How were these games so poorly received at their time of release? Looking back at them, they are a massive step forward compared to Sword/Shield.

They were more of a generational leap than SWSH could ever dream to be, and yet people chastised the games for having 'too many cutscenes' - which Sword and Shield had fucking none and it was a complete shitshow from every angle.

The game has a much more cohesive artstyle, cities feel lively as fuck, it has an actual day/night cycle that gives each city its own unique vibe during both cycles, characters are more charming, story is infinitely more engaging than the shitshow we got in SWSH, evil team is actually good, I could go on and on.