Surprising nobody at all, I started playing a new video game, coinciding with my recent Pokémon TCG revival. As if getting back into TCG by itself wasn’t consuming enough, add to that a new role-playing game. RPGs are my fave, so yeah! Pokémon Violet is fresh on my Switch.
The good news is that I did not run out and buy a copy of Violet; we already got it last year, Christmas 2022. Yet I had never even started a new game on it. My kids have played it, but I paid little attention. Like I’ve said, I got out of Pokémon altogether for about a year. Looks like I dove back in.
Why play?
I started Pokémon Violet because now getting back into TCG, I want to be more familiar with all the new trainers, characters, and Pokémon. The overall story and setting from the video game are used in TCG also. For example, the two new main Pokémon represent the two halves of the current series: ancient for Scarlet and future for Violet. And the same ideas are applied as game mechanics in TCG.
The graphics issues
When the game was first released, there were very notable graphical problems. It seemed the technical quality of the game suffered unreasonably, which was disappointing. That said, in my short time so far, I’ve noticed no problems at all except maybe some slight frame drops here and there. But they were so minor they really aren’t worth mentioning. The point: I’m happy to report that it seems the developer fixed most major issues.
Sword/Shield and Arceus?
I played through Pokémon Sword and Legends Arceus. Honestly, my first impression of Violet is higher than those two games. The music and graphics presentation, the first friend you pair up with (Nemona), the 3D open-world itself, and the Pokémon and Pokédex all look and sound polished. It feels like a quality game.
Granted, the whole thing is tailored to a kid-friendly, simplified setup; I don’t expect Xenoblade Chronicles or even Zelda stylized graphics or maturity here. Best of all, the game feels more fun already. Like, I’ve never felt more ready to catch and battle Pokémon.
Violet vs Scarlet
I’m so glad we chose Violet over Scarlet because the new Pokémon, Miraidon, is super cool. It’s metallic purple and futuristic with LEDs and hover jets. It looks so cool! We have much love for purple around here (shout out to Jedi Master, Mace Windu).
Miraidon is cool!
Oh, for my starter, I picked Fuecoco!
Summary
I’ve been trying to play through most of Tears of the Kingdom since May this year. It’s a huge game that deserves much time. I’ll get back to it eventually; it’s now paused. I plan to play through Violet plus the DLC over the next month. And all those other superb JRPGs on my backlog still await. 2024 is looking fun.
Playing Violet means I’ll need to balance my time with TCG Live too, which I’ve been playing daily. I’m also building a new battle deck for my IRL battles to prepare for the upcoming rotation, when old cards are retired from Standard play and only certain new ones are legal. Good times. Gotta catch’em all.