Last year was something of a semi-disaster for the Pokémon franchise, given that its latest mainline releases, Scarlet and Violet, turned out to be a less than favorable experience, this in terms of playability and, above all, performance. However, as we all already know, millions of copies were sold around the world despite continuing to stumble over the same stone. It is worth mentioning that during this season Gamefreak has tried to fix things with the bugs that could be found in the versions, but at the end of it all many fans had already been left with a bad taste in their mouths. Not only because the application failed them, but because the gameplay felt hollow due to how empty its large map is. After this, some thought about what the next step would be, since with the predecessor games, Sword and Shield, an expansion pass made up of two parts was made at the time that did not convince everyone. However, it seems to have worked out pretty well for them, and that boils down to the same fate for current games.
During a Pokémon Presents, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero was announced, which is also divided into two: The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk. Which add more history to the Paldea region, as well as never-before-seen creatures of that generation, and of course, the return of some of these that come directly from previously released games. The truth is, they did a lot of asking for a release date until the first half was finally confirmed for September, and as you can see, it is now available for sale. Which brings us to the text you are reading, as Nintendo has very kindly provided us with a code to let you know if this new content is worth it or if perhaps you should let it pass. What we are going to check this time is the story that is given to us, the new creatures at our disposal, if the new map is something worth exploring and if there is some type of adjustment to the difficulty. Of course, we will talk once again about the graphic issue, but at once I warn that the progress has not been the most notable, more in terms of frames per second and textures of both characters and landscapes.
Could this DLC be able to right all the wrongs that Scarlet and Violet presented? Or maybe, will he take the same path that at this moment is difficult to forget? Well, we are going to find out that in this Atomix Review, in which we are going to clarify all those doubts that can trigger swiping the credit card to pay for this content that Nintendo and Gamefreak offer to their target audience.
We are going on an excursion to Noroteo
The story of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask is simple but interesting, since after having paid for our respective access, we will receive a call from the academy we have chosen. The same one in which we are mentioned, we have been chosen to travel to a region known as Noroteo, which is a little far from Paldea.
In this place our goal is to carry out extracurricular tasks to continue advancing with our knowledge of this world of fantastic creatures. It goes without saying that the requirement to be able to travel is minimal, you just have to start the treasure hunt mission in the main title and that will be enough to take the flight with other companions and the character Brie.
Once the characters have reached the meeting point, we can see that the region is a kind of island where a particular mountain is located that will be quite important later. At the beginning we will meet two boys from the Cranberry Academy, Cass and Corin, with whom we will become friends within a few minutes of starting a conversation.
Later we heard of a quite particular legend, which tells us how an ogre inhabiting the great central mountain has tormented those lands for years, but that three kind Pokémon came to save the day. And of course, as we are chosen by the Deus Ex Machina, this monster appears before us, but to our surprise he has not hurt us, and that draws the curiosity of our new friends.
So, the mission within this DLC is to find out the mystery of said ogre and in the process save Noroteo from future threats that may arise. At the same time, we will generate an interesting rivalry with Cass, a boy who proves not to be so strong, but as the minutes go by we will see his true desires and life goals.
At first glance you can surely see that the story is not remarkable, but I think it stands out more compared to what was seen in the Sword and Shield DLC, and little by little we discover more about the legend in question. There is also the fact that they have given us a kind of cliffhanger at the end of the adventure that lasts between 3 and 4 hours, so fans of the franchise will want to know what comes next.
A new map to explore
The gameplay of this additional content is absolutely no different from the main game, that is, we are released on a map in which we can move freely. This with quite notable geographical divisions, there are mountains, meadows, forest, lakes and even a plain where you can find picturesque creatures.
Of course, just like in Paldea there are also teracrystals, so we can find characters who have it integrated or it will be possible to fully enter the raids. Let’s say it is the map of our main adventure, only more compact and with caves that could sometimes be confusing due to its labyrinth shape.
Something that will attract attention is that the Pokédex of this installment is 200 different characters, but not all of them are really new, since there are several from Paldea and some return from past regions. We also have exclusive Gligar, Glisco and Cramorant for those who play in Scarlet, in the case of Violet, players will be able to get Aipom, Ambipom and Morpeko.
A certain detail caught my attention when I started the game, since as soon as I set foot on the new land I began to notice that the levels were not adjusted to the equipment I had, which had a level between 50-60. And every trainer and wild Pokémon appeared to me at level 10, something that seemed strange.
Then I started to watch gameplays of people who upload their experience on YouTube, noticing that in their files there was an adjustment regarding the user’s level. What I noticed most is that the vast majority used level 70 creatures, so that could be the case, or also the fact that I haven’t completed the league by that point; In short, it seemed very strange to me.
Something bad about making this map something not so big is that throughout the entire adventure you will only travel from one place to another, with nothing in the way such as additional challenges, nothing beyond a new mini game that It’s not even very entertaining. To this there is a surprising addition to taking the photos, as they give us a selfie stick and more gestures for the avatar.
Of course, I am not going to deny that it is easy to get distracted when seeing Pokémon that you do not have in the Pokédex, so there will be times when the player puts aside the main objective for an hour to see if a Shiny or something similar is found. . The challenges are not really challenging, but facing certain beings in dominant mode is when things get good.
By the way, I did not take up the topic of the Pokémon that are really new in this content and there are 8, some legendary and unpublished transformations such as Ursaluna Crimson Moon. It is worth mentioning, you must complete the Noroteo Pokédex to have access to it and catch it for the collection.
As for the graphics and performance part, nothing changes, we have textures that are not going to improve, character models that move very stiffly and the framerate that drops when riding our mount, it does not matter if there are few or many elements in it. screen. That is to say, there is no substantial improvement, it is just extra hours of play for those who have already explored Paldea 100%.
Entertaining for fans, but doesn’t redeem the past
In conclusion, we could say that paying the $35 USD that this DLC costs is worth it, but only for those who enjoyed Scarlet and Violet and were left wanting more captures and history. However, if you didn’t have a good time playing the games at the time, I doubt Teal Mask will change your mind, as there are no major graphical or performance improvements.
I was entertained by the hours I spent playing, but there was nothing that made me jump out of my seat and make me understand that Gamefreak has worked to improve the quality of its star franchise. So, I can understand that there are people who do not want to spend more, and it is understandable, because in the case of Mexico they are actually charging us $40 USD, even though the dollar is no longer so high.
Also, we must take into account that they are not only charging for The Teal Mask, since The Indigo Disk is also included in the package. At this time, the release date is not revealed, but it is mentioned that it will arrive in winter, which could perfectly cover the first two months of 2024.
We’ll see in a few more months if the second part can help in any way or keep things simple and continue contributing only to those who liked the base game. In fact, it is very rare to hear of someone who considers it a good delivery, or at least that is perceived at a general level.
Remember that this content is now available in the Nintendo eShop. You need the main game to play.
#Review #Pokémon #Scarlet #Teal #Mask