Pokémon Legends: Arceus - Nintendo Switch

Its good

this is a must buy

Open world aspect is extremely appealing and gives a more natural, flowing feel compared to traditional Pokémon games. Definitely a must have for fans of the franchise. New Hisuian variants are attractive as well.

So I’ve been playing Pokémon games since Pokémon Red… And (sorry if this offends anyone) they kinda suck…They’re all basically just reskins of each other with the same plot and same game mechanics. Basically, if you’ve played one game, you’ve played them all. And if you’re into that, great! Good for you!…I am not. Arceus however, is the first Pokémon game I’ve played that I’ve REALLY enjoyed. Primarily for the open world aspects it has in it. Most Pokémon games feel extremely…Cramped. There’s no freedom to do much, but this game gives you A LOT MORE FREEDOM. The boss battles are also different, challenging and fun! I also LOVE letting my Pokémon out of their balls and talking to them to see the animations! SO CUTE! I mean don’t get me wrong, you still have to sit through hours and hours of dialogue THAT YOU CAN’T REALLY SKIP!…And don’t care about. But honestly, I’m just used to that at this point with games that exist like Genshin Impact and other Nintendo games. It’s fun to play, fun to explore the maps and rewarding when you finally can explore a new region or find your first random shiny Pokémon walking around out in the wild and you’re just like “Wait…That Eevee isn’t the right color…” Overall, would highly recommend even if you’re sick of the classic Pokémon experience and are looking for a slightly new twist on things.

I didn’t expect the quality will be so amazing! Currently I spend 100+ hours for it and still enjoy the alive Pokémon world, looking forward to Gen9!

Was a great game that I put 50+ hours into

The pokemon series has been stagnant with the same formula since 1996 with one new mechanic here and there, which has been consistently fun, but left you wanting more. Arceus is not a perfect evolution of the traditional formula, but it is a step in the right direction. Arceus rips alot from Breath of the Wild, and potentially couldve ripped even more (youll understand when you are attempting to climb up a tiny curb of a hill) to be even more fun in terms of traversal. As you progress, you will find more tools to help your movement, but I found myself imagining a pokemon world with even more personal choices of character movement or interaction with the world. Supplies are plentiful and easy to aquire, and funds for more gear are increasingly plentiful as the game rewards you for completing research on pokemon. Battling is incredibly streamlined and the scaling of levels and damage has been changed so the risks (and the tension is higher). If you are seen by multiple aggressive pokemon, you can run a risk of being overrun if you arent careful. It isnt perfect and later that risk becomes more obsolete, but it is a good step. One regret I have is that in the simplification of the battling, alot of strategic value is lost. Pokemon do not have abilities anymore like levitate, etc as well as item holding. I imagined what it would be like to have that aspect with the new scaling of damage and level differences as well and I hope they revisit it in the future. One thing I do really like is the scrapping of the IV system with grit dust. For casual players, IV and EVs are just additional flavoring to make every pokemon different, but more hardcore players well spend ages grinding in the same area or breeding pokemon for perfect stats (back in the day when I played pokemon silver, I literally taped my Gameboy control button down at a gym with a panel that slid you back so I could walk and hatch pokemon eggs for better stats) Rather then grind for 85 hours for a single one of your favorite pokemon with perfect IVs or EVs then painstakingly train them on a specific type of pokemon that raises one specific point of EV, which, by the by, almost none of that information you can see or keep track of easily except for a bare minimum web chart and some numbers by your stats. I know theres alot of bragging rights for legit perfect statted shiny pokemon, but it always bothered me because you are essentially gambling and wasting time for the chance of finding one. There is no real skill involved, just a test of your will and patience to endure.. Also, plenty of hackers in the newer games make all that effort obsolete. Instead just take your favorite pokemon and invest in them instead. Got a shiny and its junk? No worries, you can raise their stats instead while youre out exploring. Your starter is no longer a footrung to better pokemon to grind for later, it is a partner you can invest in. It is all much more clear and concise. In a purely sentimental note, I also feel it fits pokemons theme much better of its more about what pokemon you like and put the effort into, rather then just a team filled with the current metas of the strongest that are all relatively the same. My bidoof maybe cant take on a perfect statted Arceus, but it can probably give it a run for its money now. Arceuss biggest weakness is its plot and its characters. The tutorial is two hours too long with way too much talking and no way to skip. The story is so boring and convoluted, with no buildup or genuine emotional beats at all. You have a cellphone from essentially God. They stole bits of plot from Breath of wild and made it kiddie version including a calamity and literal rips in space and time that no one seems overly concerned for and somehow know quite a bit about. I know this is a game marketed for children, but aside from the fact that pokemon is multi generational now as well, there are plenty of examples of childrens media with excellent stories and character development. All in all, between Sword/Shield and Arceus there have been many steps in the right directions to bring more innovation into the series. I hope Nintendo continues development of more open world pokemon games. I would love to have more interactions with my pokemon directly, have more trainers (and other players) to fight, watch the interactions of even more pokemon in the wild, and feel even more like the wandering trainer that as a kid I wanted to be.

Nep

Been playing it since it came out and have been shiny hunting since completing the full dex! Love this game so much and will probably keep coming back to keep shiny hunting in it! Great for someone wanting a new taste of game from the Pokémon Company!

I’m a Pokémon fan and this has been a dream of mine. I remember playing a 3d concept of Pokémon red and it was similar with terrible graphics