Pokemon is the highest-grossing video game franchise of all time, and it’s not even close. At $90 billion, Pokemon has made three times as much as Mario, five times more than Call of Duty, and ten times as much as Grand Theft Auto. Game Freak also puts out the worst looking triple-A games of all time. Again, it’s not even close. This isn’t a matter of taste, you can’t write off the graphics in Pokemon Legends: Arceus as a stylistic choice, and it isn’t a limitation of the hardware. The Switch has a massive library of beautiful games with strong art direction, including New Pokemon Snap. It’s a fact that Legends: Arceus is visually unimpressive. Its drab, low-resolution textures and empty environments make it look like a game from ten years ago, if not longer. It looks bad y’all, I don’t know why this is even a debate.

I’m not just looking for a reason to hate on Pokemon. Quite the opposite, actually. Pokemon is my favorite thing in the world. I just finished a column where I reviewed all 24 Pokemon movies. I’m Master Rank in Pokemon Unite. I’ve collected Pokemon cards my entire life, and I have a corner of my room dedicated to Umbreon merch. I wish I didn’t have to prove my Pokemon credentials to you, but that’s the position I find myself in when I say something as obvious as “Legends: Arceus has bad graphics and there’s no excuse for it.”

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Why are so many people so defensive about this issue? I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy Arceus and enjoy it. I plan to myself, and I’m confident that it’s going to be a great game. No one should be bothered when critics and players point out that it looks unimpressive, or that it would be a better game if it had modern graphics. It’s true, and it’s a good thing to point out. Criticism isn’t negativity for the sake of negativity when it’s constructive. When we talk about flaws in Pokemon or any game, it’s because we love these games and we want future titles to be better. That’s sort of the point of criticism, after all.

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I get the instinct to defend your favorite things, especially Pokemon, a franchise that has been with most of us since childhood. But identifying weaknesses is not the same thing as bashing it unfairly. Pokemon games have a problem. It’s been a problem for a long time, and the only way it's ever going to change is if we keep talking about it.

I don’t play Pokemon games for the graphics. If I did, I’d hate every game. But I don’t imagine I’ve ever played a game ‘for’ the graphics. People like to reject this criticism by saying gameplay is more important than graphics. I agree, but that doesn’t mean graphics aren’t important, too. Graphics are a huge part of the experience, and better graphics make games more enjoyable to play.

I think Game Freak has done an excellent job at keeping players’ expectations low. 2021 was the highest-grossing year for Pokemon physical releases since 2000, and Legends: Arceus is undoubtedly going to make a massive pile of money. Success doesn’t mean that issues like this can’t or won’t be addressed. It just isn’t the case that Game Freak only cares about making money. It could make a lot more money drilling for oil or manufacturing healthcare products, but Game Freak makes games because the team is passionate about building worlds and creating fun experiences for people.

We have to continue talking about the graphical elephant in the room with every new release so that the developers know this is something that needs to improve. If you argue against fair and reasonable criticism like this, you’re only hurting yourself.

Next: Pokemon Legends: Arceus Is A Stick Or Twist Moment