The newest release of the Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an exhilarating time for the entire series. As the biggest software franchise in the globe, to see the series wander away from its typical formula and the numerous remakes come as a breath of fresh air.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus occurs in the feudal Japanese-inspired region of Hisui, in a period where the futuristic and modern technology noticed in the conventional games have not been invented yet.

There are no Pokéballs or Pokédex that have only been created. Having traveled back in time, the player is required to help write the first Pokédex. At a simple look, a person familiar with Pokémon can easily notice the difference right away, and they might think whether there’s too much difference at all.

It won’t receive any awards for the writing, but it has served its purpose and will keep you interested. You will find numerous side quests to do, which will have you tracking down numerous Pokémon of a particular size, gender, and various resources. Further, the rewards for doing the quests are often recipes or items.

They do not add much to the entire story. However, they are still fun to do, especially if you live exploring the zones. I also often found myself exploring away from the main quests to finish Pokédex challenges and look for other side quests.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus enables you to explore a massive open area such as Cobalt Coastlands, Crimson Mirelands, Obsidian Fieldlands, and the hub area Jubilife Village. Given that you’re exploring a few areas on the adventure, it will remind you of Monster Hunter in that aspect.

Anyway, there are no random encounters here. As an alternative, you will find wild Pokémon wandering around in their natural habitat. Specifically, various types of Pokémon have various ways to be captured. For instance, other Pokémon run away when they see you, while others are extremely aggressive and will begin attacking you. Those Pokémon can’t be captured if you are being targeted unless you send out the Pokémon to battle. Other Pokémon will simply stand there sneering at you before you can capture the theme.

One of the amazing features of the Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a crafting system. Have you played a 3D open-world game before? Then it has an identical crafting system of some kind. Anyway, you can make potions, Pokéballs, and other items which I have not bothered to do, as you can simply purchase such items with money.

Thus, the concept of collecting materials offers you a strong reason to harvest different trees and collect rocks. Other items offer good utility but are not strictly needed to progress throughout the game. For example, berries and cakes could be thrown to divert your target Pokémon, and smoke bombs could make it so you cannot be noticed, allowing you to sneak forward easily.

On top of that, combat in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is similar to many Pokémon games, as it features turn-based battles. Moves could be efficient or not at all, depending on the type of move and the opponent’s Pokémon type. Nonetheless, there are major differences:

• The speed stat works differently as it identifies the move order. You can take many turns in a row if you have a speed advantage

• When starting the battle, you can battle wild Pokémon simultaneously if they are close together.

• You can never fail to run away

• You can run around wherever you like in real-time

• Battles against Pokémon nobles feature different mechanics

Even though Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a great improvement to the traditional formula, there are still missteps that I feel are worth mentioning. For instance, the battle system has become extremely simplified. All debuff or buff moves that Pokémon can use now influence the stat it changed.

Overall, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a remarkable proof of concept. It makes many fresh changes to the series, but it also has its share of flaws. Thank you for checking out this review. Have you already played this game? What are your experiences? Share your thoughts by leaving your comments below.