Let's find out together, in this review, if Game Freak has embarked on a path worthy of the purchase of Legends Pokémon Arceus, the new title of the decades-long franchise and loved all over the globe
There are many, really too many in reality, i franchises that are definitely in need of updating, of a step forward, of something new. It is not always easy, however, for a company that produces titles that are all very similar to each other (and this is not always a bad thing, remember it) for decades and that has now grown several generations of gamers, to find a new starting point, a new line that can always please longtime fans and bring new followers closer. And Game Freak knows it, but it tries anyway.
You will have read about every one of Arceus Pokémon Legends by now, yet here we are too talking to you about it in a review. Released a few days ago exclusively on Nintendo Switch, we talked about it in every sauce, with guides and specials, without going into the details of the title and our opinions on it. We have explored the length and breadth of Hisui's lands, stocked up on Pokémon of various kinds, completed the story missions and most of the secondary ones. We then sat down in front of the PC and, putting our hand to the keyboard, we asked ourselves: “and mò?”.
Small premise
Talking about Arceus Pokémon Legends is not very easy, for two reasons. The first, and main, is that although the title differs in many points from the tried and tested Game Freak formula, is and still remains a chapter of the main trend, and not a spin-off, with all that that entails: vastness and longevity first of all took us by surprise, making us realize that the road of "let's do a fast run" was definitely not viable in this case. The second reason is more sentimental and less "review": the writer has not been working on a Pokémon chapter for a long time, although he has followed the franchise since its inception.
We grow and change, and we often move away from brands that we thought we would have accompanied for a lifetime. So it was, therefore, also for myself, and the last chapter that I really took in hand, stripping it to the bone, was Pokémon White. Then a little touch here and there, but nothing too thorough. You will understand well, therefore, that the writer did not have any kind of amazing expectation on Arceus Pokémon Legends, and starts from a position of almost absolute neutrality regarding hype. Having said that, let's talk about it seriously.
Gotta catch’em all!
Let's leave behind the concept that to create a Pokémon game we need an "Ash", a "Gary", a "Team Rocket" and "Gyms" to defeat, whatever the names assigned to them in the various iterations. Let us also leave behind the casual encounters, the (initially) limited resources and having to necessarily fight against creatures to tame and capture them. Pokémon legends Arceus twists (in the purest and best sense of the word) the basics of the franchise and brings to the nth degree a concept that had gradually dwindled with the progress of the chapters: adventure.
We find ourselves in a Sinnoh of the past, called Hisui, a land where Pokémon and humans are in their first official interactions. The creatures are almost feared by the population, who know them little and understand them even less. Our protagonist arrives on the island swooping from the sky and seems to have an extraordinary affinity with Pokémon, at least from what the Professor on duty says. Our task, during the main adventure, will be that of learn more about the mysterious creatures that populate Hisui, completing the Pokédex and facing fearsome and unknown Pokémon.
Simple | Arceus Pokémon Legends Review
We won't say much more about that makes up the narrative of Pokémon Arceus Legends, again for two reasons. The noble "we want to avoid spoilers" is in fact accompanied by the awareness that there really isn't much more to say. If Game Freak has in fact aimed at a revolution, it is certainly not under the narrative front that it has succeeded. Arceus, like practically any chapter related to the franchise (with the exception, perhaps, of Black and White), certainly does not aim for an effective script and sensational twists.
Simplicity, pure and crystalline. On the other hand we are now used to thinking that Pokémon is a product generally aimed at children, and from a certain point of view it is also true. Legends Pokémon Arceus is a title that aims to please everyone, young and old, without any distinction. The immediacy of the mechanics winks at the little ones, but by scratching the surface you still find a product that can be easily experienced even by the greatest and fans of the franchise.
Compulsive capture | Arceus Pokémon Legends Review
The game world is a vast open map that branches off from the Giubilo Village, the main game hub, where your character will have a long list of shops to buy objects and accessories, as well as change your hairstyle if you feel the need for a radical change. The vastness of the game map, divided into smaller areas and marked by different biomes, may initially seem confusing, especially when walking. This feeling will fade away waiting a few hours of play, when Arceus Pokémon Legends will give us the first mounts, all different from each other and with unique functions.
During the various explorations, our main task will be only one: complete the Pokédex by catching Pokémon. Unlike the previous chapters of the franchise, as already mentioned, it will not be necessary to fight to achieve this goal, indeed. Paradoxically, if you are really pacifist at heart, you will not have to engage in any fight against any creature other than those imposed by the plot. You can tame the creatures directly by venturing into the game map, Pokéball in hand, in stealth sections in the grass (which is not that high) or by being quick and precise.
Stealthing | Arceus Pokémon Legends Review
Some creatures can only be captured if you are not seen, otherwise they will enter aggressive mode and you will have to flee or fight. The game over, conceptually, does not exist. Should you suffer too much damage with your character, perhaps trying to escape a clash with an Alpha Pokémon (more powerful and decidedly less docile versions of the others, which you will find scattered on the game map as a sort of miniboss) or a creature that in general does not you will want to fight, you will simply find yourself teleported to the nearest camp, with a few less items in your bag. And there will be no game over even when you run out of Pokémon that can be used in battle: in this case the game will simply make you exit the battle and regain control of your character.
In general, therefore, we have noticed a difficulty level dramatically set down. And although it is true that Pokémon Arceus Legends is a title for everyone, big and small, there is no doubt that the game is definitely too easy from every point of view. The boss fights have no taste of challenge, and only some Alpha Pokémon, in the more advanced stages of the game, have made us think more. It must be admitted, however, that a lower difficulty level is suitable for the type of game design proposed by Arceus.
Slimming… excessive | Arceus Pokémon Legends Review
In this chapter, in fact, the construction of a performing and technically valid team is much more complex and decidedly less inviting than in the previous chapters of the franchise. To continue in the game, you will often be asked for grinding sessions and wild capture of Pokémon gradually different, to complete the various appendages of the Pokédex and then be able to rank up within Team Galactic, a necessary condition to unlock the different plot areas. . Having such a huge amount of creatures available it really limits team building a lot, paradoxically, that in the frenzy of capture and the most obsessive grinding it becomes almost… useless.
Paradoxically, it will be more intelligent and performing to capture the Pokémon present in the area of the boss to be faced, which will be of a rather similar level or a little lower. To do this, as mentioned, you will not even have to fight: you can simply hide in the grass, or throw objects useful to distract the creature, pull out your Mega Ball of trust and that's it. No more team building and, presumably, competitive world reduced to the bone. You no longer have to choose which moves to let your creatures learn or forget, because these will simply be tradable from the special menu. No differentiation in the growth of Pokémon, no particular objects to hold, no mating. Gameplay from previous titles has been streamlined in a direction that may definitely not appeal to more hardcore fans.
Quick / Powerful | Arceus Pokémon Legends Review
On the other hand, a mechanic has been added that fans of Bravely Default (or Octopath Traveler, in short, you understand) will certainly be familiar. In Pokémon Legends, Arceus is indeed It is possible to upgrade or weaken the already mastered moves of Pokémon in battlesa, consuming a greater number of PP, but altering the progress of the rounds of the encounter. Powerful moves, for example, will deal more damage, but will prevent the Pokémon from acting in the next turn. Conversely, those Rapids will have a minor effect, but our creature can immediately make another move.
Interesting? Nì, in the sense that it should be considering that even the Pokémon we face have the opportunity to take advantage of this mechanic. The more we went on in the clashes, however, the more we found it decidedly negligible and poorly implemented. Also consider that the real bossfights are more gimmick, in which we will have to face the Pokémon on duty by throwing particular spheres (called Sferezen) at it in order to calm its fury, until a bar at the top of the screen is exhausted. If, therefore, in the Square Enix titles that we have mentioned the mechanic was definitely useful, especially against the most powerful enemies, in Arceus Pokémon Legends you will forget about it shortly after discovering its existence.
Ohi ohi ohi | Arceus Pokémon Legends Review
Finally, to close this review, let's move on to the much talked about technical sector of Arceus Pokémon Legends. The question that arose spontaneously, after we got entangled in the chatter and controversy, is quite simple: but what did you expect from Game Freak? The company that discovered 3D in 2012? Undoubtedly, to think that on Nintendo Switch he already shot that masterpiece of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild several years ago makes you smile. We cannot therefore speak of hardware backwardness, but of laziness of the development house definitely yes. And is Arceus so bad? Well ... yes.
If from a certain point of view the use of colors and the alternation of biomes, all different and recognizable, made us very happy, everything else is definitely to be forgotten. Frequent frame rate drops, partially patched on day one, and completely unjustified considering the quantity of polygons that make up the models. We have repeatedly witnessed the "flight" of wild Pokémon in the distance that more than an animation was more like leafing through a photo album. Low (very low) resolution texture, too intrusive aliasing, ridiculous pop-up and rain effect on NPC and Pokémon models that makes them shiny and even more plasticky. Everything is even more amplified with the console connected to the TV, so for heaven's sake play it on a laptop.
What more did we expect? In reality nothing, and we also loudly confirm that a technical apparatus of this type in 2024 is incommentable. But does it make Pokémon Arceus Legends unplayable or less enjoyable? No. The title of Game Freak does its job perfectly, amusing and thrilling, albeit with a very different direction and soul than in the past. A new starting point therefore, which we do not know how much it will please the most hardcore and longtime fans of the franchise, but which has given new life to a brand that has remained stuck at its roots for too long. Considering the stratospheric sales and the excellent success from the point of view of the public and critics, perhaps Game Freak has just missed the target.
Here we are!
What to say more, at the end of this review of Arceus Pokémon Legends? The new beginning of the Game Freak brand has partially convinced us, although not entirely. The streamlining of the most hardcore mechanics of the franchise will definitely not please long-time fans, just as the backwardness of the technical and artistic apparatus put in place by the development house is truly unspeakable, considering that we are in 2024. Pokémon Legends Arceus has but that quid, that idea that makes us think: "And if maybe ...?". And that's exactly what we expected from Game Freak, the company that has raised so many generations of gamers and that, decades later, continues to excite. Half promoted: look forward to the sequel!
We remind you that Arceus Pokémon Legends is currently available on Nintendo Switch. Let us know what you think of the Game Freak title below in the comments, we will continue to keep you updated with all the news, guides and reviews on gaming and tech themes! And if you are interested in game keys at affordable prices, we recommend that you take a look at the InstantGaming catalog!
7 A new directionPoints in favor
- A new beginning for the franchise
- Lots of Pokémon to catch and collect
- Streamlined historical mechanics ...
- Some interesting gameplay additions ...
Points against
- Embarrassing technical backwardness
- ... maybe a little too much
- ... others decidedly unsuccessful
