll find throughout the game. It can restore HP, grant experience, increase friendship levels, and if it's REALLY high quality it can remove all negative status effects, including fainting. It's annoying because it's difficult to tell whether or not you're doing a good job during the cooking minigame, and for a consistent experience I'd recommend using the button inputs to do the game rather than using the motion controls - they will cause issues more often than not. You can also play with your Pokemon - you can play fetch, have them attack a toy (when you have a 7 foot tall Pangoro attacking you in first person, it's a little terrifying) and you can also chat with them. There are a LOT of glitches with this system - Pokemon will get stuck on nothing, they'll get stuck on each other for amusingly long periods of time, they will pick up a fetch toy and then just not bring it back ever, they'll get stuck in loops where they stand there doing the same animation and making the same noise for 10 straight minutes, it's honestly pretty hilarious, and I got a lot of entertainment out of it. I think this is the best they've done with making you as a player feel like you're connecting with them - rather than only having the option to forcibly feed them dozens of treats, you can actually play with them and I think it's really cute.Overall, the gameplay is standard Pokemon with some QoL improvements and a new gimmick that feels a little bit half baked. It's a lot of fun, and aside from Dynamaxing being underwhelming, I have nothing to complain about.Story:You know that thing in every other Pokemon game, where the apocalypse is actively occurring as an unbelievably powerful creature destroys time and bends space, and then everyone tells a 10 year old that the fate of the universe lies on the shoulders of them and their pets? It's something that's always kind of bothered me. But it doesn't really happen here for the most part. Of course it happens a little, but without spoiling it, it ends up being saved until the very last moment and it's actually explained pretty logically. I really liked this change because I always thought it was weird that nobody else in the region could handle the situation or even attempt to control it.The rival is extremely annoying in my opinion.There comes a point where, basically, your dinner plans get cancelled and then you and a whole group of people decide to storm a private corporate headquarters as a result. No, I'm not joking, and no, it doesn't make any sense in context either. It's a major plot turning point and it's frustratingly bad. I wasn't expecting anything profound, but... really? It's like they had two halves of a story and didn't know how to connect them together so they just had an AI write the connection and called it a day.It's acceptable at the lowest possible standard. I've experienced worse stories in games, but this one was aggressively mediocre, even compared to most other Pokemon games.General Stuff:The online in this game ranges from being okay but badly implemented, to being outright broken and barely useable. If you want to join a Dynamax raid, good luck. It will show one is available to join, you'll try to join it and it will give you some vague error that doesn't tell you what's actually going on - most of the time, it means the raid party was already full. If you start one and hope people join you, good luck there too. You'll be waiting for 2 and a half minutes for nobody to join the raid half a dozen times before you get a single person to join you. You can technically play without real players - they'll add NPCs to fill the missing slots - but the NPCs are worthless. They never bring effective Pokemon (they will sometimes even bring a useless Magikarp), if they DO have an effective Pokemon they will almost never use a move that actually does damage, they'll just buff their stats literally every turn without attacking until the raid ends. You might think it's a bad AI, but there are a number of battles in the game where the AI is very clearly well designed - it will not hesitate to one shot your whole team and it will always find a way to win in a war of attrition - so that's no excuse.In my opinion, there is no real post game. There's a small story bit that lasts maybe an hour and a half, there is a battle tower, but aside from that you've got nothing. There are no difficult, new, or interesting dungeons to explore. There are no areas where you can use a TM/HM you didn't have before to explore a new section, that aspect is just... not here. There are only a grand total of 3 legendary Pokemon in the base game. One you catch for the story, one you catch in the post-game story section, and one you are literally handed at the battle tower for no reason. That's it. It's... disappointing. Especially since you can catch nearly all legendary Pokemon if you buy the $30 DLC.Conclusion:It's not bad. It's pretty par for the course with a few things that are different from the normal formula - the issue is that for every good thing they bring, there is a catch somewhere, or there is something else that brings the experience down.If you like Pokemon, it's worth a play.If you don't like Pokemon, this isn't likely to change your mind.If you've never played Pokemon, this is as good a place as any to give it a try.I would rather rate it 3.5 stars, but half stars aren't possible, and I didn't think it deserved to be rounded up, to be honest.
I will start off by saying I have not played a Pokémon game since the Diamond/Pearl era. A bit of an adjustment to get used to all these new Pokémon, but there are definitely some cool features on this game! I wish they would get rid of the slow starts to all Pokémon games but it is what it is. Put about 30 hours into this game now and I can say I enjoy it. Not my favorite but I think that is because of the Pokémon selection. The new features with dynamaxing, gym challenges, the poke mart and healing center in the same place, cosmetic changes, etc are all welcome additions. Wish they would remake the classic Pokémon games in this way!
There are nice little extra editions you will come to love and never get tired of. I've gotten every game since the first generation as a 7yr old and while I'm heavily critical of any Pokemon game from Gen 4 onwards, this game took a step in the right direction away from where it was headed (away from Sun and Moon) by bringing back the good ol' Gym Leaders and challenges, although with a nice twist. It's like a good mix of the Alola trials with traditional Pokemon gyms.The Wild Area has an open-world-esque presentation, and seeing Pokemon roaming in the overworld is a dream come true which we have always wanted. Being able to pan the camera around in (only) the Wild Area is surprisingly liberating.I seriously love being able to see Pokemon in the overworld. This ... MoreThere are nice little extra editions you will come to love and never get tired of. I've gotten every game since the first generation as a 7yr old and while I'm heavily critical of any Pokemon game from Gen 4 onwards, this game took a step in the right direction away from where it was headed (away from Sun and Moon) by bringing back the good ol' Gym Leaders and challenges, although with a nice twist. It's like a good mix of the Alola trials with traditional Pokemon gyms.The Wild Area has an open-world-esque presentation, and seeing Pokemon roaming in the overworld is a dream come true which we have always wanted. Being able to pan the camera around in (only) the Wild Area is surprisingly liberating.I seriously love being able to see Pokemon in the overworld. This is the case in every route, including water bodies. It makes it much easier to pursue particular Pokemon,The only things I don't like is the crazy amount of Pokemon not included in the game, and the lack of the GTS (Global Trading System). Seriously, I have no clue how I'm going to complete the National Pokedex without the GTS. Even with Pokemon X and Y, the most recent games in which I completed the dex, it took darn near forever by using the GTS. Without it though... I haven't a clue how to do it without finding people on Reddit or something, which is a much more laborous process.That aside, I still give it five stars, because I enjoyed this game far more than X/Y and Sun/Moon, because I thought that the games were heading in a cringey direction.Oh, and I can't stand the starters. They are all humanoid, and cheap in design. But it's no issue once I get my good ol' Gen 1 - 3 team back together. Beautiful game all the while, and this will probably be my next report card destroyer.
Pokémon hasn't changed very much over the past 2.5 decades, but Pokémon Sword and Shield have definitely mixed some things up with the classic formula we have come to expect. It's much easier to directly compare with a pro-con list, so I'm going to express my thoughts in that format.Pros:- Improved support for competitive battlers such as nature changing berries.- Season-based approach to incorporating new gigantimax Pokémon to competitive battles.- Dynamax and Gigantimax are surprisingly good "gimmicks" that allow for some unexpected plays in competitive.- Graphics within routes and towns are pleasant, in contrast to the wild area.- The wild area is an excellent idea and may be my new favorite way to catch Pokémon.- The Pokémon added in this generation may ... MorePokémon hasn't changed very much over the past 2.5 decades, but Pokémon Sword and Shield have definitely mixed some things up with the classic formula we have come to expect. It's much easier to directly compare with a pro-con list, so I'm going to express my thoughts in that format.Pros:- Improved support for competitive battlers such as nature changing berries.- Season-based approach to incorporating new gigantimax Pokémon to competitive battles.- Dynamax and Gigantimax are surprisingly good "gimmicks" that allow for some unexpected plays in competitive.- Graphics within routes and towns are pleasant, in contrast to the wild area.- The wild area is an excellent idea and may be my new favorite way to catch Pokémon.- The Pokémon added in this generation may be some of the best design-wise and competitively that we have seen since generation 5. Galarian forms are a great twist on classic favorites.- The difficulty scaling is actually on par with most Pokémon games if you avoid grinding the wild area until post-game.Cons:- Not all Pokémon are available, even after the DLC was added.- Graphics do not look great in the wild area and there's a lot of pop-in when playing online.- Animations in cutscenes and in-battle look dated.- Story is relatively short, and the DLC doesn't add much story content (so far). It also follows some similar plot tropes to prior Pokémon games.- The wild area is gated by how many badges you have. You can't catch Pokémon above the level cap of your current gym badge.- Gym challenges are less difficult than almost any other generation and puts less of an emphasis on battling.- The game becomes too easy if you grind the wild area as soon as new sections unlock and the level cap is increased.- Post-game story is extremely short.Clearly, their emphasis this generation was to drastically re-work the competitive scene and make it easier for competitive battlers to get started. The casual experience has not changed much, continuing to be a relatively easy RPG with plenty of new Pokémon to capture. Where this game falls short is its story, difficulty scaling for experienced players, and the volume of content to experience. By removing a significant amount of Pokémon upon release, making it extremely easy to over-level via the wild area, and just making a short story, it's not ideal for players who want a lot of content or a challenge.Overall, it's just Pokemon and more of it. It isn't the best in the series, but it's worth playing if you have the money to drop.
| Hardware Platform | Nintendo Switch |
| Product Dimensions | 6.6 X 4.1 X 0.4 inches |
