3 reasons Pokemon Sword and Shield ranks No. 119 on FanSided 250

FanSided recently released the FanSided 250, the list of the top 250 things in entertainment. In that list, Pokemon was listed as 119. Let’s see why.

Recently FanSided dropped their big FanSided 250. A list of the top 250 things in entertainment spanning sports, movies, music, and yes, video games. I recently talked about Animal Crossing and how it made number 21 on the list. But now we’re talking about Pokemon Sword and Shield. While it’s a lot farther down the list at 119, if you check the list with just the gaming options, it’s number 5 in all of gaming. Let’s break down three reasons why Pokemon is here while other games, like Call of Duty, couldn’t make the cut.

A Game for Everyone

When my oldest child learned to read, he wanted to try the Pokemon games. The nerd in me told me to have him do Red or Blue first and see how he takes. Hey, guess what, those early games are not very user friendly. Also…kind of a slog.

But when I just let him try Pokemon Sword, the one he was actually interested in, he fell in love with it. Game Freak has spent the last 25 years hammering away at the same game until it became something anyone can pick up and enjoy. There are things for the purists, there are things for casuals, things for people who’ve somehow never even heard of Pokemon till that moment.

From fun cooking mini-games to customization to endless amounts of secrets to discover and lands to explore, the game has something to wow just about anyone.