Pokemonfans everywhere have spent the last few days enjoying the franchise’s newest entry,Pokemon Legends: Arceus.The game is pretty different from any otherPokemongame out there, and while some fans have some very valid criticisms, the feedback has been mostly positive so far. BecausePokemon Legends: Arceusis the firstPokemongame that makes meaningful changes to the franchise’s traditional formula, it’ll take some getting used to, but it successfully lays the groundwork for the future of the series.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusis the closest thingPokemonfans have to an open-world RPG, which they’ve wanted for several generations. Despite the demand, Game Freak has continued to producePokemongames that are all basically the same. Now, that could be changing.Pokemon Legends: Arceuscould be paving the way for more games like it, and eventually that could lead to something amazing. It might not be on the current Switch, but the next generation of Nintendo consoles could have something special in store forPokemonfans.
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Pokemon Legends: Arceus Refreshes the Pokemon Franchise
Fans have been asking for a bolder and more creativePokemongame for years, and now it’s finally arrived.Pokemon Legends: Arceusis the firstPokemontitle, apart from smaller spin-offs likePokemon Snap,that really changes and challenges a lot of the game’s main concepts. Things like turn-based combat and gyms are no longer part of the game, traded for a bigger, more open world. It was a risk, but one that seems to have taken off —Arceusis already breaking sales records.
It doesn’t check off every box players hoped it would, but it is a bold step in a new direction. The franchise has stayed essentially the same for so long with the same types of stories, linear worlds, and characters. Since the franchise’s inception 25 years ago, not much has been changed. Only time will tell if thechanges made inPokemon Legends: Arceuswill impact futurePokemongames, but they definitely could.
Anychanges that thePokemonfranchise has madehappened very slowly, and the same is true ofPokemon Legends: Arceus.It didn’t make every change fans have asked for, but it is a big step in the right direction. From here on out, fans can hopefully look forward to more ambitious and creativePokemongames in the vein ofArceus.It’ll take a while to get to that perfect game, but it may happen with the next Nintendo console.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus Isn’t Perfect
For all its success,Pokemon Legends: Arceusis not a flawless game. It adds a lot of new concepts and mechanics to the world, but there are also a few beloved features that were taken away. For example, online battling isn’t possible in Arceus. It makes sense considering the game’s setting;Arceusis set in a time in which people were just learning about Pokemon and how to battle them. Tournaments and gyms haven’t been created yet and Pokemon roam the wild more freely.
Because of that, though, the primary objective of the game is completing the Pokedex, rather than winning a series of gym battles. Unfortunately, that also means that there are hardly any online features. Players who enjoy battling their friends or training Pokemon competitively are out of luck withPokemon Legends: Arceus. The only real online feature is the opportunity to trade Pokemon.
Trading Pokemon is important inArceus,as it allows players to come closer to the goal of completing the Pokedex. But online battling is also a core component ofPokemonthat a lot of players miss. Part of the reason for this feature being cut is that the combat is drastically different inPokemon Legends: Arceus.Implementing those changes in the main game is one thing, but translating the new multiplayer would have been a much larger effort.
The othermajor criticism ofPokemon Legends: Arceusis the graphics.Arceusis the biggest and most ambitiousPokemongame to date, but the graphical quality suffers quite a bit.Pokemongames have never been known for their graphics, but the flat textures and short draw distance disappointed a lot of players. The Nintendo Switch is capable of much more, but Game Freak has always been a little behind.Pokemon Legends: Arceusis a very enjoyable game that fulfills its promise of refreshing thePokemonfranchise, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.
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Pokemon Legends: Arceus Is the Foundation for More Improvements
Fans have been wanting a true open-world, multi-regionPokemongame for a long time. That’s not whatArceusis, but it’s a lot more open than previousPokemongames.Pokemon Legends: Arceusdid a lot of the hard work necessary for that dream game. It opened up the world, emphasized exploration, and made combat sequences more realistic by abandoning the classic turn-based mechanics. Those are only a few changes that were made, and fans are continuing to discover new things. There are new weather and status effects, andPokemon have been spotted talking to each other.
Thegraphics inPokemon Legends: Arceusaren’t amazingand didn’t take full advantage of the Switch’s capabilities, but that could change going forward. Because so much work has already been done refreshing other areas of gameplay, improving graphics could be next on Game Freak’s list. If it is, the next Nintendo console could be the one to finally host the game ofPokemonfans' dreams.
A game that keeps all thepositive changesPokemon Legends: Arceusmade, improves graphics, and includes the missing online elements would be amazing. It would be even more amazing if that game had a true open world and fully took advantage of Nintendo’s next-gen console. Nothing has been announced yet, but it has to be coming at some point.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusproves that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have been listening to fans. It took a long time for them to act, but they finally did. Iffan reception toArceuscontinues to be positive, Game Freak may continue pushing the boundaries even further. It’ll probably take at least a few more games to get there, though, which is why it would most likely be part of the next console’s life cycle.
