The Pokemon Sword & Shield controversies that have plagued the games' release dulled fan excitement quite a bit, and while Nintendo and developer Game Freak certainly had a role to play in the proceedings, a lot of it comes down to the series' fans and their expectations for what a mainline Pokemon game should look like. Pokemon Sword & Shield coming to Nintendo Switch marked a major step for the series, its first mainline console entry, and the initial interpretation from fans was that this would mean a major step-up in the franchise's presentation and depth.
Since that initial announcement, fans have become increasingly antagonistic towards Game Freak as a result of the developer's decisions in designing Pokemon Sword & Shield. That discontent boiled to the surface in the week leading up to Sword & Shield's release, which saw fans attempt to petition the President of the United States to have the game pulled from shelves, while still others got a vitriolic hashtag trending online that contained a lot of problematic sentiment. To be clear, Pokemon fans certainly had a right to be upset about Sword & Shield - the game makes some questionable decisions and that frustration is totally valid. However, the Pokemon Sword & Shield controversies too often spilled into direct attacks on game developers or companies, which created a more toxic environment than was necessary.
Still, from a historical standpoint, the Pokemon Sword & Shield controversies will mark the first time the franchise divided its fanbase quite so heavily, and it's worth examining for those looking to learn about the mistakes both sides made. Although there were plenty more minor events that fueled the lead up to the newest generation's release, here's a breakdown of the major Pokemon Sword & Shield controversies and how they occurred:
No National Dex in Pokemon Sword & Shield
This was the Pokemon Sword & Shield controversy that started it all. Junichi Masuda, the game director of Game Freak and Pokemon Sword & Shield, announced during E3 2019 that the upcoming games would not feature all Pokemon from the series. Instead, there would be a limited number, and it would only be possible to encounter the Pokemon from the Galar Region for the entirety of the narrative and post-game. Masuda suggested that the reason for this was that the constantly swelling numbers of Pokemon that belonged to the franchise as a whole, which were more difficult to include in their entirety with each passing generation.
Fans were extremely upset. They felt that there was an unspoken promise between them and Game Freak to keep porting past generations of Pokemon into the new games, largely because a lot of dedicated fans have had the same Pokemon follow them through games across several generations - creatures they grew up with, in a sense. Furthermore, fans felt that the removal of the National Dex was antithetical to the Pokemon series as a whole, which had always asked players to "catch 'em all."
Still, Game Freak stood by its decision, even during some difficult backlash from fans. Masuda doubled down on the decision in an interview, then did so again later, suggesting that the National Dex being removed would make way for new features for Pokemon Sword & Shield and the games that follow it. Unfortunately, fans latched on to that idea in a negative way, leading to the next controversy.
Pokemon Sword & Shield Cuts A Lot Of Features
While Pokemon Sword & Shield adds some nice features for competitive play, fans were more upset with the fact that it was cutting several past features for what seemed to be no reason. Mega Evolutions, introduced during Pokemon X & Y, changed competitive Pokemon battling forever, helping resurrect the viability of some classic creatures like Kangaskhan. Z-Moves, which were introduced during Pokemon Sun & Moon, were over-the-top battle options that resulted in cool cutscenes and were even unique to certain Pokemon (like Eevee). Unfortunately for fans of both of these features, Masuda announced that they would not be returning in Pokemon Sword & Shield.
This was also announced during E3 2019, but it took time for fan resentment to build up on it. Leading up to Pokemon Sword & Shield's release, fans began discovering that more elements had been cut, culminating in the realization that Pokemon Sword & Shield moves didn't include all of the ones from the past. It was a messy situation, and lead to what was perhaps the most intense Pokemon Sword & Shield controversy of all of them...
The #GameFreakLied Pokemon Sword & Shield Social Media Trend
When new videos and rumors regarding Pokemon Sword & Shield began surfacing in the final weeks leading up to its release, fans felt like Game Freak had outright lied to them about the development of the game. When Game Freak first announced that the National Dex would not be returning, the company had promised to improve animations as a result, since the company would have more time to devote to each Pokemon with their numbers cut dramatically. Users began complaining in the last few weeks that Game Freak built upon previous models from Pokemon Sun & Moon, however, rather than remaking the models from scratch. While the models still looked marginally improved, fans felt that Game Freak had been dishonest despite the fact that animators reusing models and assets is a very common practice in the industry.
Fans also criticized leaked cutscenes and clips, suggesting that the graphical quality was poor and that whatever was expected from the game's arrival on Nintendo Switch wasn't being delivered upon. To counteract the negativity surrounding that hashtag, fans who were less emotional about the perceived dishonesty created a #ThankYouGameFreak hashtag as well, which resulted in dueling discourses for the rest of the build-up to Pokemon Sword & Shield's launch.
Did The Pokemon Sword & Shield Controversies Hurt The Game's Reception?
While the initial answer seemed like an unavoidable "yes," reviews from major gaming outlets told a different story. Pokemon Sword & Shield controversies may have made the lead up to the newest generation's release a more emotional and negative affair than is typical for the franchise, but it seems to have done very little to its critical reception. As of this writing, Pokemon Sword & Shield reviews place the game at a solid 81 Metacritic score, which places it right in line with how previous games have tended to perform. Critics have suggested that there is a lot to like about the game, and it seems that whatever flaws are present are made up for by Game Freak's continued ability to create a captivating Pokemon experience.
With that said, though, the Pokemon Sword & Shield controversies were some of 2019's hottest debates in the industry, and it's possible that even a slight announcement from Game Freak rekindles them if the Pokemon playerbase takes it the wrong way. It's a situation that merits continued monitoring, and will give Pokemon fans and developers a lot to think about heading into the next project from Game Freak.