4.5/5 ★ – ThatsALotaChris's review of Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

As close to the game I conceived of with my friends when we were 8 as any Pokémon title has ever come. I really am astounded by some of the gameplay components that set this apart from every other game in the franchise, things I never believed they’d actually do. For starters the main objective of most Pokémon games is to become the league champion. People act like it‘s to “catch ‘em all” but it’s not. There is no narrative push to catch a variety of Pokémon in any of the mainline games, so I’m so happy that this game places that goal front and center. I also like that you need to do more than just catch one of each Pokémon to complete your dex. You’re genuinely researching these Pokémon so there are things you have to watch them do in the wild. It’s the first time I felt like I was actually helping with the Pokédex instead of just using it as a tool. Then there’s the actual gameplay. SO satisfying to be able to run around a Pokémon battle and shout orders. There’s no reason for it not to shift perspective like every other game, but it adds SO MUCH to the experience that you really ARE the trainer here. I also enjoy the new aspects of battling like the strong/agile moves as an extra measure of strategy. Also the ability to swap out all previously learned moves on the fly is game changing and should be incorporated to every game. I still dream of a day when Pokémon battling turns into Pokken Tournament every time you engage in a battle, but the is the next best thing. Similarly, catching Pokémon has been so well refined. They’ve taken lessons from their failures in games like Let’s Go and created an experience that mimics what Pokémon catching always felt like in the anime. It’s not just about “good” throws, but about stealth, distraction, and of course weakening when necessary. Add aggressive Pokémon that actually attack. YOU the trainer? Catching has NEVER been as fun as it is in this game. Another component of gameplay that deserves discussion is traversing the map. Starting out, you’re so enamored by the new experience, it doesn’t really strike you how limited your mobility is, but as soon as you gain access to the mounts, the entire experience levels up. It’s so crucial being able to quickly switch between sprinting on a Wyrdeer to surfing on a Basculegion. And you don’t even realize how much climbing improves your journey until it’s presented to you. Don’t even get me started on FLYING. Now, this is also one area where it feels like they didn’t quite work out all the kinks. For one thing, a slight incline should not require a Sneasler to scale quickly. There needs to be better movement when not on a mount. Also the fall damage SUCKS when you misjudge how close you are to the ground when getting off your Braviary. It’s the kind of realism that’s not fun. I also mentioned how smooth it is to change mounts early in the game, but unfortunately switching mounts later feels a lot more clunky. You want to be able to switch back to Wyrdeer RIGHT after scaling a wall, but you’ve got to cycle through to get him, hoping you don’t accidentally select Braviary and ascend in the sky only to fall to your near death. It’s a nitpick, but it’s so close to being perfect that I can’t not mention it. Oh, and Braviary should be able to fly up. Weird that he can’t, but I guess they don’t want to make Sneasler useless. Now, obviously I’ve heard the complaints about the graphics and they’re mostly valid. There are times when textures are very rough to look at and for a game in this era, it should look better. That said, this is like the least important factor of a game to me. It does nothing to decrease the fun I’m having. Also, there are times when I find the art style genuinely beautiful to look at. I never want one of these games to look too realistic, just a little more polished. But again, I’d take a smoother experience over a prettier one any day. The other problem era is the story. Normally this is a huge sticking point for me, especially in realistic games or sweeping adventures. That said, I give a little bit of leeway to games like Pokémon or Mario where the game is more about the fun of the world and less about telling a compelling story. The Pokémon plots have NEVER been very good. They nailed it the first time and have been repeating ad nauseam ever since. I commend them for branching out with this one and I really love the SETTING for this story, but the story itself is pretty lacking. It’s a shame because the bones are there to do something FAR more interesting, but the characters are all very stiff and the in game dialogue is about what you’d expect. My last complaint is more bittersweet than a real complaint. The Alpha Pokémon are an incredible addition, and it’s so cool to see these huge, powerful Pokémon in the wild… but after a while, it makes the collection of Pokémon a little less complex. On one hand I LOVE being able to sneak up on an Alakazam and nab it with a gigaton ball, but on the other, I have all these evolution items I never got to use because I captured every Pokémon that would require one. Thankfully almost none of the new Hisuian Pokémon are available in the wild so it adds new challenges to acquire them, but at no point did I need to scour the game for a link cable. Again, it’s less of a complaint and more of an old man yelling at the sky that games are too easy nowadays. Overall, it’s a phenomenal game to get swept up in for hours at a time. It feels like the culmination of all their mainline games with the Pokémon Ranger games and even elements of Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Go. With all its flaws it feels like an incredible proof of concept. A stepping stone to the potential endpoint of how good these games will get in the future. We’re getting so close to the perfect Pokémon game and this is the biggest stride we’ve taken towards it in years.