Pokemon fans everywhere have spent the last few days enjoying the franchise's newest entry, Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The game is pretty different from any other Pokemon game out there, and while some fans have some very valid criticisms, the feedback has been mostly positive so far. Because Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the first Pokemon game that makes meaningful changes to the franchise's traditional formula, it'll take some getting used to, but it successfully lays the groundwork for the future of the series.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the closest thing Pokemon fans have to an open-world RPG, which they've wanted for several generations. Despite the demand, Game Freak has continued to produce Pokemon games that are all basically the same. Now, that could be changing. Pokemon Legends: Arceus could be paving the way for more games like it, and eventually that could lead to something amazing. It might not be on the current Switch, but the next generation of Nintendo consoles could have something special in store for Pokemon fans.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus Refreshes the Pokemon Franchise
Fans have been asking for a bolder and more creative Pokemon game for years, and now it's finally arrived. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the first Pokemon title, apart from smaller spin-offs like Pokemon Snap, that really changes and challenges a lot of the game's main concepts. Things like turn-based combat and gyms are no longer part of the game, traded for a bigger, more open world. It was a risk, but one that seems to have taken off — Arceus is already breaking sales records.
It doesn't check off every box players hoped it would, but it is a bold step in a new direction. The franchise has stayed essentially the same for so long with the same types of stories, linear worlds, and characters. Since the franchise's inception 25 years ago, not much has been changed. Only time will tell if the changes made in Pokemon Legends: Arceus will impact future Pokemon games, but they definitely could.
Any changes that the Pokemon franchise has made happened very slowly, and the same is true of Pokemon Legends: Arceus. It didn't make every change fans have asked for, but it is a big step in the right direction. From here on out, fans can hopefully look forward to more ambitious and creative Pokemon games in the vein of Arceus. It'll take a while to get to that perfect game, but it may happen with the next Nintendo console.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus Isn't Perfect
For all its success, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is not a flawless game. It adds a lot of new concepts and mechanics to the world, but there are also a few beloved features that were taken away. For example, online battling isn't possible in Arceus. It makes sense considering the game's setting; Arceus is set in a time in which people were just learning about Pokemon and how to battle them. Tournaments and gyms haven't been created yet and Pokemon roam the wild more freely.
Because of that, though, the primary objective of the game is completing the Pokedex, rather than winning a series of gym battles. Unfortunately, that also means that there are hardly any online features. Players who enjoy battling their friends or training Pokemon competitively are out of luck with Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The only real online feature is the opportunity to trade Pokemon.
Trading Pokemon is important in Arceus, as it allows players to come closer to the goal of completing the Pokedex. But online battling is also a core component of Pokemon that a lot of players miss. Part of the reason for this feature being cut is that the combat is drastically different in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Implementing those changes in the main game is one thing, but translating the new multiplayer would have been a much larger effort.
The other major criticism of Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the graphics. Arceus is the biggest and most ambitious Pokemon game to date, but the graphical quality suffers quite a bit. Pokemon games have never been known for their graphics, but the flat textures and short draw distance disappointed a lot of players. The Nintendo Switch is capable of much more, but Game Freak has always been a little behind. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a very enjoyable game that fulfills its promise of refreshing the Pokemon franchise, but there's still a lot of room for improvement.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus Is the Foundation for More Improvements
Fans have been wanting a true open-world, multi-region Pokemon game for a long time. That's not what Arceus is, but it's a lot more open than previous Pokemon games. Pokemon Legends: Arceus did a lot of the hard work necessary for that dream game. It opened up the world, emphasized exploration, and made combat sequences more realistic by abandoning the classic turn-based mechanics. Those are only a few changes that were made, and fans are continuing to discover new things. There are new weather and status effects, and Pokemon have been spotted talking to each other.
The graphics in Pokemon Legends: Arceus aren't amazing and didn't take full advantage of the Switch's capabilities, but that could change going forward. Because so much work has already been done refreshing other areas of gameplay, improving graphics could be next on Game Freak's list. If it is, the next Nintendo console could be the one to finally host the game of Pokemon fans' dreams.
A game that keeps all the positive changes Pokemon Legends: Arceus made, improves graphics, and includes the missing online elements would be amazing. It would be even more amazing if that game had a true open world and fully took advantage of Nintendo's next-gen console. Nothing has been announced yet, but it has to be coming at some point.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus proves that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have been listening to fans. It took a long time for them to act, but they finally did. If fan reception to Arceus continues to be positive, Game Freak may continue pushing the boundaries even further. It'll probably take at least a few more games to get there, though, which is why it would most likely be part of the next console's life cycle.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now on Nintendo Switch.
