GAME CLEAR No. 77 -- Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends: Arceus (2022, Switch)

Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo, The Pokémon Company
Clear Date: 2/6/22

It’s a bit weird to be writing about this game on the same day that the ninth generation of Pokémon has been announced. I beat it weeks ago, but as is so often the case, I took my time getting around to blogging about it. I don’t think many expected the turnaround for Generation IX to be so rapid. During PLA’s launch window (which we’re arguably still in!), a common refrain was that “Game Freak can’t go back to regular Pokémon now,” or “this is the new standard,” or words to that effect. Well, it looks like traditional Pokémon at least isn’t dead yet. I, for one, am not terribly heartbroken about that. I’m sure I’ll be grabbing Pokémon Violet with minimal hesitation.

Having said that, Pokémon Legends: Arceus absolutely does break new ground for the series and represents (at least partially) the overhaul that so many have wanted for so many years. It doesn’t do so without some significant flaws, though. The game’s worlds are as sparse as they are vast. As ugly as they are novel (by Pokémon standards).

The thing that rules unequivocally is the wild encounter/catching system. It’s really nice to be able to catch Pokémon without the slowness of random encounters and battles. Encountering Pokémon in the wild and discovering the various ways they interact with the player and their environment is neat and makes it truly feel like a “World of Pokémon” (as the games so often refer to themselves). Completing the Pokédex by doing additional research tasks rather than simply catching a single instance of each mon is also cool (if a bit more work than I’m willing to put in for the most part).

Yet again, though, that comes with a drawback. Specifically, I really wish there were more fuckin’ trainer battles in this game! A lot of the time, it felt kind of pointless to build a team. I reckon that may be fixed somewhat going forward.

As always, I don’t want to spoil anything, but I also think the ending was a bit curious. Remains to be seen if any potential DLC will change that.

Ultimately, I think this game brough some needed, cool improvements, but it still very much seems like a work in progress. The novelty has worn off a bit now, and I don’t feel like it has “stuck with me,” so to speak (unlike other recent favorites like Devil May Cry). There’s a lot to work with here and some cool steps taken, but PLA is not quite there.

Team Photo:

(From left to right: Towardness (Electrode), Niekro (Typhlosion), Knopfler (Rotom), Shinyuu (Gengar), Turk (Porygon-Z), Dojima (Gyarados))