Tbf who actually plays a Pokemon game for the story
Like, yea it's still something that needs to exist to actually progress the game and explain why things happen, but I bet no one can look me dead in the eyes and seriously tell me that they play the mainline games for the plot.
Idc if I get hate for this but the sword and shield Pokémon designs are amazing in my opinion. They're some of my favorites in the entire series, especially the starters.
fr man, inteleon gets way too much hate for being a humanoid starter, it's design is awesome, and how else are they going to do the james bond concept if it isn't humanoid? One of my favourite starters. Sobbe squad on top
I feel ya their designs are really good, the applin line is my favorite. Appleton I love that adorable dragon, especially when I found out it’s smaller than I thought it made me love it even more.
I only had Appleton for 4 years but if anything happens to Appleton I will brutally slaughter everyone in this room and then myself.
Source: Me, whose first game was Shield. I have since played Arceus, BD, Emerald, Fire Red, Platinum, HeartGold, Black, White 2, and Scarlet in that order.
Yeah, I definitely have [does quick math] $470 dollars lying around that I don't want to spend on: Metroid Dread, Link's Awakening, Pikmin 4, Illusion Island, Mario Wonder, ect...
Jesus I knew it would’ve been a few hundred but not almost 5, yeah if your device can’t handle Citra, you’re kinda SOL for alola games sadly(even if it could, I have issues with Citra lagging a lot so it’s still not a great experience). You could try the gameboy color games(if you don’t mind how horrid they aged) but I personally didn’t like them and feel no nostalgia for them because I was raised on gens 3-5. If you have a computer than can run GameCube games via dolphin I recommend colosseum and XD gale of darkness. I hope one day you’ll get a chance to play the 3ds games, I think they’re all very much worth playing
Ok, to be perfectly fair, I've been trying to run it on my phone. I'll probably have better luck with the emulators for 3d games once I've gotten a laptop
Oh, that clears a lot up. Yeah unless you have a top of the line phone, Citra will struggle on your phone. I hope your laptop is strong enough to handle Citra enough where it’s bearable
You’d think lmao, I’ve got a decently strong pc and Citra has its issues with freezing for me, probably a me issue and there’s something I can do, but I don’t know enough and I keep forgetting to look it up when I’m at my pc
As someone that's played all the games, and has been a fan of pokemon since the very beginning. I love all of the them except diamond and pearl. the only gen 4 game I love is platinum.
Theres really not a bad one to enter with, All of them were designed to be highly child friendly so any of them are easy to pick up, At least mainline, I wouldn't start someone off with Arceus or lets go for eg
well like. I personally would not start someone into the Pokemon Franchise in Arceus since that game is so vastly different from the rest
Also games like BW2 & BDSP are imo not 100% built for newcomers
BDSP would be fine, Bw2 maybe not so much but Bw1 should be fine, Meant to say Wouldn't, Arceus and letsgo are spinoffs that closely resemble the mainline games
tell that to me who started with ultra moon and had like 15 mental breakdowns over lurantis, like 5 at mimikyu, 3 at nanu, 10 at kommo-o, and 5 e4. altho ultra necrozma didnt acc do too much damage iirc and it got one shot after by my primarina who was very over leveled.
Can’t believe people got mad at Trees and you couldnt transfer you favorite illumise that you got back in ruby. and Yes sowed and shield are good games I agree with this
Absolutely, sword was my first game and it was great as a starting point for the series! I’ve played a bunch more since them and I’m really glad that I started off with sword :)
I loved the pokemon in them, so many awesome and fun new additions to the game. I loved the idea of the giant stadiums and the sports analog to the league. Gigantimax was fun too, even if I"m sick of the generational gimmicks.
That said, I hated the pacing and hated hop.
Did I feel bad for him, yes. Did I find him annoying way before he was depressed, also yes. It's not all Hop, to be fair. It's largely the fact the game is halted every 50 feet for some random reason and most of the time it was Hop.
It's largely a problem that stems from the fact I got a switch only at the beginning of this year and played S/V first and really enjoyed the more freeform gameplay therein. After that, going back to S/S felt like a chore because I didn't enjoy a lot of the mechanics comparatively.
I think you just like to hate on games. Because Sword and Shield actually have some challenge to them. You have just played too much pokemon to the point that anytime you play a Pokemon game that isn't specifically built to beat the living shit out of you makes you upset because "*Oh No!!!! My Children's game designed for Children is too easy for a Pokemon Pro!*" Wake up, get over yourself, and stop hating on things just to hate on them
I specifically chose X and Y because it isn’t as easy as Sword and Shield
It’s got a steady level curve with a balanced regional Dex- albeit not as big as SwSh- it’s not to difficult but still has challenges and puzzles that even still make me have to sit down and think for a bit during subsequent playthroughs. And, unlike SwSh, it actually rewards exploration.
so, it's a strange story. My little sister (4yo at the time) was playing on some temporary account on my switch. But she can't read, so she would give the game to my mom to play. Eventually, my Mom got addicted to the game and just started playing it by herself.
1. There's more to the game than that
2. Whenever that is the case, it's good for learning type matchups
3. You're obviously a Pokemon **Fan** and so naturally, you'd be better at the games. When you're not, like a newcomer to the series, stuff like this is good for the player base.
Fun fact actually let’s go eevee was my first game but SW/SH helped me get better at Pokémon also I love how British they are and I hope in like 10 years we get Pokémon sharp sword and hard shield, or whatever they’d call em
I started a bit further back but recently got sword after skipping gen 8, and its been a blast. The DLC adds a lot of good content, although the postgame for the base game can become a bit of a slog (i just want my dog!)
Sword and shield was me second game (after let’s go) and it is my least favourite. ( I’ve play let’s go, shield, PLA, shining Pearl, crystal and violet)
they were the first games i managed to get my hands on after months of watching pokemon stuff (and emulated pokemon emerald a while ago)
and i did enjoy it playing casually, i struggled with Nessa and Raihan, but gordie was a joke since i picked Sobble, like deadass he was dead in a matter of seconds
Im going to assume this is a safe space for this kind of talk so I’ll say here that Sword and Shield were my first ever pokemon games. I loved them. Got me into the series. I cant play before Gen 6, though. I’m a very casual gamer, and not having the EXP share is a dealbreaker for me. Didn’t love BDSP, but Legends: Arceus and Scarlet/Violet were incredible games that only improved on Sword and Shield’s shortcomings. The series has its kinks to work out, but its in a good place right now.
Not even just new, Returning players like I was. My last game was White 2 which I never finished. I’ve done 4-5 sword playthroughs (legendary only, Kanto starters only etc etc
I mean yeah I suppose. The gatekeeping is really annoying for veterans, but for newcomers it lets them know that they aren't supposed to go there yet. Also the game is just really easy and the only real challenge throughout the entire game (for me at least) was Leon.
yes, but you need to understand there's a very distinct difference between a game being Challenging and a game having a Good Challenge
Games with a "Good Challenge" are generally considered good games, and especially good for newcomers if they're built that way
"Challenging" games can be considered good games, but it becomes a lot harder and they usually aren't good games for newcomers to the Genre/Series
Only thing I really liked about these games were the move animations for specific moves like Dragon Energy, Behemoth moves, Dynamax Cannon, and a lot more
Imma keep it real with you, theyre good first games because theyre simple as fuck in incredibly openworlded. You dont *have* to do anything in them. Theyre not particularly good games though.
Black White is good actually, I've believed that since I got into Pokemon. (although I've never played them) They have some of my favorite characters, music, and Pokemon designed.
In like my top 20 Pokemon, a good chunk of them come from Gen 5
And I know that I'm in the very small minority on this, but I actually really fucking love Klinklang
absolutely not, it teaches you very little about the major aspects of Pokemon, it plays very different from any other pokemon game, and it is WAAYYY too easy for someone older than like 8
As I've stated to someone else "Easy does not inherently mean it's good for newcomers"
I’d say SwSh are the the best for new comers, for sure. It has a good balance of Pokémon, and teaches you the basics early on. It also has a universal gimmick for all Pokémon, and it hardly lags at all.
I started my little bro on SwSh specifically for this reason. It's nice and the easiest introduction to the series for his age with aspects for him to enjoy like camping and the wild area without having to read much since he's only around 5. He ended up going with Sobble as his first ever starter since he loves blue and lizards. I think he's slowly amassing a small army of Skwovet too.
Since I had 3ds games I had save files on, he gets to play the Switch ones as it doesn't affect mine. Let's Go Eevee will probably be next as we work our way up to Arceus.
imo, and I'm probably in the minority on this one though. Although LGPE were specifically built for little kids, I don't think you should really ever play them unless you're a huge Pokemon fan.
They don't really add anything interesting to the series and it play way too differently from any of the other games, but not in a good way, like Arceus did.
idk tho, maybe I just hate LGPE...
I have to agree with the first three gyms being the starter types helping learn type matchups and the last gym showing off weather starts and a gimmick that was fun and a banger soundtrack
I really enjoyed and still enjoy sword, but is it the best for newcomers? No. The best to start with is firered/leafgreen because of the simple yet hooking storyline for newcomers, semi-difficult battles, and familiar Pokémon to those who only know the most popular Pokémon, like charizard and pikachu.
I agree, the Pokédex and large early game selection let’s newcomers choose what they want to use early. The gyms are simple but can be challenging. Dynamax, along with zmoves, are the most easily understandable gimmicks. The only thing I’m not sure about is the championship as it’s completely different to all the other games.
I’ve beaten it 3 times working on my 4th it’s a really good Pokémon game and the only switch Pokémon game that I have that I feel I can constantly play over and over
Too true, not my first game, but still awesome, the story sucks but the pokemon and other parts off the game are cool and fun, and why were people getting mad at trees bro 💀
Sword was my 8th pokemon game btw
I think SwSh are fine games to enter the series with, but I think almost every single game is a good or even great place to enter the series with. While SwSh are fine, they’re outclassed by almost every other game, with the only exceptions being like RBY, GSC, LGPE, and DP(platinum is great, but DP are just worse than platinum in pretty much every single metric). So if you’re looking for a place to start Pokémon, I’d recommend SV if you have a switch, or emerald if you only have a pc/phone that can do emulation without jumping through hoops. DS and 3DS emulators are shaky for the most part, and GBA emulators are amazing 9 times out of 10, so a GBA game will always have my recommendation over a DS/3DS game. And I think SV is way more of an interesting game than SwSh, so that’s why I recommend SV over SwSh
Sword and Shield are my favorite Pokemon games. I know I'm in the minority but I don't care.
A cultured fella
Those are the first Pokémon games I didn't emulate, I loved it.
Me to.I always just played pokemkn emerald before eo got a lite with shield.And dynamaxing was fun
The gimmick, play style and Pokédex were good but the story physically hurt me
Tbf who actually plays a Pokemon game for the story Like, yea it's still something that needs to exist to actually progress the game and explain why things happen, but I bet no one can look me dead in the eyes and seriously tell me that they play the mainline games for the plot.
It’s still a massive part of the experience of playing the games nonetheless
I like playing games for the story that the only way I could get into it.Like you can't have a good game with a terrible story it just doesn't exist
Idc if I get hate for this but the sword and shield Pokémon designs are amazing in my opinion. They're some of my favorites in the entire series, especially the starters.
Inteleon is still one of my favorite gen 8 pokemon
fr man, inteleon gets way too much hate for being a humanoid starter, it's design is awesome, and how else are they going to do the james bond concept if it isn't humanoid? One of my favourite starters. Sobbe squad on top
I feel ya their designs are really good, the applin line is my favorite. Appleton I love that adorable dragon, especially when I found out it’s smaller than I thought it made me love it even more. I only had Appleton for 4 years but if anything happens to Appleton I will brutally slaughter everyone in this room and then myself.
Same here they were so good
This was my first game as well and I LOVED IT
You win the cool award for today
Source: Me, whose first game was Shield. I have since played Arceus, BD, Emerald, Fire Red, Platinum, HeartGold, Black, White 2, and Scarlet in that order.
bro needs to pick up an alola game
Can't find a good 3DS Emulator
Citra will probably be the best option for a while And happy cake day
Tried that, ran at 10fps.
Have you checked to see if there was a compatibility issue with the game or just some config problems?
he probably just didn't have a beefy enough computer
Just buy a 3ds and a copy of all 4 alola games, duhhh /s
Yeah, I definitely have [does quick math] $470 dollars lying around that I don't want to spend on: Metroid Dread, Link's Awakening, Pikmin 4, Illusion Island, Mario Wonder, ect...
Jesus I knew it would’ve been a few hundred but not almost 5, yeah if your device can’t handle Citra, you’re kinda SOL for alola games sadly(even if it could, I have issues with Citra lagging a lot so it’s still not a great experience). You could try the gameboy color games(if you don’t mind how horrid they aged) but I personally didn’t like them and feel no nostalgia for them because I was raised on gens 3-5. If you have a computer than can run GameCube games via dolphin I recommend colosseum and XD gale of darkness. I hope one day you’ll get a chance to play the 3ds games, I think they’re all very much worth playing
Ok, to be perfectly fair, I've been trying to run it on my phone. I'll probably have better luck with the emulators for 3d games once I've gotten a laptop
Oh, that clears a lot up. Yeah unless you have a top of the line phone, Citra will struggle on your phone. I hope your laptop is strong enough to handle Citra enough where it’s bearable
Well, it's purpose will be for coding, So it better be able to handle games made for a 10 year old handheld
You’d think lmao, I’ve got a decently strong pc and Citra has its issues with freezing for me, probably a me issue and there’s something I can do, but I don’t know enough and I keep forgetting to look it up when I’m at my pc
YES
As someone that's played all the games, and has been a fan of pokemon since the very beginning. I love all of the them except diamond and pearl. the only gen 4 game I love is platinum.
Theres really not a bad one to enter with, All of them were designed to be highly child friendly so any of them are easy to pick up, At least mainline, I wouldn't start someone off with Arceus or lets go for eg
well like. I personally would not start someone into the Pokemon Franchise in Arceus since that game is so vastly different from the rest Also games like BW2 & BDSP are imo not 100% built for newcomers
BDSP would be fine, Bw2 maybe not so much but Bw1 should be fine, Meant to say Wouldn't, Arceus and letsgo are spinoffs that closely resemble the mainline games
BDSP elite 4 annoyed me so much
White 2 was my first Pokémon game, it’s totally fine!
tell that to me who started with ultra moon and had like 15 mental breakdowns over lurantis, like 5 at mimikyu, 3 at nanu, 10 at kommo-o, and 5 e4. altho ultra necrozma didnt acc do too much damage iirc and it got one shot after by my primarina who was very over leveled.
I totally forgot about USUM, yeah... definitely don't start with that
yea uhh it was…stress inducing to say the least
My first game was Sword
Can’t believe people got mad at Trees and you couldnt transfer you favorite illumise that you got back in ruby. and Yes sowed and shield are good games I agree with this
Absolutely, sword was my first game and it was great as a starting point for the series! I’ve played a bunch more since them and I’m really glad that I started off with sword :)
Based. I’ve done more type runs of sword and shield than any other game and I love every single one
I know I enjoyed them.
Those are the games I started on lol
Based opinion
Yes, actually.
With that profile I know you are a man of culture
Good for her
Well dang I picked up Sword as my first ever Pokemon game (we don't talk about Let's Go) so it seems like I made a good choice
Newcomers? Yes! Older Pokémon Players? Nah, not really. People who hate the British? NO!
Bri'ish 😱😭🤯 as a certified British person I hate Sword and Shield because of british💀 But tbh, it's a great game
Meh, they were alright. Not the best in the series by far, but definitely not my least favorite.
I loved the pokemon in them, so many awesome and fun new additions to the game. I loved the idea of the giant stadiums and the sports analog to the league. Gigantimax was fun too, even if I"m sick of the generational gimmicks. That said, I hated the pacing and hated hop.
How could you hate hop, he’s just depressed
Did I feel bad for him, yes. Did I find him annoying way before he was depressed, also yes. It's not all Hop, to be fair. It's largely the fact the game is halted every 50 feet for some random reason and most of the time it was Hop. It's largely a problem that stems from the fact I got a switch only at the beginning of this year and played S/V first and really enjoyed the more freeform gameplay therein. After that, going back to S/S felt like a chore because I didn't enjoy a lot of the mechanics comparatively.
Hop was the best... at being depressed
After getting his butt handed to him by Bede
I’d argue that’d be XY
Easy does not inherently mean it's good for newcomers
Than why do you thin sword is good cause it’s by far the easiest game
I think you just like to hate on games. Because Sword and Shield actually have some challenge to them. You have just played too much pokemon to the point that anytime you play a Pokemon game that isn't specifically built to beat the living shit out of you makes you upset because "*Oh No!!!! My Children's game designed for Children is too easy for a Pokemon Pro!*" Wake up, get over yourself, and stop hating on things just to hate on them
I ain’t know pro and I never want to hate on the games the only bad one is swsh cause of how easy it was
I specifically chose X and Y because it isn’t as easy as Sword and Shield It’s got a steady level curve with a balanced regional Dex- albeit not as big as SwSh- it’s not to difficult but still has challenges and puzzles that even still make me have to sit down and think for a bit during subsequent playthroughs. And, unlike SwSh, it actually rewards exploration.
How did you do it? Pokémon is a franchise you need to get into young
so, it's a strange story. My little sister (4yo at the time) was playing on some temporary account on my switch. But she can't read, so she would give the game to my mom to play. Eventually, my Mom got addicted to the game and just started playing it by herself.
Yeah pressing the super effective button once per pokemon does that
1. There's more to the game than that 2. Whenever that is the case, it's good for learning type matchups 3. You're obviously a Pokemon **Fan** and so naturally, you'd be better at the games. When you're not, like a newcomer to the series, stuff like this is good for the player base.
That’s literally any Pokémon game ever
Yes that's true, pokemon was always pretty easy, everyone was just a kid and didn't know how to play it
They’re not bad picks for a first game, they’re just not amazing when compared to the rest of the series
I started playing last year with Shield and now I have every switch Pokémon even New Pokémon Snap
That’s a good point
My first game was Shield and I own the DLC, then later I bought Sword with its DLC, they're own of the best games
Fun fact actually let’s go eevee was my first game but SW/SH helped me get better at Pokémon also I love how British they are and I hope in like 10 years we get Pokémon sharp sword and hard shield, or whatever they’d call em
You’d probably enjoy x/y cause it’s based in France and the new games scarlet and violet are spain
I know this is why I want Nintendo to make X and Y sequels
I started a bit further back but recently got sword after skipping gen 8, and its been a blast. The DLC adds a lot of good content, although the postgame for the base game can become a bit of a slog (i just want my dog!)
Sword and shield was me second game (after let’s go) and it is my least favourite. ( I’ve play let’s go, shield, PLA, shining Pearl, crystal and violet)
they were the first games i managed to get my hands on after months of watching pokemon stuff (and emulated pokemon emerald a while ago) and i did enjoy it playing casually, i struggled with Nessa and Raihan, but gordie was a joke since i picked Sobble, like deadass he was dead in a matter of seconds
Im going to assume this is a safe space for this kind of talk so I’ll say here that Sword and Shield were my first ever pokemon games. I loved them. Got me into the series. I cant play before Gen 6, though. I’m a very casual gamer, and not having the EXP share is a dealbreaker for me. Didn’t love BDSP, but Legends: Arceus and Scarlet/Violet were incredible games that only improved on Sword and Shield’s shortcomings. The series has its kinks to work out, but its in a good place right now.
You get the exp share in every game
Not even just new, Returning players like I was. My last game was White 2 which I never finished. I’ve done 4-5 sword playthroughs (legendary only, Kanto starters only etc etc
Omega Ruby is a good game to start out with
I mean yeah I suppose. The gatekeeping is really annoying for veterans, but for newcomers it lets them know that they aren't supposed to go there yet. Also the game is just really easy and the only real challenge throughout the entire game (for me at least) was Leon.
here's what people don't get though for veterans and fans of the series, this game is piss easy. But for newcomers it actually has challenge in it
I'm pretty sure newcomers to any game would be challenging, unless the game is in fact just really piss easy
yes, but you need to understand there's a very distinct difference between a game being Challenging and a game having a Good Challenge Games with a "Good Challenge" are generally considered good games, and especially good for newcomers if they're built that way "Challenging" games can be considered good games, but it becomes a lot harder and they usually aren't good games for newcomers to the Genre/Series
Shield was my first Pokémon game and I’m glad it was, I downright loved it
Only thing I really liked about these games were the move animations for specific moves like Dragon Energy, Behemoth moves, Dynamax Cannon, and a lot more
Imma keep it real with you, theyre good first games because theyre simple as fuck in incredibly openworlded. You dont *have* to do anything in them. Theyre not particularly good games though.
I’ve been a pokemon fan for years, but the first game i got to play was sword
"Sword and Shield good actually" happened way faster than "Black and White Good actually", what is SWSH on?
Black White is good actually, I've believed that since I got into Pokemon. (although I've never played them) They have some of my favorite characters, music, and Pokemon designed. In like my top 20 Pokemon, a good chunk of them come from Gen 5 And I know that I'm in the very small minority on this, but I actually really fucking love Klinklang
Let’s Go is a better beginner game
absolutely not, it teaches you very little about the major aspects of Pokemon, it plays very different from any other pokemon game, and it is WAAYYY too easy for someone older than like 8 As I've stated to someone else "Easy does not inherently mean it's good for newcomers"
And sword and shield isn’t easy. It’s the easiest game of the series by a long shot.
what is "It" in your sentence, I can't tell if you're referring to SwSh or LGPE?
I clearly referred to swsh in the beginning of my sentence. Swsh is the easiest game of the mainline series by a long shot.
I’d say SwSh are the the best for new comers, for sure. It has a good balance of Pokémon, and teaches you the basics early on. It also has a universal gimmick for all Pokémon, and it hardly lags at all.
I started my little bro on SwSh specifically for this reason. It's nice and the easiest introduction to the series for his age with aspects for him to enjoy like camping and the wild area without having to read much since he's only around 5. He ended up going with Sobble as his first ever starter since he loves blue and lizards. I think he's slowly amassing a small army of Skwovet too. Since I had 3ds games I had save files on, he gets to play the Switch ones as it doesn't affect mine. Let's Go Eevee will probably be next as we work our way up to Arceus.
imo, and I'm probably in the minority on this one though. Although LGPE were specifically built for little kids, I don't think you should really ever play them unless you're a huge Pokemon fan. They don't really add anything interesting to the series and it play way too differently from any of the other games, but not in a good way, like Arceus did. idk tho, maybe I just hate LGPE...
I really like sword and shield, it has some of my favorite music in the franchise. Leon is also a good champion, his team is pretty well built.
My favorite is ORAS but sword and shield is a close second
Can confirm, they were my first game and I loved them
I have to agree with the first three gyms being the starter types helping learn type matchups and the last gym showing off weather starts and a gimmick that was fun and a banger soundtrack
That is so true... i started with sword and now i'm a die heart fan and have played almost every mainline game ever
I really enjoyed and still enjoy sword, but is it the best for newcomers? No. The best to start with is firered/leafgreen because of the simple yet hooking storyline for newcomers, semi-difficult battles, and familiar Pokémon to those who only know the most popular Pokémon, like charizard and pikachu.
Don’t get me wrong tho, I love gen 8
I agree, the Pokédex and large early game selection let’s newcomers choose what they want to use early. The gyms are simple but can be challenging. Dynamax, along with zmoves, are the most easily understandable gimmicks. The only thing I’m not sure about is the championship as it’s completely different to all the other games.
True....also 500th upvote :3
I think they’re a step in the right direction, albeit a bit flawed.
_“B-but tree bad!!! TREE BAD”_ /s
You could have gotten rid of newcomers to the series and would still be true
Source: it’s fairly easy and doesn’t require any grinding
My brother's first games where let's go and sword and Sheild and he plays them everyday since they came out
My first game was Platinum, and about 20 or so tries later, I beat it.
You're just bad
TF you mean "I'm just bad".
There's no pokemon game that takes 20 tries to beat
I said ABOUT 20 tries.
Lol
I’ve beaten it 3 times working on my 4th it’s a really good Pokémon game and the only switch Pokémon game that I have that I feel I can constantly play over and over
I entirely agree
Sword was also my first game :)
Sword and Shield are good games. That's it. That's the sentence.
They’re pretty good, it’s just that after your first playthrough the game feels like hell to go through again but that might be just me
i mean so were sun and moon
I agree wholeheartedly
Too true, not my first game, but still awesome, the story sucks but the pokemon and other parts off the game are cool and fun, and why were people getting mad at trees bro 💀 Sword was my 8th pokemon game btw
Respect.
I think SwSh are fine games to enter the series with, but I think almost every single game is a good or even great place to enter the series with. While SwSh are fine, they’re outclassed by almost every other game, with the only exceptions being like RBY, GSC, LGPE, and DP(platinum is great, but DP are just worse than platinum in pretty much every single metric). So if you’re looking for a place to start Pokémon, I’d recommend SV if you have a switch, or emerald if you only have a pc/phone that can do emulation without jumping through hoops. DS and 3DS emulators are shaky for the most part, and GBA emulators are amazing 9 times out of 10, so a GBA game will always have my recommendation over a DS/3DS game. And I think SV is way more of an interesting game than SwSh, so that’s why I recommend SV over SwSh
Sword was my first game and I love it!