Pokemon Sword and Shield To Have Raid Battles, Something I’ve Always Dreamed About

Taylor Deemer Leave a comment

Earlier today, Nintendo showed off their latest Nintendo Direct, focusing on the upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield, revealing some exciting news. Among them was a new battle mechanic that makes your Pokemon huge for a few turns called Dynamax, boosting their moves and making the battle something like you would see in a Godzilla movie. It’s pretty similar to Mega-Evolutions and Z-Moves from earlier Pokemon titles, but it’s not clear yet if these are getting replaced by the Dynamax mechanic.

Despite how cool it sounds, some people are pretty skeptical of how the mechanic will affect the flow of gameplay, myself included. However, it does open up a whole new type of gameplay that I’ve only ever imagined in my wildest dreams… raid battles! These involve you and three other trainers battling against a powerful Dynamaxed wild Pokemon. Coordination will apparently be key in these battles, as for instance only one trainer’s Pokemon can be Dynamaxed, and you can only do it once per battle. There are probably other cooperative mechanics as well such as a shield move that can be seen in the trailer.

Possible cooperative raid mechanic (Source: pokemon.com)

These raid battles are similar to those already present in Pokemon Go, and is probably where Sword and Shield have taken inspiration from. I never really had a chance to participate in Pokemon Go raids myself, since everyone I knew had already moved on from Go at that point, but from what I’ve seen the raids in Sword and Shield seem to require more coordination then raids in Go. The battles in Sword and Shield more so remind me of a raid boss you would find in an MMO; a bunch of people coordinating to take on an impossibly powerful enemy.

During the Direct they also revealed a new area called the Wild Area: a completely open environment that dynamically changes depending on factors such as the in-game weather. Here you can control the camera freely and move around sort of like Breath of the Wild, and also see wild Pokemon outside of battle similar to the Let’s Go games. This also seems to be where you and your friends will gather to fight the raid Pokemon, and you will be able to connect with your friends with local wireless. But fortunately, if you’re like me and prefer to be a little more… reclusive, then you can also find people through the internet and play with them that way as well.

The Wild Area (Source: pokemon.com)

Pokemon Sword and Shield will be released on November 15th. You can see the full Direct here.

No plans to bring Super Mario Maker 2 stylus to North America, and other disappointments

Taylor Deemer Leave a comment

The recent announcement from Nintendo of America that there will be no plans to bring the Super Mario Maker 2 stylus to North America really sickens me. They didn’t give any real reason either, just “no plans”; they may as well had given us the finger. But this doesn’t sicken me because I want the stylus (I kind of do), but because this sort of behavior from game companies really disappoints me. It’s disappointing because I really thought that we were past the “regional exclusive” mentality that game companies, especially those in Japan, seem to have.

In case you are not aware, if you pre-order Super Mario Maker 2 in Japan or Europe from select retailers, you will get a free stylus specifically made for the Switch with Mario Maker artwork on it. But what does America get? Well, if you don’t mind paying an extra $10, you can get it bundled with 12-Months of Nintendo Switch Online… great, half-off.

Now don’t think I’m just some entitled crybaby American who is sad that for once America isn’t getting something everyone else is, I really just thought we were done with this kind of thing. Nintendo is no stranger to regional exclusivity. In the past, games like Pokemon and Animal Crossing would be out in Japan for over a year before they saw any kind of international release. I know it takes time to translate games into English and other languages, but over a year is ridiculous. Heck, some just didn’t make it at all. Recently though, they have been releasing things worldwide at the same time, and I really thought they were turning a new leaf by doing this, but this just throws any hope that I had out the window.

The disappointment doesn’t end there though. I really hope you weren’t hopeing to play Mario Maker 2 with your friends, at least online, since you will only be limited to playing with random people. Don’t worry, there is still local co-op though. But why is it that Nintendo is always so out of touch when it comes to online gaming? That’s a discussion for another day.

They also confirmed that there will not be amiibo support with Mario Maker 2, which is disappointing when looking back at the incredible support that the previous entry got. However, it is understandable since there have been a lot more amiibo since then, including upcoming amiibo, and incorporating them all would be very challenging.

Don’t let the disappointing news deter you from getting the game though, as everything else looks really promising. Super Mario Maker 2 comes out on June 28th. Stylus or not, it will definitely be worth a look.

Pokemon Sleep announced… I have many questions…

Taylor Deemer Leave a comment

If there one thing that Nintendo and their affiliates are good at, it’s their ability to always surprise me. And during The Pokemon Company’s press conference earlier today, they managed to do just that. During this press conference, the company announced a variety of Pokemon-related projects currently being worked on, but only touching briefly on the upcoming Switch games Sword and Shield; more news on that to come next week during their Pokemon Direct on June 5th.

But the project that left me the most interested and a tad bit confused was Pokemon Sleep: a new mobile game made by Select Button, the same developers of Magikarp Jump, another Pokemon-themed mobile game. Along with the game, they announced a new accessory to go along with it: the Pokemon Go Plus… plus! Aside from being a candidate for the most unimaginative name of 2019, the Pokemon Go Plus+ not only has the same functionality than the regular Pokemon Go Plus, but also tracks your sleep patterns with the help of your smart phone.

The upcoming Pokemon Go Plus+

How exactly it will do this is not in my area of expertise, but you’re supposed to put the device next to you on your bed while it tracks various data regarding your sleep patterns. Right away, I see a design flaw for those with twin-sized beds or significant others in full sized beds, as there may not be a lot of room to put the device itself. What also baffles me is how sleeping is going to affect gameplay, or what the gameplay is about in general. The game and device are slated for sometime in 2020, so we will have to wait and see.

During the same press conference, Niantic also announced that they are working on ways to incorporate sleeping into Pokemon Go as well, not only promoting walking but getting a good night’s rest as well. I am definitely curious, and a bit excited to see how they are going to handle all of this.

You can watch the full press conference here.