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«Pokémon Legends: Arceus»: here’s how the first few hours play out

31.1.2022

«Pokémon Legends: Arceus» almost became the role-playing game that fans have been hoping for for years. At least, that’s my impression after having played it for ten hours.

Nintendo wants to break new ground with «Pokémon Legends: Arceus». I’ve now got almost ten hours of gaming time under my belt – and I still don’t want to stop. That’s a good sign. So, does this mean that fans have finally got the role-playing game we’d hoped for for years?

Not quite. Frankly, that’s just throwing away too much potential.

Finally, a new story

Time travel! We’ve never seen that in Pokémon before. But what it does is provide an exciting new setting. Here’s a quick recap. Essentially, the story in the previous games was always the same. Just in different colours – one in blue, another in silver, leaf green, ruby red... you get the picture. We always used to go out into the world to catch Pokémon, finish off the criminal syndicates, outsmart our rivals and be the best at big tournaments.

Arceus starts with a mystery. Right at the beginning, it transports us back to a time when people and Pokémon didn’t live in harmony. Let me introduce the Hisui region, which was based on feudal Japan. That’s where we connect with a research team in order to explore and categorise this world as well as the Pokémon that live in it. The aim is to build the world’s first Pokédex. At least, until godlike Pokémon begin to terrorise the region.

Who’s going to track them down? We are, of course. I don’t mean that you should expect an Oscar-worthy story along the lines of «The Last of Us». In true Nintendo form, it’s geared too much towards children. From abysmal puerile dialogue to explanations like «with X, you change your Pokémon. That’s called X change». Fantastic. Nevertheless, «Arceus» feels fresh right from the beginning. Except when it comes to the game environment. Or as my colleague Phil would say, it’s the Donphan in the room.

Graphics: oh dear

Granted, the world is finally completely open and freely accessible. No more levels. No more top-down perspective. The camera rotates around the character. Even during fights I can still move freely. That’s been a dream of mine that’s been brewing ever since I played my first Pokémon game «a mere» 25 years ago. However, the Hisui world won’t be winning any beauty prizes as far as graphics go. I don’t mean that in a bad way.

It’s not like I expected Nintendo Switch calibre graphics. All the same, does the world really have to be so bleak, monotonous and unimaginative? Along with its ultra-faded textures, cheap light effects and barely any anti-aliasing. When you look at Hisui, you get the feeling that the developers did diddly-squat after the initial unfinished alpha version. So, what did Nintendo make of it? Even the predecessor Nintendo Pokémon game «Sword and Shield» looked better, including in arcade level.

The game doesn't get any prettier than this. And I had to search a long time for this view.
Source: Nintendo

Unwaveringly loyal fans might accuse me of being too strict. After all, there are different terrains: lush green meadows, picturesque beaches and snowy mountains, for instance. Except these adjectives have little to do with what you can actually see in the game. Everything seems much more pared down. A more accurate way to put it would be to say: «There are meadows, beaches and mountains.»

Full stop.

A touch of role play

It took me an hour or two to digest the graphics culture shock. But then I was rewarded with new combat and capture systems that actually make «Arceus» a very fun, light version of a role-playing game.

For one thing, you don’t get hidden Pokémon in tall grass any more. Then there’s the fact the game lets you choose how to catch Pokémon. For example, my preference is to sneak up out of the camouflaged bushes. Only then would I throw a Pokéball. If I see a symbol over the Pokémon’s head showing that it’s difficult to catch even in camouflage, I'll try to either appease it with a tempting sweet or I'll throw a clay ball directly at its head. That way, a quick escape is impossible and I avoid any fighting. With a bit of practice, the whole thing can be done in no time at all.

With a bit of skill, you can catch most Pokémon without having to fight them first.
Source: Nintendo

Alternatively, I could jump head first into the fight to weaken the Pokemon before trying to catch them. Speaking of which, instead of just deciding which Pokémon can attack first in the turn-based combat system, as was the case in the past, Tempo can now also influence whether the Pokémon can even attack two or more times in a row.

At the very least, this provides more depth in the combat system, as your Pokémon don’t just «learn» their attacks, but also how to «master» them. The latter means you can choose if you want the attack to be normal or speed- or combat-based. With «speed», you don’t do as much damage, but in some circumstances you can attack several times in a row. In terms of «power», you cause more damage, but the compromise is you lose speed and then you might let your opponent attack you repeatedly.

The makers successfully revised the combat system.
Source: Nintendo

Let me give you an example. I notice that the opposing Pokémon needs to be weakened a bit before I can catch it, but my thunderbolt would beat it straight away. That’s something I’d know as a good Pokémon trainer. So I switch to speed. The attack will «only» weaken the opponent enough for me to throw a Pokéball at it before it's their turn again. Or I do some kind of combination: first, the speed thunderbolt, then the combat thunderbolt. That could be enough to defeat the opponent without letting them attack.

Great move, Luca.

Going through the world is a lot of fun. That’s also because researching Pokémon requires you to catch, fight, feed and develop them. You can always find out exactly what you need to do by reading the Pokédex prototype or by observing the Pokémon. All of this helps to mix things up a bit.

It looks like more work than it actually is.
Source: Nintendo

The story and combat system are quite reminiscent of role-playing games. There is also an abundance of side missions that can compete with a «Shadow of War». If you like chasing a 0.8-metre tall buizel for hours to be rewarded with a meagre five oran berries, then you’ll be happy. On the other hand, if you’re obsessive-compulsive like me and you hate moving to the next area before completing all the main and side quests, you’ll be swearing at the top of your voice.

The only thing is, apart from «catching» and «researching», there’s not much to do. Nintendo should have changed it up a bit more and added in a touch of variety. Because the game gets too monotonous over prolonged periods.

Verdict: it’s fun but...

I've now played «Pokémon Legends: Arceus» for ten hours. I actually like it. But that still doesn’t mean it’s become the Pokémon role-playing game that fans have been waiting for for years. «Arceus» did admittedly try to be, and it comes close thanks to the fresh setting and overhauled combat and capture system. But if you delete the Pokémon from the game world, you only have collectible items left. If you don’t want to fight or catch, there’s nothing left to do — and that applies to all the areas I’ve played in during the first few hours. The question is, how much longer will this capture my interest?

In other words, «Arceus» seems more like a proof-of-concept than an actual role-playing game. It’s as though the game lacked budget or development time. That’s clear to see in the careless graphics, which is something I have no plausible explanation for. What a shame. Five (!) years ago, Nintendo showed how beautifully charming and yet varied minimalism can be in «Zelda: Breath of the Wild».

Video games

Nintendo Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Switch, Multilingual

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Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»

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