In case it wasn’t clear from the title, I wish to get one factor out of the way in which: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are by far the worst mainline video games within the collection, in my view a minimum of.
I’m not even speaking in regards to the technical points — that are consultant of a punishing improvement cycle versus the artistic imaginative and prescient — however reasonably, the gameplay itself. In an arbitrary push for an open world, Paldea sacrificed the integrity of the journey in favor of massive, open areas that quantity to little or no.
There’s some Pokemon wandering round, and some trainers right here and there. Do you wish to work together with them, or simply proceed on towards the following monochromatic vacation spot? True sufficient, the areas you’ll go to are ‘open’, and but, that is hardly a ‘world’. There’s nothing a lot in the way in which of caprice or intrigue connecting one metropolis to a different, no signal of a Glimwood Tangle or S.S. Cactus (aka Hoenn’s Deserted Ship).
With this in thoughts, I can not say in good religion that I went into the Teal Masks DLC with an open thoughts. After just some minutes, I used to be recognizing all the trappings of the bottom recreation re-emerging, with fixed stop-start momentum being essentially the most damning.
I Visited Kitakami Island & All I Acquired Was This Awful Teal Masks DLC, I smugly jotted down because the tentative title for this piece, in between interruptive cutscenes that includes characters I didn’t care about saying issues that didn’t matter.
However in time, these characters grew on me a bit of, and Kitakami grew on me a bit of, too. Upon completion, I’ve since concluded that Teal Masks is a distillation of every thing that’s proper and improper with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, however on a lowered scale that really winds up suiting it splendidly.
First off, I’ve to say permitting near-immediate entry to your ride-on Pokemon — Koraidon for Scarlet or Miraidon for Violet — was a serious mistake. A lot of the DLC’s goals invite you to journey throughout the island searching for landmarks, but when your dragon steed is totally souped up (a probable chance contemplating nearly a 12 months has handed for the reason that video games’ preliminary launch), you’ll nearly actually elect to bypass it fully.
Oh, you need me to comply with this mountain path up towards the den of the dreaded beast? ATV lizard says nah, I’ll simply clumsily climb a wall as a substitute. Had the DLC relied on quick journey locations till you had completed its story arc, there would have been extra of a connection to the assorted biomes.
Kitakami, when in comparison with the Paldean mainland, is extremely small, and it received’t take you lengthy to get from one finish to the opposite, however that is certainly one of its main strengths. By shrinking its scope, the world feels fuller, with rice paddies and apple orchards serving as factors of curiosity.
Moreover, the design of mentioned biomes fully trumps what got here earlier than it. Alfornada Cavern is among the worst and ugliest areas in any Pokemon recreation. It’s bland, it’s flat, it’s empty — virtually an allegory for why Scarlet and Violet are so divisive. Deep throughout the recesses of Kitakami’s Oni Mountain, nevertheless, lies a labyrinthine collection of tunnels and chambers often known as the Chilling Waterhead.
There are flooded areas, and elaborate rock formations to descend so as to attain its base. Once more, your trip Pokemon could make fast work of it, however the tight quarters make it a clumsy match, and also you would possibly even be tempted to proceed on-foot.
The featured NPCs for Teal Masks, siblings Kieran and Carmine, are welcome additions with clear and satisfying arcs. They even supply one thing of a cliffhanger by the tip, as a substitute of simply tidily wrapping every thing up with a neat little bow.
And sure, the dynamic of Ogerpon and the Loyal Three is a pleasant little story in and of itself. As a lot as I bemoan Scarlet and Violet (and rightfully so), they do a minimum of try to discover plot components past the inventory customary mixture of ‘catch quite a bit’ and ‘battle quite a bit’.
The Teal Masks isn’t a prolonged marketing campaign by any means, making the DLC in Sword and Protect appear sturdy by comparability. Moreover, due to the awkward uncertainty of how far you’ll be into your recreation, you’ll most probably find yourself dramatically overpowered because of its messy degree scaling.
For context, I’ve collected all the health club badges, bested the Titan Pokemon, and disbarred the nefarious Staff Star, however defiantly refused to proceed by to the Pokemon League. As such, the place the DLC trainers ought to be within the excessive 70s, I discovered them to all be capped round degree 30.
As satisfying as it’s to dismantle opponents with a single assault, it may’t be good for the introverted Kieran to look at on as his beloved Pokemon are ripped to shreds.
In the end, my important takeaway from Kitakami is that it didn’t overstay its welcome. There’s a little bit of back-and-forth busywork, just a few battles, and a remaining showdown in opposition to Ogerpon that will be spectacular had been it not for that aforementioned degree disparity. It by no means will get in its personal manner, and acts as a window into an alternate actuality the place the aimless ambition of Scarlet and Violet was stored in examine.
Had the remainder of the sport been this tidy and succinct, perhaps I wouldn’t be so inclined to deride it at each alternative… Simply perhaps.