>>41865438Hop is the
second most important thing in the game, I swear. Bede is great, as well as RaiRai. Honestly speaking though, I'm probably just around the halfway mark of the game, and I can say with confidence that of the modern era of mainline Pokemon games, Sword and Shield is one of the best.
Indeed, the lack of a National Dex, when it should just be in there, is a valid complaint. As is Game Freak continuing their usual trend of nonsense such as: removing features, continuing to use the same models despite having access to stronger hardware, corridors and hallways, and, still resorting to low-quality animations (like simply rotating the models, or using "stickers").
However, they did do a knockout job in other aspects. Raids are both fun and challenging. The Wild Area is actually an enjoyable setting. The characters are all very colourful and enjoyable, which is clearly seen throughout the fan community. For once, it actually feels like a "cast", and not just a bunch of NPCs you'll curbstomp once before moving onto the next. Even Sword-kun and Shield-chan "feel more like characters" than previous Protagonists. The new Pokemon and Galarian Formes seem to generally be well-received. The OST, I feel, is another collection of hits.
All in all, I would have to say I find this pair of games is a more enjoyable experience than XY, SM, and LGPE. And yeah again the boys are amazing haha. Tangent over!