Pokémon Legends: Arceus First Impressions
You take on the role of a new Survey Corps member. The purpose of this group is to meet every Pokémon species in the Hisui region while trying to create the land's first-ever complete Pokédex. After a lengthy tutorial, you get to pick your starter Pokémon. You must choose from Cyndaquil, Oshawott, or Rowlet, all of which are good choices. I picked Rowlet due to being familiar with him from the show. After this point, the game really starts to open up and it becomes better the longer you play.
The battle system has received the biggest revamp of any of the game's other systems, and while the battles are still turn-based, I found them to be more engaging here than in other Pokémon games. To battle a Pokémon, you must throw a Pokéball containing one of your own Pokémon towards the Pokémon you would like to fight. The ability to move your character around during these battles was a nice little feature I enjoyed. Once your Pokémon masters a move you can do a Strong or Agile version of that move. The Strong version of the attack is more powerful and does more damage but after using many Strong attacks your opponent will get to have two turns in a row. The Agile version of that move is less powerful and does less damage but after using many Agile attacks you'll gain two turns in a row. You'll come across slightly larger versions of Pokémon with glowing red eyes throughout the game. You'll have to fight these Pokémon in battle because there's no chance of catching them while they're in this state. You might be able to catch one of these Pokémon after weakening it, but I haven't been able to pull it off yet. The battles against these powerful Pokémon are challenging and feel like a true test of your skills.
Unfortunately, I experienced a variety of visual glitches, such as blurry character outfits, the game's graphics becoming pixelated for a short period of time, pop-in, and other minor visual bugs. When I was playing the game in handheld mode, these glitches were barely noticeable, but when I switched to TV mode, I noticed them nearly instantly. These bugs (so far) haven't been game-changing and could be patched soon, so don't let them discourage you from playing this game. I've heard about frame drops, but I haven't experienced any. I'm playing on a launch Switch so hopefully, the game has fewer bugs on other models. This is not an open-world game; instead, it is structured like a Monster Hunter game, with open environments to explore and a base city to return to as you progress. I haven't played a Monster Hunter game but I love this structure and I think it works perfectly in this game. The crafting system is a small but useful addition to the structure of the game. After discovering the recipe for some things, such as Pokéballs and potions, they can be crafted at craft stations located at basecamps and in the hub city. This system makes me more conservative when using these items in case I run out of materials to craft more in the future. My biggest criticism with the game so far is the lack of voice acting, which would have made the story moments much more engaging. While this is something that has been missing from previous Pokémon titles it still feels like it should have been included.
I've played a bunch of Pokémon games, but this one is (so far) the best one I've ever played. It's a great reinvention of the series, and I'm hoping for more Pokémon Legends games in the future. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch. Be the first to complete a Pokédex in this excellent action-RPG game from Game Freak.
The battle system has received the biggest revamp of any of the game's other systems, and while the battles are still turn-based, I found them to be more engaging here than in other Pokémon games. To battle a Pokémon, you must throw a Pokéball containing one of your own Pokémon towards the Pokémon you would like to fight. The ability to move your character around during these battles was a nice little feature I enjoyed. Once your Pokémon masters a move you can do a Strong or Agile version of that move. The Strong version of the attack is more powerful and does more damage but after using many Strong attacks your opponent will get to have two turns in a row. The Agile version of that move is less powerful and does less damage but after using many Agile attacks you'll gain two turns in a row. You'll come across slightly larger versions of Pokémon with glowing red eyes throughout the game. You'll have to fight these Pokémon in battle because there's no chance of catching them while they're in this state. You might be able to catch one of these Pokémon after weakening it, but I haven't been able to pull it off yet. The battles against these powerful Pokémon are challenging and feel like a true test of your skills.
Unfortunately, I experienced a variety of visual glitches, such as blurry character outfits, the game's graphics becoming pixelated for a short period of time, pop-in, and other minor visual bugs. When I was playing the game in handheld mode, these glitches were barely noticeable, but when I switched to TV mode, I noticed them nearly instantly. These bugs (so far) haven't been game-changing and could be patched soon, so don't let them discourage you from playing this game. I've heard about frame drops, but I haven't experienced any. I'm playing on a launch Switch so hopefully, the game has fewer bugs on other models. This is not an open-world game; instead, it is structured like a Monster Hunter game, with open environments to explore and a base city to return to as you progress. I haven't played a Monster Hunter game but I love this structure and I think it works perfectly in this game. The crafting system is a small but useful addition to the structure of the game. After discovering the recipe for some things, such as Pokéballs and potions, they can be crafted at craft stations located at basecamps and in the hub city. This system makes me more conservative when using these items in case I run out of materials to craft more in the future. My biggest criticism with the game so far is the lack of voice acting, which would have made the story moments much more engaging. While this is something that has been missing from previous Pokémon titles it still feels like it should have been included.
I've played a bunch of Pokémon games, but this one is (so far) the best one I've ever played. It's a great reinvention of the series, and I'm hoping for more Pokémon Legends games in the future. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch. Be the first to complete a Pokédex in this excellent action-RPG game from Game Freak.
I hope you enjoyed and Game On!!
Will you be checking out Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
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