➤REVIEW: Pokémon Legends Arceus revitalizes the franchise after 25 years of tradition 🕹

A late but necessary step towards change
The Fall and Rise of the Pokémon Trainer
We have to catch them all!
Crossing and Exploration in Hisui
Leave nothing behind (if possible)
What is this cruel world that we live in?
Creatively competent, technically disappointing
Is Pokemon Legends Arceus worth it?

no wonder that pokemon legends arceus sold 6,5 million copies worldwide in just one week. Since the revelation of Nintendo Switch, on January 12, 2017, there were rumors that a title exclusive to the Pokémon franchise for the hybrid console of Nintendo would shock the fan base with a proposal more open to the exploration of scenarios and new ways of capturing the adorable creatures.

The dream would become a little more palpable almost a year ago — more specifically at the event commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise — when pokemon legends arceus was officially revealed with a rather charming trailer for anyone who is a fan of the series. From that day forward, it became impossible to contain the speculations and rumors that came and went from all over the internet about the region of Hisui. Fortunately, we've come to the moment to talk about the game properly after so much waiting.

First reveal trailer for Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

A late but necessary step towards change

Developed by Game Freak exclusively for the Switch and published by Nintendo, the RPG pokemon legends arceus is the latest entry in the most profitable franchise in entertainment history. This last detail is quite relevant for us to understand what this game is and why it took so long to exist as we know it.

As with the popular saying “don't mess with a winning team”, major changes in the structure of Pokémon RPGs weren't justified when looking at numbers alone. the popular Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee! surpassed the mark of 13 million copies sold while Pokémon Sword/Shield are currently at around 22 million copies.

REVIEW: Pokémon Legends Arceus revitalizes the franchise after 25 years of tradition — Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu!/Eevee! adapted the successful Pokémon GO to consoles.

If, on the one hand, the games seemed an inexhaustible source of money for investors, on the other hand, the fame of the main series of games was getting worse with each release. THE Game Freak, once considered a reference in the creation of live experiences of cooperation and competition in games, received nicknames and pejorative mentions (lazy, inexperienced, profiteer, among others) — even though the other two thirds of the blame for this inertia were on the part of companies Creatures Inc. e Nintendo.

In fact, it's hard to "pull strings" in a safe way when so much is at stake - anime, illustrated prints, licensed products and more - but I can say that I'm very satisfied with the riskier stance of mixing different styles game in the same experience. For someone who had already decided to walk away from Pokemon franchise after recurring disappointments, until I'm quite satisfied after more than 30 hours invested in pokemon legends arceus.

The Fall and Rise of the Pokémon Trainer

The game begins with the young hero (or the young heroine, if you prefer) being sent back to the past through a space-time rift by the powerful Arceus, creator of the Pokémon universe. When we land on a deserted beach, we realize that we are no longer in the present and in our place of origin. In fact, it is in the region of Hisui during a fictional period of feudal Japan that the adventure unfolds.

Right off the bat — as usual in the Pokémon franchise — we meet Professor Laventon, a charismatic researcher who will introduce us to the little monsters, the Pokédex and other essential concepts of the new game. The first objective is simple: capture the three starter Pokémon scattered in that area to be gifted with your favorite after completing the task. What makes Pokémon Legends Arceus different from its predecessors, however, is how you'll catch all the creatures and become the greatest Pokémon master in the entire world.

We have to catch them all!

The series' central and more traditional mechanics have become an interesting mix between what we've seen in recent years in Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee! e Sword/Shield. On the one hand, it is possible to move freely through the scenes of the Hisui region and use different approaches when surprising a Pokémon with a Poké Ball throw. On the other hand, there are still a considerable portion of creatures that need to have their health points lowered just so we have a chance to recruit them to our team.

A Pokedéx is also different and reflects the changes implemented in the game. Every time we encounter a Pokémon during a battle or capture attempt, some information about the creature is recorded on the device, but just capturing it is not enough to obtain its complete record. A research system with diverse objectives oriented to that species now motivates us to diversify and experiment with new strategies.

Take Buisel, the charismatic orange weasel otter, as an example. To reach research level 10 on your Pokédex sheet, you can choose to defeat, capture, win with an electric strike, recruit large specimens, or witness the use of the strike. Aqua jet repeatedly to progress within the record sheet. It is not necessary to play the “completionist” and fulfill all objectives for each of the 242 tokens that represent the species available in the game, but if you are a fan of the franchise, this effort is more than rewarded with a greater probability of finding the valuable ones. Shiny Pokemon.

In addition to the more and less friendly creatures present in the vast scenarios of Pokémon Legends Arceus, there are also the so-called Alpha Pokemon, bigger and tougher little monsters that can be fought to gain more experience and valuable items — plus the opportunity to bring them in the “base of the ass” to our team. For this type of encounter, I recommend pre-preparing with a decent amount of Poké Balls, healing items, and food — which can be used to draw creatures' attention or cure illnesses.

Crossing and Exploration in Hisui

In practical terms, pokemon legends arceus It's not an open world game as we know it. For those who are already familiar with the Pokémon franchise, the game features a structure of areas and mounts that reminds me of the few good times I had with Pokémon Sun/Moon No. Nintendo 3DS in 2017. At the time, the so-called Poké Rides solved the inconvenient need for HMs, but did not expand the ways of exploring the world — since, in terms of level design, the Pokémon franchise was still very conservative.

The first DLC for Pokémon Sword/Shield, The Isle of Armor, was the first step in the right direction when it comes to exploration and traversal. Comprised of different biomes organically divided by characteristic fauna and flora, the island conveyed a sense of freedom through full control of the camera with the right analog stick outdoors.

Pokémon Legends Arceus bets on a mix of the seventh generation mounts with extensive open areas to offer a more interesting exploration and interaction with the biomes during the crossing, taking advantage of specific Pokémon that can be summoned at the touch of a button. In addition to being species or forms endemic to the region, these have specific abilities to help us reach the four corners of that world.

Leave nothing behind (if possible)

It's not just catching and battling Pokémon that the journey across Hisui is composed. You need to collect resources and craft more useful items in the camps spread across each area of the map to always have Poké Balls, healing items, and other items on hand. On the one hand, we don't have to worry about saving money to buy exorbitant amounts of items. On the other hand, the money is certainly already destined: you will want to improve the amount of space available for storage in your bag.

Obtaining raw materials of various types for crafting just isn't a more tedious and repetitive task as we are constantly finding new ways to collect these resources — whether it's throwing a Poké Ball with a creature on your team or taking advantage of the loot from the previous battle. My biggest complaint here is more about the exaggerated amount of fruits available in the game compared to the inexhaustible effort we need to make to enable more free spaces to carry items.

What is this cruel world that we live in?

A world inhabited by Pokémon is also a world inhabited by people. In virtually every game, the relationship between these two populations is narratively defined as a friendship. Mechanically speaking, however, the creatures appear to be more subservient to humans than they appear. At this point, the fact that pokemon legends arceus taking place in the distant past says a lot about how some details of the Pokémon franchise can finally be explained — or deliberately reworked without much justification.

Pokémon live further away from towns and cities, so the contact humans have with the creatures is less frequent and expository. I think this is a good “excuse” for us to go around recording and strengthening ties with the little monsters — which, unfortunately, are not as reactive in their habitat as I would like. They notice when we approach—they can take offensive and defensive postures—but ignore the presence of other creatures in the vicinity. In addition, there are some very powerful and uncontrolled “bosses” called Noble Pokémon faced during the main quest, but encounters are less threatening due to the tedious balm-throwing mechanic.

As the people of that world are not used to the particularities and diversities of Pokémon spread across Hisui, it is common for us to be in charge of capturing or completing the registration in the Pokédex of specific creatures during side quests in the game. The tasks offered by NPCs, most of the time, consist of repetitive activities and with an insignificant conclusion, but I confess that the game took some smiles and laughs from me during some of these optional journeys.

Creatively competent, technically disappointing

Everything commented so far are positive impressions or, at least, neutral ones about what pokemon legends arceus has to offer. Unfortunately, the game leaves a lot to be desired in its technical aspects — and this goes far beyond the limitations that a portable console like the Nintendo Switch can present.

The game's art direction, while simple, is satisfying in its style. What makes me very angry is the courage that the studio has to release, once again, a game with textures so poorly done and unfinished in some objects. Stones, trees, buildings, terrain and even the costumes of supporting characters in the plot suffer from a lack of polish or from loading too slow to keep up with our agility of movement.

The frame rate per second, in turn, does not suffer so many variations when the weather is calm in the scenarios, maintaining a constant 30fps most of the time. As rain or fog appears, there may be a more frequent and uncomfortable oscillation.

I know that complaining about technical aspects in the Pokémon franchise is “rainy rain”, but I feel like this time it was the Pokémon itself. Nintendo who missed the opportunity to deliver an absolutely impeccable game in technical terms. The publisher has quite enviable expertise in this regard with its own studios and could very well have offered a more experienced team to help Game Freak in this risky endeavor.

Is Pokemon Legends Arceus worth it?

pokemon legends arceus hits the fun right. The freedom of exploration and the different approaches to capture represent an exciting evolution for a series that was stagnant in the same model. Technical issues cannot be ignored, but can be resolved in a next entry in the Pokemon franchise.

As I've never had much experience or interest in multiplayer/competitive Pokémon, I can't say for sure what the real impact of the changes to these modes is and how the future of the franchise will shape with the arrival of this new style of play. But if you, like me, just want to have fun hunting animals in the region of Hisui, I recommend giving the new game in the series a chance as soon as possible.

pokemon legends arceus is available for Nintendo Switch for R$ 299,00. If you're still interested in learning more about the game, check out our ShowmeCAST episode about the games we've been playing over the past few weeks.

arthurmaiabezerra

verdict and notes

Verdict and Notes 8 10 0 1 Pokémon Legends: Arceus can be a fun entry to the franchise for all audiences as it evolves a little bit of the conservative mindset of the Pokémon franchise in terms of structure and gameplay. There's still a lot to improve in technical terms, but it leaves a glimmer of hope for an even better next game. Pokémon Legends: Arceus can be a fun entry to the franchise for all audiences as it evolves some of the conservative mindset of the Pokémon franchise in terms of structure and gameplay. There's still a lot to improve in technical terms, but it leaves a glimmer of hope for an even better next game. 8/10 Total Score