Today is effectively the last day of Pokémon Sword and Shield and Gen 8. Over the last few days, I’ve been looking back at all the Japanese commercials I could find for each main series game and I’m ending that run-up with Sword and Shield. The commercial itself is the most boombastic to date thanks to Dynamax, the game’s main gimmick. And, more importantly, we’re getting the child actors back (albeit briefly at the beginning)! The rest is gameplay and EXPLOSIONS!
As for my takes on the game: I loved them and I’ve spoken about them previously, as has Wolfe Glick and many others. Sword and Shield were a lot more polarising than I expected but the community generally likes to complain and be awful so it stands to reason (let me not digress). I’ll miss it as a main series but I’m excited for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and may or may not be playing it by the time you read this. So long, Zacian and co. I will miss some of you but definitely not the wolf with the sword in its mouth.