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Jacob Valdez
Greater than one weekIf you love Pokemon you have to get this. I havent beaten it yet but this one sure does knock it out of the park. The cut-scenes alone are enough to sell the game The whole world is lively and full of Pokemon to interact with. Not only that you can ride Pokemon all over the towns and maps! Theres a lot to be excited about this game especially now that everything is build from the ground up on this one. No more mini characters and full sized characters that was really bothering me the last games. If you love Pokemon you will definitely love this one, Its the same game we knew to grow and love 20+ years ago!
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Amoeba
> 3 dayLOVE this game. Ive been playing Pokémon off and on since Crystal. I really got back into after a friend bought me Alpha Sapphire. I played AS all the way through, but only partially played through X and White 1. I was excited for the new structure of Sun/Moon, so I got myself Moon and my brother Sun. Ive always just played casually, but my brother only did Nuzlocke runs for the challenge. Both of us have played this game traditionally, and still found it challenging and fun! The new trials are fun, and the ability of wild Pokemon to call for help is both infuriating and fun. Ride Pokémon take away the need for an HM slave, finally. Overall, great game for casual players and experienced gamers alike. :)
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Nathan
> 3 dayThis is a great game for pokemon fans who are looking for a slightly different story line and non-traditional rpg main game. To put it simply this game uses maintains many of the mechanics and features of the main story games for pokemon but introduces a story line that doesnt necessarily involve beating several gyms, defeating an evil organization, and beating the elite four, although two of those elements are still within the game (it still feels a more variant of typical pokemon games). Any main rpg style pokemon game is very easy to pick up and play without any prior knowledge.
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Derek
> 3 dayIve been apart of the Pokemon world for the last 20 somthing years since Red on the gameboy color came out and I have to first say that this is a nice different flavor to the run of the mill pokemon games although following the fundamentals of the games things have changed no gym battles but Island leaders as well with the ability to fly, surf and rock smash no longer holding a party pokemon down is fantastic. I highly recommend this game to all pokemon fans because its a breath of fresh air to the franchise. Although I suggest ultra moon or sun because this games the outdated ones like black and white where to blk/wht 2.
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Ryan
Greater than one weekGame Freak needed to release a new Pokemon game to reinvigorate the series, and Pokemon Moon is that game. Ive been fan since the beginning so I was a little skeptical about the change up from gym leaders to island hoping, but the experience is still 100% Pokemon adventure. The graphics a step in the right direction with fully a animated protagonists and NPCs as opposed the classic big headed sprites of previous games. Keeping with clothing customization from Pokemon X/Y was a smart move as well, especially now that you can see the details much more. I can keep describing how great it is but you really need to experience it for yourself. Again, its not your typical 8 gym, catch legendary, then fight the elite four adventure, but it is definitely worth your time.
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Tanner Morgan
01-06-2025I never thought I would rate one of the core Pokemon games anything below 5 stars, but I was a bit disappointed with this generation. The game itself is certainly playable, but I cannot get over the fact that I miss going to Gyms so much. The Pokemon available are sort of cool, but some of the special things that you have to do to catch them are pretty annoying. Overall, I felt like it was a bit of a step down from OR/AS, but hey, they tried something new. I guess there is always that possibility when you try something different.
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Al
> 3 dayPros: -Moons game clock is 12 hours apart from Sun, its night time in game if you play in the daylight -Totem Pokemon will keep calling for backup, learn to prioritize -No more grid movement, you get to move in a fluid 360 degrees -Lunala, and other version exclusives only exist in Moon -No more need for HM slaves! Cons: -Theres no more 3D, its only present in a small mini game -The battle A.I. flubs sometimes Overall Opinion: This is one of the best installments of Pokemon so far, there are many changes and new features that feel sleek and easy to play around with. If youre considering buying it, stop considering and do it already! You wont regret it.
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Charles Lane
> 3 dayThis is quite possibly the best game to come out of the series since some of the originals. The story has some stumbles but overall has some rather interesting twists. The difficulty of the old games, while not back, is certainly looking to make a comeback as this is the most difficulty Ive had since my original Gold playthrough and Whitneys infamous Miltank. The PokePelago and removal of HM for Ride Pokemon are certainly welcome additions to the series and serve as a nice point to aid new players while giving veterans something to come back for (pelago) and fixing an issue many have had for years (Ride). Overall the game is technically well made, with only VERY obvious slowdown when in double or Totem battles due to the sprites on screen (though Ive heard this is better, but not gone, with the NEW 3DS models I cant confirm as I only own a regular XL). I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to get into the games or a veteran looking to come back, I certainly enjoyed the 33 hours I put in just beating the storyline.
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RCADavidson
> 3 dayAs someone who played Pokemon since the Pokemon Special Edition days, I can say that the changes in this game has the biggest changes to the series, ever. First of all, they got rid of gyms for the Island Challenge, like it or not, and honestly, Im mostly mixed on it. In one way, I find going through them a bit easy, of course I havent finished the yet so I cant say that for all the trials, but they can actually be a bit fun at times. Another change they had, which is another like it or not, are the Z-Moves replacing the Mega Evolutions. Personally, I would prefer the Mega Evolutions, and the Z-Moves arent always exiting, but to each his/her own. The level design is also less grid-like, which I didnt even realize that in the demo, but its definitely a step up from the older grid-like design, since what worked in the past, where we had d-pads on portables, are just aged concepts with analog sticks/pads on the system. Now, the game itself is still Pokemon in core concept, and some of the changes are a bit light compared to others, such as effectivness rating on your move lists for example, but one of the changes I cant believe didnt come sooner is Pokemon Refresh. If you played X/Y or Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, you mightve heard of a feature called Pokemon Amie, which is mostly, in my eyes, NintenDogs Pokemon Edition. It was one of those features I barely used, mostly cause I couldnt find a point in it, and even the effects felt small to me, even if it was for better exp, dodging moves, or just help in evolving certain Pokemon. However, with Pokemon Refresh, I feel like its in my best to use it, especially when you can cure status conditions. I always hated having to run to the nearest Pokemon Center to cure that one Pokemon. Now, its just more convenient to cure your Pokemon than it has been before, and it actually made me want to use the other features. Another feature I really like is Pokemon Ride. Why? Because no more HM Slaves. Its like the Soar feature in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, but with more options to go through obstacles and traveling faster, and again, no more non-removable HMs, freeing up your move lists for your favorite moves. There are also changes presentation-wise, such as trainers standing behind their Pokemon during battle and ACTUAL OPPONENT MODELS INSTEAD OF SPRITES. I kind of wish your opponent doesnt look a manikin after they lose, but its a step in the right direction. Even the new PokeDex can tell you the exact location of a Pokemon and gives you mission locations, via bottom screen. Overall, while there are more features and changes, I feel like these are great changes for the series thus far, making this game may favorite version of the game. Oh, and during daytime in real world, its nighttime in-game, because thats totally not the weirdest way of differentiating the version at all, but kept within theme anyway. Customization also comes back from versions X and Y, letting you make a more unique looking trainer than just identifying yourself as a Bug Catcher or Ace Trainer. Storywise, its the usual Pokemon affair. The only difference I can say is that your rival actually picks the weaker Pokemon instead of the stronger one, i.e. a fire-type Litten vs a Grass/Flying type Rowlet, but at least hes a cheery fellow. I also like the characters thus far, even the members of the crime organization youll fight most of the game, Team Skull, which has the most ridiculous members ever. Seriously, these guys are just hilarious, from their animations, the way they talk, to the boneheaded ideas they have, like stealing berries. Of course, I havent finished the game yet, and I likely wont put any spoilers on the review anyway, except for berry stealing, but I feel that this story, so far, is just the typical Pokemon affair, except with no gyms, and Im fine with that. As far as the Pokemon themselves, I think they look great. I even like some of the Alola Forms of classic Pokemon, such as Vulpix for example. Sure, there are some to make fun of, such as Alola Persian being compared to Garfield, and even Gumpshoos, in the head, reminded me of Donald Turmp when I first saw it (could be a coincidence, could be an office joke turned Pokemon, who knows). But for the most part, I feel like a lot of the designs are great, and I havent found too many designs to laugh at. I do have some small problems, though, I have, such as the removal of elements. For example, in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, you can sneak up on Pokemon, but on this version, thats not the case. While its a small thing, I actually liked this feature as it felt like actual Pokemon hunting. There is also, mostly in battles and mainly due to upgrades, a good amount of slow down, which wont affect your gameplay experience, but it shows how old the hardware is, especially when they got rid of 3D (for the most part) in the game, which caused slow down in the older 3DS Pokemon games anyway. You only get it while using the PokeFinder, a little camera minigame more or less, which is already laggy at best anyway. Im also not crazy about the change from Mega Evolutions to Z Moves, but thats just me. Overall, I highly recommend either Sun or Moon. Really, whether which version to get, if both isnt an option for you, really depends on the Pokemon you want, so I would research the differences, but other than that, there arent that many, and even then, the two games connect to each other. If you want to move your Pokemon from X/Y or Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, youll be waiting until January to do that, so keep that in mind when you purchase either one of them.
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Jon Rasmussen
> 3 dayGreat new entry in the Pokemon series. As a long-time fan, it is nice that they are still improving the games with each iteration-- it would be really easy for them to put out a sub-par product and still get sales. I have already put ~120 hours into this game (about 30 or so in the story with oodles of time in the post-game), but even with that time investment I will buy it again for the Nintendo Switch and play through again :P. Some of the great quality of life improvements over the previous games: No more HMs Previously, you had to make room on your Pokemon for story-based moves (and have specific types of Pokemon in your party), but this is no longer the case! Great story The story in this game is one of the best in the series, possibly the best (over B/W), though this will probably differ somewhat based on personal taste UI Improvements If you ever had to look up type matchups to see if a move was Super Effective/ Not Very Effective, you are in luck: after you have battled a Pokemon, your move effectiveness is always displayed on your moves in the lower screen. IV Judging all Pokemon in your PC boxes at any PC This is huge for anyone that breeds Pokemon: after unlocking it, you can see the IVs for any Pokemon in your PC (which streamlines the IV checking process significantly). EV display in Summary screen This is a slight step back (as you could normally see this in the bottom screen at any time), but when you press the Y button on a Pokemon Summary it shows you the current EV investment for the Pokemon (with sparkles if a stat is maxed). It is nice having the same UI for the IVs and EVs in the same spot. Basically, if you have ever liked Pokemon (or just want to try a fun game), try this out. It is totally worth it. If you are thinking of trying another Pokemon game after Pokemon GO, you will not be disappointed-- the actual gameplay here is so much better. Just buy this and a fitbit :P.