Pokémon Legends: Arceus
A fun game with some missed opportunities
by Kyle Ackerman
Pokémon Legends: Arceus by Gamefreak and the Pokemon Company, $60 on Nintendo Switch, ESRB rating E for Everyone (mild fantasy violence), release date: 1/28/22, reviewed on 2/21/2022. I purchased this game.
You won’t waste your time or money with this latest Pokémon release; although there are some problems to note. In fact, I found that I developed a love/hate relationship with the game. Keep in mind that I’ve played nearly every Pokémon release since Red and Blue; and this now legendary franchise is in it’s 26th year.
Let’s cut to the chase — if you’re interested in exploring cool new Pokémon habitats, this game delivers, although I found myself wanting better graphics and more good-looking new Pokémon.
Strengths
You still “Gotta Catch ’Em All” in order to fill your Pokédex. The Pokémon are found in five open areas from the Ancient Sinnoh/Hisui region. These new regions are fun to explore; and you can spend countless hours finding new Pokémon in areas you haven’t yet seen. You can even go back and see new areas once you get new Pokémon to ride on.
There are people you can meet and talk via traditional text bubbles, and I liked how they offer expression and emotion; a very different feeling than the expressionless faces back in the days of the Nintendo 3DS.
You’ll meet the new Alpha versions of Pokémon, which are bigger, stronger versions of Pokémon, and Noble Pokémon in a very challenging boss battles where you yourself fight the Pokémon. This is a change from very easy Pokémon over the last few generations.
Weaknesses
The bad news is that some of the graphics are lacking when viewed on a modern big screen. The grass looks like it was imported from the GameCube years, and the Pokémon don’t have expressions. Dialogue can also drag on, being a bit boring with very little meaning to the story and could have used voice acting.
The areas are also predictable: two forest areas, two snowy themes and a beach. I found the new Pokémon to be uninspiring, with the exception of Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark.
The bottom line?
Despited the lacking graphics and predictable format, I have to admit that this game provided me the most fun I’ve had in a Pokémon game since the 2D era, especially with the hardest boss battle I’ve ever experienced in a Pokémon game.
This game has also got me more exticed than I would have been for the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Violet releases (promised for later this year), which hopefully better looking open-area routes, and the ability to catch Pokémon in more creative ways.
My rating: 7 out of 10.
Kyle Ackerman has played every Pokémon game since Red and Blue, is a game reviewer for IMM Review and a Senior in the Design and Creative Technology program at TCNJ.
