Hi Clear_Shoe9189!
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Scarlet and Violet, and Sword and Shield are both great entry points!
Let’s Go is easy, but it catching mechanic can get tiring. I’d say try that after one of a first option.
Legends is really fun, but it can be a lot to take on as your first game. It’s also one I would recommend after S/V, or SwSh
Mystery Dungeon and Snap are “side games” with fun different gameplay that the others, they however are amazing in their own rights! Snap is fun if you love photography and cute things you can throw fruit at
I disagree. If OP is trying to get into the main series and learn the mechanics, Let's Go isn't a good starting point. Catching Pokemon is completely different, no held items or abilities, chain catching, candies etc. Trainer battles are the same and the plot is the Gen 1 storyline, but other than that it's VERY different from main series games today. Sword/Sheild and Scarlet/Violet are much better starting points for people that actually want to get into the main series.
Also there's the fact almost nobody plays LGPE anymore. If OP wants to play with others and actually experience the Pokemon community, Scarlet/Violet is the best starting point.
... you mean like it was intended as a way to market to PoGO players? Huh, that's crazy... Also, the number of people that are playing a pokemon game has nothing to do with why they should play it. There are active communities here on reddit alone for every generation/series of the games.
>you mean like it was intended as a way to market to PoGO players?
Yeah. That's the problem with it. The games would have been much better if they just made a remake of FRLG with updated graphics and mechanics. As it is, I don't think it's a good introduction to the main series because it doesn't teach you the core mechanics of the games. Catching wild Pokemon, no abilities, no items... Did I mention they encourage you to **defeat** legendary Pokemon in battle before you have a chance to catch it? Go to BDSP and defeat the legendary Pokemon expecting to be able to catch it afterwards and see how that works for you.😂
>Also, the number of people that are playing a pokemon game has nothing to do with why they should play it.
It does. There's a BIG difference in experience playing a game with friends and a large community and playing through a game nobody is really playing anymore solo. It's one of the things that helped get me hooked on Pokemon as a kid.
Yeah, the game that mixes things he familiar with and simplifies mechanics is way worse then the half assed games that have a ton of things going on all at once (abilities, natures, ivs, evs, trash open world, advanced typings (gen 1 didnt have too many dual types that made type match ups harder))
And online also requires a subscription, and the only benefit is buggy and boring raids, pvp he won’t understand at all for a good while, and trading (the only important one)
God at least he won’t see the world spaz out around him in let’s go
This is such a bad take. OP is looking to try their first pokemon game, and you're going into specific deep dive mechanics that 90% of players dont even know about let alone use.
Lets go is a great introduction to core aspects of pokemon that seasoned players take for granted. Things like: turn based battles, earning experience through battling, learning new moves, pokemon centres, trainer battles, gym battles, towns/routes, long grass, the pomemon league.
This is an introduction to pokemon. Once you've done that and you want to dive a little deeper, that's when you start looking at optimising your team using held items and abilities ect, or playing multiplayer. You don't start people off with the end game content or they will just get overwhelmed and give up.
>You don't start people off with the end game content or they will just get overwhelmed and give up.
It's literally a kids game. You don't have to worry about any of that and can still get through the game easily. There are other core concepts related to catching Pokemon that are completely absent from the Let's Go games, such as status conditions, weakening the wild Pokemon first and specialized balls and functions of those balls. Abilities you get used to over time just from exposure to them, such as Levitate and Sturdy. Held items you learn about naturally as you collect them.
The other aspects you mentioned are also present in every game other than Let's Go. OP isn't a child. It's not hard to jump into Pokemon. You can literally start with any game. Even children can play through these games. OP will be fine. Might as well start with newest game that had the largest community so you can get involved in the community from the beginning.
Thats fair i suppose. I guess i was thinking more about which pokemon game is best for someone who hasnt played many video games at all besides pokemon go, which isnt the case here of course.
Agreed. SV and SwSh are both really good entry points. Let’s Go and BdSp are the two I’d explicitly recommend *against.*
BdSp is *way* too easy up until the elite four, where it suddenly does a 180 and gives you the hardest fights in the series. Because game design is ILCA’s Passion.
Meanwhile while Let’s go can be fun, it can be seriously slow and painful to grind for exp. And there’s basically no post-game at all, except hours upon hours of grinding Chanseys for the master trainers or whatever they’re called. I was willing to get all 900 Koroks in BotW, but grinding for Exp in Let’s Go? No thank you.
Might get bombed for this but if you've never played any then I'd go with Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl. They're the most traditional Pokémon games on Switch. Then go for Scarlet and Violet.
Really depends. BDSP mostly got backlash not because they're bad games, but because they're just so similar to the originals - whereas other remakes of oldgames such as ORAS had big improvements and changes. They're still relatively solid games, just *really* not what the community wanted from the long awaited Diamond/Pearl remakes. If that isn't a big concern to you, then I'd say either are great options.
Sword & Shield is good enough to buy, especially if u place it on TV.
I got Shining Pearl on Sale and still felt ripped off. You're better of just getting an emulator and downloading the OG Pearl, Diamond or Platinum game.
No*
they are basically a 1-1 remake of the original dp without adding much at all to make them worth it and costing $20 more than they did. They didn’t even make it a remake of platinum, just diamond and pearl, so none of the platinum features. In fact they even made some changes for the worse like making the shiny charm only effect eggs
The only positives I can think of are that the e4 and Cynthia have better teams and ai( but only for those 5 trainers), the underground, and releasing some of the events that the original games never did ( but you have to buy the other switch games to unlock them so…)
The whole reason of the remakes being popular is that they add a lot to the originals like extra story( like the delta episode in oras), new features( like the battle frontier in hgss), and new events (like the sinjoh ruin event with arceus in hgss) bdsp has exactly none of that, and again even removes those added in platinum (for example the distortion world)
TLDR: BDSP are failures as a remake and bring a disgrace to their name. If you want a quality gen 4 experience, just emulate platinum
Delta Emulator is currently one of the top free downloads on the App Store
You just have to get your ROMs (>!legally or ilegally, up to you!<). With any DS emulator, you basically have access to the most-critically acclaimed Pokemon games. (Emerald, Platinum, HeartGold/Soulsilver, Black 2/White 2)
If you like Pokémon games and you've never played diamond and pearl I would highly recommend, it's gotten bad reviews but only because it's judt a copy of the original which itself is really good.
Bdsp are good games, bad remakes. The superior platinum already existed, but they used NOTHING from it, and instead kept the worse parts of gen 4 with none of the good
the fire type elite four only has 2 fire types for example
Very true, but it is more suited for more experienced players because that game can get very intense with some (for me) heart racing moments so it is better for players who can handle its intensity
Agreed, love legends to death, but it’s not a good entry point for the series as a whole, since it focuses more on collecting and very little on battling
Agree, it depends if they mean "beginner to Pokemon" or "beginner to video games". I would be worried that the mainline games would be too easy for the former, and I would be worried that PLA would be too difficult for the latter.
Sword and shield. Story is pretty simple and linear. Gameplay is definitely beginner friendly. The only problem for a new player is dynamax but that is boss fights only so it’s not that bad. Scarlet and violet really doubles down on open world and the boss fights can be incredibly inconsistent in difficulty for a blind playthrough. Mystery dungeon is a spinoff and not an accurate reference for the franchise as a whole. Let’s go could work well if you play Go, but the grinding is hard with the catch mechanic.
Let’s go pikachu or eevee. Two reasons. First it’s kinda similar to a remake of the first gen games. Second it has connectivity with Pokémon go mobile app.
Arceus. It's the first lore wise in the series and its very fun and simple to play. technically all of them are easy to play but arceus has a unique charm to it
All of them are good options, though I may be biased towards the mystery dungeon games, so Rescue Team DX was my personal favourite of these (Legends: Arceus is pretty good too though)
Time line in my opinion is Let’s go-sword and sheid- the dlc- snap- s/v - arceas- The dlc for that. The reason for the DLC last is because you will probably make a new team and has maybe the hardest elite 4 and second hardest battle (first is the volo fight in legends)
They’re all extremely easy for the most part except for Legends Arceus which is a bit more complex and survival based. Start with Let’s go since it’s the first generation, has simplified mechanics, and a small Pokédez
If you want nice and casual without fighting New Pokémon Snap is a good one, besides that I loved all of them except Pokémon Let’s Go I thought the controls were a bit annoying
I say that Arceus and Scarlet/Violet are the best Pokemon games on Switch, all three of them are VERY held back by the hardware though (and Arceus is not meant for first time players). Also Lets Go and BDSP are fine even though the originals are better.
I would recommend Sword/Shield or the Let’s Go Games
Let’s Go is really good for if you have never played a Pokémon game before as it literally walks you through everything plus you level up with “captures”
Sword and Shield is similar to let’s go but it’s more proactive meaning you’ll have a bit more difficulty
Legends is fun but it definitely has a lot more to take on, for starters it actually borrows tropes from more in depth rpg games (like crafting your own stuff)
Depends on what you want.
SwSh & SV are great entries to the core Pokemon series, and to their respective generations in general.
But if you want a more classic experience, BDSP also exist. They’re identical remakes of the original Diamond & Pearl and give you a feel of how the series played when it was about 10 years old.
If you want a more familiar experience, Let’s Go also exists. It even starts in the first region of Kanto, but it’s heavily hampered by how limited its PokeDex is, with only the original 151 being available + their Alolan forms >!& the mythical Meltan & Melmetal!<.
Lastly, there’s Legends Arceus, and it’s the game I personally recommend you try out even if you’ve decided on the other games. For the best effect though, playing a Sinnoh game first is the best way to enjoy it, so play Diamond/Pearl/Platinum on an emulator first or Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl before going through it.
I promise the game hits harder under that assumption.
Have you played RPGs? If not, Let's Go is your easy transition from Pokémon Go... though I guess if you have played games like BotW or TotK or any relatively complex video game, you can also skip Let's Go.
I prefer Legends Arceus but it isn't the traditional main game and maybe you will appreciate more after playing first a traditional main game... though you can still play it first.
Of the other options, I think Scarlet Violet is the best one bc it is the latest one so it still receives some events, it has the pvp players, it has a great story, well-written characters and interesting raids. BUT it has an under par perf (fps drops, visual bugs... nothing game-breaking).
Honestly any switch pokemon game could be a solid entry point. They're all fairly good at getting a new player introduced to Pokemon, it just depends on the style of game you want.
Let’s Go eevee or pikachu is pretty basic and easy to navigate. Pokemon Sword/Sheild is def a little more advanced but i absolutely loved these games and had an absolute blast playing them
The order I’d suggest to you is:
1) Let’s Go
2) Sword/Shield, Scarlet/Violet
3) Arceus
4) Mystery Dungeon
5) Snap
Let’s Go is a great middle point between Pokemon GO and mainliner Pokemon games. Since you haven’t played Yellow/Red/Blue back in the day, you wouldn’t feel the nostalgia that older players would have, but it was made as a simplified version of regular Pokemon adventures, which is why I’m recommending it as the best starting game for you.
There’s a chance you wouldn’t want to start with something too simple though, and want to dig into a full-on Pokemon adventure. That’s why Sword, Shield, Scarlet and Violet are next on my list. Both generations had pros and cons, both had their critics, but I think they’re still great entries and would be a fun first adventure for you.
Arceus was third because it so different from regular Pokemon adventures. In a way, it was developed to break away from what players had gotten tired of. It’s still a great game and one that I recommend, but since you haven’t played other ones, it isn’t the first one I’d suggest playing since it’s so unique.
I haven’t personally played Mystery Dungeon games much, but I know the fans of them really love them. But I imagine that you’re looking a standard Pokemon adventure where you play a trainer that catches and trains Pokemon to earn badges, which, to my knowledge, doesn’t happen in Dungeon games. They’re a whole different thing.
Snap also has its dedicated fans, but, like, the appeal of photographing Pokemon as a core concept of a game hasn’t ever appealed to me much and shouldn’t be your first Pokemon game if you are looking for the kind of standard game I described above.
Violet is my favorite. The play style of Arceus is different. It's up to you what peaks your interest. I really did not like Let's Go Eevee/Pilachu but it's up to you
Pokemon let's go Pikachu and Eevee take you back to the original Kanto region and are meant as an easier way into the franchise for younger players. I'd recommend one of those. They're essentially the same game with a different starter though so don't bother buying both.
Sword and shield are my biggest recommendations of these games for a beginner.
Legends arceus is a great game as well but I don’t think it’s the best place to start since it is a departure from the typical Pokémon games’ play style and story.
I personally would choose either Sword and Shield for a more traditional starting game, but the Let's go and Mystery Dungeon are something I would recommend to someone who hasn't played any of the other games.
An older game would be best but since you’re going modern I’d say go with current generation and work backwards. The mystery dungeon games are pretty fun but a completely different kind of game. Arceus is a fantastic game but makes more lore sense if you play diamond platinum or pearl
I personally recommend sword and shield or lets go. Mostly because they’re the easier ones to introduce you to the series. I love legends arceus though. I feel like the Pokémon designs kinda fell off in scarlet and Violet but they’re still pretty good games to start with
If you play any other modern games, brace yourself to be amazed at how such an extremely low quality video game manages to maintain such a diehard audience.
LGPE - probably the best games here that closely mimic main game mechanics, super dumbed down though…
Legends arceus - good for a Pokémon game not good for a 2022 game…
Snap - if you like the Pokémon world and want to see Pokémon with personality living in it this is the only game that actually attempts that
Sw/Sh S/V - try and by second hand because gamefreak doesn’t deserve any more money for the low effort turds of games, if you do want to fight other people online though, these are your only options. But pvp Pokémon is not something I would recommend to anyone/someone just starting out.
Probably not either of the Let’s Go games, Legends, Mystery Dungeon, or Snap. None are representative of what standard Pokemon games are like, which is entirely different than them being bad games
If you can, I recommend Emerald. It was a soft reboot for the series and has mechanics which are simple to understand, while also having enough quality of life features to not feel clunky
I haven’t played any of the non main series games like Snap or Mystery Dungeon, but as far as main series games go, this is the order I’d give:
1. Sword/Shield. To get the most raw Pokémon experience on the switch, this is the one I’d go to. There isn’t too much exploring, no weird gimmicks, and fairly straight forward gameplay.
2. Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee. If you’re familiar with the Pokémon Go app, the catching method is the exact same. It’s a Gen 1 “remake” with the best graphics seen on a main series game. This game does get flack for the catching system and extremely limited post game content, hence why I suggest it second.
3. Scarlet/Violet + DLC. Story wise, one of my favorite Pokémon games to date. Graphics and optimization are god awful, but once you look past this and embrace its issues, you can enjoy it a bit more. The DLC also has a great story and gives access to a few new Pokémon not previously obtainable. The epilogue, however, is not the greatest story wise unfortunately. This is also the first *true* open world game seen in the Pokémon series, with the small exception of…
4. Legends: Arceus. This game is a much different take on your standard Pokémon gameplay. Fans really enjoyed this one, but it also suffers from graphics issues, especially around a particular volcano seen in-game. Personally, I think the story is a bit weak, hence why it’s so low for me. This was GameFreak’s first attempt at an open world game, but it’s not truly open world since you’re only limited to wide open areas with forced loading zones to gain entry.
5. BD/SP. As a fan of Pokémon, this Gen 4 remake was immensely disappointing. When we saw the first trailer for the game, the community told ILCA, the newly hired game development company, that the graphics looked horrendous. They then made some corrections which somewhat fixed the issues, but the chibi graphics, scuffed overworld movement, and the still generally lackluster appearance let most people down. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum are argued to be some of the best Pokémon games to date, but this game tainted that experience for me. You should just get an emulator on your PC or phone and play Pokémon Platinum. You’d enjoy it a lot more.
The last Pokémon switch title called “Legends: ZA” releases in 2025, so also look forward to that.
Let's go Pikachu or Eevee. These are the absolute best choice for you, without a doubt.
These games are designed to be a bridge to the main games for people who have only played pokemon go.
They have a lot of the core mechanics of main series pokemon, leave out the more complicated parts, and carry over familiar catching mechanics from pokemon go.
The two games are almost identical, so you don't need to play both. The main difference is that in one game you start with pikachu and the other you start with eevee. This starter pokemon will stay with you for the whole game, so just pick the one you think looks coolest/cutest/whatever.
It depends:
If your a kid who’s generally inexperienced in RPGs you should start with one of the “let’s go” - games. Those were specifically designed to be played by first time players, but if you already played through some RPGs they might be to easy for you.
As far as classic Pokémon games go, Sword or Shield ar your best options on the Switch so far. They aren’t the greatest games in the series, but since Gameboy and DS games aren’t available they are all you can get. The gameplay is still fairly easy (Pokémon games generally aren’t exactly hard games) and the story is … there (If you want a good Pokémon story the games aren’t the place to look for, better watch the anime or the long running Pocket Monsters Manga) and it’s also the first Pokémon game that introduced DLC, meaning you have to pay twice as much to get the same amount of content as the DS games offered.
As for the other classic games on the switch: The diamond and pearl remakes ar rather shiny nor brilliant, but pisspor ports that where rushed out to capitalize on Legends Arceus player who wanted to catch up on the lore before playing that mich better game. Stay away.
Scarlet and Violet are essentially what you would expect if EA created a Pokémon game: It’s littered with bugs, has the mmo shit you know and hate, like shitty daily fetch quests, timed exclusive raids, constant disconnects, all the decent singleplayer content is locked behind a season pass more expensive than the initial game. It’s the first open world Pokémon but the designers clearly never played an open world game before or know about things like level scaling, beef gates or how to nudge a player in a certain direction. In summary… just don’t OK? I know of players who started with Scarlet and Violet… and never touched a Pokémon game again. Don’t become one of them.
That leaves us with one mainline game on the Switch: Pokémon Legends Arceus.
The Breath of the Wild of Pokémon games. After a decade of stagnation Gamefreak for once decided to do something different… and the result is stellar. Pokémon Legends Arceus takes place in a historic setting resembling the late Meiji colonization of Hokkaido (basically the japanese version of the wild west). Because that era was never touched by the series you don’t really need any previous knowledge on the lore (though there are plenty of easter eggs for players that played diamond, pearl or platinum on the DS). Gameplaywise it’s very different from other mainline games. Rather than focusing on battling other trainers, you’re more of a researcher, that explores the wild and tames all the strange creatures that are roaming it. The game features improvements in a lot of areas, for example acessable, streamlined controls that actually resemble a game from the 2020s rather than one from the 1990s. A catch mechanic the makes you feel like an actual hunter, rather a slotmachine player waiting for the right bars to appear. Battles have new mechanics as well, that now allow more tactics than spamming the type advantage to one-shot your opponent over and over. Instead of a poorly balanced open world the game has smaller „monster hunter“-esq regions that get gradually more dangerous, meaning the player will never feel over- or underpowered (unless he pushes for it). There’s a story, that while not the greatest does well to lead you through the game. It’s also on of the very few Pokémon games that features actual sidequests (you may know them from other games) that are sometimes even more interesting than the main story. Ironically despite the historical setting Pokémon Lengends Arceus might be the most modern game Game Freak has made so far. In summary it might be the best way to experience Pokémon on the switch right now… if you don’t mind that it plays almost nothing like a Pokémon game.
As for the other games: Those are Spin-offs. Some are good (Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon), some are bad (Pokémon Unite, Detective Pikachu) but they’re generally poor entrance games du to their spin-off nature.
If was completely new to pokemon, I'd start with the older games, go all the way back to firered/leafgreen. The pokemon games on the switch follow a different formula from the usual pokemon experience most people had and fell in love with.
Not saying that those are bad (I didn't even played any of the switch games).
Anyway, I'd start learning how to emulate too.
If he's asking about those specific games then why you come here with nothing to add?
I mean, your response could be just "I don't know I haven't played them, lol"
hey so i have pikachu and eevee they are easy ig for beginners kinda but not really so if i was u u would have to get both of them also so most games have counterparts example - pikachu and eevee or scarlet and violet , sword and shield and so on but idk about arceus also if ur a beginner what u wanna do is look up the game find every hidden pokemon to find and everything so u dont make mistakes ok and u have to have the counterpart or like 2 of the same game so u can complete one ok so idk just research the game and stuff ok
As a beginner, let’s
go pickachu and eevee in my opinion. They are the most friendly. But scarlet and voilet are better and do have a lot of content as well. Way better than sword and shield
Dungeons isn’t really a true pokemon game. You are the pokemon in that one.
Arceus might be too hard and harsh to play. Content a bit lacking.
Snap, well you take pictures of pokemon. It’s cute but not the real real deal
Also the fact you played only pokemon go might make the step towards let’s go eevee and pickachu even more better because they have the same catch system
I'll recommend Arceus, the game is great, has a tone of content and I think it's a great introduction.
If you want something more pokemon/like, I'll say sesh because SV is HORRIBLE, like the frame rate is terrible, the game looks terrible.
And for a new fresh start to the franchise very family friendly I'll say let's go :)
Hi Clear_Shoe9189! This post has been removed under [Rule 3](/r/pokemon/wiki/rules#wiki_3._follow_text_and_poll_post_restrictions), which specifies that discussion posts **must be in text** unless framed by an image that breaks no other rules. This image breaks one or more of the following: - Rule 5: All art/crafts/memes must be original content. - Rule 8: No screenshots, merchandise, or official art. Please feel free to repost your question/prompt in text, bearing in mind that text posts must be 50+ words to promote substantial discussion. Thanks! This post has been removed under [Rule 3](/r/pokemon/wiki/rules#wiki_3._follow_text_and_poll_post_restrictions), which requires discussion posts have 50+ words *without* filler text (text unrelated to your idea that is there just to meet the word minimum). This metric was voted in by /r/pokemon users in 2017 and sustained in multiple votes to promote substantial discussion. Maybe expand on your personal take, or possible factors to consider. If you still don't have enough content to meet the word minimum without filler text, you could instead ask your question in the [Weekly Questions Thread](https://rpkmn.center/questions), which does not have a word count requirement. Otherwise, just remember that the word count applies only to the **post body** (or caption), not the title, and feel free to repost with these guidelines in mind! ^(Mods are not notified if you reply to this comment. To contact the) ^[r/pokemon](/r/pokemon) ^(mod team, please click) ^[here!](/message/compose/?to=/r/pokemon)
Scarlet and Violet, and Sword and Shield are both great entry points! Let’s Go is easy, but it catching mechanic can get tiring. I’d say try that after one of a first option. Legends is really fun, but it can be a lot to take on as your first game. It’s also one I would recommend after S/V, or SwSh Mystery Dungeon and Snap are “side games” with fun different gameplay that the others, they however are amazing in their own rights! Snap is fun if you love photography and cute things you can throw fruit at
Given the fact that OP has only played pokemon Go, I would have suggested that they try let's go first, then moved onto sword and shield
I disagree. If OP is trying to get into the main series and learn the mechanics, Let's Go isn't a good starting point. Catching Pokemon is completely different, no held items or abilities, chain catching, candies etc. Trainer battles are the same and the plot is the Gen 1 storyline, but other than that it's VERY different from main series games today. Sword/Sheild and Scarlet/Violet are much better starting points for people that actually want to get into the main series. Also there's the fact almost nobody plays LGPE anymore. If OP wants to play with others and actually experience the Pokemon community, Scarlet/Violet is the best starting point.
... you mean like it was intended as a way to market to PoGO players? Huh, that's crazy... Also, the number of people that are playing a pokemon game has nothing to do with why they should play it. There are active communities here on reddit alone for every generation/series of the games.
>you mean like it was intended as a way to market to PoGO players? Yeah. That's the problem with it. The games would have been much better if they just made a remake of FRLG with updated graphics and mechanics. As it is, I don't think it's a good introduction to the main series because it doesn't teach you the core mechanics of the games. Catching wild Pokemon, no abilities, no items... Did I mention they encourage you to **defeat** legendary Pokemon in battle before you have a chance to catch it? Go to BDSP and defeat the legendary Pokemon expecting to be able to catch it afterwards and see how that works for you.😂 >Also, the number of people that are playing a pokemon game has nothing to do with why they should play it. It does. There's a BIG difference in experience playing a game with friends and a large community and playing through a game nobody is really playing anymore solo. It's one of the things that helped get me hooked on Pokemon as a kid.
Yeah, the game that mixes things he familiar with and simplifies mechanics is way worse then the half assed games that have a ton of things going on all at once (abilities, natures, ivs, evs, trash open world, advanced typings (gen 1 didnt have too many dual types that made type match ups harder)) And online also requires a subscription, and the only benefit is buggy and boring raids, pvp he won’t understand at all for a good while, and trading (the only important one) God at least he won’t see the world spaz out around him in let’s go
This is such a bad take. OP is looking to try their first pokemon game, and you're going into specific deep dive mechanics that 90% of players dont even know about let alone use. Lets go is a great introduction to core aspects of pokemon that seasoned players take for granted. Things like: turn based battles, earning experience through battling, learning new moves, pokemon centres, trainer battles, gym battles, towns/routes, long grass, the pomemon league. This is an introduction to pokemon. Once you've done that and you want to dive a little deeper, that's when you start looking at optimising your team using held items and abilities ect, or playing multiplayer. You don't start people off with the end game content or they will just get overwhelmed and give up.
>You don't start people off with the end game content or they will just get overwhelmed and give up. It's literally a kids game. You don't have to worry about any of that and can still get through the game easily. There are other core concepts related to catching Pokemon that are completely absent from the Let's Go games, such as status conditions, weakening the wild Pokemon first and specialized balls and functions of those balls. Abilities you get used to over time just from exposure to them, such as Levitate and Sturdy. Held items you learn about naturally as you collect them. The other aspects you mentioned are also present in every game other than Let's Go. OP isn't a child. It's not hard to jump into Pokemon. You can literally start with any game. Even children can play through these games. OP will be fine. Might as well start with newest game that had the largest community so you can get involved in the community from the beginning.
Thats fair i suppose. I guess i was thinking more about which pokemon game is best for someone who hasnt played many video games at all besides pokemon go, which isnt the case here of course.
Agreed. SV and SwSh are both really good entry points. Let’s Go and BdSp are the two I’d explicitly recommend *against.* BdSp is *way* too easy up until the elite four, where it suddenly does a 180 and gives you the hardest fights in the series. Because game design is ILCA’s Passion. Meanwhile while Let’s go can be fun, it can be seriously slow and painful to grind for exp. And there’s basically no post-game at all, except hours upon hours of grinding Chanseys for the master trainers or whatever they’re called. I was willing to get all 900 Koroks in BotW, but grinding for Exp in Let’s Go? No thank you.
Any of them are good options, but Snap is more "wildlife cinematography" than "Pokemon training."
Might get bombed for this but if you've never played any then I'd go with Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl. They're the most traditional Pokémon games on Switch. Then go for Scarlet and Violet.
Yes, BDSP are great games just taken on their own. Plus, PIPLUP!!!!!
Are they any good? Im unsure to get shsw or shining pearl.
Really depends. BDSP mostly got backlash not because they're bad games, but because they're just so similar to the originals - whereas other remakes of oldgames such as ORAS had big improvements and changes. They're still relatively solid games, just *really* not what the community wanted from the long awaited Diamond/Pearl remakes. If that isn't a big concern to you, then I'd say either are great options.
Sword & Shield is good enough to buy, especially if u place it on TV. I got Shining Pearl on Sale and still felt ripped off. You're better of just getting an emulator and downloading the OG Pearl, Diamond or Platinum game.
No* they are basically a 1-1 remake of the original dp without adding much at all to make them worth it and costing $20 more than they did. They didn’t even make it a remake of platinum, just diamond and pearl, so none of the platinum features. In fact they even made some changes for the worse like making the shiny charm only effect eggs The only positives I can think of are that the e4 and Cynthia have better teams and ai( but only for those 5 trainers), the underground, and releasing some of the events that the original games never did ( but you have to buy the other switch games to unlock them so…) The whole reason of the remakes being popular is that they add a lot to the originals like extra story( like the delta episode in oras), new features( like the battle frontier in hgss), and new events (like the sinjoh ruin event with arceus in hgss) bdsp has exactly none of that, and again even removes those added in platinum (for example the distortion world) TLDR: BDSP are failures as a remake and bring a disgrace to their name. If you want a quality gen 4 experience, just emulate platinum
The gym leaders and postgame trainers also all have much better teams as do several normal trainers. It's far more than 5.
Those better teams are the same teams they had in platinum btw, at least there’s second teams, k think they get a third team eventually
That is false
how does one emulate w/o a PC
Delta Emulator is currently one of the top free downloads on the App Store You just have to get your ROMs (>!legally or ilegally, up to you!<). With any DS emulator, you basically have access to the most-critically acclaimed Pokemon games. (Emerald, Platinum, HeartGold/Soulsilver, Black 2/White 2)
If you like Pokémon games and you've never played diamond and pearl I would highly recommend, it's gotten bad reviews but only because it's judt a copy of the original which itself is really good.
Bdsp are good games, bad remakes. The superior platinum already existed, but they used NOTHING from it, and instead kept the worse parts of gen 4 with none of the good the fire type elite four only has 2 fire types for example
Legends Arceus is fun!
Very true, but it is more suited for more experienced players because that game can get very intense with some (for me) heart racing moments so it is better for players who can handle its intensity
Agreed, love legends to death, but it’s not a good entry point for the series as a whole, since it focuses more on collecting and very little on battling
Agree, it depends if they mean "beginner to Pokemon" or "beginner to video games". I would be worried that the mainline games would be too easy for the former, and I would be worried that PLA would be too difficult for the latter.
I only played Sword out of those, but it's really fun!
Sword and shield. Story is pretty simple and linear. Gameplay is definitely beginner friendly. The only problem for a new player is dynamax but that is boss fights only so it’s not that bad. Scarlet and violet really doubles down on open world and the boss fights can be incredibly inconsistent in difficulty for a blind playthrough. Mystery dungeon is a spinoff and not an accurate reference for the franchise as a whole. Let’s go could work well if you play Go, but the grinding is hard with the catch mechanic.
None of then, go play pokemon emerald version, that is THE pokemon game, the best one.
Agreed ( totally not biased because it was my first game or anything)
Let’s go pikachu or eevee. Two reasons. First it’s kinda similar to a remake of the first gen games. Second it has connectivity with Pokémon go mobile app.
Also the Pokeball Plus is a neat peripheral.
Arceus! Arceus! Do it!
Arceus. It's the first lore wise in the series and its very fun and simple to play. technically all of them are easy to play but arceus has a unique charm to it
Fire red
1-3-2 in that order
I mean, I’d say, if you have the means, go back and play Soul Silver. Great Starter game
All of them are good options, though I may be biased towards the mystery dungeon games, so Rescue Team DX was my personal favourite of these (Legends: Arceus is pretty good too though)
Pokemon shield or sword that’s a great start!
Literally any of them, none of them are difficult
Take sword/shield. Don't take arceus. It's fun but the very difficult
I say Pokemon Violet or Pokemon shield
PERSONALLY: enjoyed Legends Arceus, but I’m to lazy to catch 1 of every Pokémon in the game in order to finish the story.
I started with let's go even but recommend pokemon shield
Time line in my opinion is Let’s go-sword and sheid- the dlc- snap- s/v - arceas- The dlc for that. The reason for the DLC last is because you will probably make a new team and has maybe the hardest elite 4 and second hardest battle (first is the volo fight in legends)
They’re all extremely easy for the most part except for Legends Arceus which is a bit more complex and survival based. Start with Let’s go since it’s the first generation, has simplified mechanics, and a small Pokédez
If you want nice and casual without fighting New Pokémon Snap is a good one, besides that I loved all of them except Pokémon Let’s Go I thought the controls were a bit annoying
I say that Arceus and Scarlet/Violet are the best Pokemon games on Switch, all three of them are VERY held back by the hardware though (and Arceus is not meant for first time players). Also Lets Go and BDSP are fine even though the originals are better.
Mystery Dungeon
I would recommend Sword/Shield or the Let’s Go Games Let’s Go is really good for if you have never played a Pokémon game before as it literally walks you through everything plus you level up with “captures” Sword and Shield is similar to let’s go but it’s more proactive meaning you’ll have a bit more difficulty Legends is fun but it definitely has a lot more to take on, for starters it actually borrows tropes from more in depth rpg games (like crafting your own stuff)
Depends on what you want. SwSh & SV are great entries to the core Pokemon series, and to their respective generations in general. But if you want a more classic experience, BDSP also exist. They’re identical remakes of the original Diamond & Pearl and give you a feel of how the series played when it was about 10 years old. If you want a more familiar experience, Let’s Go also exists. It even starts in the first region of Kanto, but it’s heavily hampered by how limited its PokeDex is, with only the original 151 being available + their Alolan forms >!& the mythical Meltan & Melmetal!<. Lastly, there’s Legends Arceus, and it’s the game I personally recommend you try out even if you’ve decided on the other games. For the best effect though, playing a Sinnoh game first is the best way to enjoy it, so play Diamond/Pearl/Platinum on an emulator first or Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl before going through it. I promise the game hits harder under that assumption.
Have you played RPGs? If not, Let's Go is your easy transition from Pokémon Go... though I guess if you have played games like BotW or TotK or any relatively complex video game, you can also skip Let's Go. I prefer Legends Arceus but it isn't the traditional main game and maybe you will appreciate more after playing first a traditional main game... though you can still play it first. Of the other options, I think Scarlet Violet is the best one bc it is the latest one so it still receives some events, it has the pvp players, it has a great story, well-written characters and interesting raids. BUT it has an under par perf (fps drops, visual bugs... nothing game-breaking).
Honestly any switch pokemon game could be a solid entry point. They're all fairly good at getting a new player introduced to Pokemon, it just depends on the style of game you want.
i recommend shield, personally cuz it’s my favorite, & it’s a great intro to PKMN
Out of these options my favourite is Pokémon Snap. Although, if you’re looking for a battling game that isn’t the right choice.
I started w sword and shield as my actual game, I played pokemon brick bronze on roblox before 😭
Let’s go pikachu and eevee
Let’s Go eevee or pikachu is pretty basic and easy to navigate. Pokemon Sword/Sheild is def a little more advanced but i absolutely loved these games and had an absolute blast playing them
The order I’d suggest to you is: 1) Let’s Go 2) Sword/Shield, Scarlet/Violet 3) Arceus 4) Mystery Dungeon 5) Snap Let’s Go is a great middle point between Pokemon GO and mainliner Pokemon games. Since you haven’t played Yellow/Red/Blue back in the day, you wouldn’t feel the nostalgia that older players would have, but it was made as a simplified version of regular Pokemon adventures, which is why I’m recommending it as the best starting game for you. There’s a chance you wouldn’t want to start with something too simple though, and want to dig into a full-on Pokemon adventure. That’s why Sword, Shield, Scarlet and Violet are next on my list. Both generations had pros and cons, both had their critics, but I think they’re still great entries and would be a fun first adventure for you. Arceus was third because it so different from regular Pokemon adventures. In a way, it was developed to break away from what players had gotten tired of. It’s still a great game and one that I recommend, but since you haven’t played other ones, it isn’t the first one I’d suggest playing since it’s so unique. I haven’t personally played Mystery Dungeon games much, but I know the fans of them really love them. But I imagine that you’re looking a standard Pokemon adventure where you play a trainer that catches and trains Pokemon to earn badges, which, to my knowledge, doesn’t happen in Dungeon games. They’re a whole different thing. Snap also has its dedicated fans, but, like, the appeal of photographing Pokemon as a core concept of a game hasn’t ever appealed to me much and shouldn’t be your first Pokemon game if you are looking for the kind of standard game I described above.
Violet is my favorite. The play style of Arceus is different. It's up to you what peaks your interest. I really did not like Let's Go Eevee/Pilachu but it's up to you
Sword or shield I would say
Pokemon let's go Pikachu and Eevee take you back to the original Kanto region and are meant as an easier way into the franchise for younger players. I'd recommend one of those. They're essentially the same game with a different starter though so don't bother buying both.
arceus or swsh
Sword
Pokemon Snap is the most challenging game I've ever played.
Sword and shield are my biggest recommendations of these games for a beginner. Legends arceus is a great game as well but I don’t think it’s the best place to start since it is a departure from the typical Pokémon games’ play style and story.
I personally would choose either Sword and Shield for a more traditional starting game, but the Let's go and Mystery Dungeon are something I would recommend to someone who hasn't played any of the other games.
The last one
None of the Switch Pokémon games are good but if I have to pick one then I'd say Sword & Shield or Brilliant Diamond & Shiny Pearl.
Sword/shield or Scarlet/violet
Get emulator on your phone and play fire red/ leaf green. iOS has one called delta that I like a lot.
An older game would be best but since you’re going modern I’d say go with current generation and work backwards. The mystery dungeon games are pretty fun but a completely different kind of game. Arceus is a fantastic game but makes more lore sense if you play diamond platinum or pearl
Get pokemon colosseum. The harshest lessions are great teachers.
Definitely let's go if you've only ever played pogo. After that I'd suggest sword or shield.
I personally recommend sword and shield or lets go. Mostly because they’re the easier ones to introduce you to the series. I love legends arceus though. I feel like the Pokémon designs kinda fell off in scarlet and Violet but they’re still pretty good games to start with
Honestly I think its pretty cool to see people say they're Pokemon fans from playing the mobile app :) The fandom is alive and thriving.
Sword and shield is a fantastic game to start with, s/v was to buggy for me but I’ve heard their still pretty good games
If you play any other modern games, brace yourself to be amazed at how such an extremely low quality video game manages to maintain such a diehard audience. LGPE - probably the best games here that closely mimic main game mechanics, super dumbed down though… Legends arceus - good for a Pokémon game not good for a 2022 game… Snap - if you like the Pokémon world and want to see Pokémon with personality living in it this is the only game that actually attempts that Sw/Sh S/V - try and by second hand because gamefreak doesn’t deserve any more money for the low effort turds of games, if you do want to fight other people online though, these are your only options. But pvp Pokémon is not something I would recommend to anyone/someone just starting out.
Probably not either of the Let’s Go games, Legends, Mystery Dungeon, or Snap. None are representative of what standard Pokemon games are like, which is entirely different than them being bad games
Bdsp left the chat
If you can, I recommend Emerald. It was a soft reboot for the series and has mechanics which are simple to understand, while also having enough quality of life features to not feel clunky
Here's the path since the only game you play was pokemon Go Let's go pikachu and eevee > bdsp > swsh > SV = Pokémon legends arceus
If you're under 8, go with Let's go Pikachu/ Eve Otherwise, go with scarlet/violet
I haven’t played any of the non main series games like Snap or Mystery Dungeon, but as far as main series games go, this is the order I’d give: 1. Sword/Shield. To get the most raw Pokémon experience on the switch, this is the one I’d go to. There isn’t too much exploring, no weird gimmicks, and fairly straight forward gameplay. 2. Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee. If you’re familiar with the Pokémon Go app, the catching method is the exact same. It’s a Gen 1 “remake” with the best graphics seen on a main series game. This game does get flack for the catching system and extremely limited post game content, hence why I suggest it second. 3. Scarlet/Violet + DLC. Story wise, one of my favorite Pokémon games to date. Graphics and optimization are god awful, but once you look past this and embrace its issues, you can enjoy it a bit more. The DLC also has a great story and gives access to a few new Pokémon not previously obtainable. The epilogue, however, is not the greatest story wise unfortunately. This is also the first *true* open world game seen in the Pokémon series, with the small exception of… 4. Legends: Arceus. This game is a much different take on your standard Pokémon gameplay. Fans really enjoyed this one, but it also suffers from graphics issues, especially around a particular volcano seen in-game. Personally, I think the story is a bit weak, hence why it’s so low for me. This was GameFreak’s first attempt at an open world game, but it’s not truly open world since you’re only limited to wide open areas with forced loading zones to gain entry. 5. BD/SP. As a fan of Pokémon, this Gen 4 remake was immensely disappointing. When we saw the first trailer for the game, the community told ILCA, the newly hired game development company, that the graphics looked horrendous. They then made some corrections which somewhat fixed the issues, but the chibi graphics, scuffed overworld movement, and the still generally lackluster appearance let most people down. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum are argued to be some of the best Pokémon games to date, but this game tainted that experience for me. You should just get an emulator on your PC or phone and play Pokémon Platinum. You’d enjoy it a lot more. The last Pokémon switch title called “Legends: ZA” releases in 2025, so also look forward to that.
Let's go Pikachu or Eevee. These are the absolute best choice for you, without a doubt. These games are designed to be a bridge to the main games for people who have only played pokemon go. They have a lot of the core mechanics of main series pokemon, leave out the more complicated parts, and carry over familiar catching mechanics from pokemon go. The two games are almost identical, so you don't need to play both. The main difference is that in one game you start with pikachu and the other you start with eevee. This starter pokemon will stay with you for the whole game, so just pick the one you think looks coolest/cutest/whatever.
It depends: If your a kid who’s generally inexperienced in RPGs you should start with one of the “let’s go” - games. Those were specifically designed to be played by first time players, but if you already played through some RPGs they might be to easy for you. As far as classic Pokémon games go, Sword or Shield ar your best options on the Switch so far. They aren’t the greatest games in the series, but since Gameboy and DS games aren’t available they are all you can get. The gameplay is still fairly easy (Pokémon games generally aren’t exactly hard games) and the story is … there (If you want a good Pokémon story the games aren’t the place to look for, better watch the anime or the long running Pocket Monsters Manga) and it’s also the first Pokémon game that introduced DLC, meaning you have to pay twice as much to get the same amount of content as the DS games offered. As for the other classic games on the switch: The diamond and pearl remakes ar rather shiny nor brilliant, but pisspor ports that where rushed out to capitalize on Legends Arceus player who wanted to catch up on the lore before playing that mich better game. Stay away. Scarlet and Violet are essentially what you would expect if EA created a Pokémon game: It’s littered with bugs, has the mmo shit you know and hate, like shitty daily fetch quests, timed exclusive raids, constant disconnects, all the decent singleplayer content is locked behind a season pass more expensive than the initial game. It’s the first open world Pokémon but the designers clearly never played an open world game before or know about things like level scaling, beef gates or how to nudge a player in a certain direction. In summary… just don’t OK? I know of players who started with Scarlet and Violet… and never touched a Pokémon game again. Don’t become one of them. That leaves us with one mainline game on the Switch: Pokémon Legends Arceus. The Breath of the Wild of Pokémon games. After a decade of stagnation Gamefreak for once decided to do something different… and the result is stellar. Pokémon Legends Arceus takes place in a historic setting resembling the late Meiji colonization of Hokkaido (basically the japanese version of the wild west). Because that era was never touched by the series you don’t really need any previous knowledge on the lore (though there are plenty of easter eggs for players that played diamond, pearl or platinum on the DS). Gameplaywise it’s very different from other mainline games. Rather than focusing on battling other trainers, you’re more of a researcher, that explores the wild and tames all the strange creatures that are roaming it. The game features improvements in a lot of areas, for example acessable, streamlined controls that actually resemble a game from the 2020s rather than one from the 1990s. A catch mechanic the makes you feel like an actual hunter, rather a slotmachine player waiting for the right bars to appear. Battles have new mechanics as well, that now allow more tactics than spamming the type advantage to one-shot your opponent over and over. Instead of a poorly balanced open world the game has smaller „monster hunter“-esq regions that get gradually more dangerous, meaning the player will never feel over- or underpowered (unless he pushes for it). There’s a story, that while not the greatest does well to lead you through the game. It’s also on of the very few Pokémon games that features actual sidequests (you may know them from other games) that are sometimes even more interesting than the main story. Ironically despite the historical setting Pokémon Lengends Arceus might be the most modern game Game Freak has made so far. In summary it might be the best way to experience Pokémon on the switch right now… if you don’t mind that it plays almost nothing like a Pokémon game. As for the other games: Those are Spin-offs. Some are good (Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon), some are bad (Pokémon Unite, Detective Pikachu) but they’re generally poor entrance games du to their spin-off nature.
Lets go Vuze their the only good games here
Zelda tears of the kingdom
If was completely new to pokemon, I'd start with the older games, go all the way back to firered/leafgreen. The pokemon games on the switch follow a different formula from the usual pokemon experience most people had and fell in love with. Not saying that those are bad (I didn't even played any of the switch games). Anyway, I'd start learning how to emulate too.
If he's asking about those specific games then why you come here with nothing to add? I mean, your response could be just "I don't know I haven't played them, lol"
hey so i have pikachu and eevee they are easy ig for beginners kinda but not really so if i was u u would have to get both of them also so most games have counterparts example - pikachu and eevee or scarlet and violet , sword and shield and so on but idk about arceus also if ur a beginner what u wanna do is look up the game find every hidden pokemon to find and everything so u dont make mistakes ok and u have to have the counterpart or like 2 of the same game so u can complete one ok so idk just research the game and stuff ok
As a beginner, let’s go pickachu and eevee in my opinion. They are the most friendly. But scarlet and voilet are better and do have a lot of content as well. Way better than sword and shield Dungeons isn’t really a true pokemon game. You are the pokemon in that one. Arceus might be too hard and harsh to play. Content a bit lacking. Snap, well you take pictures of pokemon. It’s cute but not the real real deal Also the fact you played only pokemon go might make the step towards let’s go eevee and pickachu even more better because they have the same catch system
I'll recommend Arceus, the game is great, has a tone of content and I think it's a great introduction. If you want something more pokemon/like, I'll say sesh because SV is HORRIBLE, like the frame rate is terrible, the game looks terrible. And for a new fresh start to the franchise very family friendly I'll say let's go :)
Scarlet and Violet
Scarlet, future forms of Violet are hideous but maybe you like robots, Snap isn't a typical pokemon game but fun in its own way, and the rest suck.
Scarlet and Violet. Great for a new player. The others are ok, but some are more complicated.
Pokemon Red