Pokemon Shield + Pokemon Shield Expansion Pass [Game review]
TL;DR
I loved this game so much, that I have over 1500 hours played.
Note: it is my opinion that this game is best played with the Expansion pass, to get the full experience.
This game was my first Switch game, played while I was incarcerated
[Played on a Nintendo Switch Lite]
I have been a Pokemon fan since its inception in North America. My first Pokemon video game was Pokemon Blue on GBC. It is fitting that my first game on the Nintendo Switch would be a Pokemon title. Ownership of a console/handheld was not something I had the privilege/right (this dichotomy would keep us busy for awhile) as someone incarcerated. I had access to a variety of cellmate’s Plug&Play versions of systems (Atari, Sega Genesis, others), XBOX 360 (limited hours), and PS4 (limited hours), but being able to play a current system in a prison was a very big deal for a lot of us.
I purchased the Pokemon Shield game cartridge with the Expansion Pass included. It was well-worth the 90 USD spent, as I spent over 1500 hours playing this game. Even with the new Gen 9 titles Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (which will be reviewed soon), I still found myself going back to this game. Most of these hours spent were shiny hunting, but a lot of the time was also spent in the Battle Tower and making Pokemon teams specialized for competitive battling. There is a lot of content included in these games, if you get the Expansion Pass. Without the Expansion Pass, I find that the Gen 8 base-game is very lacking, especially in endgame content.
Gen 8’s location is based on the United Kingdom, and I liked a lot of what they did to keep us entertained with a lot of the pop culture references. However, I did find that the story in Gen 8 is lacking in real stakes. Team Yell is a nice ode to the British Punk Rock scene, but there is an overall lack of drive in the story. The story mostly just emphasizes the Gym Challenge, which has always been a big part of the games in the mainline Pokemon games. However, without a clear villain or obstacle, this made the story very linear in nature. The end of the story is where a lot of the twists occur, and it is a nice way to incorporate the Box Legendaries for sure. This is where the DLC content comes in. It does add a nice break from the monotony in the Galar region. That being said, Galar is a very beautiful location and I did enjoy the variety of biomes and had a deep appreciation for the Wild Area.
I really enjoyed the Galarian versions of Slowpoke, Slowbro, and Slowking, which you only have access to at the Isle of Armour location provided by the Expansion Pass. I also really liked the Max Raid dungeon battles in the Crown Tundra, where you can catch lots of old legendary Pokemon as well as other fan favorites along the way. Gen 8 did a good job with the characters (including rivals like Hop or Marnie), and I do like the playful nature of rivalry that is pushed now in the series. (and there is still a little taste of the bitter/elitist rival from the earlier titles) Morpeko was also a really good addition, as this Generation’s Pikachu-like, cute little hamster with two different forms (Peckish and Hangry) it rotates between.
Even with all the gripes about Pokemon’s mainline series being a bit more streamlined and just plain easy to play through, I am always so interested and love to see the new Pocket Monsters. There’s always something to look forward with a new Gen of Pokemon, whether the games are a hit or not. The real stars of the show are the monsters and the trainers. Pokemon is always going to be about the player and their story, and my story in the Pokemon world isn’t over yet.