Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: The Teal Mask - Review

Mask of the expected

Console: Nintendo Switch

That took a while, no? Just like with Sword & Shield, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet have been given an expansion. The two parted 'The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero', of which the first part took nearly a year to release. Remnants of COVID? A result of Scarlet & Violet's technical issues? Who knows, but that does put the quality of this DLC into more focus. Will it be/run better, be bigger, because of this extra time? 

Well, let´s dive into the Teal Mask and see what it's all about.

 

As part of a school trip in collaboration with the Blue Berry Academy, you and some of your schoolmates travel to the land of Kitakami to participate in its annual Mask Festival. This festival is held every year in honour of the 'Loyal Three', a group of Pokémon who gave their life to protect the people from the dreaded ogre Pokémon. In Kitakami, you meet Blue Berry Students and siblings Carmine and Kiran. When you and Carmine stumble across the ogre Pokémon you learn that not everything might be what it seems. Together you decide to get to the bottom of it all while, at Carmine's behest, keeping it all a secret from the shy, and somewhat obsessed with the ogre, Kieran. 

Since the performance of Scarlet & Violet are so lacklustre and there's been a lot of discussion about this DLC running better and/or coming with that promised performance patch, let's tackle it right out of the gate. 

The performance has some thankful seen improvements though there is still quite a road to go. The most obvious improvement is with the Pokémon icons. No multiple seconds needed for them to load in every time you switch a box. No more erroneous icons in the Pokédex when you scroll through it even a little on the fast side. 

The slowdown, the stuttering and the pop-in issues are sadly still present. I have the feeling that it's slightly better here, though that's nothing more than just a feeling. I ran around in Paldea for a while, like in the Bamboo Thicket, and it looked to be a bit better than it used to be. Less pop-in, certainly.

Just like the base game, the story of the DLC is divided into multiple paths. Two, in fact. The Kitakami Mask Festival is the main story. It's a story that I liked but more because of the Momotarō story and the general Japanese influences. What you actually do is rather formulaic with a twist about the Loyal Three that, I think, we all saw coming. What I will give the team credit for is that they put in another, more character-based twist that wasn't so easy to spot. Mileage will vary on how effective this turn is though and we'll have to see if they manage to end it in a satisfying way in the Indigo Disk. 

The relationship between both siblings is a big part of the Teal Mask's story. 

The Bloodmoon Beast is, if you liked Legends: Arceus, a treat. It's not very long but it has a good atmosphere, Legends Arceus music, a cool Pokémon boss and some very welcome ties and nods to Hisui and Pokémon Snap even. For what is basically a side-quest, it's a winner. 

What people might find disappointing with both paths is that they are linear affairs. With maybe one exception it's all just going where the story tells you to go and where the map puts a marker down. It's what I expected, and I personally don't mind it, but trying to emulate the 'choose your own path' nature of the base game would've been more exciting and ambitious. Also disappointing is the length. I knew going in that the story would be on the short side but even with those expectations, I was blind-sided when I realized that it was nearly over already. 

We do have some new activities that can extend the runtime just a bit. The Ogre Oustin minigame where you ride on Koraidon/Miraidon popping balloons for rewards, aside from catching all Pokémon in the Kitakami Pokédex of course. We also have some new features to improve the overall experience like a new photo mode and improved map controls. Not bad to have. 

The fun with these Pokémon DLCs isn´t the Pokémon persé, you don´t get many new ones, but the story and new area. Just getting to play these games with more content. While I wish Mossui Town was bigger and had buildings you could actually go into, it's a fun land to run around in and explore. The land with its inspirations, its people and its surprisingly varied geography with its lakes and big mountain, makes for a very atmospheric and well-designed micro-region. 

The festival, with its mask and lanterns, is reminiscent of the traditional Japanese Summer festivals, Matsuri. The Loyal Three and Ogrepon is a Pokémonized version of a Japanese folktale, the story of Momotarō. This switch from a Spanish to Japanese-inspired land might seem like a sudden, random swerve but has roots in history. In 1570, the isolationist Japan allowed the Spanish to set up a tradepost on the artificial island of Dejima. To serve as a connection between Japan and the West. Kitakami smartly combines elements of Dejima the mountains Mallorca and remote Japanese mountain villages. A very neat inspiration, if I do say so myself. 

And now a quick word on the new Pokémon. I like them. We have the Momotarō Pokémon, Loyal Three and Ogerpon, and they have easily recognizable and solid designs. Their personality really comes through which makes them, and the story now to think of it, more memorable. Dipplin has a bit of that "it's clearly a Pokémon added to the line later" syndrome but it's still pretty neat. Poltchageist and Sinistcha could've easily just been regional forms instead of convergent Pokémon but that's my only complaint about them. I like them. That last one? Well, I'll just say that it's a cool Pokémon whose acquisition is annoying me a bit. 

The Loyal Three, Munkidori, Okidogi and Fezandipiti, who are based on the monkey, dog and pheasant companions of Momotarō.

The roster of around 100 returning Pokémon is solid, just by the by. Some Gen 1 holdouts like Ekans, some newer Pokémon like Jangmo-o etc. Still can't evolve Stantler into Wyrdeer in Scarlet & Violet even with Kitakami's Hisuian flair and Stantler returning though. Stil stupid that the Pokémon company treats Wyrdeer, Kleavor and Ursaluna so weirdly. A little rant I needed to vent. 

My last point is about the levelling in the Teal Mask. Just like The Isle of Armor, there are two sets of levels for wild Pokémon and battles. If you start the DLC right after finishing the opening act of the base game it starts at around lv. 10. If you finished the story then it'll start at around lv. 60. This means that you can either play the DLC as a fourth story path in conjunction with the ones in the base game or, like most at the moment, as a post-game story. 

If you don't just take your champion team to Kitakami, if you catch new Pokémon, it's a surprisingly well-balanced affair. Except for one thing: the experience gain. Because so many trainers and Wild Pokémon, especially early on, are high-level, low-evolution stage Pokémon the experience you get is quite measly. It takes a while for your Pokémon to gain even a single level. It's why they brought the Exp. Charm back, an item that increases exp by 50% to help alleviate this problem a bit. And 'a bit' is the keyword there. 

Conclusion

The first part of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, The Teal Mask, tells an atmospheric story set against a backdrop of Japanese culture and the Momotarō folktale in a small land that's fun to explore. It has some nice new and returning Pokémon and a few extra features and mini-games for a Trainer to dig their teeth into and improve the overall experience. The technical and performance issues that plagued the base game, however, persist. The DLC's linear nature and relatively short length may leave some players wanting more. When it's all sad and done, it's an OK addition for those seeking for more Scarlet & Violet, but I can't recommend it to people looking for an experience that enhances the game.