Pokemon trainers concerned by damning comparison to Zelda graphics
Pokemon fans have been left bitterly disappointed by the graphics in Pokemon Sword and Shield, after footage was showcased at the E3 2019 trade fair.
Zelda the yardstick
Following the 2017 release of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the benchmark for graphics has been set high – gamers now know what the Nintendo Switch is capable of.
The best selling Nintendo Switch game, outside of Mario titles, universally impressed fans with its high detail graphics and immersive world. However, fast forward more than two years later and from what we’ve seen so far, many believe Pokemon Sword and Shield to be somewhat underwhelming.
Not up to standards
Initial impressions from E3 was that the latest Pokemon game had vastly improved graphics in comparison to what we saw in the initial reveal trailer. However, after a looking at a few scenes in-particular and having an overall more detailed look at the game, the graphics are disappointing.
One piece of footage, where a tree is shaken, shows how basic the textures really are. Elsewhere, a screenshot shows a tree which looks like it has been copy and pasted on.
A side by side comparison of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pokemon Sword Shield really shows the differences between the two…A comparison between this and a similar screenshot from Zelda really shows the gap between the two. While Zelda is by no means up to the standards of a console release, it does make the most of the Nintendo Switch’s hardware capabilities.
Work to be done on Pokemon Sword and Shield
This comes on the back of the announcement that Pokemon Sword and Shield won’t feature a national Pokedex – the first time a mainline Pokemon game won’t.
The outcry from this decision is still ongoing with Pokemon trainers lamenting Game Freak’s decision to remove it – the hashtag BringBackNationalDex has been used ever since.
Whether improvements to the graphics or a change to the national Pokedex materializes before Pokemon Sword and Shield releases on November 15, remains to be seen. Changes to the graphics may not even be possible at this point.
What is certain though, is Game Freak are under a lot of scrutiny for this latest Pokemon game and fans will be hoping for some improvements come release time.