When we told you that Pokémon Legends: Arceus was unlike anything we’ve seen before in the franchise, we weren’t mentioning it. Forget gym medals, big cities and the eternal competition to be the best Pokémon trainer in the region. In this game, our goal is to explore Hisui, the Sinnoh of yesteryear, exploring every corner in search of the very first Pokédex. All this while we investigate a series of strange events that occur in the game universe and that put the inhabitants of Rusti-Cité on edge, a place that will be the nerve center of our adventure. However, in this story, we are going to embody a boy (or a girl) who enters as a recruit of the investigation division of the Galaxy team, an organization which, at that time, was not bad and from which we are going to to feed. Thus, throughout the adventure we will meet all kinds of characters, such as those that make up the Ginkgo Company (an organization of merchants that will provide us with the most useful objects) or the Diamond and Pearl Clans, two opposing entities on ideological issues that will clash with us and put us at the heart of their conflict. Overall, we found the plot of Pokémon Legends: Arceus to be much more mature than it first appeared. At least compared to other recent titles in the main series. The game knows how to tackle deep themes and develop the story of Pokémon in interesting ways. In addition, as the game’s official website already indicates, we will meet the ancestors of various characters from the fourth generation along the way, which will make the experience even more fun if we have played Pokémon Sparkling Diamond and Sparkling Pearl and we try to associate new faces with those we already know.
When we told you earlier that completing the Pokédex would be our main focus in this game, we weren’t kidding. To advance in the main plot, it will be essential to capture the Pokémon found in Hisui and to fill their entries in the Pokédex by completing small missions associated with each species (such as capturing a certain number of each creature, using certain movements, among other things…). However, it doesn’t get boring at all, quite the contrary: it’s a lot of fun. One thing we often say when we talk about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is that Link’s in-game companion is the world of Hyrule. And something similar is true here. Hisui is a region full of dreamy natural environments, with a multitude of wild Pokémon of all kinds roaming the wild. As in the past, there is almost no civilization, nature dominates every corner we visit, and the Pokémon, feared by humans because of the mystery they represent, are in a wilder state than ever. It’s not uncommon to encounter gigantic pocket monsters that far exceed your team’s level, à la Xenoblade Chronicles. These larger Pokémon, known as Pokémon Alpha, won’t make it easy for us. As the adventure progresses, we will return to places we have already explored to face Pokémon that have previously resisted us. Random battles do not exist in this game. For the first time in the Pokémon franchise, pocket monsters will attack us directly in the world if we catch them in a bad mood. It will make us unconscious and cause us to lose some of our inventory after a certain number of hits. What can we do to solve this problem? Several options are available to us: run away from them before they hit us too often, dodge their attacks by somersaulting, capture them by throwing Poké Balls at them without them noticing, or even engage them in a fight which, this time, also holds surprises.
Improvements in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Battles in Pokémon Legends: Arceus introduce a new mechanic worth considering: Styles. Once you’ve mastered a move, you can use a Quick Style if you want the next trick to come faster, but at the cost of less power. The same goes for the strong style: with it, the chosen blow will be more powerful, but our turn will be delayed compared to our opponent’s. It reminds us of the strategies we had to follow in games like Octopath Traveler or Bravely Default, but adapted to the atmosphere of Pokémon battles. This mechanic is joined by a number of quality of life improvements that make their franchise debut with this release. For example, we would like to point out that we will now be able to change the moves of our Pokémon from the menu, with the possibility of swapping them at any time at our convenience. On the other hand, we will also have at our disposal several camps between which we can make quick trips (using a useful Arceus Mobile that also serves as a map) to stock up on items, take stock of the progress of our research and even rest to regain strength and change the time of day where we want to be. Oh ! In addition, we can now collect materials that we will use to make all kinds of objects, such as Poké Balls or potions. After all, it translates into some money we can save…
Speaking of which, what can our money be used for in Pokémon Legends: Arceus? To return to the village of Rusti-Cité, in addition to the classic trade in objects, we will have other facilities at our disposal, such as a clothing store or a hair salon where we can be cuter than a Ouisticram when it will be about customizing our character. We can also use other fun elements, such as the photo studio, where we can take cool shots of our favorite creatures. If we over-shop and need more money, we can always go discover new Pokémon for our Pokédex or complete missions that give us juicy rewards. Yes, there are plenty of optional quests to complete in the game, and all of them are as diverse as they are fun, greatly increasing the lifespan of the game. Of course, it’s up to you which ones to complete and when. Of course, if you’re one of those who can’t say no to anyone, prepare to be stuffed with content!
Great shocks in a unique experience.
After everything we told you about the gameplay, we still have a lot of good things to say about the game. fun and challenging, bringing a freshness to the whole experience. In the latter, you will have to attack these special Pokémon with magic spheres to calm their anger and bring them back to normal. Finally, we cannot leave aside the gameplay without talking about the different ways to explore the game: having the possibility of riding on the back of Cerbylline or swimming on the back of Paragruel, among many other options, opens up a enormous range of possibilities for adventure that makes us want to explore every corner without leaving anything out. Undoubtedly, Hisui is a well-designed environment to walk around in. And its possibilities keep expanding with every step we take through it.
We’ve talked to you about various aspects of the title… And yet, although we tell you more in our review about what it’s like to play Pokémon Legends: Arceus, it doesn’t matter. Yes, we could go on to tell you how awesome it is to be able to summon your team into the world whenever you want to interact with it, how fun and addictive it is to catch Pokemon or watch their behavior in their different locations, or dozens of other things that we’d rather you discover for yourself, but it’s something you have to experience for yourselves. A unique experience in the franchise that manages to bring what we once felt with Pokémon GO in an adventure game that seems to have no limits in terms of interesting possibilities.
A gigantic episode
As for the audiovisual aspect of the game, which is perhaps the most talked about before its release, we also have a few comments to make. On the one hand, we recognize that in Hisui some textures could be improved. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the game as a whole is quite enjoyable. Especially when you look at what’s important, Pokémon. They all have their own very well designed and believable models and animations. We think this is one of the games in the series where the most effort has been put into this area, and it shows. Another point to comment on is the display distance, which is a bit short, which causes many elements to disappear when moving away from it a little. This is just one of many strategies to save resources and keep the game running smoothly at all times. Yes, on a technical level, the game is quite good: we did not experience any frame drops or problems that tarnished our gaming experience throughout the adventure. As for the sound, the game is also very good. The themes accompany the atmosphere of the Hisui region and what the adventure seeks to convey at all times. However, given that this is a game that has seen so many evolutions within the series, we can’t help but feel the itch for some sort of voice acting for the characters’ dialogue. If other Nintendo franchises can afford it, like The Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem or Xenoblade Chronicles, Pokémon should also consider implementing this feature for future releases, because it deserves it.
We have to point out that we also would have liked to see more online features implemented in the adventure. In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, at least in the version present at the time of this review, we will not be able to fight against other players who own the game. As you can guess, we will also not be able to explore Hisui with our friends. After all, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is primarily a single-player experience. This means that the way we will be able to share the game with our friends will be through the exchange of Pokémon and the sharing of our experiences, as well as valuable information that they may be interested in about our experiences through Hisui. That said, although this is a single-player experience, we can’t help but remind you that Pokémon Legends: Arceus will be compatible with Pokémon HOME later this year if all goes as planned, so n Feel free to get your hands on as many Pokemon as possible in this title if you’re one of those trainers who likes to collect all the pocket monsters. Now that we’ve explored its past, we can only wonder what the future holds for Pokémon. After a game like this, so far removed from what we’ve experienced before and with improvements that we hope are here to stay, it’s hard to imagine what the next step will be in returning to the formula of yesteryear.
VERDICT
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is one of the best games you can find on Nintendo Switch. A highly addictive, challenging, and well-crafted adventure that will appeal not only to Pokémon fans looking for something new and different from the traditional formula, but also to those who weren’t drawn to the franchise before. It’s a great addition to the hybrid console catalog. Get ready, coaches, an unforgettable experience awaits you in Hisui!