Pokémon Scarlet & Violet update version 2.0.2: Is it still a buggy mess? Here's what we know

2022’s Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have gone through a lot of controversies and criticisms. Mainly because of its buggy state during launch. Nearly a year after their initial release and after multiple update and fixes, the question arises: Is the latest version, 2.0.2 of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, worth playing?

Nintendo has recently rolled out version 2.0.2 of the game, introducing various bug fixes and improvements. A new DLC titled “The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 1: The Teal Mask” was also released just a month ago. Nonetheless, with all these patches and added content, has the game truly become playable? Let’s explore.

Pokemon is one of the biggest and most influential franchises in the world. With millions of loyal fans from every generation, Pokemon is considered one of the most profitable IPs in history. But with such acclaim come its shortcomings.

The Pokemon franchise consistently releases new games on an almost yearly basis, subjecting the development team to immense pressure and resulting in products of subpar or even poor quality.

This was very prominent in the latest mainline entry in the series, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Launched with severe performance issues, poor graphics, and buckets full of bugs, fans had deemed the games “unplayable.” And almost a year later, the team at GameFreak has slowly patched the game into a playable state.

With each patch, many bugs were squashed, and game-breaking issues were acknowledged and fixed. However, considering all the player reports and statements from critics, it seems Scarlet and Violet are still not ‘perfect’.

On social media, many people have complained that even after the latest patch, the game is still suffering from performance issues. The update may have improved the bugs and issues, but the graphics still exhibit poor quality. The game is still having very frequent FPS issues.

In the end, it seems like no matter how many patches Gamefreak makes for Scarlet and Violet, the core game will still remain lacking. And this problem will also be apparent in future games until the franchise changes its approach. Instead of quantity, Pokemon needs to focus on quality.

Much like the path that the Legend of Zelda took, the Pokemon franchise needs a re-haul if it wants to offer products worthy of its reputation. But looking at the sales figures and their business practices in the past, this seems like a far-fetched dream.

The update contains various bug fixes. Including a major bug that prevented some side missions like the ‘Kitakami Ogre Clan quest’ from being completed. The update also allows players to go beyond 300 optional battles won. Previously, it was a hard cap that prevented players from completing certain missions.

Additionally, the update fixed an issue where it was not previously possible to transfer certain special Pokémon to Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet via Pokémon HOME. It occured if those Pokémon were brought into Pokémon HOME from Pokémon GO. Even if a Pokémon of the same species had already been obtained in Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet prior to version 1.3.2.

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Feature image source: Nintendo

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