Time to get those cross trainers on, you’re about to embark on another “Gotta Catch Em’ All” journey.Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a breath of fresh air needed from the old stylings of what we’ve known from the series’s turn based battle style strategy. The mechanics have changed from original random encounters of Pokémon in the wild to an actual visual assessment of where they are and how to approach.The game begins 200 years in a new region called Hisui, prior to the existence of the Sinnoh region which was introduced in the 4th Generation installments of the Pokemon games (Diamond & Pearl versions) released in 2007. It’s actually deemed the first game in the series chronologically if you want to follow the storyline in Pokémon existence.Done are the days of gym battles, there is no Team Rocket, no other teams from prior games out to steal your Pokémon, and as many new RPG (Role Playing Game) elements this game has.. It has really been stripped down to the bare bones of where you would expect the story to be 200 years before anyone began collecting Pokemon as every day life staples.As per usual with all the Pokemon titles, you start with a choice partner of a Fire, Grass, or Water type that will eventually reach a final evolution to a dual type (meaning it will be its initial elemental type plus an additional) which is a first for Pokémon Legends: Arceus.The graphics leave a little more to be desired. Think Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild if it were still half baked in the oven but you’re so hungry you’d eat it anyway. That’s my graphics assessment of PL: Arceus. However, the playability and reinvented mechanics is such a draw, you can look past the lackluster imagery and completely enjoy the story for what it is.
Pros
- Great new story & concept.
- The wild Pokémon are engaging. You literally have to avoid the ones you see or they may attack if provoked. Like any real life animal.
- The in-game tasks are like side quests in any RPG, they add tons of additional content and reasons to explore every crevice of the open world.
- You can evolve every Pokémon that is able to in game without trading.
- There is a great mix of Pokémon to collect from all generations.. and if you’ve followed the franchise like I have, you’ll know there are 8 generations from the inception of Pokemon Red & Blue back in 1996 (original Japan release) until now.
- Pure nostalgia if you’re an older player being reintroduced to the series, and a new way to enjoy even moreso if you’ve been a continuous fan and game player from the start.
Cons
- No egg breeding as an easier way to get pre-evolutions of specific pokemon.
- No multiple way to release Pokémon from your storage system. You’ll be catching many of the same types in the wild to complete the Pokédex and for subsequent side missions.
- Voiceover acting still isn’t a thing, even for a game released on the newest console.
- The graphics leave a lot of room for improvement for future games.
Overall I’d give Pokemon Legends: Arceus an 8/10. Having just finished the main story days ago, there are so much post game items to still complete with legendary Pokémon and the additional rumors of DLC’s (Downloadable Content) coming down the line this year.. This is for sure a game that I’ll be playing a bit for the foreseeable future, because I started my Pokémon journey almost 25 years ago….And I’m still trying to Catch Em’ All.
ORLANDO FIGUEROA
Tap Room Manager // SingleCut QNS
