Pokémon Legends: Arceus takes phone way forward for the Pokémon franchise by going back to the past. Several core aspects of the Pokémon franchise that fans have started to expect have been turned on their head, for better or for worse.
Developed by Game Freak, the game explores the history from the Sinnoh region originally observed in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. The region is referred to as Hisui in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and it has not yet been completely settled by humans. There aren't any gym leaders to conquer, there aren’t even trainers to encounter within the wild. Instead, the player is given the job of researching the Pokémon in the region and completing research tasks to assist identify the secrets of what will eventually be known as the Sinnoh region.
In comparison to previous Pokémon games, Pokémon Legends: Arceus has a very primitive feel to it. The modification to an open-world seems especially primitive, with little variety or items to impress located throughout the world. Each of the areas feel incredibly similar, that was disappointing. I didn’t experience as many issues with textures popping in as others appear to have, however it was still incredibly distracting when it happened. Controversy over the visual type of Pokémon games is certainly not new, however i was sad to be so disappointing by Pokémon Legends: Arceus following the initial awe wore off. The open-world is nice, but it can get old quickly.
I keep while using worse primitive because Pokémon Legends: Arceus is made to believe that way, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, most of the story beats and systems hanging around are generally completely revamped or simply removed entirely, but it works really well. The new mechanics for catching Pokémon, the ability to catch many without entering a battle, is really a welcomed switch to the previous method. Even when catching a Pokémon does require battling, the battling system itself continues to be retooled also it feels incredibly fresh.
The inclusion of Agile and Strong attacks help split up the normal backwards and forwards feel of a battle, which becomes vital when facing the tough Pokémon in the wild. There is much more of an emphasis on strategy and real-time thinking in catching Pokémon within the games, that we hope they expand on more in future games.
The thing I appreciated most about the changes to gameplay is the game felt very difficult, despite the watering down of mechanics. I struggled with some from the more challenging research goals, especially against more powerful Pokémon. Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels less welcoming to new or younger players, however the challenge isn’t insurmountable. While some of the tasks came real close to feeling stale, the variety helped ensure that it stays fresh typically.
While the majority of changes feel good, they don’t always seem 100% fleshed out. The analogy you think of is Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Origins, like Pokémon Legends: Arceus, uprooted the building blocks from the franchise in really drastic ways. Both games also felt like works in progress, using the full vision of Origins not seen until Odyssey was able to exercise the kinks. Pokémon Legends: Arceus introduces lots of stuff that feel like cut and paste JRPG. There is crafting, you will find side quests, you will find tedious collect-a-thons. Everything the typical JRPG has, but Pokémon has mostly avoided in the past.
While the alterations feel refreshing in the world of Pokémon, they don’t do anything whatsoever that hasn’t been done before or do anything much better than another franchise might have. The upside here is that there is the opportunity of the next game similar to Pokémon Legends: Arceus to enhance these new ideas and craft a really incredible game.
That isn’t to say that Pokémon Legends: Arceus isn't good, however. While not every change works in addition to it could, there's a clear direction for more Pokémon games in the future that build on what Pokémon Legends: Arceus presents. The new mechanics are neat and interesting but could use some expansion and more options. The planet, while impressive since Pokémon has not been truly open world such as this before, could use more variety in a future iteration. Long-time fans from the Pokémon franchise ought to be very looking forward to the way forward for the Pokémon games, even if not all things in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a home run. Regardless of the flaws, I truly enjoyed my time and can’t wait to determine what comes next!
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is out now on Nintendo Switch.
