[Legends: Arceus] should i buy the new scarlet or buy legends

[95talon07]

Hello. Just looking for imput on what game to buy for my son and I. should i buy the new game, scarlet and violet, or should i buy legends. seeing as the reviews for the new game arent outstanding, im leaning towards legends.
neither of us have played either, and i have only ever played the original. any imput would be great thanks.

 

[_confused_piplup_]

Hello! Welcome to the forum!
Simply put, they are different games:
Scarlet and Violet are the current "real" games, which means they get the events and they are meant to last longer and they have all the new Pokémon. Probably next year a DLC for this game will be released, making the game last longer (but obviously more expensive).
On the other hand, Pokémon Legends: Arceus belongs to an older generation of games (so no new pokemon and less pokemon in general).
Other than that, Pokémon Legends Arceus is just a totally different game idea compared to older games: it's meant to be played after Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum or after their remakes: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
It's not necessary obviously, but it surely it gives more importance and enjoyability to the game.
It has to be said that while Pokémon Legends Arceus is an Open-map game (only some areas are completely free to explore), Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are totally Open-world, which means every area can be explored freely. Now, this is subjective, but in general Open-world games tend to be more fun. I haven't finished pokemon Violet yet, so I can't say which one is better (for now I prefer the exploration in Pokémon legends Arceus), but the not outstanding reviews for the new games are mainly because Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have some technical issues: low framerate, some bugs and lags. Now, this is subjective as well, but while it's true that those issues can be annoying, they don't ruin the fun part of the game.
Many players are angry at the new games especially because they are underperforming compared to some other Switch games and while I recognize this is indeed an issue for the game, it's also true that it won't compromise the fun part of the game.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, with their open-world structure, are indeed innovative and interesting games to play.
I think an adult could probably enjoy both Scarlet/Violet and Pokémon legends Arceus considering how different from the older games they are.
I hope this will help!

 

[Sheep]

Both are very good. Legends isn't perfect either but it definitely has less graphical bugs (and bugs altogether) than SV, so if that is very important to you, I'd recommend L:A (assuming you're both okay with it being a bit different to your traditional Pokémon game). Personally I found SV a bit more fun - it's totally open-world like piplup said so exploration is more seamless, and the story gets extremely good by the end. Dare I say even the best in the series. There's more to do overall if you're into tera raiding, and obviously bunches of new Pokémon to catch. It's also near guaranteed that there will be DLC in the future while Arceus is largely finished.

Personally I find both great and would recommend both. If more smooth/lag-free gameplay is extra important to you I'd pick L:A first but SV should still be something you try out later if you're open to it. Just be sure to not go long periods without saving your game. Bugs and graphical issues are definitely there, but most of the time are not game-breaking nor do anything serious to your file. Despite some reports of crashes, I've personally never had anything more than some graphics clipping through things and other minor visual glitches. It's very fun despite issues.

 

[95talon07]

Thank you very much for the replies. I think we are gonna go for the new scarlet version. Cant wait to see his excitement that I experienced when I was his age.