I'll admit it: I bought that game solely to get that lovely fluffy Gigantamax
Eevee in Sword&Shield. I certainly didn't expect to enjoy it one bit
— let alone to absolutely adore it. That game blew away all my negative
preconceptions in the sweetest way, and I'm more than happy to eat humble pie.
Also: from now on, I vow to never again take part in heated internet
debates about yet unreleased games, be said debates positive or negative.
Unlike Yellow, which didn't allow Pikachu to shine as a starter, LGE
is the perfect vehicle for Eevee. In true Yellow fashion, that
brand-new starter version of Eevee cannot evolve; but that small annoyance is
more than compensated by the existence of eight amazing Partner Moves with a BP
of 90 — one for each of the types Eevee can evolve into. Not only that, but
Eevee's stats were boosted especially for LGE, with a base stat total of
435 instead of 325. All in all, Partner Eevee so is ridiculously overpowered
that I really wonder why Let's Go Pikachu is the most popular half of
the pair. Of course, I'm being purely rhetorical here, because I know why just
as well as the next Pokefan; but gosh, players should really give Let's Go
Eevee a try and revel in the sheer badassness of little Eevee. Cherry on
the cake, Partner Eevee is absurdly adorable, with its cute little cries and
lovely fur a shade lighter than regular Eevee's.
Of course, I cannot help but mention 'Mon catching — i.e. the feature that
revolted me before the game's release — and eat yet another giant slice of that
humble pie by admitting that it's much, much funnier than I expected it
to be. After fumbling in the early stages, I found my catching groove and was
soon trapped in the most delicious grinding and farming trance, sending my
freshest catch to Professor Oak and reaping Candies like it was going out of
fashion. I swear, my little Eeveeta gobbled so much Candies that she was
probably diabetic by the end of my run! I really dig the clarity of that new
system, which I'd dub 'EV Training for Pokénoobs'. I routinely manage to max up
my One and Onlies' EV in my runs; however, I always do so in the blindest way,
just punching every creature that crosses my path into oblivion. This time
around, I was able to see exactly which Mons were tied to which stats through
the obtention of Candies; and I shamelessly used that knowledge to patch up
Eeveeta's weaknesses during the early stages.
This was a perfectly wholesome game, full of lovely details and moments — from Pokemon
private jokes for the faithful to Eevee itself, which is the cutest and
dinkiest thing this side of Skitty. LGE offers the best quality of life
improvements while still boasting a very retro, 8-bit quality that I totally
didn't expect to find. I got flashbacks of my Game Boy days all through my run,
which was the most wondrous and unexpected thing ever — heck, even the GBA
remakes didn't make me feel that way! I really got that sweet, vibrant feeling
of discovery, which was part and parcel of my first videogaming
experiences yet got fainter and fainter over the years. As far as I was
concerned, Gen VIII Kanto might as well be a new region — because that's how
roaming it made me feel.
For the first time in years, I kinda didn't want my run to end when I was
inducted into the Hall of Fame. Yup: I love that game indeed, more than I ever
though I would — which begs the logical question: should I also buy Let's go
Pikachu? Somehow, I don't really want to — more like really don't want
to. Not only do I prefer the Let's Go Eevee version exclusives, but
I don't even need a second copy for trading purposes given that breeding is
absent from Let's Go. Also, I don't quite fancy Pikachu enough to want
to cruise with him yet again in Kanto. Let's just stick to little Eevee, shall
we? See you soon for more Let's Go goodness, dear fellow gamers!
Kumiko22 February 2020 at 23:13
It's a really
lovely game isn't? I was so, so hateful towards this game, there's proof on
your blog, but my darn, did I eat my own words.
The graphics are charming, and the 3D overall makes Kanto feel fresh. The
catching is actually pretty fun, still a bit sore on the motion controls,
though that's mostly because my switch suffers from drifting, so I have to play
this game with the joycon controls. It's not actually bad, just makes my arm
tired. But the experience you get from catching makes it all worth it, and the
combo chains are so fun this game actually made me do something I've never done
before: catch all pokemon available.
I know! For the 20 years I've played this franchise, the Gotta cath'em all
thing never got to me. But with this game, the way you could catch rarer
pokemon by combo chaining, and how that made leveling up pokemon easy as well,
coupled with how the portable PC allowed you to switch pokemon on the field,
and it all actually got me to get all pokemon, finally.
And your partner pokemon is sooooo cute. Really made me feel a connection to
it. And the following/riding pokemon were so cute as well! It was though to
pick a team out of all the choices I add, since I had well, all of them. And
all pokemon had their own charm.
HMs being gone and how early you can catch a lot of pokemon makes this game
ideal for solo runs, even if nuzlockes are a little iffy now. But ah well,
can't play nuzlockes all the time, variety is the spice of life.
This is the kind of stuff Pokemon should focus on. Ditch the stupid tutorials,
and leave story telling to Digimon Story and actual mon raising to Digimon
World. Focus on making a bond with the pokemon as easy as possible, make
catching them fun, and make the world fun and open to explore as well. Leave
the stupid gimmicks behind and improve on what makes pokemon unique and fun.
And then don't remove it in the next game!!! (still sour over following pokemon
being removed AGAIN.)
I'd say, don't get Pikachu though. He gets his time to shine ALL the time, whereas
Eevee has been kinda forgotten now that most spin offs are dead. Especially
since you can't even evolve it to its cuter form, Raichu.
Isleif25 February 2020 at 19:06
I could totally
have written most of you said myself. In fact, I'll probably do just that in my
next post about Let's Go Eevee! :P
"This game actually made me do something I've never done before: catch all
pokemon available": This. So much this! As I played, I found myself
thinking, for the first time EVER, that catching all regional Mons was a doable
challenge and not an impossible ordeal. Not sure I'll actually do it; but at
least, it feels within my reach now.
Geddy24 February 2020 at 18:05
Glad you had a
good time with this one, Isleif! I grabbed LG:P on release date and got bored a
few hours in, due to simply spending too much time in the Kanto region. The one
huge improvement in my eyes was the catching mechanic but I tired too of that.
THAT BEING SAID - I gave it about an 8 month break and upon my return (I had
logged maybe 10 hours or so before the break), I went through it and wrapped it
up. I have to say, it totally reversed my opinion of the game. I think at this
point I'm just over Pokemon games as they don't hold my attention well, but
overall the Let's Go games were terrific remakes in my opinion, and they were
so darn nostalgic to play.
It truly was revisiting my childhood in HD, on the big screen. A surreal experience for sure!
Isleif25 February 2020 at 19:16
Nice to see you
here again, Geddy! :) I can relate to the "revisiting my childhood in
HD" thing: even though I didn't play the original Red&Blue myself back
in the days, I was bombarded with Game Boy reminiscences as I played Let's Go
Eevee — and it was quite surreal indeed.
Let's be honest, this game was probably the biggest turnaround in my whole
gaming career. A complete "went looking for copper and found gold"
case indeed; and I was more than glad to be totally, blissfully wrong about
Let's Go Eevee ^^
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