>>33854583It's still a little absurd for it to be that triangle-heavy if that's the in-battle model (though maybe it isn't, I don't recognize the weird flowers on the one hand)
It's not about the engine either, most of them are probably running off the same graphics libraries anyway. Unity3D games that lag do so not because the engine is flawed, but because it gets used by people with less experience who don't know how to optimize their models (like the Magearna model), or just dump a bunch of random assets in without thinking. The games that run well in Unity are the ones made by professionals, which is why you don't know they were made in Unity.
The hardware is the main limiting factor. I don't know how the 3DS and Switch compare to each other, but maybe it'll help. I also think the transition to 3D has been a little bumpy for GameFreak, but maybe they're in a place now to do a better job.
Also, Mario is the main character in that game, and there's only one of him in the game. Not every model is going to be that expensive. You put a ton of your resources into the main character because they're on screen the whole game, and then you cut every corner you can on everything they interact with.
