It looks great, simply what was that line nigh judging a book by its cover?

If I wanted to introduce new, returning, and mobile players to the mainlinePokémon games, this isn't the game I would take given them.

Pokémon Let's Go! Pikachu/Eevee was destined to be a controversial prepare of games from the showtime, as the game attempted to merge the diversePokémon fanbases and placate them all with a unmarried title. Information technology was an aggressive goal, butAllow's Go! tried to accomplish information technology by taking the best pieces of past games and created an updated HD rendition of the world that kick-started the original phenomenon. With nods toPokémon Go,Pokémon Yellowish, and even thePokémon anime, at that place was bound to exist something for everyone to bask, equally well as something for anybody to quibble over.

Every bit a longtime role player who cutting their teeth on the Game Male child version of Kanto, I was prepared to accept some philosophical differences withPokémon Let's Go! Eevee. What I was non prepared for, nevertheless, were the number of technical issues I experienced with the game, and how information technology lacked the usual level of smoothen I expect from a Nintendo game. While thePokémon charm is still here, I don't think the final product lives up to its $60 cost tag.

My specific thoughts nearly the game are as follows:

  • Pokémon Sun/Moon/Ultra Sunday/Ultra Moon never ran particularly well on my 3DS, but at least Nintendo had the excuse of pushing the boundaries of its aging hardware, and the game reportedly ran fine on newer 3DS/2DS models. Nonetheless, I'thousand seeing the exact same functioning problems withLet's Go! that I saw inSun/Moon, which is completely inexcusable on a new, higher-powered console like the Switch. The transition into battles is surprisingly wearisome (specially when inbound a Team Rocket boxing), and occasionally the game takes an actress second or two to process my battle commands, leaving you waiting equally the camera zooms around the battle. All of the animations still run fluidly at normal speed, but these little delays add up over time, making you wonder how much unoptimized code this game borrowed fromSun/Moon.
  • The art style itself is a cross between the cute, chibi fashion ofPokémon X/Y and the more-realistic mode ofSun/Moon, and while the game won't accident you away with its breathtaking visuals, information technology'due south still a nice upgrade from the 3DS. The overworld is a faithful rendition of Kanto fromPokémon Yellowish, and while at that place really aren't whatsoever surprises for veteran players, it'due south still kind of great to encounter the whole place in Hd.
  • While this is technically a G1 game, it's nice to see some of the refinements from later generations appear as well (natures from G3, the physical/special split from G4, reusable TMs from G5, countless new and reworked moves from all generations, etc.). Of course, there's also the return of Pokémon that follow you in the overworld, which is made even more interesting by how unlike monsters interact with your Trainer. Sure, riding on Pokémon is all well and good, only watching your Bellsprout race excitedly ahead of you every bit you wander effectually is only as well precious. (Besides, watching your character get chased around by a Venemoth is kind of unsettling, as information technology should be.)
  • Some prior features, notwithstanding, are merely half-implemented for some foreign reason. The biggest examples of this are G6'south Pokémon Amie and Trainer/Partner customization: You can only play with your special partner Pikachu/Eevee, and the wear options for both you and your partner are fairly limited. Interacting with your Pokémon and expressing your Trainer's individuality through fashion was a lot of fun in10/Y andSun/Moon, so to come across those options simply partially implemented hither was a bit of a bummer.
  • 1 new concept I enjoyed was being able to transact business like party and name changes without having to notice a PC or Proper name Rater. Being able to exercise something from anywhere is the Switch's modus operandi, and so seeing that idea extended intoPermit's Become! was a nice touch.
Yay, I can actually cull you this fourth dimension!
  • My biggest complaint well-nighPokémon Yellow was that my Pikachu was so weak and useless that it was only a waste of a slot in my party. Thankfully, that isn't the case here: Eva the Eevee is an accented powerhouse, and thanks to some helpful move tutors scattered throughout the game, she tin also learn several new elemental moves to ameliorate her type coverage and better prep her for Gym battles. (They can likewise acquire "Cloak-and-dagger Techniques" that handle out-of-boxing HM techniques without taking up an attack slot.)
  • Random encounters take been replaced with monsters that spawn in the overworld, which lets players cherrypick which fights they desire to have and which they wish to avert. (Sometimes Pokémon volition target the player, but they're still not too hard to avert.) Information technology'south a nice quality-of-life comeback that brings the game more than in line withPokémon Go, simply you'll still cease upwardly waiting a while if yous're looking for a rarer creature.
  • The near controversial modify, of grade, was the random meet mechanic: Instead of battling wild Pokémon, yous simply throw Poké Assurance at them until you grab them (which grants your party Pokémon experience points). This is my biggest philosophical deviation with the game: As hokey equally it sounds, I find battling to be the best way to form an emotional bond with your Pokémon, and limiting people to Trainer battles leaves you less invested emotionally in your team. (You lot also finish up with a bunch of useless monsters in your bag, which just feels wasteful to me, even if you can merchandise them in for stat-boosting candies.)
  • The large thing you lot'll detect with the new random come across mechanic is that y'all'll be going through aton of Poké Balls as you explore Kanto. Luckily, the game's economy has been rebalanced a fleck to account for this: Poké Balls are cheaper than in past games, you earn Poké Balls every bit prizes for winning Trainer battles, and if you're stuck in a dungeon there's usually someone around who will requite you lot more Poké Balls if you run depression. (Berries, on the other manus, seem to be a lot harder to come by, so be careful how yous utilize them.)
  • While I still think theBecome-way random encounters could have won me over, there'due south one major trouble:The motility controls in this game are admittedly horrendous. Ane moment they're finicky and you're either air-mailing your Poké Ball throws or bouncing them in similar a third baseman, and the adjacent moment they're completely off-kilter and y'all're throwing Poké Balls inthe exact contrary management you intended. If y'all're throwing directly at a stationary Pokémon, yous're usually okay, but once they starting time moving around, fuggedaboutit. You lot're much better off using the Switch in handheld manner and aiming it Splatoon ii-manner at what you want to hit.
  • Another effect I have with the catch mechanics: Nice/Slap-up/Excellent throws don't seem to have any correlation with whether or not yous catch the Pokémon you're aiming for. I oasis't been able to confirm whether or non in that location'southward a link between throw quality and capture run a risk, simply I've take numerous encounters where a pocket-sized-circle "First-class!" throw doesn't even keep the Pokémon contained for 2 shakes of the brawl…and a few throws later on, I catch it with a throw that bounces off the monster's leg/arm/fly and isn't anywhere almost the inner circle. If you're going to give the thespian feedback on the quality of their throw, their should be a clear connection between it and the chance of capturing a monster. As it is, the histrion is just left wondering what the indicate of improving their throw is beyond some extra experience points.
  • Trainer battles piece of work the same as always, aside from a few simplifying changes (Abilities are non here, for example). Nevertheless, another smooth issue crops upward here: Whenever an opponent uses an item, the text that pops upward says you used information technology instead! Across that, the biggest oversight I run across here is the removal of theSun/Moon feature that tells a actor if a move is effective or not confronting a monster they've seen before. Something similar that seems like information technology would be a godsend to new players (and anyone who hasn't memorized all the type matchups), so its omission here is baffling.
  • The online setup forLet'southward Go! is surprisingly random and feature some questionable design decisions. Wonder Trades are gone (about time), but and so is the usual 'offer X' or 'look for who's offering Y' mechanic as well. Instead, yous're matched up with people via 'Link Codes,' which seem to no serve absolutely no purpose at all. I just ended up blindly punching in three monsters and getting matched upwards with random people for online trades and battles. (The first guy I met in boxing had a Mewtwo with a Key Stone…you can probably guess howthat friction match concluded.) Battle matchups are no more or less random than they e'er were, but the inclusion of this extra stride with no discernible purpose is simply confusing.
Despite what these two might say, you lot won't really take to ready for trouble at all.
  • Pokémon has never been known for its difficulty, and that continues withLet'due south Get!. Sure, NPCs are a little smarter than the 'use one of the four moves randomly' AI of before games, and at that place are Chief Trainers you tin conquer somewhen, only for the near part you can rely on blazon matchups and get through the game with minimal grinding. (If you really want to coast, y'all can also bring in a 2nd player to brand all battles 2 vs. 1 in your favor.) The game is more most communicable than battling overall, and in that low-cal, the decision to get easier on players makes sense (it encourages them to try out more and different monsters, even if they're a bit lower-leveled).

Put it all together, and the word that springs to mind when thinking aboutPokémon Permit'south Go! Pikachu/Eevee is "rushed." This really doesn't strike me as a game where enough fourth dimension and thought were put into its design and development. Instead, a bunch of existing ideas features seem to accept been slapped together in a halfhearted attempt to bring all of thePokémon audiences together (and placate the masses until G8 arrives sometime next year). I'yard sure Pokémon Go players will find a few things familiar and lapsed players may enjoy a trip downward retentiveness lane, only I've been hither earlier (heck, I was but here a few months ago), and there's actually zilch hither that excites me about come dorsum. The biggest indictment of Permit's Become!that I tin can make is that a few days after I bought information technology, I opted to go back to messing around withUltra Sun instead.

This game isPokémon, all right, but it's non $threescore worth ofPokémon. Let's promise Nintendo and The Pokémon Company practice a better job dotting their i'south and crossing their t's when G8 arrives.