[Sword & Shield] Pokémon GO mechanics in Sword & Shield

[Cryptogrif]

Being a main RPG player, I don't hate Pokémon GO players like many others do, seeing as we all love the same franchise but just enjoy it in different ways.

I do want to say, though that the spilling over of Pokémon GO mechanics into main series games are slightly worrying. I do remember reading a leak (whether it's credible or not is a whole other thing) that the battle mechanics are going to change drastically in Sword & Shield.

With the Let's Go games and the new Pokémon GO-like catching mechanics and the fact that wild Pokémon now appear on your screen instead of having to go into an encounter, I thought it was just a one-time-off thing, seeing as the Let's Go games are generally regarded as stepping stones to the main series games. However, after seeing the direct it seems that all this is possibly going to return in Sword & Shield, with the addition of max raid battles.

Thoughts? Is this a bad thing?

 

[CodeHelmet]

From what I've read, its going to be a hybrid of old with the new. Namely we battle Pokemon like in the old days(think Mewtwo or Legendary Birds in Let's GO as a recent example) but to catch them requires using the Pokemon GO mechanic. What people are pining for is the old school experience system as opposed to what's in Pokemon GO/Let's GO where catching numerous Pokemon is the means to gain experience or level up as opposed to battling and defeating Wild Pokemon(which has been the case for 7 Generations). I see the old way of doing things continuing but it doesn't mean they can't add a new flavor when it comes to "catching" Pokemon.

 

[Cid]

I'm not too worried. They've done a fair bit of experimentation and it keeps the franchise from getting stale. If it doesn't work, bring back what did work for the next pair of games. Nothing is irreversible when you have such a solid foundation.

 

[colours]

I dunno. I can't say I'm too enthused because I'm not really a Pokemon GO player, but at the same time I don't... personally care too much, either. As long as wild battles themselves are mostly the same, that's all I care about.

 

[ElBurrito]

The extent that I'm fine with GO mechanics making their way to SwSh is the throwing of the pokeball. Personally I love the idea of actually putting some effort into throwing the ball at the pokemon as opposed to just clicking a button and the machine does everything else for you. Going through the extra motions of manually aiming your throw at least slightly increases immersion. The addition of being able to use the switch controller to move your arm as if you were actually throwing a pokeball is a nice touch too.

However if the new games end up being like Let's Go, then I won't be too happy. I'm fine with all those mechanics staying in those games, as they are technically side-games, but I don't want all of those new changes to make their way into the main series. I know a lot of people complain about constant grinding for exp, but personally I feel like that's where trainers typically bond with their pokemon the most. Plus I don't want to have to flood my pc boxes with Rattata just so I can level up my team. Grinding pokemon into candy gets tiring after awhile.

 

[Eldegoss]

I don't think there has really been any evidence to suggest that any PoGo mechanics are making it into Sword & Shield.

Hopefully it stays that way, too. I really don't want to have to use any PoGo mechanics.

 

[bobandbill]

We'll find out about the catching mechanics, I imagine, this week. Sword and Shield will have playable demos at E3, and I'd be surprised if it didn't allow people to catch stuff in it.