Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels like a breath of fresh air for the Pokémon series. After years of the same old formula with nothing ever really changing, Pokémon Legends: Arceus manages to give players the Pokémon experience that they wanted for a while. Pokémon Legends sees players set in the Hisui region, long before it was known as the Sinnoh region found in Pokémon Diamond & Pearl.

Your goal is to document the region’s very first ever Pokédex. The game is set in a open world-like environment. I say “like” due to the areas actually being divided into smaller open areas with different biomes, that are home to different Pokémon species. Players will catch Pokémon by throwing the pokéball themselves. Players can either sneak up and attempt to catch the Pokémon from behind in a more stealthy manner or send out their own Pokémon to catch them in a more traditional manner. When battling wild Pokémon, you’ll have to wither the opposing Pokémon’s health just enough for you to throw a pokéball in hopes of catching it. Speaking of the traditional Pokémon battle system, the new addition of the “styles” offer up an entire new layer of strategy. The strong style can make your moves deal more damage but at the cost of being slower while the agile style sacrifices the strength of a move for an extra boost in speed.

But, the world that you’ll be conducting your Pokémon field research is just as important as the Pokémon inhabiting it. The world can feel very barren at times with not a lot of detail, with the Pokémon themselves seeming pretty lifeless as well. The Pokémon don’t have too much animation in the overworld to give them personality or make them feel like real creatures. And the overworld itself, as I said earlier, can feel very empty at times. Textures on the terrain can also look decades old by today’s standards. All of these may sound like bad things, and while they are, I still found myself having fun while exploring the land. Especially when I obtained the rideable Pokémon. No spoilers, but they’re all very fun to control and traverse the land with. The concept of conducting research on Pokémon by catching a certain number of a species or examining them in battle may sound interesting and fun in concept, but in execution, it can feel quite dull and repetitive. The game’s “Reasearch tasks” will see players catching a certain number of species, seeing specific weaknesses a Pokémon may have, feeding them berries, and more. These can get repetitive pretty quickly, though others may find mundane tasks like these fun.

Taking place in the past is a choice that I think worked out well in the end for this game. With this setting allowing the audience to view what the world of Pokémon used to be like. An era where people didn’t live in peace with Pokémon, but rather feared them. This also means that gym battles are completely done away with in this game, which was a decision I commended Pokémon Sun & Moon for even though it still had a replacement of sorts. Without the gym leaders, it lets the players create their own fun by going out and catching/observing the Pokémon in the wild in order to progress the story. For every research task you’re given, you get research points in exchange. After obtaining a certain amount of these points, the story progresses. The boss battles in the game were also great fun, with the game turning into kind of a third-person shooter mixed with a bullet-hell in a way. Players will have to throw balms at the boss to calm it down. After a chunk of the boss’s health is depleted, players will have the option to send their Pokémon out to battle with it or continue to throw more balms at it.

When not out catching Pokémon in the research field, players will be at Jubilife village, which serves as the game’s hub area. This is where players can buy items & clothes, view their Pokémon, learn new moves, and more. I personally didn’t find the area that interesting, just a decent hub world that gives players the tools they need, though others seem to enjoy it. The story here is nothing mind blowing. It’s very bland and there isn’t really much too it. It’s disappointing knowing that a game with so much dialogue has a completely lackluster story that isn’t very engaging at all. The soundtrack is also okay in my opinion. I was never a huge fan of Diamond & Pearl’s soundtracks, but I do know others are. Some fans may be delighted to know that a fair bit of the game’s soundtrack consists of remixes of familiar tunes from Diamond & Pearl. The lineup of Pokémon present in the game is also pretty solid. The ratio of Pokémon from specific generations doesn’t seem to lean too far to a specific generation. Obviously a majority of the Pokémon will be from the fourth generation of games, but the Pokémon from other generations all seem to be balanced out. The new Hisuian forms of certain Pokémon also look pretty cool. It should be noted that this game does not insult the player’s intelligence as much as previous mainline entries have in the past. It should also be noted that this game is a single player adventure only. You can still trade with others, but a Nintendo Switch Online membership will be required to trade with others online.

Overall, I think this game is a great breath of fresh air for the series, with it coming after the cash grab that was the Diamond & Pearl remakes and the games that I would personally consider to be the worst the series has seen by far, Sword & Shield. If you’re a fan of those games, than more power to you. I don’t think this game is as “messy” as others are saying it is, but I don’t think this game is “the best in the series” like others are claiming. I think this game has some highs and some lows, just like any other game. And that’s sort of what games are at the end of the day, they’re supposed to be fun. If you’re a longtime fan of the series, I would definitely recommend this game. If you’re a casual fan of the series, I would recommend this game. If you’re looking to get into the series, then I would also recommend this game. This game is a perfect starting point for those looking to get into this series in my opinion. I would recommend buying this game and forming your own opinion on it rather than listening to what others think of the game. Decide whether or not the game is for you, play it for yourself if you’re interested enough, and come up with your own opinion. Personally though, I had fun with this game.

Reviewed on The Nintendo Switch