AMD Absolves Windows 10 Of Ryzen CPU Performance Criticism
Osoulo Lejeune
I've played almost every mainline game, but I started losing momentum around the time of Sun and Moon. It just seemed so overwrought and complicated, with the introduction of regional forms, Ultra Beasts, and Z-Moves, plus X & Y's addition of Mega Evolutions, layered on top of the same old plot (team of grunts led by charismatic megalomaniac try to do a big evil thing, two legendary Pokmon are involved, etc.).
Then Sword and Shield came along and added even more stuff, like Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing and their unique moves. Sometimes there can be a reassuring appeal to nostalgia by repeating the same patterns, but sometimes it's just boring, confusing, and unnecessarily convoluted. You might totally disagree with me, of course, and that's okay! I look forward to healthy and respectful debates in the comments! But this is my soapbox and you can only talk when I'm done, so shh for now.
Thank Arceus that the new Pokmon Legends returns to simpler stuff, by stripping back a lot of the new stuff from the mainline games and starting fresh. But there is one complaint echoing around the tubes of the internet: It doesn't look good.
In fact, that's the reason I wasn't going to buy it. The trailers looked universally duff to me, with low frame rates, blurry, repeating textures, and weird, harsh lighting over everything. Oh, and the trees looked bad. I know that's a big deal for some people.
Usually I don't care about "bad graphics" too much if the game looks interesting, but it felt pretty telling that the trailers didn't really show us much about the game itself. Having been in games for a few years, I know what that usually means: The game is bad, and they're trying to hide it to ensure that people don't cancel their pre-orders. They must be rushing it out, I thought, my opinion bolstered by the fact that the graphics really hadn't improved that much from that first disappointing trailer.
Well, I had one of those Nintendo Switch eShop vouchers to use, so... what was the harm? Plus, we were anticipating having to write a lot about this massive new Pokmon release, so it made sense to play it. So, I pre-ordered the game (gotta get that Growlithe kimono pre-order bonus, innit). And then, following all the chaos in the wake of the review embargo lifting, I downloaded it at midnight.
I'll get this out of the way: I'm genuinely pretty surprised by how janky Pokmon Legends: Arceus' graphics are, considering the piles of money upon which Game Freak have built their studio. I know how game dev works, and I'm sure there's a good reason, but still.
The abysmal draw distance makes the world seem empty, and Pokmon, plants, and people pop in just metres away from my character. In battles, the grass jumps around for some reason, and in cutscenes, the sky stutters. The lighting on trees and characters are oddly harsh, casting dark, sharp shadows over everything to make the world look like it's under an unflattering Instagram filter.
But! As I said before... janky graphics are just not all that important to my enjoyment of a game. Some of my favourite games, in fact, look like arse. I have a whole spiel about how much the art of Slay The Spire bothers me, but it doesn't affect the fact that I think it's fantastic.
It's trying something new, and that's what matters to me. It's a fascinating revitalisation of a somewhat stagnant series, which invites players to experience a familiar, nostalgic game from a new perspective. I would personally rather have five ugly-but-intriguing games than one gorgeous-but-boring game.
Let me anticipate what you're thinking: I'm no Pokmon mega-fan. I have a lot of Pikachu plushies, sure, and I've played almost all of the mainline games, but I think the formula is pretty stale now. I probably wouldn't have even played Sword and Shield if it wasn't set in (fake) Britain, because I really wanted to see my homeland represented in Pokmon form. I love the weird little creatures, but I don't care too much about collecting and battling them, and I certainly don't look forward to having to mash through a billion textboxes of information in every. single. battle.
I promise I'm not just jumping on the "Pokmon Legends is the best game ever!!!!" bandwagon. I am genuinely disappointed in the graphics, because I know Game Freak is capable of better (they made Pocket Card Jockey! Which is definitely an example of excellent graphics). But... if this is what it takes to take Pokmon in a direction that actually interests me again, I'll take it.
Formerly of Official Nintendo Magazine, GameSpot, and Xbox UK, you can now find Kate's writing all over the internet. Her latest projects include writing for Moonstone Island, a deckbuilding creature-collecting game, and [REDACTED], which is very [REDACTED]. Sometimes she writes things here, and sometimes they are about cows and crabs.
While it seems that the game is still good, we shouldn't be clapping the game without any criticism, of course graphics are important, there are many comparisons about games for Dreamcast or PS2 being prettier than a game released in 2022.
Graphics aren't everything to me, hence why I still consider some N64 games to look amazing at times like Jet Force Gemini, the main thing that irks me is for newer releases I expect the games to have a solid frame rate, back in the day when technology was limited I accepted the issues but nowadays with enough polish I don't think there is a reason for any game to have a dodgy frame rate, it is often just a result of bad optimization.
I usually could care less about graphics, but in the case of Pokemon I feel that it's in need of a huge improvement ASAP. I don't expect breath taking views, I just don't want it to be...ugly. This is ugly. When you actively point out objects and the ground you are walking on and say: "That's weird" you need to fix it, or maybe even change the artstyle so EVERYTHING is like that. Why would it be okay for indie games to have this and not pokemon? Because Pokemon is the Number 1 most profitable media franchise... period. They have quite literally, TRILLIONS in their budget. They have zero excuse to rush like this, we have seen what the switch is capable of, but The Pokemon Company knows it's so huge of a franchise, that they know everything they sell will go in the millions, even if it crashes upon launching the game. It's about quantity of game rather than quality over there I suppose
Lordy, I could write a book on how graphics affect a game. So, I'll just say they can add or they can detract from gameplay, but most of the time, they simply provide visual cues and feedback for the gameplay, as opposed to a work of digital art. Sure, there are an awful lot of staid genres that rely on graphics to set them apart from everyone else, but if you have an idea, then it doesn't matter so much...unless it makes the game too cluttered etc. Yadda yadda yadda.
I don't know about you but I would like to play a game that looks like it was made in the current generation and not like an early gamecube game. (Not specifically a jab towards Legends but its not far off).
There are obviously better looking games than Pokemon Legends and it shows heavily, even first year switch games look significantly better visually than it.
Another common excuse I see as a defense is "i don't play x game for y" (usually graphics).
While true to some extent that doesn't mean the game can't have both. I don't play monster hunter for the story but I wouldn't mind them trying to have a more in depth one in future games or in the upcoming dlc.
Game Freak is just a bad developer now and they have been for many years. They're out of meaningful ideas, care only about money, and they can't even develop games properly on a modern console with low specs.
Remember balan? How many people admit that the game looks good but absolutely hate the gameplay? Yeah I bet people would prefer a game that look off but still a blast to play then a game that looks beautiful but plays like garbage.
Grew up on NES, SNES, Playstation and still play Dark Cloud 2 and other retro games.
I don't care at all about graphics.
Find it sad though, that Pokmon games rake in so much cash and so little seems to go into upping the presentation of their games
@Crockin Heavily disagree, SMT V is easily one of the best looking switch games and it's artstyle, animations, and world look miles better than any pokemon game.
It would be more accurate to call PLA the PS2 game which it has been for a while.
Art direction matters more than the graphical fidelity tbh. So many indie games for example are basic as hell pixel games. However they have such a strong art direction, and game play that it is looked over.
I care VERY MUCH about graphics in a game (the tone, the style, the mood) but I'm not sure I've ever given a damn about a low-res texture - or even noticed one, and I work as an artist/designer for a living!
Technically many very modern games, like say, Forza Horizon excel at stuff like that but to me lack 'art' and instead just look 'good'. Technically amazing games can look... very boring, whereas if a games graphics have a certain feel to them that is appealing for some reason, then who cares if the textures are janky or whatever.
I can play fun games with mediocre graphics, but not Vice versa. I would just go watch a movie if I want a high end cinematic experience which unfortunately some AAA Western games are more concerned with visual presentation then the actual gameplay that launches in a buggy mess and/or gameplay feels worse then some indie games
There's one thing that shouldn't be ignored. Japan would like to have more people learn the Japanese language. If Japan, through Nintendo, only focused graphical fidelity, and ignored that none of their consumer base is bothering learning any Japanese, then they would only have themselves to blame for leading their followers in that direction. There's an entire game that Arceus seems to be providing hints toward - try playing it in Japanese text instead. Seems like Japan needs more culture, not necessarily more money.
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