Pokémon Scarlet and Violet players invent “Bacon Tower” sandwich battles

Players of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have used its sandwich making feature to come up with a game called “Bacon Tower Battle,” where you stack up an excessive amount of bacon strips.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet let up to a maximum of four players adventure together, and it is also possible to set up a table and enjoy a picnic with the other players and your Pokémon. During a picnic, you can make a baguette style sandwich that confers a variety of effects when eaten.  

The sandwich making feature has a Recipe Mode, where you make a sandwich using ingredients selected for you, and a Creative Mode, where you can make a sandwich using any kind of ingredients you want.

Bacon Tower Battles are set up within Creative Mode by selecting bacon for all six Filling slots. After that, players simply need to put all their focus into stacking the bacon up onto the bread. These intense bacon battles can be enjoyed by up to four players.

Stacking the ingredients in sandwich making is actually rather difficult. Although the ingredients do stick together to some extent, the physics in the game can cause them to tilt or slip off, and the whole sandwich can come crashing down by a poorly placed ingredient. Even when the ingredients are all stacked up masterfully, placing the top bun on at the end can still cause everything to fall apart, an experience that has been shared frequently by despairing players.

To make matters worse, any sandwich that isn’t made correctly will have its effects lessened. Players have actually come up with a drastic measure to avoid this, choosing to bypass the danger of destroying their sandwich with the top bun and instead make an open sandwich by dropping the bun away from the plate.

Part of the reason that bacon was chosen as the ingredient for the Bacon Tower Battles is likely that the shape of the bacon strips makes them easy to stack. That said, there is still some skill required in the stacking process. The amusing appearance of the bacon stack combined with the element of challenge have likely caused the competitive game to grow popular among the player base.

These elements are also reminiscent of the iOS and Android game Animal Tower Battle that was popular on social media in the past. Even the name “Bacon Tower Battle” may have been born from the similarities between the two.

Of course, since Bacon Tower Battle is not an actual minigame, there are no official rules. Judging from the reactions on social media, the way the game is played differs slightly from person to person. For example, placing the bacon into three stacks like Tower of Hanoi or creating a standard pyramid shape. However, regardless of the shape you aim for, the game is always centered around the stacking of bacon. There are also many players who focus on creating the greasy spectacle of a bacon filled screen rather than the competitive aspect of winning and losing.

I (the original author of this article) also tried a solo Bacon Tower Battle to see what all the fuss is about. I initially wondered if single-mindedly stacking bacon strips would be a monotonous task, but it was surprisingly fun, even when playing alone. The orientation of the strips cannot be changed, so there needs to be some planning in how you stack them. The strips also exhibit some rather unexpected behavior when placed closely alongside one another. Although it collapsed several times, I piled the bacon up until I was satisfied and then completed my sandwich. In case anyone is curious, my sandwich only received a one-star rating, and it had no effect.

Bacon Tower Battle turns the cheerful act of sandwich making into a greasy struggle. If you’re playing the game and having a picnic with some friends, why not try it out for yourselves? Of course, you can also wage a silent battle against yourself and try it solo, just as I did.

Written by. Marco Farinaccia based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-11-25 09:36 JST)