Who Did it Best? | Pokemon Switch Era RANKED

Pokemon on Nintendo Switch offers some of the BEST and the WORST experiences, so here is every game RANKED for mainline Pokemon as of 2024! Pokemon Nintendo Switch Era Retrospective part 1 Gireum Red The Dark Age of Pokemon
pokemon legends arceus, pokemon scarlet and violet, pokemon let's go Pikachu and Eevee, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokemon BDSP, PLA, Pokemon SV, Pokemon Let's Go Peevee, Pokemon Sword and Shield
#pokemonscarletandviolet #pokemonscarlet #pokemonviolet
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Johto Jonny is a Media Analyst known for his analysis on the gaming and entertainment industries. Thank you to all who subscribe, comment, and support us on Patreon.

[@johtojonny]

After this, check out my thoughts/review of Pokemon SV's Indigo Disk!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6qmqYaYr5t1jaM

[@Terranigma23]

Something that surprise me about let's go (playing it again year later), it's how good and solid it looks if we compare it with Sword and Shield and Scarlet/Violet. No bug/glitch and frame drop. Also the colors are so much more vibrant. But sure it's more easy to handle because it's not huge area to explore/open world.

[@johtojonny]

The art style was great! I think the game did what it wanted to successfully

[@bryancartagena3286]

No frame drops? Viridian Forest is probably the only location in that game that can't handle what goes on in that area.lol Other than that the game is great.

[@Terranigma23]

@@bryancartagena3286 I forgot about Viridian Forest, but it's still a LOT better than Scarlet/Violet. There is no safe place for frame drop in this game... Except the protagonist house. 😅

[@SunshineCasy]

My list is similar. It goes 4) BDSP, 3) Let's Go and SwSh, 2) Scarlet and Violet, and 1) Legends: Arceus. Let's Go's buddy system that intuitively turned into Poke Rides when compatible is still the gold standard for following Pokemon. I still play it just to ride a Persian for fun. Sword and Shield definitely have advantages over Let's Go, but the whole "Wild Area" concept was a big disappointment since it came off as a shortcut to avoid making the whole game in 360 camera. It just felt sloppy. So I consider Let's Go and SwSh a tie in quality.

[@katelynsewell3928]

Legends Arceus and Scarlet will always be my top Switch Pokémon games! I just need Scarlet and bam I caught of them! Unless the Unova and Johto games are also going to be on the Switch then my reaction would be “Oh shit I guess I didn’t catch them all! ❤💙

[@RedPanda_______]

Great video! Hopefully the newer pokemon games get better. I want a pokemon game that is both fun and visually pleasing.

[@johtojonny]

I thought PLA served those prerequisites but otherwise yes I agree with you. Hopefully GF just gets more time to develop future titles. From what I hear they're fighting for it

[@natethejay]

JOHTO JONNY SPITTIN FACTS! Honestly I liked Let's Go but I know I knowww it's not good! I only had fun with it cuz I played co op with a friend at the time and it was a cute time but every time I went back to it it just... didn't do anything for me! I also agree Pokemon Camp was awesome! I'm glad I wasn't the only one who used it as a screensaver lol. Oh and bdsp was kinda cute but I can see why it's so hated. It's hard for me to choose between pla and sv but i think i go with legends cuz i like the action! Your right tho theres so much for us to talk about just look how long my comment is already lol ok so im gonna see whateveryone else is saying is their favorite now! Enough about me!

[@pokepress]

If they had made DLC for Legends Arceus, Iron Island as an extra location would have been interesting since while every area in the game has some enclosed areas, having an environment where most of it is enclosed would be something different.

[@johtojonny]

Agreed. Legends deserved dlc

[@AsecasJavi]

We need a pla with different cities and competitive multiplayer. That's the definitive game for me.

[@johtojonny]

That would be PRIME. Like really imagine SV with Legends mechanics (and art style tbh). Perfect game right there

[@AsecasJavi]

@@johtojonny yes, the art style is super important to me. I don't really like the SV one, but I like the updated models. The textures... Not so much. I prefer legends approach. The closer you are the easier it is to see they are scaly/furry/metallic etc. If they mixed that with the superb outline style in sword... But that's just wishes in the wind lol

[@johtojonny]

@@AsecasJavi well Legends actually did have the updated models and their textures as well, but the art style lets you only see those up close. If the next switch is more powerful though I've no doubt they can convey it better with the cel shaded art style (or even do a better job of no art style a la SV)

[@stilltoonormal8985]

I agree Legends of Arceus is a great step for Pokemon and I like to think it was partially used to create Scarlett and violet as well anyways I want them to continue the legends of series and I have a feeling that game freak will give us that as our next game before we get to generation 10

[@johtojonny]

Same I hope they make it its own side series that they pour their passion and time into!

[@AtlasArceus]

Great video! You hit on a lot of really great points for all of these games. BDSP are an interesting case for me, because it's very clear that ILCA had strict limitations on time, resources, and especially creative control when developing the game. I think the decision to take the faithful route with these remakes was smart, given the structure of the original DS games as well as GAME FREAK's desire to focus more on Legends Arceus as their main project; that said, I feel like the games could have been much better if they had simply been given more content. More Platinum features, more Pokémon and items from later generations, even legacy content like Mega Evolution (not NEW Megas necessarily, just existing Megas like in LGPE) would have added a good deal more to the experience! I'd still personally rank BDSP closer to the middle with SwSh, as I think the games do still play well to the strengths of the original DP in many ways, but I'm also well aware of the absolute host of problems these games have. Especially when you consider the rough development cycle and the strange marketing choices that went into BDSP, it's no wonder why the games ended up being such a massive disappointment to many. Legends Arceus, on the other hand, is undoubtedly my number one choice for Switch mainline Pokémon as well; at the same time, however, I've also come to realize that the game does fall short in a lot of aspects, namely gameplay depth. For all of the sheer ambition, innovation, and polish the game achieves, it does so at the cost of a lot of the series' established gameplay systems and complexities: no more abilities, held items, or online battles, and a much smaller selection of moves and Pokémon than normal. As a complete product, Legends Arceus still ranks very highly for me above all the other titles, but in all of my time playing the game I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish the game had been fleshed out just a little bit more! All in all, I feel like all of these games have their individual merits, and each one is enjoyable in its own right. Given all the years of complaints about the series becoming too formulaic, I think it's especially refreshing to be able to say that we have five Pokémon games on the Switch and all of them are drastically different from one another! They might be sometimes rushed, unpolished, or outright unsustainable, but they're anything but repetitive. :P

[@Summonsloth]

Go ahead and do those spin offs too

[@simpgod2170]

The reasons why I personally put S&V over PLA is because PLA has no multipleer, a lot less pokemon to capture (although my opinion on that is not consistent), S&V has a better story, more freedom to roam and theres not a lot of post story content in PLA to keep me interested in playing it. Also, S&V has better graphics when it comes to the pokemon and characters and I suffered with very little technical issues when it came to the game. So my experience with the game wasnt ruined at all

[@johtojonny]

SV feels so full, especially with the DLC! And the co op is the best it's ever been so far

[@scalicali8073]

The world in S&V may have more freedom but as a whole it felt more empty, the cities were really boring and what saddens me more is the potential they could have, also I never had any crash but the frame rate in S&V is really bad. Got to agree that as a whole I prefer S&V tho, it's just a shame that gamefreak didn't had more time to develop it, it could easily be the best game in the series

[@simpgod2170]

@@scalicali8073 what do u like about the game?

[@scalicali8073]

@@simpgod2170 online battles are the most fun in S&V, the story was good and it actually took me like 30 hours to beat which is better than SwSh's playtime and the soundtrack was also really great too. Shiny hunting being way more acessible and the world being truly open now makes it also more replayable so it's easy to spend a lot of hours in it just roaming around and catch some pokemon, the DLC was also nice even if it was a little shorter than I expected. As I said, the only thing I don't really like was how lifeless the cities felt and the frame rate dips, it still is an enjoyable experience

[@Matirno_]

Hard disagree tbh. For me it would be 5. Scarlet/Violet- had a few nice ideas and some solid characters, but awfull exicution. Also runs and looks awfull. . . . . . . . 4. BDSP - I love the Sinnoh Region and even grew to like the art style, but they made a bunch of weird decisions and cuts that really drag the games down. 3. Legends Arceus - similar to SV has a few good ideas with bad exicution, but the new gameplay loop and Pokédex tasks somewhat saves it. I like the slightly more mature vibes and visible progression in jubilive village. Could be 2 if it wouldn't be so ugly and the areas wouldn't be as empty as they are. 2 SwSh - I liked the region, it has one of the strongest sets of new Pokémon designs, made gym battles the most exciting they've ever been. All the routes and cities are unique and somewhat memorable. One of the best soundtracks in the franchise and a really solid artstyle, if you don't look at the wild areas. Sadly it gets dragged down by the non existend story, the technical issues, the dex cut, and the way to linear routes. 1. LGPE - Somehow the best Pokémon games on Switch imo. Beautiful remakes of the Kanto regions, that only get dragged down by the dex cut, missing post game and weird story changes. Still a very solid remake through and maybe my favourite way to play Kanto. Wish it would support the pro controller. I think the Switch era was really disappointing overall (with the games ranging from mid to awfull) and somewhat killed the love for the franchise I once had. I hope they start to put more effort into the future games, since they cleary still have some fun ideas, but can't be bothered to invest the time to actually make the games good anymore. If they continue the current trend trough I don't think we'll even have towns or a story in a few years anymore.

[@1rkhachatryan]

Hot take but I really liked let's go lol. The world was gorgeous and i loved the art style ❤️!! Honestly for me it would go like this: Legends Scarlet Let's Go . . . . . . . . . . . .BDSP Like BDSP just doesnt even compare to me, just trash lol.

[@johtojonny]

LMFAO the BDSP shade is STRONGG. And totally get how you feel about Let's Go! It's one of those games that I feel like satisfies a very specific crowd and that crowd LOVES it

[@1rkhachatryan]

@@johtojonny Only game I've refused to even play lol. It just looks so ugly to me that I can't even attempt it.

[@marinagaleotti]

Where is Swsh?

[@1rkhachatryan]

@@marinagaleotti lmfao totally forgot about it 😂😂😂...

[@felipeandres3645]

Thank you for this video! I can see the effort in creating it. I was wondering whether (forgive me if you have already) you have considered doing sth similar with the other Pokémon games in different consoles (like GB, DS, 3DS). I’d love to listen to your commentary on games like Emerald, FireRed/LeafGreen, HGSS, Platinum, B&W, S&M, etc.

[@johtojonny]

Hmm you're right that's a fun idea that I haven't tackled yet. Thank you! And I appreciate the kind words as well 😁 it's very motivating!

[@ZachAgape]

Thanks for sharing, fun video!! I completely agree with ur order! I actually didn't find Let's Go to be that bad, it was a fun and cute experience, but I agree with the critiques nonetheless. BDSP I had so much hope and excitement for, Diamond and Platinum being my first games, but it was really disappointing to not even had the Platinum elements in it. I did enjoy the Pokémon following us and the expansion to the underground and the graphics are still cute, but ya a bit of a let down. Haven't played SwSh so can't tell but your analysis makes sense! Violet and Legends: Arceus are my 2 fav Pokémon games ever, for all the reasons you mentioned as well. I'd also put LA first, primarily because it feels more wild and immersive, in part due to how the player can be attacked. But Violet did an excellent job of incorporating most of the LA benefits with the standard Pokémon game model of gyms and such. Going through its DLCs now which seem fun & I'm excited for!

[@emmastokes64]

I really liked Brilliant Diamond and shining Pearl and I think people are way too harsh on it. Most of the Platinum content is included outside of the expanded Galactic plot and the full Battle Frontier. But it also expands on the Platinum content like having more catchable pokemon and a better Amity square. You also have better gym battles where they actually use held items, the best and most challenging rematches in the series, a better battle tower, better underground, a lot of QoL features and stuff like faster HP bars and less HM spam that sinnoh was known for. The chibis were really cute too and people who complain about them is kinda dumb since every game from gen 1-gen 7 had chibis in the overworld.

[@johtojonny]

I thought the art style was really cute. I will say I am personally sad about the Platinum content being missing since I never got to play Platinum though. However I do appreciate the QOL updates. The game is cute, but I wouldn't recommend it for full price

[@NinJaguar]

My order is the same, Legends Arceus blew me away with how fun and engaging it was and stands as my #1 Pokemon game as a whole and not just on the Switch. It gave such a sensation to catching Pokemon I didn't think was possible and the sense of danger and immersion made it unforgettable! I do have to give BDSP some props for making important battles interesting with good held items and movesets on trainers, as well as inclusion of mythical Pokemon events from the base game that had been missing from gens 6-8, and having a surprisingly addictive Grand Underground. It's still overall disappointing though and my least favorite on Switch with its egregious lack of Platinum content, weird chibi character models and its overall safety/lack of exciting features. I still have yet to play Let's Go at all, I refuse to buy it without a significant sale since I just don't think I'm the target audience for it. It looks gorgeous, but beyond that I could not care for a Kanto remake with less desirable content than FRLG and the Pokemon GO catching replacing wild battles really doesn't sit right with me.

[@Laz3rCat95]

Yeah I'm inclined to agree with this, imo S/V would DEFINITELY be number 1 if they just waited a bit longer to release it.

[@johtojonny]

Yeah. Especially if they kept more of the QOL features Legends offered. Hell, even the new catching and battle initiation mechanic

[@Nameless_mixes]

Honestly, having games not made by Game Freak isn’t negative in itself. Just look at Genius Sonority’s works in Colosseum, XD, and Battle Revolution. The problem was mainly in that ILCA had zero experience in developing a full game prior to BDSP. I’d love if they delegated more games to developers outside of Game Freak. I think the time crunch has obviously had negative effects on the games. But if they give the IP to developers with more experience, it could spawn something amazing!

[@johtojonny]

Exactly. But GameFreak doesn't want to let themselves look bad so we'll never see that

[@FTChomp9980]

BDSP was the worst remake we got for Pokemon yeah it should have Platinum Content especially since Pokemon Platinum was my 1st Pokemon main series game. Now Pokemon Legends Arceus is still the best game made by GameFreak I love the story,there was customization to,interacting with Pokemon,The Story,Fun Catching Mechanic,and likable characters also New Pokemon for a bonus. Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee was the Pokemon game no Pokemon Fan has asked 4 tbh I only played through the demo that is it. Pokemon Sword and Shield I love and it hate this would be a theme 4 me in Gen 9 as well but man the linearity was so bad,no voice acting still,bad plot basically Evil Buniness Man Bad Trope very overused, Also Team Yell sucks,no National Dex I'm still salty about that but I hate the other Fans who sent death threats that I can't stand, and DLC which basically did little to improve. As for what I love for Gen 8 Sonia and Nessa r my new favorite PokeWaifus,New Pokemon,New Moves with good animation like Rilabooms signature move was so good,and Gym Challenge! Now for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet the open world was good,Characters also great,love the plot,New Pokemon,and the DLC had some ups and downs the only flaws I would say I hate is performance,graphics,and removing the PLA features but man the performance gets choppy sometimes but still a good game in there.

[@johtojonny]

Yeah I think you'll agree with a lot of what I say here then! This video was a mix of general consensus AND my own opinions so I'm curious to see who ends up agreeing or disagreeing

[@Summonsloth]

Bdsp (the butchered contests hurt my feelingd) < Let’s Go (should’ve been cheaper for missing so much content < Legends (I only played it through once because it isn’t cute enough, but now I want to replay it) < Shsh (they lied about dexit and hurt my feelings but I like the clothes and art style) = SV (bad built but the characters are good, the story is good, and I’m still having fun.)

[@ejayufaka]

I got PLA and was kinda disappointed bc i want a more competitive style. With that said, should I get swsh or SV? I grew up playing emerald and diamond and white then I stopped. Fast forward I got acreus and got let down. Lol I also wanna transfer up my Pokémon from previous games to my switch, so idk if I should get swsh or SV?

[@johtojonny]

I think SV has more Pokemon included? But it's still gonna be missing a lot and SwSh has many of the ones it's missing. I think it depends on what you care about. I think SwSh was the simpler, most cohesive experience but it had so much immersion breaking (if you don't care about large pokemon being super small, you should be good tho). And SV is definitely the more fulfilling experience as it's huge, packed with content, and extremely immersive... though I'll admit midway through the game feels like a slog where you're kinda going through the motions completing the gym challenge or one of the two other storylines. It's really based on your preference

[@ejayufaka]

@@johtojonny I want to collect more Pokémon and which game do you think I’ll be will let me transfer up more from and/or better experience transfer Pokémon to?

[@johtojonny]

@@ejayufaka definitely Scarlet/Violet then. You get a more intimate experience with the Pokemon in it vs swsh

[@ejayufaka]

@@johtojonny with that said, should I go with scarlet or violet? I just wanna know if one or the other gives me the edge when it comes to beating the game. For example, I think violet is electric and a dragon type? So would that give me a better edge than scarlet when beating the game? Or the exclusive mons don’t really give an advantage over the other? I hope all of this makes sense!!!!! Lol

[@johtojonny]

@@ejayufaka I'm honestly not sure. There's pros and cons to each. I would choose based on if you want past paradox Pokemon (scarlet) or future paradox pokemon (violet. They're almost all literally robot versions of the pokemon)

[@PipBoy3k]

I was doing cleaning around the house and found my old DS and 3DS, got absolutely hooked on pokemon again. I never got a switch and when I did hear anything of about switch pokemon it seemed like a S* show. This video summarized everything nicely.

[@randomedgygamer2191]

The only game that imo had no good values was BDSP. i still cant believe what they did. A mixture of Legends and ScaVio would be the best game. Im excited for the future.

[@one-wingedoreo]

S&V is my second favorite generation (behind Gen 4) the game was fucking amazing I liked Legends but there just wasnt enough trainer battles to keep me entertained. If it had a lot of trainers it'd probably be my favorite pokemon game ever. Sword and Shield is so bad its my least favorite generation by far. (Im now going to do you the disservice of remind you that Swordward and Shielbert were real characters put in a Pokémon game) Lets Go is kinda bad too BDSP I never played but I hear they butchered it. Sad because I was hyped and I loved the chibi artstyle since its faithful to the original game S&V and Legends are the way to go for pokemon on switch tbh.

[@johtojonny]

Imagine SV with Legends mechanics 😍

[@zankudragon]

My personal ranking would be 1. Legends Arceus 2. BDSP 3. Sword and Shield 4. Scarlet and Violet 5. Let's Go Honestly, I'm a little surprised that you think that SV is generally liked. From what I've seen, it's easily the most divisive game in the series. For all the good it tries to do, it's performance was quite unacceptable, and still is imo. I played through the main story and haven't felt the desire to pick it up since. Legends Arceus is the only one on Switch that is actually nearly universally loved.

[@pokepress]

It’s a bit hard to parse the online rhetoric for the games, since the current media environment incentivizes constant complaining, but I think S&V has some of the most easily pointed out flaws and merits, and I think that contributes to how it’s perceived.

[@AquaRat241]

tbh i would put scarlet and violet in last place. It doesn't look good, and i got bored of playing it after the easy pokemon league.

[@johtojonny]

How would you rank them in general?

[@AquaRat241]

@@johtojonny I would put pokemon scarlet and violet in last. it introduced great new pokemon but it wasnt rlly for me. Next I would put BDSP. It was a direct copy of a great game, but didn't leave me wanting to come back after the first playthrough. next i would put lets go pikachu and eevee. it was a very fun game that gave us a new way of catch and running into pokemon. next i would put SwSh. one of the best. pokemon games. and for obvious reasons my top pick is legends arceus

[@Nothing-37125]

BDSP stays overhated as usual. Access to 493 pokemon from Gen 1-4 and actually runs whereas games like Lets Go have barely have any pokemon and Scarlet/Violet look like literal pixelated vomit

[@nykolaiblichar2325]

"Most polished Pokemon game on the switch" 😂 As soon as you said that, couldn't help but notice the blank tiles off in the distance because the map doesnt full load that far away. The lies PLA fans tell 😂

[@johtojonny]

Even BOTW and TOTK can't and don't register everything on screen at once from a distance. That's genuinely a hardware limitation. Legends made sure to billboard assets... something SwSh didn't do and look at the extreme popin in that game lol

[@user-dq7tc3zm6q]

Don't kill me but Lets go > Sw+Sh.

[@johtojonny]

Different priorities i suppose

[@user-dq7tc3zm6q]

@@johtojonny I totally agree with sv and legends being on top though and bdsp on bottom.

[@mopiey1k]

why is bdsp ranked under let's go all the time- Do people really just hate on bdsp without much 2nd thought. I mean I'm not saying they aren't perfect or anything but come on hating BDSP just because is getting really really old now. They aren't that bad of games as people make em out to be

[@johtojonny]

I can see why. I listed reasons in this video, I don't think no one thought about why they don't like them. Same with Let's Go. I do agree with you though that there are also things to like and I'm sure some people even prefer them

[@pokepress]

Some of it might be that some folks would be perfectly content moving Legends Arceus up a few months and not having BDSP at all, or pushing both LA and SV back.

[@albertochinea]

Battle of mid

[@johtojonny]

💀

[@johtojonny]

In all seriousness though mid games are fun to play too. It's part of why I like Pokemon. I don't have to pay THAT much attention while playing and they feel cozy. Legends Arceus is the only one the demands attention because the Pokemon attack you loll (and I view that game to be well above mid)

[@iSalahMan]

Bad video you have bad takes