Are Sword and Shield Still That Bad After 5 YEARS?

Were sword and shield really as abad as people think?

Was Pokémon Sword and Shield really that bad?

Join us as we take a deep dive into one of the most controversial entries in the Pokémon series. We’ll explore what worked, what didn’t, and whether the criticism was truly justified.

📜 **Overview and Launch**: Pokémon Sword and Shield launched in 2019 as the first mainline Pokémon games on the Nintendo Switch. Expectations were sky-high, but the games faced a storm of criticism even before release. We’ll start by looking at the initial reception and how it shaped the narrative around these titles.

🌟 **What Worked**:
- **The Galar Region**: Set in the Galar region, inspired by the United Kingdom, Sword and Shield introduced a vibrant world with unique towns, diverse environments, and a strong sense of culture.
- **Wild Area**: The Wild Area was a significant innovation, offering an open-world-like experience with dynamic weather and roaming Pokémon, adding a new layer of exploration and discovery.
- **Dynamax and Gigantamax**: The introduction of Dynamax and Gigantamax battles brought epic scale to encounters, with certain Pokémon taking on powerful new forms, though opinions on this mechanic varied.
- **Quality of Life Improvements**: Features like Experience Share, streamlined battle mechanics, and easier access to competitive play made the game more accessible to new players, even if they were controversial among veterans.

🌟 **Criticisms**:
- **The National Dex Controversy**: The decision to cut the National Dex and limit the number of available Pokémon sparked outrage among fans. This "Dexit" led to accusations of laziness and a feeling that the series was abandoning its roots.
- **Graphics and Performance**: Sword and Shield were criticized for their graphics, with many players feeling the visuals didn’t live up to what was expected from a mainline Pokémon game on the Switch. Some areas appeared low in detail, and there were noticeable performance issues, particularly in the Wild Area.
- **Linear Storyline**: The story was viewed as simplistic and lacking depth, with few surprises and minimal character development. This left some fans longing for the more complex narratives of earlier games.
- **Post-Game Content**: The post-game was considered lacking compared to previous titles, with limited challenges and activities to keep players engaged after the main story.

🌟 **Community Reaction**:
- **Mixed Reception**: Despite the controversies, Sword and Shield were commercially successful and found a dedicated player base. However, they remain divisive within the Pokémon community, with some players appreciating the new features and others lamenting what they saw as a decline in quality.
- **DLC Expansions**: The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra expansions were released to mixed reviews, with some praising the additional content and others feeling it should have been included in the base game.

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**Keywords:** Pokémon Sword and Shield, Sword and Shield review, Pokémon National Dex controversy, Dynamax battles, Wild Area, Pokémon Galar region, Pokémon Switch, Pokémon series, gaming review

#PokemonSwordAndShield #PokemonReview #SwordAndShieldControversy #NationalDex #Dynamax #GalarRegion #PokemonSwitch #GamingReview #PokemonFranchise #NintendoSwitch

[bradhaley]

Considering that both Sword and Shield were released in playable condition on day 1 while both Scarlet and Violet didn't, I would say that both Sword and Shield are better than the mess that we got in November 2022.

[kerrygligorovic]

I liked both versions of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield because of the graphic designs of the characters and the scenery which made it looks like a very big new world to explore as proven when Gamefreak decided to added DLC later on like The Isle of Armor &The Crown Tundra. I also like the features on the game like Dynamax, Max Raid Battles, Pokémon Camp, Curry Dex & Making Curry, Poké Jobs, League Card, Brilliant Aura Pokémon and Galarian Star Tournament.

[Strawhatsnow]

They’re bad for me bc no nat dex, poor animations, lackluster open world, sub-par story, & not a fan of d-max pokemon. I did like the towns tho. Scar/Vi on the other hand… probably my least fav game ever.

[Shinntoku]

Minor correction but Team Yell aren't the villains, they're red herring antagonists. The villians are Rose and Macro Cosmos

[kailesperance]

Sword and Shield are the most overhated games ever, and I will die on this hill.

I like the new Pokemon there, so dexit wasn’t as big of an issue for me. The Wild Area was great as well. I’m glad Game Freak started DLC here, given how USUM is probably worse than sun and moon. Dynamax is ok. It was great for VGC as it made every match more like a chess game and less like an unstoppable hotspot for power creep (Looking at you, Mega Evolutions)
Also, it was very easy to train up your team to use in game and competitively. The DLC were amazing. I love being able to randomly find items while walking around and grinding XP. Shiny hunting was great, and for the first time ever, autosave was a thing.

There are other positives I might’ve forgotten, but you should get the point.

I’m not saying Sword and Shield is better than Emerald or HGSS, but it has enough going for it that I still bought it without regret.

[The_Static-X_Fan]

It still bothers me that Sun and Moon were the last games where you could team up with a friend to battle cpu trainers. Sword and Shield could have brought it back, so the fact that it doesn't has me give it a mid rating.

[biscuitbcat]

Yes. Customization and Yamper are the two good things that came from it lmao

[tylerkloever]

For being Pokemon games and in hindsight, Sword and Shield were extremely disappointing. The company explained that the lack of a national Pokédex was due to there being too many Pokemon to give completely new and original sprites and animations for. Once the data was leaked, it was revealed that all previously existing Pokemon in Sun and Moon would have the same sprites coded in gen 8 as gen 7 and the same goes for their animations. A disappointing game is one thing, but to flat out lie. That’s quite scummy on GameFreak’s behalf. If it wasn’t for ScarVi, I’d argue that GF was as lazy as EA is when it comes to sports games. To this day, I’m still skeptical towards GF. Perhaps the Legends series is going to rejuvenate the franchise. Sword and Shield lacked heart and it was felt from the very moment I booted the game up. Galar is a missed opportunity.

[yutoad]

4:18 first Pokemon game effected by Dexit, technical limitations were the issue, but when I gave them $40, extra Pkmn were added to the game... THIS lowkey killed main series pokemon for me

[rcmatheus]

Hot take: Pokémon SWSH have better graphics and art direction than S/V.

[Ghostpen_]

Till this day I still play it
I kinda like linear gameplay and the animations are better than scvl.
The ai is better and so is the music
Swsh has a competitive vibe that I like
Dynamaxing is cooler then Tera
Love the galar pokemon a lot more

[danielpruitt]

Dexit is still relevant.
It isn't very achievable, but Pokemon Home cost $15.99/year is very telling.
This is not a design choice it is a financial choice.

If it was about dev-time or resources they would have added back the rest of the national debt over time.

I understand the dexit noise soured a lot of people's experiences with the conversation around the game.

However, it would be welcomed by everyone if they added back the Pokemon cut.

The competitive conversation is also not very valid imo because they already have specific allowed Pokemon lists for each competitive format.

I hope you read this and hear the passion and truth, rather than discount this as another old head being entitled.

[Lui-flif]

Definitely would play sword/shield over everything else gamefreak and ilca released

[CreepyJournals]

I really did enjoy Sword and Shield and actually had a blast playing through again recently, but as a Pokémon veteran since the 90’s and being from England nothing disappointed me more than the Galar starter final forms and most of the actually Pokemon from that gen.

We could have had knights, dragons. Kings, queens, fairytale creatures of old English folklore but what did we get? A lacklustre roster of new Pokémon, football hooligans and curry. 💀

[Wellpeckyoutoo]

These games are what got me back into Pokémon, so I not only have an extreme sense of nostalgia for them, but just a general love for them. I feel like these games are extremely overhated, especially when it comes to the designs. These were the games that gave us Snom, Falinks, and Galarian Zapdos, and the starters are just NOT as bad as people say they are. Team Yell was also great, I love the idea of an 'evil team' that's just a bunch of fanboys and fangirls. I'm also someone who doesn't care about graphics at all, so the trees don't bother me at all. Overall, and 8/10 Pokémon game.

[ty_]

While they have good things about them, they didn’t even manage to give me a “missed opportunity” feeling (like XY did for example). And they’re missing a lot of the heart Scarlet and Violet have when it come to everything but the technical side.
I don’t hate SwSh but they just failed to leave an impression on me

[robotwars]

they weren't bad tbh i realy enjoyed sword and shield quite alot
unlike scarlet and violet that looked way worse then sword and

[mascott]

Sword & Shield walked so Scarlett & Violet could run. Having not played Pokemon since Heart Gold, I did appreciate some of the quality of life improvements (like not having to go back to the PC box to get Pokemon, experience share, etc.). Give it a couple more generations, I think we’ll see this generation get some retroactive love like Gen 5 has gotten and Gen 6 is almost starting to get.

[darkblue]

my biggest problem with sword and shield is that it sorely lacks interesting things to do outside of battles. The routes are mostly empty corridors, same for the caves/mines/tunnels, there's barely anything to do in towns besides talking to npcs and fighting the gym champion, no cool tower, mansion or any other buildings to explore, no optional areas where you could find specific items or pokemon, no legendaries to find and catch in the postgame (not counting dlcs) besides the box art one.

Add to that the ugly minimalistic UI, a laughably bad "evil" team, dex cut and underwhelming graphics + other technical issues that make it clear the game was rushed and you've got barely decent games, only saved by how well the pokemon formula works

[charandfriends]

Ugh another person that just skims passed Hop’s character and boils him down to just being “annoying”. Like I’m fine with people saying isn’t all that great as a rival but I love what they did with his character.