Pokémon Ultra Moon - Nintendo 3DS

First of all, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL! This is an Omega Ruby/ Alpha Sapphire type deal, where its remade but better. I bought this thinking it was a sequel or a successor, akin to Black and White 1 and 2. I am disappointed that the game is essentially Sun and Moon but with some modifications and additions. However, I the game is pretty good and does improve a fair amount from the originals. It still has pokemon, they still need to be caught, and you still need to farm the heck out of those SOS battles to get pokemon with perfect IVs. You only need one adrenaline orb now, so thats nice. Oh, and the lag from totem battles are gone, which is lovely.

Came as advertised. I myself wasn’t so sure about getting it cause it’s still a second installment to the Gen, but it’s still worth it regardless. The BP point addition while surfing is excellent though, and I do love finding other legendaries from other generations.

Wonderful game, different story and play style than the previous generations. Instead of gyms, you have to do special challenges. HMs dont exist in the game, but are instead swapped out as a TM that are unlimited usage. I love the fact that the game fighting style has changed too much and that z moves were introduced which are Pokemon based oriented. Overall, I highly recommend this game and do not want to give away too many spoilers!

Updated: So my original Review was very pointed. I am not a huge fan of Pokemon Ultra Moon/Sun, but I given it more consideration. So I am pretty excited by every perspective pokemon game. I have been playing them for years (every-game sequentially since I played silver when I was four), and have followed every game from leaks to game reviews; this has been a staple form of entertainment in my life. So when I heard of Pokemon UltraMoon, you best believe i was excited. I love sequel games. Playing emerald was a real highlight for me growing up. As such, you would imagine, based on reviews, I would love this game. Sadly, I DO NOT. Do get me wrong, the game is ok. It is playable and pretty. The 3d Graphics are cool and a great step in the right direction for nintendo. The play through was relatively easy. The game is definitely solid. The problem is that it is not any more than that. The Pokemon Franchise is special, but, sadly, THIS GAME IS NOT SPECIAL. How Nintendo made an un-special pokemon game, I have no idea. WHAT ABOUT THE GAME WAS UN-SPECIAL? 1. This game feels more like a rushed gimmick. ITS NOT A SEQUEL to the Alola Region, BUT a cheap remake for fans to get a quick dose of Pokemon. The new features, arcs, and story developments are definitely there, but the game feels rushed and doesnt have the Pokemon flare we know and love. 2. The game is touted and marketed by game freak as a MAJOR expansion to the Alola Universe. IT IS NOT. THIS WAS VERY DISAPPOINTING. Sometimes Hype doesnt live up... 3. With games like Zelda, Mario, Animal Crossing, Xenoblade Chronicles, all innovating, I am VERY SURPRISED how underdeveloped this sequel is. ***Whether you are Nintendo reading this or a causal fan just now that this game is neither bad nor good. It will be a way to spend time. Probably not good time. Definitely not bad time. But, thats it. If this game was trying to get me excited for next generation you did it.

I’m really enjoying the game so far and I never git a chance to play the game until now so its great to finally have it!

My daughters a huge Pokemon fan, and this was a game that shed been looking forward to for a while. We got it for her for Christmas, and shes really enjoying it. She says some of the changes theyve chosen to implement have been really excellent, and shes having fun with it. Definitely a good choice for a Pokemon fan.

Preordered these games in excitement and received them on launch day. Played through them in the last 5 days and couldn’t be more disappointed... As someone who’s played Pokémon since Red, Blue, & Yellow (going on 18 years now), it really hurts to see how low gamefreak stopped for these “3rd versions”. Sun and Moon, despite their flaws, were such a fresh and beautiful reimagining of the franchise. The Hawaiian themed region, it’s culture and lore behind the excotic new Pokémon designs and the fleshed out characters were all amazing and made me fall in love with the series all over again. Sun and Moon truly felt like something special and it was a sign that the franchise was finally headed in a good direction again after the failed attempt that was Gen VI. But with these Ultra games, it feels as though game freak just got lazy, complacent, and ultimately decided to go for a cash grab rather than giving us one last great duo of games before leaving the DS family for good. And these games come off as possibly the worst in the series as a result. I still played through this game and made myself enjoy it because I already spent the $40 and don’t like to leave any of my games unfinished. But I just really hope this isn’t what we have to look forward to when the Pokémon main series finally makes it way to the Switch... For context... Pros + You can battle main villains and catch nearly all legendaries from past generations through convoluted means. It’s a bit of a goofy setup, but a fun and worthy addition. And it’s the only thing that kept me from given it a 1 star rating. Cons.. - These are the same games as Sun and Moon! Slight colorful changes to the UI and music (while nice) don’t make for a new game. - The abundance of filler, game-halting dialogue and handholding from the SM remains, making the pace of the game excruciating. - The new mini games and areas aren’t terribly interesting or fun and serve as half-assed filler options. - You also HAVE to play through those mini games to progress the plot, further adding to that pacing problem. - The horrendous Festival Plaza wasn’t tweaked or fixed at all and remains as is. - The new ultra recon squad are interesting but never do anything of note. They’re just there... - The epic battle with Lusamine from SM was swaped for a stupid and predictable narrative change. - Necrozma’s Dusk and Dawn forms are ugly and uninspired. Worse than Kyurem’s forms from BW2. - Your rival’s Pokémon can follow him outside their Pokéball, but yours cannot... why? - Due to some other narrative changes, there are some Pokémon in the game who make appearances with their overworld sprites, much like the ones that were leaked in the data mines last year. But you never really get to interact with them in this way. Hugely missed opportunity! - Zygadre Cell collecting was replaced with totem stickers (100 in total). While much easier to find and less time consuming, the payoff is ultimately null since your reward for finding them all is a just an aesthetic bump to some select Pokémon and nothing else. - Hardly any new customization options were added for your player. Same hairstyles, only a couple new clothing options. - Post game content is lacking just like in Sun and Moon. Catch some legendaries, UB, battle old baddies, and swap out rentals to battle with. After that, you’re stuck with the same post game as last year’s. Why couldn’t we get a rich and expansive post game like with Emerald or Platinum?

Way too many cutscenes and similar content to sun and moon. This is definitely for players that havent already gotten the new generation games. Does have a lot of added pokemon though in the later gameplay and is also slightly more difficult to beat.

Giving it four stars because the game is a lot of fun, but it didnt deliver until five days after release. Amazon was very helpful. It is basically Sun and Moon with updates. If you loved those games, youll like this one too. There are more pokemon to catch, more mini games, more characters and an expanded story. Issues like obnoxiously low catch rates and being unable to evolve Vikavolt till end game have been altered in this version. I wasnt expecting much from the photo shoot mini game but its actually pretty fun and cute, a nice way to take a little break and commemorate an event, like your pokemon evolving. Be sure to buy this soon if you want Dusk Lycanroc too.

Honestly, it feels like a great send off for the series on the DS series of consoles. Tons of features, a wonderful story, and overall one of the best, if not the best, in the franchise. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon blew away all of my expectations. I liked the original Sun and Moon but this updated version just feels so much more...complete. Its amazing and a must have for any pokemon fan or anyone looking to get into the series!