Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Developer	Game Freak
Publisher	Nintendo, The Pokémon Company
System	Nintendo Switch
Release Date	January 28, 2022
Rating	ESRB: E

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a Pokémon action RPG that was released for the Nintendo Switch in January 2022. It was released as part of the Pokémon series' eighth generation and acts as a prequel to the fourth generation games, which had remakes (Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl) that had come out months prior. Arceus is set in the Hisui region, a past version of Sinnoh. This title deviates from the norms of the Pokémon series in a number of ways, including being the first mainline game to be a prequel and having a unique structure, as well as being a standalone release without any other versions.

Story

The protagonist is a young person who has been pulled through a time-space rift to the Hisui region during some past time period. In the process, they have a brief encounter with Arceus, who changes their smartphone into an Arc Phone which it occasionally uses to send messages guiding the protagonist, starting with one asking them to encounter all Pokémon. After waking up, the Rei/Hikari encounters Professor Laventon, who allows them to have a Pokémon and brings them to Jubilife Village, which is home of the Galaxy Expedition Team. During this time era, people and Pokémon are wary of each other, and very few humans keep or train Pokémon. Rei/Hikari ends up undergoing trials to join the Galaxy Expedition Team in order to earn lodging in the village, and they are tasked with calming down rampaging Noble Pokémon across the region. Along the way, they also must investigate the mysteries of the space-time rift which looms over Hisui and appears to be the source of most of the region's disturbances, including bringing anachronistic people, Pokémon and items into the region. Along the way, they also encounter the region's feuding Diamond and Pearl clans.

Gameplay

This game attempts to take on a more open world approach than previous Pokémon games, as each area in the game is an open sandbox that the player can explore with relative freedom. This includes easily being able to encounter over-leveled Pokémon. One key difference about this entry is the human protagonist being a direct part of the gameplay. Wild Pokémon, which are all spawned in the overworld in this entry, will notice the player and will try to either flee or attack them. The player can take damage from Pokémon attacks or environmental hazards such as fall damage. Taking too much damage within a certain time window will cause the player to pass out and wake up at camp in the equivalent of a game over, but the player can automatically recover if managing to stay awake long enough without sustaining further damage. While the player can still send out Pokémon to battle wild Pokémon, it is also possible to throw Poké Balls at them without engaging them in battle, or to use different items to stun, distract or attract wild Pokémon. The Pokémon appearing can include stronger versions of normal Pokémon known as Alpha Pokémon. The game even has boss battles which require the protagonist to dodge a powerful Pokémon's attacks and attempt to throw items (typically balms) at them. These boss battles still contain segments in which the player can temporarily engage the boss Pokémon in standard turn-based Pokémon battles to weaken them further. The player can only have one Pokémon deployed at a time in this game, even when battling against multiple opponents. Some other features during battle include trading attack damage for extra turns, or vice-versa.

Throughout the game, the player can also form bonds with certain Pokémon that they can summon to ride in the overworld. These Pokémon serve similar functions as the HM moves in past games, such as gliding through the air or moving through the water. Aside from the main quest, there are also a number of sidequests that can be overtaken in the game. Other events that occur sporadically throughout the game are mass outbreaks of Pokémon and time-space distortions. Time-space distortions are temporary events in which waves of Pokémon appear that are typically high-leveled, and this includes appearances by Pokémon and items from other time eras, including some Steel-type Pokémon, the Porygon family and evolution items. Arceus leaves out a number of features such as Pokémon breeding and abilities, but it does also simplify some evolutions. No evolutions require trading anymore, as this game allows players to achieve these evolutions by simply giving items to those Pokémon, such as the new Link Cable item or the evolution items that originally were supposed to be held by the Pokémon while being traded. Instead of evolving automatically, the player can choose on a menu when to evolve a Pokémon once its evolution criteria has been met. The player can also freely edit a Pokémon's moveset on the menu screen, without needing any Move Tutor or Deleter. This game contains its own equivalent of the Pokédex, but it functions quite differently; rather than unlocking a Pokémon's entry just by catching it, there is a list of tasks to be carried out repeatedly in order to fill out a Pokémon's entry. These tasks include catching or defeating a certain number of said Pokémon, or witnessing Pokémon use certain moves a set amount of times.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus contains seven new Pokémon, which marks the first time that any mainline Pokémon game has added new Pokémon species outside of the generation's main entries. All but one of them are new evolved forms of existing Pokémon (or their Hisuian forms), with the other Pokémon being a new member of a legendary group. This game's starter Pokémon uniquely consist of starter Pokémon from different regions: Rowlet (from the seventh generation), Cyndaquil (from the second generation) and Oshawott (from the fifth generation).

While the game never received DLC, there was a free update a month after the game's release titled Daybreak. This added new post-game requests that introduced Massive Mass Outbreaks, in which multiple outbreaks could occur within an area at the same time, as well as features including more battle challenges such as the Eternal Battle Reverie (an endless mode where the player battles continuously until losing), Path of Solitude (where the player can use only one Pokémon in a challenge tailored for that Pokémon) and Path of Tenacity (consisting of a gauntlet of trainers battled throughout the game).

Connectivity

This entry was crafted to be more of a single-player experience than past Pokémon games. It only possible to trade Pokémon with other Arceus players, marking the first mainline Pokémon game to exclude multiplayer battles. This game also removes most incentives from trading, as all Pokémon within the game can be found within one copy of the game, and all trade evolutions can now be done within the game. Pokémon from this game could be transferred to and from Pokémon Home starting in May 2022, from which they can be sent between other compatible Pokémon games. Pokémon from Legends: Arceus will be shown with Abilities when tranferred, and they'll be set with their four most recently-used moves.

There are also several save data bonuses in this game. Having save data from the Let's Go! games, Sword and Sheild and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will unlock some items in Legends: Arceus. Save data from the latter sets of games will also unlock special missions in which mythical Pokémon can be obtained (Shaymin with Sword/Shield and Darkrai with Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl). Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl also contains a new book in the Canalave City library which hints at the resolution of a Legends: Arceus sidequest in which Manaphy and Phione could be obtained. Completing every story mission in Legends: Arceus will also unlock an Azure Flute in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl. Save data from this game will also unlock an Arc Phone Case for the player's Rotom Phone in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Legacy

This game became popular with fans due to the deviations from the traditional Pokémon formula, although it is unclear if other games will be made in this style. Some aspects of the game, such as the open world gameplay, would be reflected in the series's next main entries, which came out later that year: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.