4/5 ★ – Zackahree's review of Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

Easily being my favorite Pokémon experience yet, Pokémon Legends: Arceus was a joy from start to finish. The gameplay of Arceus was the biggest upside for me, creating a much more free experience and really dating their past model. Specifically, being able to switch your Pokémon on the fly with the bumpers is a much more streamlined experience than entering the menu and manually switching. Along with this, the new move tutor and selection is amazing. Having the ability to change moves in the fly and try different ones, and having less moves per Pokémon overall made me really want to balance my team and focus on who learned what moves, rather than using my starter to bulldoze everything in my path if needed. Then, to really round it out, mastering moves for more capabilities allowed for a lot of variety and decision making in battle. Regarding the past model feeling dated, I cannot really imagine going back from this type of gameplay, and hope they continue this in the future, because it really made using multiple Pokémon incredibly enjoyable. Other aspects of the gameplay that shined were the changes to the Pokédex, the Alpha and Noble mechanics, and throwing Pokéballs. Every Pokémon having specific tasks beyond catching and evolving is really interesting and I found myself wanting to complete each ‘mons Pokédex entry because of it. The alpha mechanic is also amazing, with little world bosses being good design and inspires using different Pokémon and leveling early on to take the Alpha Pokémon on and getting them in your Pokédex and party (looking at you Alpha Rapidash). Also, Noble fights are really fun and creative, at least at first, but a little more variety than the “balm” mechanic would have been welcomed, as it tended to get a little old. Lastly, throwing pokeballs has never been more fun, and I would choose to sneak behind a Pokémon for a back-shot every time for that extra bonus. For me, the only negatives were the graphics, which many have already mentioned, and that the formula did get a little stale towards the end of the game. However, despite the issues, I have not lost track of time in a single player game like this in a very long time, which is the best compliment I can give any game. There really was so much to do and it really is a simple kind of fun. For me, it came down to being “grindy” in the best way: simple, direct, and fun. I cannot wait for the next Legends entry and, hopefully, they continue to master this new model of gameplay. —————————- 5.0: Masterpiece 4.5: Amazing 4.0: Great 3.0: Good 2.0: Fine 1.0: Bad