Meet the New Pokémon, Same as the Old Pokémon | Shining Pearl

Welcome to Save File, a series of videos where I share my thoughts about the games I play.
I'd never played Pearl before but found the experience pretty similar to the other Pokémon games (Blue, Crystal, and X) I've played.
Let me know what you think about the video!
#pokemon #nintendo #review #gaming

[@BalthorYT]

Hey Vinnie, found you through the Mega64 vid and have now become your 100th sub - I'm surprised you don't have more, honestly. Love your relaxed, candid and low-intensity style, it's very charming and genuine, and feels refreshing compared to most modern creators.
Your look at Shining Pearl has made me put into perspective a game I've been playing that hits very similar notes to those of Pokemon games; Sand Land, the recently released Action RPG based on Toriyama's work. It's frankly far better than I expected it to be, and surprisingly reminiscent of Pokemon in things like its gameplay progression & how it ties to world interaction/exploration, the kind of characters and story it tells and how it weaves more serious and somber tones into the more light-hearted and approachable main plot, the underlying visual aesthetic in its world and various inhabitants, etc, etc. It was surprising to see the game - and thus, to an extent, Toriyama - tackle underlying themes of xenophobia and class/social struggle in more depth and earnestness than prior works, even if it's not head-on, and the first story arc (haven't finished the rest yet) was a predictable but fun and well-executed adventure. The core gameplay, which mainly revolves around ARPG vehicular combat, unfolds into a surprising amount of depth, variety and fun - complemented by the exploration and fairly light resource-gathering. There's some secondary gameplay slices like stealth that are a bit more tacked-on, but most of it is largely optional or up to your choice - for example, you could engage a lot of enemies on foot rather than with a vehicle, if you really enjoyed the more beat-em-up type combat and didn't mind spending more time (and taking more risks) with a fight. Beyond a few more flaws, it really is quite great; challenge-wise it was a bit too easy even on Hard sometimes, but things are picking up now (and difficulty can be changed anytime AFAIK so the inverse shouldn't be a problem).
If it's piqued your interest, I heartily recommend it: it's a different approach to the standard RPG fare, but still rooted in the same underlying tenets that you seem to enjoy. One last recommendation - pick the Japanese VO: less so because of the 'subs vs dubs' diatribe, more so just to make the companion conversations less grating once they start to repeat themselves for the zone you're in (not understanding what they say somehow makes it better for me hahaha).
Cheers :)

[@savefilevinnie]

Thank you for the thoughtful feedback! I really appreciate it.
Your description of Sand Land definitely piqued my interest. I’ll add it to my list of RPGs to play. It’s funny, I just watched the first episode of the Sand Land anime last week.

[@BalthorYT]

@@savefilevinnie Yeah same, I heard about the anime from a friend so when I saw the game I initially dismissed it as one of those 'decent-at-best tie-in games' that often spawn off of popular animes - I'm glad I ended up giving it a more thorough look at and played it.
Glad you appreciate the feedback, I hope you keep at this as long as it makes you happy - I've always regretted not taking that step myself and filming more video-essay type stuff when I had the time, and now who knows when I will hahaha

[@gamesgonenuts]

this was not the best Pokemon game to get back into the series loved the video left a like

[@savefilevinnie]

Thanks!

[@jongarrish7834]

Try legends arceus! It way to fun

[@savefilevinnie]

It looks way different than what I expected! I may have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@strategygamelover10nathanh34]

oh no he pick the worst game they ever made to get back in oww its one laziest game they ever made as it faith remake meaning they added nothing to it do your self a favor put in the bin and get Pokemon legends that game almost a master pieces that give endless hours of fun its changes the Pokemon formula massively its open word stealth game and one hard game they ever made.