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Star Rating:
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the latest installment in the IP’s video game series. While it is another Pokémon game, it is unlike the others. You are transported to a time when there are no Pokémon trainers, and most humans are terrified of Pokémon. You join the Survey Corps of the Galaxy Expedition Team as you explore the Hisui region and complete the world’s first Pokédex.
This is a fantastic game that is quite like what I always wanted a Pokémon game to be like. It’s mostly an open world. However, one minor drawback of this game is that it isn’t entirely set in an open world.
You can move freely in each part of Hisui, but you can’t get from one section to another smoothly. If you want to leave Jubilife Village, you must first decide which portion of the region you want to visit. If you want to switch locations, you must return to the village, then choose another area to travel to. I would have preferred to be able to walk directly out of the village into the wild areas and into different areas. They could have blocked off the regions until you unlocked them while still allowing you to wander around the region in true open-world fashion.
However, the various areas of the Hisui region are fantastic. They all feature unique environments with a plethora of Pokémon to discover and places to visit. All the Pokémon are visible and roaming around, except for those hiding in trees and beneath rocks, which will appear if you interact with that tree or rock. They can attack you as you rush by or follow you for a short time. It adds to the game’s realism.
The catching and battling mechanics are another great aspect that adds to the game’s realism. Fighting is still turn-based, but you must throw your Pokémon ball at or near a wild Pokémon to start a battle. When your Pokémon appears, you instantly begin battling. There is no special fight screen, so you may still move around. Don’t go too far or the battle will end though.
Another factor that contributes to the realism is the requirement of switching between items. You catch Pokémon in real time; simply throw a ball at them. If you happen to have the wrong ball equipped, you can end up throwing one of your Pokémon instead. As you run around, you can instantly swap between which Pokémon in your party you’re using. The same can be said for using an item other than a ball, such as a berry.
Instead of buying Pokéballs and other products, you can make them with materials you find while exploring the wild areas. However, your pouch starts out relatively small, and adding more spaces is annoying. One of the only other issues I have with this game is that you must pay an NPC a lot of money each time you want more space in your bag. The price for each space continues to rise, and it’s a rip-off. It’s not difficult to make money in the game, but it’s still a waste. It is better to increase slots to a limited extent and put most of your stuff in the storage box. Keep only your pokéballs and a few other items in you bag. Leave room for the materials you pick up throughout your travels but put those materials in your storage often.
Another significant distinction between this game and others is the lack of gym battles. Instead, you must calm down frenzied Pokémon. Exploration, filling your Pokédex, and completing side quests as part of your survey corps duties are all important aspects of the game. There’s a lot to do in this game, and you’ll spend a lot of time exploring and working on your Pokédex. After all, to complete your Pokédex, you must capture and battle every Pokémon in the game.
There are too many other elements for me to list in a simple review, and I don’t want to spoil anything. But I’ve been having a lot of fun with Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I’ve put a lot of time into the game, never get bored, and there’s still a lot more to do.
There is nothing too difficult in the game, so it is suitable for gamers of all ages. While there are a few spots that might be a little difficult, the game has other ways to make them easier. For example, frenzied Pokémon can be difficult to calm down when they constantly attack you. It’s easy to get knocked out, but the game provides methods to compensate. In some ways, the game allows you to adjust the difficulty level based on what you want to do at the time. If you want a more difficult task, you can restart from the beginning. You can make things easy for yourself by picking up where you left off after you got knocked out by the frenzied Pokémon.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a nice change from other Pokémon games. While I enjoy the other games, it’s wonderful to have something different every now and then. I enjoy the mechanics and realistic feel of being in the Pokémon world. I hope to see more of it in future games. This game has so many excellent features and only a few tiny flaws that are just minor annoyances rather than flaws. Any Pokémon enthusiast will enjoy this game, and I definitely recommend it.
You can buy Pokémon Legends: Arceus for the Switch from Amazon.
Check out my review of Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town or my Pokémon Sword review as well.
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