Pokémon Legends: Arceus Review (Video Game, 2022)
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the most innovative mainline Pokémon game so far. Think back to Sun and Moon, the first main series Pokémon game to not feature any traditional gym battles. It introduced challenges, where players had to complete Pokémon-connected tasks rather than battle a powerful trainer to progress. The game shifted back to the traditional gym badge format for Sword and Shield, but Arceus removes the badge element entirely from the game.
You play as a young person who has travelled through some kind of dimensional hole to the distant pass of Hiseu. Something is causing some Pokémon to turn into larger, more aggressive Alpha Pokémon. You agree to join up with Team Galaxy to explore Hiseu, complete the Pokédex, and help restore some sense of order to the region.
This is the first main series Pokémon game to play as an open world RPG. Sword and Shield had Wild Areas, which allowed you to explore the world and catch Pokémon in an open world environment. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is entirely like that. You can explore the village and different regions of Hiseu with rotating camera controls, a dodge roll, crafting, a responsive map, various Pokémon steeds to make long travel easier, and the ability to easily access every Pokémon you ever catch.
Your team is limited to six Pokémon of your choosing. Every other Pokémon you catch goes to the ranch. You do not need to release any of your companions to the wild and you’re actually expected to catch and battle multiples of each creature to gather all the data you need for your Pokédex. Different side quests require you to catch different Pokémon and the game let’s you access them to complete quests without adding them to your party.
The evolution mechanic is entirely changed, as well. You will receive a notification when a Pokémon is ready to evolve. They do not start the process automatically. You have to go into the menu and choose to evolve the Pokémon. That’s the same with learning new moves. These Pokémon will keep earning experience and leveling up as long as they’re in your party (experience share is the default now). You can also swap out moves your Pokémon have learned and teach them new possible moves with the help of an NPC back in the village. This is a much more user-friendly Pokémon game to account for the challenge of an open world game.
The progression system in the game is two-fold. First, as you complete your Pokédex, you earn a higher rank in Team Galaxy’s Survey Corps. Higher ranks unlock more advanced PokéBalls for you to craft and let you control higher level Pokémon. The goal is to find, catch, battle against, and battle with every Pokémon. Using certain moves “x” amount of times also adds to your Pokédex. This game very much rewards the “gotta catch’em all” mindset as the way to be able to catch and train more powerful Pokémon.
Second, you unlock new regions of the map by helping with the Noble Pokémon who are turning into uncontrollable Alphas. These Noble Pokémon are sacred to the Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan, so you have to use distracting objects like treats and combat to calm them down. You cannot catch the Noble Pokémon as that will surely destabilize any sense of peace in the Hiseu region. Freeing a Noble Pokémon unlocks a new region of Hiseu and all of the Pokémon local to that region.
The story of Pokémon Legends: Arceus is fascinating. You really get to pace out how you explore the main plot and the world. There are dozens of quests to complete that give you more lore about the region and the relationship between Pokémon and people in this past world. Pokémon are companions to work with you, not friends, and some view them as a constant threat. You agree to join the Survey Corps to have permission to interact with them in the wild; most people stay within their village for their own safety. This is, essentially, the first mainline Pokémon game to show you the birth of the myths that dominate the different regions in contemporary Pokémon games.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the more challenging Pokémon game experienced gamers have asked for. There is increased access to Pokémon, items, instant travel to your home, healing, and saving to keep the game feeling fair to all players. However, the open world design and level of strategy involved in approaching different species of Pokémon provide a depth of gameplay never before seen in the main Pokémon series.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is available on the Nintendo Switch.
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