Pokemon ScarletandPokemon Violethave not been doing well in the reviews. For a time, they were in the green rankings still in Metacritic. The games have now dipped into the yellow, with the aggregates falling in the lower 70s. Right now,Pokemon Legends: Arceusis sitting at an 83, which is not that much higher but is still better technically.
RELATED:Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Beginner Tips & Tricks
Are the numbers correct in assessing thatPokemon Legends: Arceusis clearly the bestPokemongame in this series for 2022? Let’s go through the biggest assets of that game along with the things that makePokemon ScarletandPokemon Violetgood to find out the true rankings. Nothing will be spoiled about the story if one is worried about that.
8Catching Pokemon: Arceus
Forever, fans have dreamed about catching Pokemon in the wild rather than relying on random battles in the grass.Pokemon Legends: Arceuschanged all this in a big way; not only doing away with random battles but catching Pokemon was simpler. Players could run up to a Pokemon, throw a Pokeball, and that was it.
Tougher Pokemon needed to be weakened, but it was still a big breakthrough, more so than previous entries that tried similar mechanics.Pokemon ScarletandPokemon Violetbackpedaled on the catching mechanics, but at least random battles are still gone.
7The Battles: Scarlet/Violet
Pokemon Legends: Arceusallows players to catch Pokemon easier, butPokemon ScarletandPokemon Violetstreamlined combat. Getting in and out of battle is faster than ever. Plus, the games added a long overdue autobattle mechanic, although not in the way most players expected.
Players can throw out their first Pokemon,let’s say Quaxly, for example, and Quaxly will randomly target wild Pokemon. It’ll earn experience for everyone on the team, albeit at lower rewards, but it is still something worth praising.
6The Story: Arceus
Pokemon Legends: Arceushad an interesting idea for a plot involving a Pokemon Trainer from the present being pulled into the past. The developers could have set this game up as a title taking place in a bygone era, but they added that time travel later on top of it.
RELATED:The Best And Worst Things About Pokemon Scarlet And Violet
There’s not much of a story beyond this premise, but that is more engaging than anything going on inPokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet. There are some fun moments in these games especially involving anythingwith Team Star, but it’s not enough. The stories have never been a large focus for these games, butPokemon Legends: Arceusis just a tad more engaging.
5The World: Scarlet/Violet
While the past setting ofPokemon Legends: Arceusis cool, there are drawbacks to the design. The environments are varied, but players have to warp to different sectors. It’s not a big open map, unlikePokemon ScarletandPokemon Violet.
Plus, these two new games have the fun gimmicks of using the boxed Legendary Pokemon as ways to get around this region.Koraidon and Miraidoncan learn new powers such as the ability to fly or climb mountains. The quest system for the giant world is also better in that it gives players more reasons to explore.
4Pokeballs: Arceus
Catching Pokemon inPokemon Legends: Arceusis easier, besides the ability to not have to battle. The game introduced a crafting system wherein players could craft their own Pokeballs without having to rely on buying them.
Buying Pokeballs is one of the more annoying aspects of this series as it’s counteractive to the motto “Gotta Catch ‘em All!” How can players catch every Pokemon when money is so hard to come by in games likePokemon ScarletandPokemon Violet?Pokemon Legends: Arceussolved this issuewith the Pokeballs, and the new games backtracked on this aspect of crafting.
3Team Star: Scarlet/Violet
There is a great mini-game introduced inPokemon ScarletandPokemon Violetthat acts like a tower defense game. The Team Rocket of this universe, Team Star, has compounds all over the region. Players must take them down by defeating Team Star Trainers in the field with three Pokemon autobattling before thebig boss of the compoundcomes out.
RELATED:Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Best Natures for Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly
Then things switch over to a Gym Battle of sorts, with some of the toughest fights in the games.Pokemon Legends: Arceusdoesn’t have this mode or the ability to autobattle, as was already stated. Hopefully, this idea gets used again in future games in this series.
2Technical Specs: Arceus
Pokemon Legends: Arceusis not without its graphical and technical issues. The environments do have some texture pop-ins, and the quality isn’t that far beyond a PS2 at times.
However, patches have made it look and run smoother over time on the Switch. There was also nothing about the experience that caused crashes or glitches, unlikePokemon ScarletandPokemon Violet. Some of theseglitches are humorous, but there is nothing funny about data getting erased. One thing is for sure, Nintendo and Game Freak need to rethink their open-world environments.
1Verdict: Arceus
Going through every aspect of games in these versus matches can sometimes produce surprising results. Numbers do not always solve everything. However, this time the numbers don’t lie, as it is obvious from feedback and reviews that most fans and critics preferPokemon Legends: Arceus. It’s not just the glitches in the new games, either.
Perhaps, with time, thedevelopers could fixthese games up it up to be more presentable entries in the series. They are not on the broken scale akin to whenCyberpunk 2077launched, but they are close.
Pokemon ScarletandPokemon Violetwere released on Jun 02, 2025, and are available on Switch.
MORE:Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: How to Find 7 Trainers in Area Three of East Province
