Pokémon Moon - Nintendo 3DS

This game takes place in the newer region of Alola. It introduces new mechanics and improves on gameplay that made previous games feel tedious such as grinding for levels to fight in gyms or going out of your way to fight against the newest villainous group. However, the story feels incomplete and some sections of the game are empty spaces making it look like a mouth with missing teeth. The game is better than previous generations and with Poké Rides you finally are not forced to teach members of your party moves in order to explore the world. I had rated the game before playing Ultra Sun, its still a great game even though it now feels like the light-version of Ultra Sun/Moon. I would still recommend it if you want a game you can replay and if you are looking for a short game during a break.

Absolutely my favorite main-series Pokemon game to date, especially since X&Y (which I was not a fan of overall). The characters are so much more likable and the shift to a more interesting, story-focused experience is really appreciated. It offers a lot of fresh new things to the formula while still keeping that undeniable Pokemon feel. Even though theyve clearly made certain aspects easier for the new audience brought in by Pokemon GO, as a veteran I feel it doesnt interfere with the experience and it still feels engaging and fresh enough to enjoy whole-heartedly. My only warning is, if playing on the original 3DS, the framerate can dip significantly during things like double-battles or Totem battles. It doesnt dampen the overall experience for me personally, but be aware that its optimized far better for the New 3DS systems and you may notice some bad framerates if not playing on the newer system. Technical gripes aside, I hope to see more games following Sun&Moons lead in the series future. Alola!

pros: - its pokemon!hawaii, which is cool - lots of new grass, fairy, and ground pokes that are very cute and interesting typing - breeding is now a billion times faster & easier thanks to the blessed inclusion of a visual display of each IV via an in-computer judge option - the legendaries are extremely easy to catch - now even more and cuter animations for all pokes! - 1st obviously fanservice DILFy professor - you can multiply your berries, hatch eggs / enhance friendship score, do EV training, collect pokemon amie / refresh affection items through the poke pelago system which is very convenient and brings a nice little check in element like berry bush farming used to be except not horribly boring and annoying - god finally organizing your item bag is a realized thing and its really easy with the free space pocket - seems like a lot of boxes at first but you only get like 16 which is pretty crap cons: - way too short - cant go beyond alola - no kanto, johto, hoenn, or anything else... :( and gamefreak still doesnt seem to comprehend the massive moneymaker downloadable game expansions are - no fertilizer for berries & no hybrids - the festival plaza thing should be cool but its actually really tedious and painful; to even get close to instating a decent facility for like, EV training or item purchase, you have to grind on these little quizzes and NPC check-ins that are charming at first but quickly lose interest - daycare lady is now a young cowgirl with blonde pigtails instead of an old lady but for some reason takes twice as long to waddle back and forth retrieving your pokemon - story is kind of boring :/ - have to wait until january for pokemon bank ffs

The game came in a sealed package and works fine luckily, but it was the UAE World Edition when I specifically bought the US version

Great game, my daughter went through it in no time

I pre-ordered this back in October - I was super stoaked when it arrived on release day. Ive been a super big pokemon fan since Red/Blue were released 20 years ago. I was a little apprehensive since Id heard Sun/Moon kinda deviated from the traditional pokemon game. ~Spoilers! Dont read this part if you dont want to know about storyline~ The biggest thing I didnt really care for was how guided the game is - there are a TON of cut scenes you cant skip through, and the beginning of the game really forces you along (blocked paths, required tasks before you can do anything else, etc.). This makes the game quite easy to progress through since there isnt really any way you can get lost. Sun/Moon dont have the traditional Gym Leaders/Battles - instead, you are a trial-goer and participate in little mini-tasks through your journey across Alola. Rather than Leaders, you are given trials by Island Captains, and eventually face the Island Kahuna as the Grand Trial on each island. I honestly found some of the trials to be rather silly - one is a find the difference sort of game, another is wandering around finding items in a jungle, etc. None are particularly difficult puzzles or anything. Grand Trials are battles, and those arent particularly difficult either (you get the Alpha Saphire/Omega Ruby style Exp. Share pretty early on, so your team is pretty OP. The main story line is pretty interesting - I enjoyed some of the unexpected twists. The after-story is also pretty good, and theres quite a bit to do after beating the pokemon league the first time around. There are no HMs in Sun/Moon - instead, you get to ride various pokemon around and can call them from anywhere. Pretty useful, and theres no need to keep an HM slave around to get through different dungeons. I liked Pokemon Refresh a lot - its really cute to be able to interact with your pokemon after a battle. Pokepelego is also pretty cool - the ability to farm berries so quickly/in one spot is insanely useful. Im not too thrilled with the Festival Plaza - it seems you need to be connecting with other trainers via NFC, etc to get the most out of this one. TL;DR - Fun pokemon game.

The first mainline Pokemon game that feels like it really tries to mess with the formula since the FireRed/LeafGreen introduced the Sevii Islands. I also really appreciate how well the levels scale, making battles actually somewhat tense, especially from the Elite 4 onwards. It was quite a surprise when I became Champion and the story actually brought me to somebody who was about as difficult as the previous trainer. The Poke Pelago is a neat addition, as well, and participating in that both encouraged me to catch any Pokemon I saw and made maxing out affection significantly more streamlined.

Pokemon Moon is the first Pokemon game that ever took me more than a week to beat. And no, its not because Pokemon Moon is difficult. The reason it took me over a month to beat Pokemon Moon is because it is boring. I could barely play over an hour of it at a time. My excitement was quickly dashed after starting up the game for the first time. Thirty minutes of cutscenes later, and I still wasnt on my pokemon journey. People seem to love bashing the Gen VI games but if theres one thing those games did correctly, it was the short introductions. Pokemon XY barely had a tutorial section; I was catching Pokemon only ten minutes after popping in the cartridge. And I understand that tutorials are essential. Ive been playing Pokemon since Gen I so I know how to play the games. Someone just entering the Pokemon series might find the tutorials useful. However, we arent talking about a massive open world rpg. Its Pokemon, guys. Just demonstrate to the player how a basic battle works and how to catch wild Pokemon. Pokemon Gold and Silver did that in under ten minutes so can anyone tell me why 16 years later in Gen VII it takes over half an hour? The very least they could have done was to make the cutscenes skippable. You think its just the introduction, right? Nope. The game is cluttered with them. I swear I spent more time reading through all those cutscenes than I did exploring the various Islands. Not that there is much to explore, however. Pokemon Sun / Moon are not the games you were promised. 1) Exploration Although no Pokemon game is really non-linear, never before have I truly felt confined to a corridor than I have been in Moon (or FFXIII, take your pick). The novelty of having multiple islands to explore quickly dissipates as you realize that almost all of the routes feel exactly the same. Much of this can be attributed to the lack of the variety of Pokemon. A lot of the same Pokemon will keep sprouting up across all of the islands, taking away any uniqueness or sense of discovery. However, the routes themselves just arent particularly interesting. Most of them look the same, with the few trainers littered throughout being the only way to distinguish one route from the next. 2) Festival Plaza I cant even begin to guess why this exists. What was wrong with the PSS from Gen VI? Why did they replace that with this? Festival Plaza is one great big mess, a convoluted manner in which to connect players that totally breaks any immersion and fun because of how obnoxious and tedious it is. 3) Trials and their Captains After hearing about the decision to remove the classic Gym Battle system, many people were excited to find out what the trials of Sun and Moon would be. I myself was quite intrigued as I wondered what they implemented. Trials and their Captains were meant to spice things up, offering a new way of growing stronger as opposed to the previously established Gyms. However, different isnt always better. Instead of gym puzzles, gym trainers, and gym leaders, Gen VII offers a tedious activity coupled with a battle against a Wild (though powered-up) Pokemon. After the first two trials, it becomes clear that the concept was not properly hashed out. Most of the trials end up feeling just like gym battles anyway (Looking at you, Acerola >_>) so its a lackluster experience. 4) Rivals A lot of people wish for a classic Rival, akin to Blue or Silver. Someone cold, rude, derisive, and powerful with maybe a superiority complex sprinkled on top. After the lackluster comedic Rivals of Gen IV and Gen VI, most people felt tired of the lack of competition. Seriously...does anyone remember Barry? Or the XY Trio? They were among the most useless of characters in their games and pathetically weak as well. However, I guess there are people out there who appreciated them, though how anyone can like a character like Tierno is beyond my capacity of understanding. So in a spineless attempt to please both crowds, they included two Rivals in Sun and Moon. Hau, the happy-go-lucky native who barges into the story whenever he feels like it, is the goofy comedy relief Rival who never poses any threat to you or your ambitions. This is clearly outlined in the first hour of the game, when Hau, your RIVAL, does the opposite of all other Rivals in Pokemon games, and selects the Pokemon with a weakness to yours. Throughout the game, he is obnoxiously cheerful and never changes or develops as a character. He is just as useless by the end of the game as he is in the beginning and youll groan out loud every time he appears on screen. On the other hand, we have Gladion. Unlike Hau, he is an aloof and calculating individual who believes in individual strength. I really dont have anything bad to say about Gladion. Hes obviously a throwback to Silver, the Rival from Gen II, but theres nothing inherently wrong about that. Out of all the characters in this game, Gladion is written the best and his character actually experiences credible development throughout the game. Not to mention, his battle theme is INCREDIBLE! 5) Lillie Ugh...I cannot stand this character. Lillie, the little coward who cant do a single thing on her own, tags along with you for most of your journey through Alola. This wouldnt be an issue except that Lillie is one of the most aggravating and pointless characters of all time. Sun and Moon spend a lot of time (and a million cutscenes) trying to get you to love and adore her, as if shes the most precious, delicate flower in the world. However, after hearing Lillie tell me for the third time that she didnt enjoy watching Pokemon get hurt, I just couldnt find it in myself to care. Lillie is meant to be written as a selfless heroine trapped behind insecurities and trauma. However, the game doesnt do a good job of presenting her that way. Cutscenes of yelling Nebby! Get in the bag! and I wish I were more like you! are not nearly enough to build a character. Show, dont tell! Instead of telling us about how brave Lillie is or having all of the characters in the game compliment and praise her on her (non-existent) growth, show us that shes becoming more mature, more responsible, more courageous. When the climax of Lillies growth and transformation finally arrives, it just feels so forced and contrived. At no point was I ever convinced Lillie had developed one bit as a character. 6) Your Character (Protagonist: Sun and Moon) Protagonist Sun and Moon have absolutely no soul. With giant, wide open eyes, permanent smiles on their face, and strangely robotic walk cycles, Sun and Moon look and act like zombies. Compared to these two, Red is a rambunctious extrovert. Sun and Moon have no character. Most of this is Lillies fault. So much of the story is centered on her that it leaves little room for Sun and Moon to properly develop. You spend more time fulfilling favors for her, listening to her drone on and on about this or that, or saving her from another disaster than you do learning anything about yourself. 7) Team Skull While I have grown to love them, I can understand why some people dont care much for Team Skull. As an antagonistic group, Team Skull is laughably pathetic. When compared to Team Rocket, Team Aqua / Magma, Team Plasma, the rapping punk goons fall flat on their face. However, while I disliked them in the beginning, I am rather fond of them now. Their music is cool and the dialogue from their members are witty and funny. Its also incredibly hard to dislike their leader, Guzma. I think Team Skull is fine. Just dont take them too seriously and youll be okay. Overview Its not the worst game ever. Even a (relatively) bad Pokemon game is still better than 70% of games out there. Anyone who gives this game a 1/10 is a liar. However, I really must advise caution for long time Pokemon fans. Sun and Moon are not the games you think they are and you will most likely be disappointed by many of the unwelcome changes to the Pokemon formula. It is certainly different but change is not inherently good. Some things, like Ride Pokemon, are very good. No longer is there a need for HM Slaves. However, many other things are bad. With the repetitive nature of the game, annoying unskippable cutscenes, hit-or-miss music, boring / tedious trials, super linear gameplay, and so many plot convenieces, this is the worst Pokemon generation so far.

Youll get the UAE World Edition. Works fine, just more expensive than needed. Save yourself 10 bucks and buy this, because its the same product. https://www.amazon.com/3DS-Pokemon-Moon-World-Nintendo/dp/B08Y4B2H1K/ref=asc_df_B08Y4B2H1K/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=509457162433&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5056308463487562962&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010320&hvtargid=pla-1393393556597&psc=1

Now I really wanted to give this game the full five stars, but I had some issues with it. First off, the package arrived neat and clean. Shipping was quick, game arrived new. It plays fine, it does everything you want it to. Now the reason I couldnt give it a full five stars. My first Pokemon game was Pokemon Blue back on my gameboy color. I know as the series gets older, they change things to keep it fresh. The last ones I played were Ruby and Black 2. I take a break every few years and then try the latest version. My issue with these new games, and perhaps they had this in X and Y, as I never touched those. It feels as if the game holds your hand way too much. The older games would just give you the starter you pick, and off you go. 3 Hours in and after I completed the first trial, I feel as if Im still in a tutorial and the game keeps telling me exactly where to go. I feel that the exploration has died down and the game has become more linear than it used to be. Im still having fun with it, I just feel like I need to have the training wheels taken off. If this is your first Pokemon game, I recommend it. If this isnt, Id still recommend it, just knowing you will feel as if youre in a tutorial for a few hours.