Polaroid's Mega Rush to the 2023 End... Game 7...
Last 'game' from 2023 I wanted to cover for this rush through December. I have some other games I'll cover on a top 20 list I'll post around New Years, however I didn't feel the need to write up anything for them in a formal log or something like that.
That said, the new Pokemon DLC.
The Mystery of Area Zero pertains to not any actual mystery or concern that I had with the location in Scarlet/Violet- but actually the mystery as to why Game Freak decided to call the DLC pack that. If I recommend this expansion it's not really for this through-line that they hoped to staple onto Scarlet/Violet, instead it's because I thought the new area and plot regarding Blueberry Academy's league was interesting enough of an add-on to kinda sorta not really justify the price of the expansion pass. Do I recommend you check the package of both DLCs out? Ehhhhh… only if you want more Sc/Vi, otherwise mostly check it out for the Blueberry Academy.
The Academy League portion is a pretty fun time, pitting you against some of the hardest trainers in the entire series. From basic trainers to the Elite Four themselves you'll face pokemon teams with legitimate synergies and strategies that are really fun to watch play out. I'm not really the kind of Pokemon fan to go deep into VGC-type techs and team compositions but I was really enjoying fighting battles that actually got me to think a few moves ahead. Sorry to say, Pokemon needs to consider switching to (or at least upping the use of) double battles. I think its way more interesting than the usual advantage based single battles and brings out the potential of a lot more Pokemon.
Similar to Teal Mask, I decided to create a new team centered around the expansion and I gotta say for a guerilla team this turned out to be a pretty enjoyable squad.
-Golurk
-Pawmot
-Talonflame
-Hatterne
-Archeludon
-Araquanid
Archeludon turned out to be a pretty surprise hit- I initially hated Duraludon's design and still kinda hate looking at Archeludon but holy hell does it take a beating. It's signature move of Electro Shot being a rain version of Solarbeam with the addition of a Special Attack buff helped a ton during some fights in which rain dance or drizzle was a factor. Golurk has also turned into a big favorite of mine too- not an explosive pokemon or all that impressive in the grand scheme of things BUT, I do think it looks cool as fuck and enjoy its ability that boosts punching moves. Golems are cool.
Yeah, there's not too much to comment on with this DLC, sad to say. Exploring the four main biomes is pretty fun, grinding Blueberry Quests (BBQs) is kinda tedious but easy, and a lot of the unlocks are nice. Also the fanservice in making this pretty Unova centric, in addition to some Alola callbacks is pretty fun.
I do think that this DLC also highlights another aspect as to why Pokemon as an RPG is so fucky- especially nowadays. You get dropped into the Elite Four section and can pick any order in which to fight them as you like. Its kinda weird, we haven't had an Elite Four like this since Gen 7 but hey I'm not complaining I always liked that kinda structure. Unfortunately, because they can be fought in any order, they have fairly equivalent levels ranging from 78-80. This isn't too much of an issue but that damn exp. share... Leveling is a breeze and it becomes pretty easy to catch up on the stat gap pretty easily between the massive exp gains and the constant 'feather' stat growth items littered around the world. It's weird, I don't think levels make or break battles and you can certainly win while underleveled as I did for most of the Blueberry E4 but once I beat most of the members and closed the gap things got significantly easier- the 'Champ' was honestly easier than the rest of the guys. I don't know, I don't hate the idea of an exp share that applies to all of your Pokemon but I wish there was a better way to balance out boss fights.
There’s some stuff after you do a small trek back down into Area Zero for one final ‘raid’ like boss with Terapagos, but I'm kinda burnt on Paldea. I think there’s a lot of stuff that could carry the momentum that the fan service creates but there’s so many irks and shortcomings that keep me from being positive through and through. I thought the base game, while hindered by terrible performance and some shortcomings of the open world structure, did deliver on a satisfying blow and acted as a more holistic (albeit janky) idea as to what a modern pokemon could be. However rather than support this idea and patch up some of the shortcomings, this and the last DLC kinda just exist as a side story with a bit of new content, which is fine but overall underwhelming. That Unova trainer remix fucks though.
Last 'game' from 2023 I wanted to cover for this rush through December. I have some other games I'll cover on a top 20 list I'll post around New Years, however I didn't feel the need to write up anything for them in a formal log or something like that.
That said, the new Pokemon DLC.
The Mystery of Area Zero pertains to not any actual mystery or concern that I had with the location in Scarlet/Violet- but actually the mystery as to why Game Freak decided to call the DLC pack that. If I recommend this expansion it's not really for this through-line that they hoped to staple onto Scarlet/Violet, instead it's because I thought the new area and plot regarding Blueberry Academy's league was interesting enough of an add-on to kinda sorta not really justify the price of the expansion pass. Do I recommend you check the package of both DLCs out? Ehhhhh… only if you want more Sc/Vi, otherwise mostly check it out for the Blueberry Academy.
The Academy League portion is a pretty fun time, pitting you against some of the hardest trainers in the entire series. From basic trainers to the Elite Four themselves you'll face pokemon teams with legitimate synergies and strategies that are really fun to watch play out. I'm not really the kind of Pokemon fan to go deep into VGC-type techs and team compositions but I was really enjoying fighting battles that actually got me to think a few moves ahead. Sorry to say, Pokemon needs to consider switching to (or at least upping the use of) double battles. I think its way more interesting than the usual advantage based single battles and brings out the potential of a lot more Pokemon.
Similar to Teal Mask, I decided to create a new team centered around the expansion and I gotta say for a guerilla team this turned out to be a pretty enjoyable squad.
-Golurk
-Pawmot
-Talonflame
-Hatterne
-Archeludon
-Araquanid
Archeludon turned out to be a pretty surprise hit- I initially hated Duraludon's design and still kinda hate looking at Archeludon but holy hell does it take a beating. It's signature move of Electro Shot being a rain version of Solarbeam with the addition of a Special Attack buff helped a ton during some fights in which rain dance or drizzle was a factor. Golurk has also turned into a big favorite of mine too- not an explosive pokemon or all that impressive in the grand scheme of things BUT, I do think it looks cool as fuck and enjoy its ability that boosts punching moves. Golems are cool.
Yeah, there's not too much to comment on with this DLC, sad to say. Exploring the four main biomes is pretty fun, grinding Blueberry Quests (BBQs) is kinda tedious but easy, and a lot of the unlocks are nice. Also the fanservice in making this pretty Unova centric, in addition to some Alola callbacks is pretty fun.
I do think that this DLC also highlights another aspect as to why Pokemon as an RPG is so fucky- especially nowadays. You get dropped into the Elite Four section and can pick any order in which to fight them as you like. Its kinda weird, we haven't had an Elite Four like this since Gen 7 but hey I'm not complaining I always liked that kinda structure. Unfortunately, because they can be fought in any order, they have fairly equivalent levels ranging from 78-80. This isn't too much of an issue but that damn exp. share... Leveling is a breeze and it becomes pretty easy to catch up on the stat gap pretty easily between the massive exp gains and the constant 'feather' stat growth items littered around the world. It's weird, I don't think levels make or break battles and you can certainly win while underleveled as I did for most of the Blueberry E4 but once I beat most of the members and closed the gap things got significantly easier- the 'Champ' was honestly easier than the rest of the guys. I don't know, I don't hate the idea of an exp share that applies to all of your Pokemon but I wish there was a better way to balance out boss fights.
There’s some stuff after you do a small trek back down into Area Zero for one final ‘raid’ like boss with Terapagos, but I'm kinda burnt on Paldea. I think there’s a lot of stuff that could carry the momentum that the fan service creates but there’s so many irks and shortcomings that keep me from being positive through and through. I thought the base game, while hindered by terrible performance and some shortcomings of the open world structure, did deliver on a satisfying blow and acted as a more holistic (albeit janky) idea as to what a modern pokemon could be. However rather than support this idea and patch up some of the shortcomings, this and the last DLC kinda just exist as a side story with a bit of new content, which is fine but overall underwhelming. That Unova trainer remix fucks though.