This Thanksgiving, we give thanks to all of the people in our lives and all of the things we treasure in our lives. For me, I am thankful for my family, my friends, all of the anime I've watched, all of the manga I've read, all of the games I've played.... and of course, the existence of the Pokemon franchise. I am thankful for my teams of Pokemon, who all help me through each journey I take in each region in each game ever since I played my first Pokemon game, Pokemon Platinum, when I was 10. It's been nearly six years since then, and on this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my latest achievement: completing one of the two latest Pokemon games within just six days! I feel more grateful for my team than ever, but most importantly, I am grateful that, despite my initial worries, this game managed to stand out from its predecessors.
Ladies and gentlemen, here is my review of the latest Pokemon games, Pokemon Sun and Moon Versions! (Well, actually, it's just for Pokemon Sun, as that's the version I played, but I'm including Pokemon Moon because it's a freaking pair! Don't judge me!)
To anyone who doesn't know about Pokemon.... do you live under a rock or something? Well, if you must know, there are creatures that roam around the world of this franchise called.... well, Pokemon! Some people prefer to keep Pokemon as pets, while others prefer to use their Pokemon's powers for battle and allow them to get stronger. The player controls a child who has just started their journey; they must choose between three Pokemon - a Grass-type, a Fire-type, and a Water-type - as their first Pokemon. They must battle the eight Pokemon gyms, where they receive badges, and once they have collected all eight badges, they must battle the Elite Four and the Pokemon Champion in the Pokemon League in order to become Champions themselves; meanwhile, the player must also fight an evil organization who is using Pokemon for evil in one way or another. That's pretty much the formula each Pokemon game follows....
Until now.
The main difference between Pokemon Sun and Moon and all of the Pokemon games before it is the absence of gym battles. Yeah, I'm serious. Instead, we've got the island challenge, where you go to each island in the Alola region and complete the numerous trials on each island. To be honest, I wasn't sure about the island challenge replacing gyms, as there were always gyms; however, I kept an open mind and tried not to judge them before playing the game myself. Now, I must admit that the island challenge was a lot of fun to get through. Some of the trials were quite easy, and others were almost impossibly hard; there was an excellent mix going on here. A Pokemon League is still present in this game, albeit it was just built toward the end of the game; as with a lot of Pokemon Leagues before it, it was quite a challenge to beat all four Elite Four members, despite the fact that half of them are kahunas, which meant I battled them before!
As for the story of Pokemon Sun and Moon, it was very well-crafted. Not only was I trying to get through the game to get my Pokemon to be stronger and to clear the main objective, but I was trying to get through the game to progress in the overall story. The main reason for me liking the story is the character Lillie; she is an interesting character from the start, trying to protect a Cosmog she befriended and nicknamed Nebby, and she undergoes some rather interesting development. The rival, Hau, is a likable character, as well; I liked his energetic personality. One more standout character would be Professor Kukui, the professor who gives the player their starter Pokemon (by the way, I chose Litten between it, Rowlet, and Popplio); he's overall a fun character and easily my favorite out of all of the professors throughout the Pokemon games. I guess I should also mention the Rotom Dex, a kind of Pokemon that has a Rotom living in it. Although it does annoy me sometimes, as it blocks the region's map when it talks, it offers some great words of wisdom occasionally.... well, I guess.
This is a video game review, so an evaluation of its graphics cannot be skipped! Of course, Pokemon Sun and Moon has great graphics, although it is a Nintendo 3DS game; the movements of the player and other characters are fluid, and the Pokemon battles are visually pleasant. One Pokemon move that had absolutely wonderful animation was a new Dark-type move, Darkest Lariat; it looks extremely cool! It's a bit of a disappointment that, unlike Pokemon X and Y, the 3-D feature isn't available at all, but since I don't really turn the 3-D on anyway when it comes to my 3DS, it's not a huge deal. Honestly, that's all I've got to say in regards to the graphics. Dang, the graphics of video games may be as hard to evaluate as the art in manga!
Overall, Pokemon Sun turned out to be a fun game, and since it's in a pair with Pokemon Moon, I'm sure Pokemon Moon is the same way. It's a not-miss for any Pokemon fan; despite its differences from other Pokemon fans, it doesn't disappoint! I'm not sure if I can say the same about the Pokemon Sun and Moon anime, though.... Well, I guess I'll have to keep an open mind about that, too.
Grade: A
Comments
Post a Comment