Et Tu, Shuffle? (Thy Hath Bugs)

I have said and frequently referred that Pokémon games, in particular the main series games, are complex things, with many elements and mechanisms that can go wrong (and do, per Murphy's Law). Unfortunately, the same is true of one of its spinoff games; that game is Pokémon Shuffle, which since its modest beginnings has grown to a complexity that almost parallels the main series. Recently, there had been a serious bug on the 3DS version for one of its Special Stages with a dramatic effect, and I bore witness to the bug itself.

The bug pertained to a Special Stage that involves Mewtwo, specifically for the purpose of enhancing it. When the Special Stage was first added, it couldn't be played; it was able to be selected, but after dismissing its first-time information pop-up, doing anything that caused the screen to transition instantly crashed the game and forced the 3DS to restart. Pokémon couldn't be selected, nor could "Continue" be tapped to start the stage, and backing out to other stages was useless - once the Mewtwo stage was selected, the game was assured of crashing no matter what and taking down the 3DS system with it.

When I experienced this bug, I was concerned that my 3DS was acting up again, considering its previous spate of troubles. After a bit of research on the Internet, however, it became apparent that all other players were having the same issue, and this was a genuine bug, and it had to be rectified somehow. The fix came a day later with the next check-in bringing extra data, and the stage could be played as intended. But the damage had been done; I've read some players had expended a No Hearts Needed (from the Special Shop) prior to try playing the stage, and they effectively wasted it by not being able to play. In any case, players received apology gifts in the form of Hearts and Experience Boosters.

This is not the first time that Shuffle has had bugs, but this is the first bug that I've experienced and quite affected my experience playing the game. I've been told that in the Mobile version for smartphones, there was another serious bug, but it was also fixed and players received compensation for it. This seems to be a standard practice when a bug occurs, which is quite appreciable, even if the compensation may not fully pay off the struggle caused by the bug.

As I've noted previously, Pokémon games will become more complex with added things, and this is a certainty. Within that certainty is an inevitability for bugs when things do not go right. What must be done is to fix the bug and make the situation right; for that, it is fortunate that Shuffle does allow updates continuously and therefore this to occur quickly. With all the complexity that Shuffle has now, I have (and it is not hard) to expect that Murphy's Law might once again come true for the game as another bug occurs.

One year ago: It's Been a Month...