Well met, dear reader. I have now spent a little over four hours tinkering around with the latest Pokémon game, the first one in over two long months! Well, technically speaking Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl aren’t exactly new, and they weren’t all that well received either. But Pokémon Legends: Arceus is here now, and it’s about the most revolutionary thing to happen to Pokémon in, well… ever! Read on to hear my first impressions based on my somewhat limited experience so far. We’ll have a proper review out in due course, so stay tuned.
We all live in a Pokémon world
First up, the story is almost completely unlike anything you’ve seen before. Gone is the tired old “kid with a single parent goes off to get his first Pokémon, defeat gym leaders, thwart a gang of organised criminals and becomes the Pokémon league champion” rhetoric. This game has you falling through a interdimensional space-time rift in the opening cutscene. From that moment on, you are stranded within a whimsical bygone era that is based on feudal Japan. There’s a bit more to it than that, but no spoilers for now.
The Hisui region (what they used to call Sinnoh, way back when), is an absolute joy to traverse. You’ll visit locations you recognise from BDSP as they used to appear when the region was being settled for the first time. For example, Jubilife Village is what will one day become known as Jubilife City. This acts as a sort of base of operations during the opening of the story. From it you can plan excursions into the surrounding wilderness.
The characters are animated excellently and I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two rival leaders of the Diamond and Pearl Clans. Rather paradoxically, it’s Team Galaxy’s job to keep the peace between the two opposing clans, as well as compile information about the hostile Pokémon that are marauding around the landscape.
Gotta catch em all!
Did I say hostile Pokémon? You better believe I did. The people of this period are terrified of Pokémon. Most do not have a partner Pokémon, as pokéballs are a relatively new invention being trialed by Team Galaxy. A considerable part of this game is concerned with sneaking around the overworld, throwing balls and your own partner Pokémon at these hostile combatants. Crouching in tall grass to sneak up on your prey is a very helpful technique, and focusing on Pokémon will alert you as to how easy they are to catch. A level 30 Parasect nearly did me in when I foolishly tried to take it on too early. Oh that’s right. If you don’t throw a pokéball at them, then those suckers are gonna come for you instead. To top it all, some Pokémon (so called Alpha Pokémon) are super aggressive, sporting a pair of wild red eyes and massive size. Take these on at your peril.
A brave new world
So many features that you’ve grown accustomed to have been dropped or completely turned on their heads. For example, it is no longer a simple case of just catching a Pokémon to view its pokédex entry. Now you have to fill in survey reports for Team Galaxy and complete research tasks. Research tasks may require you to catch multiple Pokémon of the same type, witness them performing certain moves, or even evolve them. Doing all of this increases your status with Team Galaxy and allows you to command Pokémon at a higher level.
Aside from the main story, the world is brimming with people who enlist you to complete various requests. These are usually along the lines of: research this particular Pokémon, or bring me this particular item. It can be a little formulaic, but it adds some nice variety to your adventure. There’s even a blackboard of requests in the Team Galaxy’s headquarters which you can keep coming back to if you so wish.
Of course it wouldn’t be Pokémon without some key components that are still in play. You’ll still be choosing between a grass, fire and water type starter (Cyndaquil FTW). You’ll still be battling other Pokémon trainers (although this doesn’t happen nearly as often). And you’ll still be catching as many of the little blighters as you can stuff in your greasy little knapsack.
Breath of the Pokémon
I couldn’t finish this article without talking about the obvious parallels shared between this game and Breath of the Wild. Both games are set in Feudal Japan (or somewhere that closely resembles it). Both share a similar minimalist art style. And both are deeply routed in Japanese culture. One particular feature I liked, is that your sandals seem to mysteriously vanish as you transition into the living area of your humble lodgings. As if that all wasn’t enough, the overworld music shares the same tranquil rhythms as BotW but this time, the melodies are reminiscent of the tunes you will have heard in Pokémon BDSP.
Summing up
I have really enjoyed my first few hours with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and I am looking forward to spending more time exploring the rest of the Hisui region. Everything about this game feels new, but in a familiar way. Time will tell if this new style of adventure will mark an evolution of the Pokemon franchise, but I am happy with the result so far.