Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Review + Leak

I was 9 years old when the first Pokémon game dropped. The concept, the graphics, the music — it was like catnip for an RPG enthusiast. All my geek friends played it. We would go through a 16 pack of AA batteries weekly. Good times.

It's been a while since we’ve had a new main entry Pokémon game. The last one, Sword & Shield, was a dumpster fire of controversy. Fans were so disappointed that, at one point, the user score on Metacritic plummeted to 1.7 out of 10. Complaints ranged from a basic story, the removal of beloved Pokémon, lack of difficulty, and endgame content, to the shameless overselling by GameFreak. It was a rough time to be a Pokémon fan.

Nintendo, clearly sensing the collective outrage, decided to test the waters with a new concept. Enter Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which allowed Nintendo to gather useful feedback that would later influence the next main entry: Scarlet & Violet.

Scarlet & Violet are set to be released on November 18. However, the ROM has leaked, and some users have had the chance to play the game ahead of time. I managed to get my hands on a copy of the leak, but since I don't want Nintendo's ninjas kicking down my door, I won't post any links on how to get the game. I also won't post any screenshots until the actual release date. Without further ado, let’s dive into the details:

Story: 9/10

Apart from the soundtrack, the story (stories?) is the best part of the 9th gen. It plays like other familiar open-world RPGs like Skyrim; you’re free to progress through different paths, but only some paths have significance to the plot. Nintendo claims there are three paths, but it's more like two. One is the gym battles, and the other unveils the secrets of Paldea. The third path feels more like a minigame involving this installment's version of Team Rocket. There's nothing groundbreaking about the gym story, but the regional secrets are worth discovering. Plus, one path unlocks abilities for your rideable Pokémon, making exploration more interesting.

Pokémon: 4/10

If one statement could describe them, it would be "GameFreak’s originality has hit rock bottom." They've focused on "cute/silly" and/or just plain weird-looking Pokémon. Oh, and the names. The Japanese names are okay, but their English counterparts? Cringy. At least they're not as bad as the legendaries in X/Y.

Combat: 6/10

Mega Evolution was the best addition to Pokémon combat. The designs were cool, abilities changed, and stats got boosted. This new entry? Same old Pokémon with a new transformation akin to Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing called Terastallization. What does it do? It changes your Pokémon’s elemental strength, making STAB moves stronger and making your Pokémon look ridiculous. I haven’t used it in battles, but I predict speed-based Pokémon will dominate, unbalancing competitive play. The other major change is auto-battles, which play without transitions. It makes training easier but feels more like a mobile game feature than a serious addition.

Graphics & World: 9/10

Scarlet & Violet take the best from Pokémon Sword/Shield & Arceus and improve upon it. The Pokémon textures are the best to date, and the environment textures are high-resolution. Cities and social areas feel well-designed (cough, Sword/Shield). The open world is like Breath of the Wild’s map but perfected. The areas feel diverse, and there's lots of exploration to be done. You can go literally ANYWHERE. The only downside is the variable textures and 3D objects, which the Switch struggles to handle. Stick to solid colors and simple, repeating textures, like the Splatoon 3 devs.

Soundtrack: 10/10

The soundtrack is a massive improvement over Sword/Shield and Legends: Arceus. If you’re old enough to suffer from back pain and acid reflux, you might remember MegaMan Battle Network for the Gameboy Advance. The towns, cities, and hubs have music that feels like it was lifted from MegaMan, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Gameplay: 8/10

There are some new changes and cool additions in the gameplay area, but it's impossible to discuss them without spoilers. So, slight spoilers ahead!

Let's start with the bad: Movement. It’s clunky and snappy, especially when riding your Pokémon. It’s fine for general movement but frustrating when trying to interact with items or Pokémon. I lost count of how many times I fell off a cliff or struggled to pick up an item.

A cool feature is the ability to take pictures anywhere. Selfies, random pics of the region — they’re saved locally and can be shared on social media. Hyper training got easier, which is great since it was previously an endgame-only feature. Now, it’s seamless, and you can focus on your build early on. Teaching moves is simpler too, with TMs now craftable from materials.

Breeding for Egg moves is no longer necessary, thanks to a separate mechanic that doesn’t waste shiny or perfect IV Pokémon. And camping is actually fun and useful now!

Overall Score: 7.7/10

Scarlet & Violet are great games but not necessarily great Pokémon games. Main series Pokémon games are defined by their competitive aspects, and the new battle mechanics have made things unnecessarily complicated and unbalanced. There's also little variation in terms of meta. However, it’s definitely worth playing for filling up the Pokédex and transferring Pokémon to the Home app.

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