Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Double Pack - Nintendo Switch

For the redeem code of the backpack, and two exclusive pokemon, GO USE THE REDEEM FEATURE WITHIN THE GAME. NOT the Eshop.

My granddaughter at 23 just loves it good babysitter

As a longtime fan, Ive bought every single game in the franchise to date (yes, even the obscure Japanese exclusives). There are some things Ive come to expect of Pokémon games, for better or worse: good features not carrying over to new games, limited access to my favorite older monsters, and an increasingly pathetic rival. Thats not to say most new games dont have some excellent quality of life enhancements and better implementations of older features, they certainly do, and this set is no exception. However, there is one unforgivable super-major flaw in these games that I cant see how theyd be able to correct: Cutting a significant number of Pokémon entirely from the game. This accounts for the first star Ive penalized my rating with. The second star is for the games incredibly brief and poorly written story campaign, which I finished within a day on each game. I could forgive it being brief if it was still well-written, and I could even forgive it being poorly written (it still has some strong points) if it had good length, but these have neither. Avoiding overt spoilers, the villain has the most idiotic and stretched motivation ever. WILDLY incongruous with their behavior otherwise. I cant fathom how this made it through development. Their assistant meanwhile had a solid foundation for becoming the true villain of the game, but instead takes a complete 180 degree on their established personality and behavior to make them little more than an over-the-top suck-up with zero comeuppance. The organization they run gets zero development and no changes arise from the players involvement. Meanwhile, the red-herring group in the game gets all the development, including a solid motivation to suggest the games spotlight new feature - dynamaxing - is clearly evil to use/abusive treatment and should be avoided. Talk about disparity between story and gameplay. Some other minor gripes: the badge system in these games limit the level of Pokémon you can catch in addition to the obedience of traded Pokémon. I get *why* they did it, as the game allows you to encounter dramatically more powerful Pokémon super early, and caught Pokémon dont ever have obedience issues. Frankly, Id rather have just had obedience issues be extended to all of your Pokémon instead (power-leveling is super easy up to the 60s, as you can encounter such high-leveled Pokémon and defeat them for EXP). Perhaps incorporate stages of disobedience as they did Critical Hits, with bred/captured Pokémon having a lower natural stage than Traded, and those closer to your badge level also being lower, with those of extreme levels beyond your badge obedience level being highly disobedient. Trading and Battling a friend over the internet in these games requires a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, which is odd and rather stupid as neither of these should technically require a server to function, as seen in the DS/3DS games. If the games included an updated equivalent to the old Global Trade System, that would easily be justifiable to require the subscription for that, but they dont. Id like to take a moment to talk about the games good features: Pokémon Box Link. This is an excellent new feature, which I sincerely hope carries over into future games. With this, you can access your Pokémon Storage System on the fly, swapping party members as needed in the overworld and appropriate indoor areas. Sublime! Then theres camping... which admittedly doesnt quite nail the mark, but deserves due credit. In camps you can play with your Pokémon and even cook meals (the Currydex is an odd choice, but by no means awful). Id love to see this concept expanded with elements of Pokémon Amie integrated, and a more robust cooking system (perhaps like that of the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) with more varied foods. Another thing it would benefit from is a rest option that could be available in appropriate places like the Wild Area, on routes, and in caves. Which brings me to the Wild Area... this is perhaps the games best feature by far. A vast, sprawling place, filled with a fairly dynamic and daily-changing variety of Pokémon, occasional NPCs, and collectible supplies. The possibilities for future games building on this feature are quite tantalizing. Id love to see a return of the day/night cycle influencing a wild area, or a tidal effect as per the Ruby/Sapphire games. Perhaps an upgrade to the bicycle that allows for mountain-biking as a more dynamic means of navigation of terrain. I also love the addition of Poké Jobs, but think itd have been better to just have an On Job icon on the Pokémon in its place in the box rather than having them entirely leave and unceremoniously drop into the first available box slot on return (as it does). In summary, while a fun game in its own, it fails to uphold the standards set by previous titles in the series, unnecessarily cuts off previous generation monsters, has a short/half-effort plot, and sets up a paywall where it really shouldnt exist. The fact they found this acceptable to publish in this state is nothing short of a betrayal to customers and investors alike, and I will not be preordering any future titles as long as this stands. With Pokémon Home scheduled for release next year, I can only hope they release a free DLC upgrade to these games that remedies their unforgivable flaw at some point before then.

as advertised

This is a great way to gift yourself and a friend or family member. You both get more out of these games when having someone else to play with.

Great

Honestly the best Pokemon game made in several years. Love the open world feature as well as the great graphics. If you enjoy Pokemon and Breath of the Wild, this is the game for you.

I thoroughly enjoyed both games. I just wish amazon had actually sent me the code for my preorder bonus.

While its a bit to late to help anyone whos already preordered this I figured this review might help someone. Like many other people I preordered this game, it came on 11/15 as promised, but there was no DLC code for the golden studded backpack. I contacted nintendo with proof of my purchase and never heard back from them so I called in to Amazon to attempt to get this resolved. After escalating it to the marking team I received an email 5 or so hours with a code in it. This code was already used (go figure it wouldnt be that easy) so Im currently putting another request in. If you have this problem the number you reach them at is : - U.S. and Canada: 1-888-280-4331 - International: 1-206-266-2992

Obviously giving it a 1 star for attention: Has anyone else received the code for the pre-order item? I got mine but it doesnt appear to be recognized when I enter it for redemption section on my eshop account. Has anyone else had this issue and knows who to contact?