Pokémon is twenty one years old and in its Seventh
generation, not including remakes. What is remarkable about this is that for
the first six generations the games followed a remarkably consistent
formula. A preteen trainer leaves home,
defeats eight gym leaders, a criminal gang, s the elite four, becomes champion,
and catches one or more legendary Pokémon. While the writing and graphics got
more sophisticated over time, the key story points and gameplay have changed
very little. Pokémon has become notorious for following the same twenty year
old formula in every game.
Pokémon Sun breaks with the traditional formula in several
significant ways, but not as radically as it appears on first glance. The game
is set Alola; a region based on Hawaii. The player travels between four main islands
and a few minor venues. Rather than fighting gym leaders the player has to beat
several trails which feature totem Pokémon; powered up versions of Pokémon in
the game who can summon minion Pokémon to fight with them. In addition you have
to fight four “Kahuna”, one for every major island. There is also a much
heavier emphasis on plot and character interactions than in earlier entries.
These elements give the game more of a classical JRPG feel than any mainline Pokémon
game to date. But while it has a
different feel, only a handful of gameplay mechanics are new to Pokemon, and
these new elements only occasionally come into play; most battles follow the
same format players have grown used to.
The graphics turned me off when I first saw them. The new
character designs looked too thin for my taste. But as I played it warmed on
me, and I recognized that it was superior to the graphic design of the last
generation, the characters are now far less blocky looking. The one great flaw
is that the game hardly takes advantage of the 3DS’s 3D capabilities. Even the
battles which were in 3D in the last generation are now 2D.
While Sun is not revolutionary, it is one of the best Pokémon
games thus far; few Pokémon games besides Gold & Silver have thrown as many
new elements at players. They have a
somewhat unique feel in a franchise where many games feel the same. At the same
time they do not stray so far from the formula as to alienate longtime fans. If
there is anything to complain about it is that it didn’t depart far enough from
the formula. A bit more battle variety would have been great, as wood choices
that actually matter. The best you get is a slightly different reaction,
sometimes not even that! Variety being the spice of life, different story
routes would add a lot to the replay value. Of course Pokémon is aimed at an
international audience of all ages, primarily kids; it would be nice if it had
difficulty beyond simply grinding levels. Unless you self-impose a limit like a
Nuzlock veteran players are unlikely to find the game very challenging.
While I hesitate to call Pokémon Sun a masterpiece, it is a
solid entry into a storied franchise. If you haven’t played Pokémon in a while
but want a fun game give this one a try.
8.0 out of 10
-Gedaemon
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