***SPOILERS FOR POKEMON LEGENDS ARCEUS***
Hello Internet!
I hope all of you are doing well and staying healthy. I know it has been awhile since I’ve talked to all of you. But in my defense I’ve been playing a ton of a certain video game that I’m talking about today and that’s basically the same as doing research for a blog. Right? RIGHT? Anyway I’ve played a lot of Pokemon Legends Arceus and I will talk about my impressions of the game. But before I do that, let me quickly talk about the stuff that I’ve published the past few weeks.
On January 30th I published a Weekly Blog talking about Vox Machina: Kith And Kin. Right now there is some excellent Critical Role content between Campaign Three airing and the animated show on Amazon Prime (which I’ll definitely talk about now that the entire first season is out), but I would say that this book should be included as much read content. I would recommend this book for most people but I definitely recommend it for fans of Critical Role and Vox Machina. Read that book and then read my review of the novel. On February 2nd, I published a Poem titled “Stay.” February is a month of love, but love is often a very complicated thing. Commitment can be a scary thing that keeps relationships from lasting. But this Poem takes a look at a make or break moment. Should they stay? On February 9th, I published Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue Poems Part 3. I have brought back this format since it was almost Valentine’s Day. It’s sort of a biennial tradition at this point so I’ll probably bring it back in 2024 as well. But for now enjoy some wonderful, romantic poems. Finally on February 14th, I published Valentine’s Day Haikus 2022. This is another tradition that happens around Valentine’s Day and this year I might have put out the strangest Valentine’s Haikus yet. Well strange might not be the best word. But it definitely has a weird energy to them or at least I had a weird energy when I wrote them. Anyway check out any or all of those wonderful pieces I’ve published in the past few weeks. I definitely recommend them all if you haven’t read them.
Now let’s talk about a video game that I’ve been playing a ton of lately: Pokemon Legends Arceus. The newest game in the Pokemon franchise sees your character warped back to the Hisui Region which is the old name for the Sinnoh Region before it was fully settled. In this period Pokemon are not well understood and many people fear them. They do not live in close relation to these Pokemon. It is your job to not only research the Pokemon of the Hisui Region and create the first ever Pokedex, but also quell the lords of the region which are really just Pokemon hyped up by mystical power which makes them stronger. That’s the basics of the game and really it covers most of the main story. Arceus, AKA Pokemon God, has whisked you away into the past to teach people about Pokemon and stop the Pokemon Lords from harming anybody.
The story doesn’t really get super complicated. The main focus is that this is a game unlike any other or at least compared to other Pokemon games. Pokemon Legends Arceus is an action-RPG where you have full control of the camera, can move in every direction, and can actually see the ceilings when you are inside buildings. I know. The future of gaming is insane. In all seriousness this is the most ambitious Pokemon Game Gamefreak has made since they shoved two Pokemon regions into Pokemon Gold and Silver. This game puts a big focus on catching all the Pokemon and raising the research level of each one. Sure catching a Pokemon increases its research level but so does battling them, feeding them berries, seeing them use certain moves, and evolving them. I feel like this is where the game succeeds the most. It wants you to catch all the Pokemon and care about maxing out the research levels by interacting with the Pokemon in many different ways. It makes exploring the region and tracking down the Pokemon in their natural areas worth it. Gamefreak took the wild area concept from Pokemon Sword and Shield and made it into the entire game and then added a dodge roll just in case.
I did mention that Pokemon Legends Arceus is an Action RPG so where does the Action come in? Well here in the Hisui Region, Pokemon are quite dangerous. Everything from Gyarados, Ursaring, Abomasnow, and Paris are trying to hunt you down and attack you. You have to dodge roll away from the attacks and use your Pokemon to fight back. In classic Pokemon fashion, you battle with your Pokemon using turn based combat. Pokemon battles are much quicker now because all the Pokemon seem to have buffed stats and stronger moves. There is also the mechanic of strong style vs agile style. Strong style makes your Pokemon hit harder but makes them act slower on their next turn while agile style does less damage but your Pokemon may act faster. It’s a way to change the combat a little bit while keeping the core of the battling the same. I have no problem with turn-based combat and I might be in the minority when I say that I don’t think Pokemon really needs to change their battle system, but this add-on might be indicating where the Pokemon franchise takes its battling in the future.
So far I’ve really only talked about the praise for the game. I am a huge Pokemon fan and I’ve played the vast majority of the games. Overall I think Arceus is really good. But it’s not without its faults and I think those faults are glaring. I think the idea of having these large open spaces to move around freely is great but once you enter each region, I could tell that they were lacking. You basically have forest, swamp, beach, mountain, and tundra. Five areas which have some variety, but could have used a lot more details. Plus there is an issue with the overall graphics of the game. Usually I don’t really care about the graphics. As long as it’s good enough, it’s fine. But Pokemon Legends Arceus really has some issues with its graphics. This game looks like it could have come out on the GameCube or at least the Wii. It’s 2022 and games like Horizon Forbidden West are launching on PS5. Of course the Switch can’t output graphics like a PS5, but it has to be better than this. The environments definitely could have used some more work especially when exploring these landscapes is a big selling point for the game. The other big complaint I have about this game is the lack of voice acting. Pokemon has never had voice acting and in the past it hasn’t really been a big deal. But this game seems like it needs it. Pokemon is the top grossing media franchise of all time and you’re telling me that they can’t hire some voice actors? Come on.
Altogether I think Pokemon Legends Arceus is a good game that I am really enjoying. I have beaten the main story and I’m currently playing through the post-game. There is a lot of fun to be had. I hope that GameFreak takes what they’ve learned from this game and Pokemon Sword and Shield and use it to make a great gen 9 Pokemon Game. Pokemon has an opportunity to really take a leap forward and it’s about time it does. I also think that more Legends games should be in order. Give an ancient Johto, an ancient Unova, and an ancient Kalos! Any of them really. This idea is a great one and I think they should make more of them. But I also hope they make some improvements to things like graphics and the environments. Pokemon Legends Arceus is great compared to other Pokemon games, but looking at gaming as a whole, Pokemon has been lagging behind for a while and I want to see one of my favorite video game franchises be considered great without any asterisks attached.
Thank you so much for reading that Weekly Blog all about Pokemon Legends Arceus. Hopefully you enjoyed reading all about my thoughts on the game as I played through it. If you liked this Weekly Blog, feel free to give it a Like. This lets me know what sort of stuff you enjoy reading and may influence what type of stuff I write about in the future. You can also leave a comment down below. Let me know your thoughts about Legends Arceus. Are you enjoying the game? Are you disappointed in it? I’d love to hear all your thoughts about the game and what you think Nintendo/Gamefreak should change going forward. If you really enjoyed this blog and want to see more of what I write, I highly recommend that you Follow me here on WordPress. I’m trying to grow a positive and creative community here on the internet and I’d love for you to be a part of that. I’m hoping to hit 1,000 Followers by the end of 2022 so please Follow and send me some support. I really do appreciate all my readers and followers. The love and support they send me makes me incredibly happy.
Thank you again and I hope you have a wonderful week!
-Allen_The_Writer
Header Photo Credit to the Nintendo Store Page
https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/pokemon-legends-arceus-switch/
Allen The Writer 