[Sword & Shield] Galar Region First Impressions

[EC]

I knew it was based on England once they showed that chalk art on the side of the hill, just like the Uffington White Horse...

 

[thedestinedblade]

Looked very cozy is all I really have to say, lol.

I just hope it doesn't end up disappointing me the way Alola did, I thought a tropical island setting would be pretty great to explore, but it turned out being quite the opposite for me.

 

[PkmnTrainerElio]

Looking at the map properly now, it does seem to start off quite linear (south to north) but then branch off into a few different paths about 2/3 of the way up which looks quite exciting. Interestingly enough it doesn't seem like there's any clouds etc obscuring any of the map, which is unusual

They probably avoided the clouds obscuring the map, to avoid disappointed fans getting triggered (remember the outrage after Alola was confirmed to be four islands and a small manmade one?)

Anyway, I like the region, a UK region has been an ideal region of mine since Gen VI (I think just after Black 2 and White 2).

 

[Melinda]

I'm wondering if that's really the entire region because it seems rather small.

 

[Juno]

A friend pointed out there doesn't seem to be a lot of water in the way, and he was wondering if there's going to be less Surfing needed to traverse the region? I do see some smaller islands nearby, but it certainly doesn't seem necessary to getting around most of the region. I suppose there can always be blockades on land that will require you to surf around.

 

[JP]

I'm wondering if that's really the entire region because it seems rather small.

Really? I think it looks rather large! Maybe it seems small to you because it's not the usual "circle the map" design, and more of a going straight up thing.

 

[JamesBCFC]

I knew it was based on England once they showed that chalk art on the side of the hill, just like the Uffington White Horse...

There's also one of those in Westbury, though not as old, and one of a person called the Cerne Abbas Giant
The one of the giant is thought to have been political satire!

 

[AveeVaporGlitch]

Better than the mess that was/is Alola. This one looks fun already.

 

[mysticalflute]

Gorgeous! I love when we get non-tropical regions.

 

[Konekodemon]

What are my first impressions? Well, I'm a bit upset they removed the feature that allows you to see the Pokemon on the route. Now I'll randomly be running into them again when I may be in a hurry to get somewhere.

 

[AveeVaporGlitch]

What are my first impressions? Well, I'm a bit upset they removed the feature that allows you to see the Pokemon on the route. Now I'll randomly be running into them again when I may be in a hurry to get somewhere.

I mean it makes sense since this game will have like a lot of Pokemon while LGPE only had 151 plus the fact it was inspired by GO.

 

[Piloswine]

Given that they made an entire city based on Paris I'm kind of surprised London is nowhere to be seen... but then Kalos was only half of France and it looks like the southern most part of Britain is cut off. I mean I don't really care that much since I have no loyalty to London but it just really surprises me that south England is the part they cut out since that is where our capital is.

...Unless Galar is Britain but rotated by 180 degrees like how Hoenn is Kyushu but rotated by 90 degrees. That looks like Big Ben in a city in the far north on the western side.

And right beside the Big Ben looking tower you can see what looks like London Eye.
And all the skyscrapers show that's big city. I'm convinced that city is the spiritual image of London.

 

[Melinda]

Really? I think it looks rather large! Maybe it seems small to you because it's not the usual "circle the map" design, and more of a going straight up thing.

Actually it's probably the huge empty space in the middle.

 

[Pig]

It's gorgeous!

The closer I look at it it doesn't look that small to me, you've got lots of little towns sprawled throughout there.
My main concern is that marshy looking area, and the snowy area. I'm sure they'll have (hopefully) actually interesting things within them. The snowy area definitely looked good in the preview.

Do you think with all that farmland they might bring back some sort of berry farming, or the equivalent of?

 

[AveeVaporGlitch]

It's gorgeous!

The closer I look at it it doesn't look that small to me, you've got lots of little towns sprawled throughout there.
My main concern is that marshy looking area, and the snowy area. I'm sure they'll have (hopefully) actually interesting things within them. The snowy area definitely looked good in the preview.

Do you think with all that farmland they might bring back some sort of berry farming, or the equivalent of?

Plus since it is on a home console travelling to the places might be longer with plot and side stuff that take some time or even has you bouncing all over the region rather than just going from town to town once

 

[Pepperton]

I loved the tropical flavor of Alola, but this game looks gorgeous too. I particularly enjoyed the area with the yellow plains - seems intriguing. I think it'll be a fun place to explore.

 

[colours]

It's really about time we got a colder region (than Sinnoh). Generation after generation of having a tropical/warmer region was starting to get really old.

That said though, much like Juno, I do wonder how much Surfing is there in the game? How necessary would it be, if at all?

 

[AveeVaporGlitch]

With names like sword and shield it gives off and attack and defend vibe and Kalos should be near Galor which makes me think maybe we get a war like the one 3,000 years prior. Having a war in the plot would be fresh

It's really about time we got a colder region (than Sinnoh). Generation after generation of having a tropical/warmer region was starting to get really old.

That said though, much like Juno, I do wonder how much Surfing is there in the game? How necessary would it be, if at all?

Literally the only warm region since was Alola.

Unova literally had winter and Kalos I assume had regular cold climates

 

[wakachamo]

This looks like a vast improvement over Alola and especially Kalos (yeah I said it!!1), but that's not saying much... it does look a little linear.

I don't know if this is just a sign of the times but I remember looking back at the original renderings of Hoenn and Sinnoh and thinking wow those look like massive awesome worlds to explore... and after Sinnoh I never got that feeling :/

I think the visual/terrain diversity upgrade is a massive win, though. Game Freak is slowly but surely moving out of their comfort zone of sticking to 2D maps and controls. From the trailer it still feels like it's gonna have a bunch of invisible walls, but it's a step up for sure.

 

[Greninja use Water Shuriken!]

Gen 8 looks awesome to me. I like the look of Galar, lots of variation which is cool.
And I really like how the Galar region is based on the UK.