I miss the days where I could commit a ton of time to a brand new video game right after it released. I used to think it was odd that Nintendo scheduled their games to release on Fridays, but getting to spend a nice chunk of the weekend exploring a new world was always a great feeling. These days, I squeeze in video games whenever I can, which is often dictated by the whims of a certain five-month old.
For this week’s post I wanted to share my early impressions on Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which launched for the Nintendo Switch last Friday. I’m about eight hours into the game and I’m really digging it so far. As a heads up, this post will be very light on story spoilers, we’ll focus more on the game’s mechanics.
The Basics
If you haven’t read too much into Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the biggest takeaway is that this isn’t your standard Pokémon game. Instead, this game is a skillful blend of Pokémon and Monster Hunter, tasking you with exploring a segmented open world and compiling the first Pokédex of the Hisui region. The game’s events take place in the past, breathing some new life into the Sinnoh region of Pokémon Diamond/Pearl fame.
You still get to carry six Pokémon around with you, and you’ll see plenty of familiar faces in the pocket monsters you catch. However, you’ll be navigating a world that looks a lot closer to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild than the linear routes of previous Pokémon entries. If you’ve played Pokémon Sword/Shield, your experience in the Wild Area of Galar will give you a good foundation for how things look.
This game sets itself apart by adding action to the traditional RPG elements of the series. Many Pokémon can be caught by simply sneaking up and throwing the newly invented Pokéballs at the unsuspecting creature, using tall grass and elevation to your advantage. Other Pokémon are a little more aggressive and will attack you on sight, so you’ll need to dodge their attacks and send one of your own faithful monsters out to battle and weaken your target like we’ve done for the past twenty five years. There are major missions that advance the story, and plenty of side missions called requests that pile on some additional tasks in crafting items or researching Pokémon. This is by far the boldest step away from the long-established conventions of the Pokémon series.
Breaking Away from Tradition
Pokémon Legends: Arceus steps away from standard Pokémon games, and with innovation you may be wondering if the gamble was worth it. I’m happy to say that if this game set out to reinvent the Pokémon series, it is very successful at doing so. Some of these changes are what I’ve been looking for in a new Pokémon game for the last twenty years. I always wanted an open-world Pokémon game, and while the map isn’t completely open, the freedom you are given is liberating. Perhaps I’m viewing the game through goggles tinted by my lengthy history with the series, but these changes are exciting and refreshing.
It feels like everything is streamlined in this game. The reinvented menu is handy, letting you see your items and your Pokémon on the same screen. After battles the experience gained pops up on the left side of the screen rather than forcing you to click through the numbers. It’s quick, although sometimes it might be hard to notice when a move is learned or mastered.
As you explore you can throw out a Pokémon to smash rocks and shake trees, collecting the handy items contained within. But you don’t have to wait for that animation to finish, you can throw out your Munchlax and then keep running as they do the hard work for you. It’s the same idea when you try to catch Pokémon, I’ve been able to throw a second Pokéball at a second monster before the first one is fully caught. I feel like a catching machine sometimes, only feeling a slight bit of guilt as I steal these monsters from their natural habitat.
It isn’t enough to simply catch one of every Pokémon to fill your Pokédex. Instead, Professor Laventon needs to learn about this monsters and you can help him by fulfilling research tasks. Every Pokémon has different goals like catching them in a unique way, monitoring their attacks, or seeing them evolve. Add up those research points to 10 and a description for the Pokémon will unlock. I love the variety of tasks for each monster, it’s like a little achievement list. However, I wish it was easier to tell how many points you’ll get for each task.
The Sights and Sounds of Hisui
I tend to steer clear of reviews for most video games I want to play so I can have a chance to form my own opinion. Sometimes those perspectives pop up unannounced as I scroll through Twitter, and a common theme I saw was commentary on the world in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I don’t necessarily agree with some critics of the game saying the world is empty. Where the world falls a little short to me is that you have these big, beautiful areas to roam around in, but there aren’t a ton of landmarks for you to use for navigation. In the first area there are very similar hills leading up to the second camp and what I assume will become the third camp once the storyline progresses. I had to double check that didn’t run around in a big circle once I noticed the familiar setup.
Otherwise, the game world is very charming to look at. Sure, you aren’t getting the gorgeous landscapes like you’d find on an Xbox or PlayStation exclusive game, but Pokémon Legends: Arceus runs smoothly under the limitations of the Nintendo Switch. I also feel like the graphics are better optimized here than in Sword/Shield.
I’m really enjoying the calm music that accompanies your trek across the wild regions. I like hearing the random Pokémon cries as you run around. On the other hand, I do wish some of the sound effects were a bit more unique. The game faced a lot of criticism for looking so similar to Breath of the Wild, and the sound effect for picking up items isn’t helping the matter one bit.
One other note on the world, I wonder if the day and night cycle has anything to do with Pokémon availability or behavior? I haven’t noticed it serving any functional purpose. It would also be nice to see more Pokémon interact with their environment like in Pokémon Snap to give the world a bit more life.
Adjusting to the New Battle System
Finally, battles take some getting used to as the game uses an initiative system much closer to Final Fantasy 10 than a regular Pokémon game. Instead of each Pokémon being guaranteed a turn, your speed may give your monster an extra turn, or be forced to suffer two hits before getting a chance to strike back. I’m not 100% on how it works, but it is augmented by Pokémon mastering their moves. Once mastered, they can use it as in two different styles: strong and agile. Strong means you’ll hit harder while slowing you down in the initiative, while agile has the opposite effect. I love the added strategy of choosing when you can string two attacks together or swing for the fences and knock out the opponent.
So far, there aren’t many trainer battles at all in the game, which makes sense given how new Pokéballs are in the timeline. You’ll be battling against plenty of wild Pokémon, and I’ve found these fights to be more challenging than a mainline game. I like the extra difficulty, but at times I’m pretty confused when a low-level wild Bidoof can wreck my own monster, the numbers just don’t seem to add up.
Combine hard hitting wild Pokémon with the new speed system and running into a group of Pokémon is a recipe for disaster. Three Scyther almost wiped my team because every time I’d bring a new Pokémon out, two or all three Scyther would attack it and knock it out without giving me a chance to fight back. My Dustox was able to finish the fight and buy me time to catch a pretty cool looking Scyther.
I love how quickly the game shifts into battle mode once you throw a Pokémon out against an aggressive wild monster. There are no loading screens or changes in the arena, you just duke it out right where you found the Pokémon. This does mean the camera angle can be a bit odd during battles, but the tradeoff is worth it. Just move your character or camera a bit and the fight looks more cinematic.
Final Thoughts
Pokémon Legends: Arceus makes some important changes, giving fans a closer realization to an open-world Pokémon title. It’s not perfect, but it is very entertaining. I’m looking forward to exploring the additional regions and actually filling the Pokédex, something I’ve only done a few times before. If you are a Pokémon fan with a Nintendo Switch, you’ll want to add this to your library. I’m also extremely interested to see if any of these major changes find their way into the next generation of Pokémon games. Or are we going to get a series of side games in the with the Legends title? Time will certainly tell.
Have you tried Pokémon Legends: Arceus? Let me know what you think in the comments below! If you haven’t yet, what are you excited to see during your time in Hisui?
Aaron's Gaming Blog 