Pokémon Legends: Arceus (2022)

Just like Palworld, but without the base building!

This is actually my first official Pokemon. I have heard it isn’t the ideal first one but it was something my kids already had and I wanted to try something out. I can see the appeal, though I am still pretty early on. Was hoping it would spark some deep, unexplored love for the series that I never knew. Jury is still out.

Having played a good amount of this by now, I still think it's by far not just the weakest game on the Switch, but still probably the weakest game in the franchise in general. That being said, it's not a bad game, it's just...barely a game. There's a ton to love about it, honestly. The UI, the mechanics, the visuals, and if they could take everything about this game that's good - specifically keeping move sets instead of replacing moves and stuff like that - and remove the unnecessary - like crafting jesus christ not everything needs crafting I hate this - and also, ya know, add a plot, and make a modern game with what works plus a plot, it'd be a standout.

And I think Scarlet is kind of a move in that direction, but it didn't get it exactly right. I atually do like the idea of just filling out a Pokedex and having that be your ultimate goal, but I DON'T LIKE the idea of that being essentially the ONLY goal, and now you have to just catch a billion of the same thing in order to really progress. If they took a plot like Scarlet has and attached it to the UI and mechanics of this, it'd be phenomenal, and I say that as someone who considers Scarlet among the best Pokemon games.

So yeah it's grown on me a bit, but it's still weak overall.

Okay, I'm on the last quest and can't take it anymore. Why? Because in order to complete the post-credits scene quest line you have to actually finish the Pokedex minus 4 Pokemon. While the whole open world catching mechanic is cool and enjoyable, most of the Pokemon I don't have are annoying evolutions or spawn in special ways. Oh, and the one that requires getting all the collectibles. It's simply not worth it. The story already killed my motivation by having way too much annoying, unnecessary dialogue. The side quests were pretty lackluster and didn't make up for it either.

I'm also not a fan of the absolutely anti-player battle system. Unless you're fairly over-leveled enemy Pokemon tend to deal considerably more damage than you and attack more often. There are also some trainer battles where it is literally 3 v 1because they can use multiple but you can't for some reason? And the guy at the end has 8 high-level Pokemon, while you have no chance to even heal. The Elite 4 + Champion gauntlets in the main games were tough but fun because they never seemed unfair, unlike this.

This game did some things right and is definitely worth checking out, but it never fully clicked with me for the reasons stated and some other missing factor I can't put my finger on. I wanted to like it more than I do.

This is the shake up that the Pokemon games have needed for years. Is it perfect? No, there is definately areas of improvement and I hope they continue to build upon this formula.

Arceus doesn't do anything new as an rpg, however, what it does it does well, and everything flows so smoothly in the game that is a blast to explore and play until the very end.

Switching between exploration to battle is seamless, going from walking to riding to flying is a snap. Having the option to fight or be stealthy to catch pokemons is very freeing and let's you approach the game like you want. Battles are much faster than in the main series. The downside is that there is less room for strategizing or setting up, but it keeps the flow of the game

The pokemons have different sizes, and we can finally see them relative to each other. Seeing a giant steelix fight my little pullip is an imagine I will always remember. Their attacks are better animated and actually looks like they are battling each other. It finally brings Pokemon to live in a way that no other game in the franchise has done. The difficulty of the game feels perfect, not too hard and not too easy. I hope they continue to keep this balance as the pokemon games tend to suffer for being too easy.

The story is probably the weakest part, and the start of the game does take about 1 hour or so to actually get going. The game would benefit from getting some voice acting and having some really cool cutscenes showing off the pokemons. The action adventure aspects of the game are very minimal (i.e dodging) and I do hope they expand on it. It is an interesting gimmick but not game changing.

The side quests, called requests in this game, are pretty monotonous and not particularly fun for the most part, however they add to the atmosphere of this world filled with strange creatures called Pokemon and how the villagers learn about them and start living with them. However, a lot of quests are simply completed by you just going on the world and doing regular stuff. And this applies to a lot of the gameplay loop, your goal is to catch Pokemon and by catching Pokemon you gain all sorts of rewards, money, reputation, quests, items, etc... So going out and catching pokemons at every chance you can feels extremely rewarding

All in all, I spent 46 hours on the game, catching all the pokemons and finishing the story plus some side quests and the game was a joy to play every step of the way.

I definitely recommend this game for any Pokemon fan, however do not expect this to be breath of the wild, it is a much casual experience but it is a very fun one.

It took me a few hours to get into this game, but now that I am into it I am really loving it. Emphasizing exploring and catching, with a quick catching mechanic, is a lot of fun.

Every new area I find, or new group of Pokemon I find is exciting. I also entered my first time dimension thing and that was awesome!

I do wish there was a way to increase difficulty. But overall I am really liking the ways this game mixes up the traditional format.