ThePokemon Sword & Shieldcontroversies that have hassle the games ' release dull lover turmoil quite a snatch , and while Nintendo and developer Game Freak certainly had a role to play in the legal proceeding , a lot of it comes down to   the serial ' fan and their expectations for what a mainlinePokemongame should see like . Pokemon Sword & Shieldcoming to Nintendo Switch strike off a major tone for the series , its first mainline console table entry , and the initial interpretation from buff was that this would mean a major step - up in the franchise ’s introduction and deepness .

Since that initial annunciation , fans have become increasingly incompatible towardsGame Freak as a solvent of the developer ’s decisionsin designingPokemon Sword & Shield . That discontent boiled to the surface in the week leading up toSword & Shield ’s release , which ensure fans essay topetition the President of the United Statesto have the game displume from shelves , while still others got a mordant hashtag cut online that contain a lot of problematic sentiment . To be clear , Pokemonfans surely had a right wing to be discomfit aboutSword & Shield- the plot make some questionable decisions and that defeat is wholly valid . However , thePokemon Sword & Shieldcontroversies too often spilled into lineal attacks on game developer or company , which created a more toxic surroundings than was necessary .

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Still , from a historical point of view , thePokemon Sword & Shieldcontroversieswill mark the first meter the franchise divided its fanbase quite so heavily , and it ’s deserving try out for those looking to learn about the mistakes both sides made . Although there were enough more small effect that fueled the lead up to the newest generation ’s passing , here ’s a breakdown of the majorPokemon Sword & Shieldcontroversies and how they occurred :

No National Dex in Pokemon Sword & Shield

This was thePokemon Sword & Shieldcontroversy that started it all . Junichi Masuda , the game director of Game Freak andPokemon Sword & Shield , announced during E3 2019 that the upcoming games would not feature all Pokemon from the series . alternatively , there would be a limited number , and it would only be potential to play the Pokemon from the Galar Region for the entirety of the narrative and post - game . Masuda suggested that the cause for this was that the constantly well number of Pokemon that belonged to the franchise as a whole , which were more hard to let in in their entirety with each passing propagation .

lover were exceedingly upset . They felt that there was an unexpressed hope between them and Game Freak to keep porting past generations of Pokemon into the new game , mostly because a quite a little of consecrated buff have had the same Pokemon trace them through games across several generation - creatures they grew up with , in a sentience . Furthermore , fans feel that the removal of the National Dex was antithetical to thePokemonseries as a whole , which had always asked players to " captivate ‘em all . "

Still , Game Freak stood by its decision , even during some difficult recoil from fan . Masuda doubled down on the conclusion in an interview , then did so again later , suggesting that the National Dex being removed would make way of life for new feature film forPokemon Sword & Shieldand the game that follow it . Unfortunately , fans latch on to that estimate in a disconfirming fashion , leading to the next controversy .

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Pokemon Sword & Shield Cuts A Lot Of Features

WhilePokemon Sword & Shieldadds some gracious feature for competitive bid , fan were more upset with the fact that it was make out several retiring feature for what seemed to be no grounds . Mega Evolutions , introduced duringPokemon X & Y , changed competitivePokemonbattling incessantly , helping revive the viability of some Greco-Roman creatures like Kangaskhan . Z - Moves , which were introduced duringPokemon Sun & Moon , were over - the - top conflict options that result in nerveless cutscenes and were even unique to certain Pokemon ( like Eevee ) . unluckily for fans of both of these feature , Masuda denote that they would not be repay inPokemon Sword & Shield .

This was also announced during E3 2019 , but it take time for fan resentment to build up on it . lead up toPokemon Sword & Shield ’s release , fans began discovering that more elements had been cut , culminating in the realization thatPokemon Sword & Shieldmoves   did n’t let in all of the ones from the past . It was a messy situation , and lead to what was perhaps the most intensePokemon Sword & Shieldcontroversy of all of them …

The #GameFreakLied Pokemon Sword & Shield Social Media Trend

When new television and rumors regardingPokemon Sword & Shieldbegan surfacing in the final weeks guide up to its acquittance , fans felt like Game Freak had instantly lied to them about the exploitation of the biz . When Game Freak first annunciate that the National Dex would not be returning , the fellowship had promise to improve animations as a solvent , since the company would have more sentence to pay to each Pokemon with their numbers cut dramatically . Users begin complaining in the last few weeks that Game Freak build up upon former models fromPokemon Sun & Moon , however , rather than remake the model from scratch . While the model still seem marginally better , fans felt that Game Freak had been purchasable despite the fact that animators reprocess models and asset is a very mutual praxis in the industry .

Fans also criticized leaked cutscenes and clipping , suggesting that the graphical quality was poor and that whatever was expect from the game ’s comer on Nintendo Switch was n’t being delivered upon . To counteract the negativeness surround that hashtag , devotee who were less excited about the comprehend dishonesty created a # ThankYouGameFreak hashtag as well , which result in duel discourse for the rest of the build up - up toPokemon Sword & Shield ’s launch .

Did The Pokemon Sword & Shield Controversies Hurt The Game’s Reception?

While the initial result seemed like an unavoidable " yes , " reviews from major gaming outlets state a different story . Pokemon Sword & Shieldcontroversies may have made the leash up to the Modern multiplication ’s firing a more emotional and negative involvement than is typical for the dealership , but it seems to have done very minuscule to its critical receipt . As of this piece of writing , Pokemon Sword & Shieldreviews place the game at a solid 81 Metacritic scotch , which places it right in line with how previous game have tended to execute . Critics have suggested that there is a great deal to like about the secret plan , and it seems that whatever fault are present are made up for by Game Freak ’s go forward ability to create a captivatingPokemonexperience .

With that said , though , thePokemon Sword & Shieldcontroversies were some of 2019 ’s hottest argument in the manufacture , and it ’s potential that even a slight promulgation from Game Freak rekindle them if thePokemonplayerbase necessitate it the untimely direction . It ’s a position that merits continued monitoring , and will givePokemonfans and developer a lot to think aboutheading into the next projection from Game Freak .

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