#SV’s plot is as good as SM’s if NOT better

[shima-draws]

I’d like to say thank you to the Pokemon Company for catering to me and my tastes specifically for this game. Because everyone knows how much of an absolute slut I am for undiscovered/off limits areas with possible eldritch interference and AI programs and robots. Literally two of my favorite tropes ever. 11/10 knocked it out of the park, they wrecked my shit with the whole Area Zero storyline and I am Thriving right now

[neon-moon-beam]

I've seen these things widely disliked in Pokemon games from SwSh onwards, and I'm hoping they'll be taken into account in the future (spoilers for SV and their DLCs):

Nobody is a fan of long intros, excessive tutorials, hand-holding throughout the intro and at other parts of the game, etc (though I haven't played SM or USUM, I've heard these games have it fairly bad too). SwSh at least allows you to skip the catching tutorial if you already have caught a Pokemon by the time Leon goes to show you, but this did not return later. Excessively long intros and tutorials can make a game hard to get into, and it's worse for returning players unless the mechanics have drastically changed. Hand-holding makes the player feel like they're playing little more than a playable cutscene.

Time travel just...isn't a good idea if it's not leading to anything. PLA didn't even resolve its time travel plotline, let alone explain how Ingo got there. SV left so many details about the time machine up in the air. And just what was the Pokemon that attacked Mabostiff? Arven would have accused Koraidon/Miraidon of doing so if the more aggressive one had done it since he doesn't know there's a second one, and you'd think he'd react to a paradox Pokemon of the same species on the way down to the Zero Lab, but he doesn't. We're just left to theorize. If a serious plot point isn't going to conclude, it's probably best not to do it at all. Being left to guess, theorize, hope for answers later, or get answers in supplementary material stops being fun fast, if it's fun at all. Time travel as a plot point just seems to cause more problems than create an interesting story.

So many people are not happy that the player was forced to lie to Kieran for the sake of the plot. You can argue that yes, Kieran's grandfather asked the player and Carmine not to tell him the truth yet, and the player, not being a member of the family, had no right to mess with what was technically not their business. However, it just doesn't sit well with so many people, especially because we're supposed to be befriending Kieran, and in the end it's something that took a lot of players out of the story. It may have been the most forced plot point of SV.

A lot of people are disappointed that at the end of the base game of SV, we weren't allowed to hug Arven, or otherwise comfort him in some way. The guy just found out that his estranged parent has been dead for years and had to meet the AI that's been impersonating his parent since then. And all this after nearly losing his Mabostiff. Instead of being able to comfort our friend in his time of need and newfound trauma, we instead decide to take a long, back road back to school like that just makes everything better. Doesn't make one feel like a good friend.

People were looking forward to Secret Bases in BDSP until they found out that instead of having a variety of decor to use as we did in DPPt, we instead got a bunch of statues. People were also hoping to decorate the dorm rooms in SV. The closest we got was changing the decor theme and music in the BB League club room, but even then the options were very limited. People enjoy being able to make a space their own, as well as being able to show it to others.

The school uniforms in SV were...not well liked. After a few games with many options for clothing, being forced into a uniform wasn't fun. The uniforms were often hard to coordinate with (particularly the Naranja Academy outfit) and even the jinbei and BB Academy uniforms often stifled creative expression. A lot of people were not happy about the complete lack of skirts and dresses in SV. Apparently this may have been due to them not wanting to upskirt people on Koraidon/Miraidon, but in SwSh all the skirts have modesty shorts built in. Not sure why, other than time constraints, this couldn't be implemented for SV.

There's probably a lot more, but this is what I've seen and heard a lot in my experience.

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

this is a random question lol, but what are some books that have the same (or similar) vibe to your fostered, moth work, or seventh virtue series? ❤️

omg I love this question!

I'll answer for the books that have actual comps, because otherwise... there's no comp because the books are unreadable LMAO (love them very much <3)

Books 1-3 (Fostered, Hunted, Resisted)

The Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken

I LOVE Alex, and these books kind of consumed my life as a kid!

Slated trilogy by Teri Terry

Pretty much the early Fostered books are TDM + Slated smushed together <3 I was such a Slated girlie, lmao

Books 4-6 just don't have any vibes, lmao!!! so no comps there!

Moth Work and Feeding Habits should have comps in theory, but I actually haven't personally read anything like them (though I'm sure books exist out there, I just don't know!). They're so niche in a way that it's hard to find a comp, lol! They are very much both like each other though!

Seventh Virtue

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

I realize now that this is just me expressing how much I love and support Alex's writing lmao, but this was the FIRST fantasy book I've read in a loooong time, and I read it coinciding with when I started SV, so it was super helpful for understanding the genre, especially since it's also contemp. fantasy and takes place in NYC! I'm thinking of re-reading it or getting the audiobook too since I'd like to revisit it!

Bitterblue by Kristen Cashore

This is an old favourite that I read when I was 12 or so, but I LOVE THIS BOOK! It's literally... literary fiction lmao, but fantasy for teenagers! I've read it so many times that I don't know the exact number. This is more high fantasy I believe, BUT the structure is sooo Seventh Virtue--lots of mini plots, larger cast of characters, very slow and ambling but in a fun way. If I could write this book, I would! Bitterblue as a character reminds me a lot of Reeve, haha. I just re-read this book in the fall, and I’m going to listen to it again because I just love it so much!

Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

New inspo for me since I read them in the fall, but I LOVE THESE BOOKS SM!!! I'm so late to the train, lmao, but the Netflix adaptation of Shadow & Bone initially prompted me to write SV, so it's only fitting that I love these books! They both share bird imagery in common, which I obviously love, and there's also an ensemble cast. I want to actually read this book since I listened to the fabulous audiobook, but I'd like to get a stronger grasp on Leigh Bardguo's craft which was so good it made me insecure for the first time in years, lmao yaaaas <3

I funnily don’t have any adult recs because I haven’t read any adult fantasy, so if you have recs, especially if they’re contemp. fantasy, send them my way!

Also, if anyone has anymore questions about my books, feel free to send them because I’ve been having a hard last couple days, and talking about my book makes me feel better, lol!

Thanks so much for this!

[shima-draws]

Why?

Why are the pokemon games becoming more and more of a clusterf*** as we proceed through gens?

I wouldn't go so far as to say THAT;; The last couple gens certainly have an abundant amount of flaws but there's a lot of replay value in them too. To this day I'm still mystified as to why people hated SwSh so much, I know some of the graphics were lackluster but? Honestly imo the actual towns and routes in SwSh are better designed than the ones in SV, especially when you're looking at Hammerlocke and Ballonlea. And the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLCs were a blast to play through if you decided to pay for them. SwSh's story was super lackluster but so far SV's storylines have knocked me flat on my ass with how good they are.

Pokemon has always been hit or miss, it really just depends on what aspect of the game you like the most that will determine how "good" it is in somebody's eyes. As for me, I love games that are more story driven, so yes I definitely prefer SV and SM over SwSh and XY, whose plots don't really fit my standards of being a well-written story arc. Some people just like games that are more fun, so they might prefer XY and Swsh for their mechanics over other games.

I definitely do think that SV was rushed, at least on the graphics front; they could have easily let it bake for another year and released a gorgeously rendered game, but we can't win at everything lol. And yeah, there's a good handful of designs in Gen 9 that could use some improvement, but there's a lot of designs that absolutely slap too.

The main issue now is that Nintendo and Gamefreak KNOW that Pokemon is the most popular franchise in the world. They're going to make money off of their games no matter how, or when or in what condition they release their games in. So obviously they're going to rush development at the cost of quality, and at the cost of their own employees, so that they can make bank every year with a game release. At least, that's what I think is the issue? When SV's release date was announced I know a lot of people said holy shit, THAT soon? It was definitely rushed. That's why there's so many lagging and rendering issues lol

But, my philosophy has always been this: You can thoroughly enjoy a piece of media and still criticize it for its flaws. SV may be buggy and glitchy as fuck but I've had an absolute blast playing through it. I already know I'll be starting a new file and replaying it sometime down the road. The problem now is letting Nintendo know that yes, we love Pokemon, we're going to play Pokemon no matter what, but at the very least we should get a say on how much work should be put into these games. (And, in SV's case, it was clearly not enough.)

Anyway sorry for the super long ramble lmao I clearly have some Thoughts about this. But idk. I'd rather be spending my energy enjoying myself and having a good time than being super negative and trashing on the game at any given chance. And yes I do have some criticisms but that's just how these things go