Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack

Genre: Compilation / Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG

Players: 1-4 Co-Op / Competitive (Local Wireless, Online)

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Review:

Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack is a compilation containing the two named titles, each one basically being the exact same game with only minor differences.

Here is what I thought of these games… which is similarly exactly the same with only minor differences:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
Pokemon Sword	Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG	1-4 Co-Op / Competitive (Local Wireless, Online)	B-
tl;dr Pokemon Sword (like Pokemon Shield), the series’ first mainline entry on a console, is a solid Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG in much the same way previous entries in the series were solid Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPGs. However, the lack of significant new features or improvements and the removal of some beloved series features make this game a massive disappointment, even if the core game still remains… well, solid.
Pokemon Shield	Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG	1-4 Co-Op / Competitive (Local Wireless, Online)	B-
tl;dr Pokemon Shield (like Pokemon Sword), the series’ first mainline entry on a console, is a solid Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG in much the same way previous entries in the series were solid Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPGs. However, the lack of significant new features or improvements and the removal of some beloved series features make this game a massive disappointment, even if the core game still remains… well, solid.

Sometimes I wonder why a bundle even exists, but even more so this time around. Anyone who is familiar with the Pokemon franchise should realize by now that there is very little to differentiate the two included games – each one has a slightly-different roster of included Pokemon monsters, as well as some differences in the gym leaders you’ll face, but these differences are minimal, and largely present so players have more of a reason to trade with each other to get a full collection.

Unless you have two Nintendo Switch consoles and want to play through this game twice, this game has nothing to offer you as a single player. If you have a second player in your household with their own Nintendo Switch… the value of this bundle is still suspect, as it costs a penny more than just buying the two included games separately. The value in this package is particularly questionable in the digital version, where you can’t even split up the cartridges and give them to different people. Who is this package for? I suppose it’s for collectors who will snatch up any Pokemon game or bundle regardless of its actual value and cost.

At that point, it’s hardly even worth it for me to talk about the included games themselves. However, for those wondering, this entry in the mainline Pokemon franchise is fine… at least in the same way that every mainline Pokemon game is fine. However, like the rest of the franchise, while the core gameplay still shines through, this game is archaic in its design because it is still doggedly tied to that series past… yet it also turns its back on valued elements of the series’ past, namely the National Dex and with it a portion of the beloved Pokemon creatures, meaning that this is the first time in the series’ history that your favorite Pokemon may not be present. This omission may be more meaningful to some players than others, but it means there’s even less excuse for the game’s more archaic elements to still be present when it has ditched these beloved elements.

However, love it or hate it, there’s still no denying that this compilation of two nearly-identical games is largely pointless. If you’re getting the pair of games for two people, just buy them separately and save yourself a penny. If you want to get both games for yourself for some reason… just buy both games separately. But while both Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are still solid Monster Collecting JRPGs despite their flaws, there’s very little reason I can think of to buy Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack.

tl;dr – Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack is a Bundle containing the two named Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPGs without any sort of discount (in fact, it’s a penny more than buying them separately). Both games are virtually identical, the game in question being simultaneously a solid and enjoyable entry in the genre… and a massive disappointment that strips out features just as much as it adds them. However, there is very little reason to buy this game twice unless you’re getting the game for two different players… in which case just buy two separate copies rather than this pointless bundle.

Grade: C-

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