I’ve been a Pokémon fan since I was eight years old. I enjoyed Pokémon SoulSilver and Pokémon Conquest on my 3DS and while I fell out of the series for a bit, I got back into it on the Switch with Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond. After playing those main series games however, I was starting to get bored of the same old formula and wanted something new. Enter Pokémon Legends Arceus.

Pokémon Legends Arceus delivers new mechanics and improves on old ones. The battle system received a makeover with battles moving faster, improved fight animations and strong and agile style moves. These move styles are new to the Pokémon series, with agile style sacrificing power for an extra turn, while strong style provides extra power at the cost of a turn. They add a new, exciting element of strategy and challenge to fights.

All Pokémon appear in the overworld, so you can sneakily catch Pokémon or you can choose to fight them. You can run into more powerful Pokémon called alphas, which have glowing red eyes and are larger than normal members of their species. Alpha fights are a delight, as they often have movesets that can counter their type weaknesses and deliver some fierce blows to your team. They are also more difficult to catch, so the thrill of catching them and adding them to your team is like none other.

This game advertises itself as an open world, but I would argue it is more like an open area game. The habitats you can explore are directly tied to your rank within the Galaxy Team, a group that seeks to gain more information about the Pokémon of the Hisui region. The player joins the Galaxy Team and sets off to complete the first Pokédex, but they won’t let you go to all of Hisui just yet. Instead, you need to go out and catch enough Pokémon to increase your star rank. As you rank up, you get to explore larger areas with new and tougher Pokémon. 

You are also restricted by the environment itself. You cannot swim or scale cliffs without the aid of a Pokémon and they are not available from the start of the game. This also hinders your ability to explore the environments to their fullest potential, although it does make it fun to revisit old areas after unlocking the required Pokémon and seeing all the cool things you missed. Indeed, this game lets you freely explore your specific area, but keeps the entire Hisui region an arm’s length away from you at all times.

Your exploration of Hisui is tied to the story. While I haven’t beaten the game yet, the story I have experienced so far has been intriguing and left me clawing for more. Some of the Noble Pokémon, which are special Pokémon tasked with protecting a certain habitat of Hisui, have become frenzied and it is up to the player to quell their anger. In addition, there is a giant rift looming over Hisui and it, the player and the frenzied Nobles might be more connected than originally thought. I look forward to seeing how everything falls into place and the big reveals to come.

The game introduces new Hisuian forms and evolutions, putting a spin on some Pokémon that most fans probably forgot about. Most of these new forms are well designed, with some of my favorites being Hisuian Growlithe/Arcanine, Samurott, Typhlosion, Ursaluna and Basculegion. 

While there is some room for improvement, most notably with the lackluster graphics, this is a strong Pokémon game and exactly the kind of change the series needed. GameFreak finally delivered on a game Pokémon fans have been wanting for years and it lives up to the hype. I am excited to put more hours into this game and look forward to where GameFreak will take this game, and the Pokémon series as a whole, in the future.

Categories: Arts & Entertainment