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The Hisui Region, setting of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, is an ancient version of the Sinnoh Region, seen in the Generation 4 games and their remakes. Naturally, the game is full of nods and references to Diamond and Pearl, from ancestral characters to musical cues.
What will be most apparent to players are the landmarks of Hisui, especially the places that are just slightly different to how they were in modern Sinnoh. It's an exciting opportunity for players to see how the locations they became familiar with in Sinnoh began as part of Hisui. The ways in which the progress of human technology shaped and changed them is fascinating.
Oreburgh Gate
On the far eastern edge of the Obsidian Fieldlands, a relatively straightforward cave will take players from the mountainous edge of The Heartwood to the lower, flatter area of the Gruelling Grove. The location is named Oreburrow Tunnel, but over the years, the name of this place would come to be known as the Oreburgh Gate.
The Oreburgh Gate is the first cave players would come across in Diamond and Pearl. There's not much interesting about the inside, as it serves simply as a straight tunnel from Route 203 to Oreburgh City, the location of the player's first Pokemon Gym Battle. It's hard to picture exactly where Oreburgh City would fit in the Obsidian Fieldlands, but the mountainous area on the south side of the gate would no doubt be significantly dug out to fit the town, as well as the mine it would eventually become famous for.
Eterna Forest
Keen eared players will realize what area is an ancient version of Eterna Forest as soon as they enter it. The background music in The Heartwood is a beautifully remixed version of the Eterna Forest theme. The game is full of musical references like this that can help orient the player in the world.
It's clear time hasn't got to The Heartwood yet, as Eterna Forest — the path players take to get to Eterna City for the first time — is packed far denser with trees, all of which are much taller. Diamond and Pearl's version of Eterna Forest was quite dark, with rays of light shining down, indicating just how tall the trees have gotten over the years. Seeing the forest in its infancy is a nice touch.
Floaroma Meadow
One of Sinnoh's most colorful locations is the massive flower meadow connected to Floaroma Town. This town doesn't have much to offer the player, aside from a detour into the Valley Windworks, but they're nowhere to be seen in Hisui. However, the town has formed quite the connection with Mythical Pokemon over the years.
In the remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, players need to go to Floaroma Town to collect the Jirachi and Mew rewards. It is also where the Gracedia flower can be obtained, giving access to Shaymin's Sky Forme. Speaking of Shaymin, it is key to the creation of the meadow. When players first go there, it will be a withered and dead location; however, a post-game quest (only available if players have a Sword and Shield save-file on their Switch) will lead Shaymin to restore the beauty of the location.
The Lakes
One of the few locations that are not only unchanged but even have the same name, Sinnoh's three lakes have always been integral to the mythology of the region. Even going as far back as the Hisui era, the three spirits Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie hide away in caves in the middle of massive lakes.
The only slight change made to the topography is that Lake Acuity and Lake Valor have an outlet waterfall that has formed a river. Now such waterfalls or rivers exist in modern Sinnoh, but other than that, they're virtually identical recreations.
The Great Marsh
Players of the original Diamond and Pearl are likely to remember well the Marshlands in and around Pastoria City, site of the player's 4th Pokemon Gym Battle, if only for how often they got stuck. Route 212 is covered in swampy terrain that trainers will sink into if they're not careful. The area around Gapejaw Bog and Sludge Mound in the Crimson Mirelands are Hisui's representation of these.
More importantly, though, is The Great Marsh, which served as Sinnoh's version of the Safari Zone. It's heavily modernized by the time of Diamond and Pearl, with a railway running through it and clearly defined boundaries. However, in Hisui, anything from the Scarlet Bog all the way up to the Shrouded Ruins could be included in that area.
Stark Mountain
The topography of northeast Sinnoh is a little dodgy in Pokemon Legends. In modern Sinnoh, Stark Mountain is located on an island known as the Battle Zone, home of the Battle Tower, quite a distance from mainland Sinnoh. However, in Hisui, this island doesn't seem to exist yet, and Stark Mountain is just a short swim away from the mainland.
While there are many years between the two games, continental drift typically takes millions of years to have a significant effect, which is much further back than Pokemon Legends is set. That suggests the volcano in the Cobalt Coastlands' Firespit Island may not be Stark Mountain, but there's a key piece of lore contradicting this theory. Players will enter the volcano in the post-game and discover Heatran waiting to battle them, which confirms that the location is indeed Stark Mountain, as that is where Heatran returns to sleep in Diamond and Pearl.
Turnback Cave
A location that has been significantly trimmed down for Pokemon Legends, Turnback Cave is just one room in Hisui. This is important because, in Diamond and Pearl, the place is a distorted maze where Giratina hides away. However, the two locations are named the same, which has some interesting implications in lore.
As the player will catch Giratina as part of their travels in the Pokemon Legends post-game, perhaps, when that trainer passes on and Giratina is freed, it returns to Turnback Cave. This time rather than staying in the small cavern, it uses its powers to distort the place and keep itself hidden. The place can then act as a gateway between the real world and the distortion world, where it lives.
Celestic Town
To call the place a "town" at the point in time Pokemon Legends is a stretch, but players can clearly find the location where the town will eventually be founded. Celestic Town was built in the shadow of Mount Coronet and has a strong link to Sinnoh's myths. Champion Cynthia calls the town home, and her grandmother teaches the player about the Lake Trio in the ruins there.
The ruins Cynthia's grandmother shows the player can be found in the Coronet Highlands' Primeval Grotto. It is a bit bigger than in Diamond and Pearl, but the location is spot-on, and there is a wall of symbols there, which Volo explains speak of Legendary Pokemon. Its biggest feature in the plot is as a source of Origin Ore, which is needed to catch the game's final boss.
Snowpoint Temple
Much like Stark Mountain, Snowpoint Temple's location doesn't quite make sense compared to where it ends up in Diamond and Pearl. The temple becomes accessible in the post-game of the Generation 4 games, and the player there will solve some sliding-floor puzzles to awaken Regigigas. In Pokemon Legends, players must instead ascend to the top of the temple to unlock Braviary.
What doesn't make sense is the temple's location atop a huge cliff. It's on the same level of elevation as Lake Acuity, which is how it's supposed to be, but there's no physical room for Snowpoint City to fit around it, one of Diamond and Pearl's major cities. Admittedly, Snowpoint is a relatively small city, but it also has direct access to the river, which in the Alabaster Icelands is at the bottom of the cliff.
Spear Pillar
This is one of the locations players get to see the creation of during the game's story. When players first reach the summit of Mount Coronet, they will discover the Temple of Sinnoh. This building has a similar design to the Acropolis of Athens, and inside houses statues of all the Noble Pokemon players have quelled throughout their journey.
During the events of the story, one of Dialga or Palkia will unleash a burst of energy that obliterates the temple. After the temple is torn apart, players may recognize its new look as Spear Pillar, where the climactic events of Diamond and Pearl's story take place, with broken pillars and rubble around the edges.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now for Nintendo Switch.