Today’s Pokémon Presents brought us the announcement trailer for Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, the first game of the series’ tenth generation.
It’s fair to say that Game Freak hasn’t been at its best in the Nintendo Switch era. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, in particular, were harshly criticised for their abysmal performance. It’s clear the studio struggled to adapt to the console and failed to strike an appropriate balance between performance and visuals.
However, the Nintendo Switch 2 is much more powerful than its predecessor. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet don’t look any better on the Switch 2, but they do run significantly better, which could be a promising sign.
The First Good-Looking Pokémon Switch Game?
It’s difficult to tell from a single trailer, but Pokémon Winds and Waves don’t look dissimilar from Scarlet and Violet, especially in relation to the character and Pokémon models. However, one area that does look noticeably better is the environments. This was expressed in a recent Reddit thread by _AntiSocialMedia, who expressed “cautious optimism” about the visuals.
In particular, the waves lapping against the side of the islands look crisp. The volcanic cave, too, has lighting that bounces off the Pokémon. It’s not something we’re used to seeing in Pokémon, which has been hampered by inferior hardware since its inception.
That being said, there are good-looking games on the original Switch, so Game Freak can’t wholly blame the console for the disaster that was Scarlet and Violet.
It’s a great boon for Game Freak that Nintendo doesn’t want Winds and Waves developed for the original Switch, as the compromises needed to make that happen would be a massive step backwards for the series.
“They’ve done it. After 10 years, they’ve managed to make a full 3D game that’s not painful to look at,” writes SpaceShipRat.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A also attracted a fair amount of criticism for flat, dull backgrounds. Once again, Legends: Z-A was available on the Nintendo Switch, which is a platform that Game Freak never seemed able to master.
There’s still criticism; plenty of commenters are unhappy that Game Freak still refuses to pursue an interesting art style. There’s no asymmetry or interesting structures, but Pokémon has never had particularly diverse environments and expecting the series to change after three decades of success is wishful thinking.
Pokémon Winds and Waves will release exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027.
Pokémon Winds and Waves
- Released
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2027
- Publisher(s)
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The Pokemon Company, Nintendo
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Number of Players
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Single-player
