It’s a good time to be a Pokémon fan.
The franchise is as popular as it’s ever been with the anime wrapping up one of its
best seasons, re-releases of the original games on Virtual Console, and a year-long
celebration of the 20th anniversary.
But all this pales in comparison to the excitement for Pokémon Sun & Moon, the seventh Generation
of the series, and the first real attempt to change up the formula.
While past games have had changes and improvements to the battle system, the bonus games, and
the regions, the structure has ostensibly stayed the same.
Yet Sun & Moon offers a Pokémon experience that’s both new and familiar, and I believe
that it’s the biggest strength of this game.
Things begin familiar enough with your character moving to the new Alola Region, a series of
four islands with traditions wholly different from anything experienced before.
Instead of the usual Gym Challenge, there’s the Island Challenge.
In it, young Trainers become closer to their Pokémon and grow stronger by taking on seven
Trials and four Grand Trials around Alola.
It’s a different take that stands out because of the way it plays with the structure.
No longer are you going town to town, expecting to help out with problems or finding a way
to continue on so you can challenge the next Gym.
Instead, you’re never quite sure what you’ll be doing next.
You’ll have an idea of course, but the order never remains the same.
It also helps that all of Alola seems to be in on the Island Challenge.
Volunteers are there to guide you, people reminisce about their time taking on the Challenge,
and there’s a just a sense of community about the whole process that I never experienced
before in previous games.
But the best thing here is how it’s woven into the story of Sun & Moon.
I won’t divulge anything specific yet I was continually impressed with how well it’s
told.
There are actual characters here with arcs, strong personalities, and time given to make
them stand out.
And there’s honest to god theming going on with this story with its focus on family
and community.
This is my favorite Pokémon plot, by far, but once again, it’s the characters that
stand out the most.
The gameplay is just as strong though.
There are new Pokémon, new Moves, and the Regional variants, but that’s to be expected
at this point.
The biggest addition are the Z-Moves.
Early on, you’ll receive the Z-Ring which works in conjunction with Z-Crystals held
by your Pokémon.
There are different Z-Crystals for each Type as well as a few that are Pokémon-specific.
Essentially, if a Pokémon is hold a Normal Z-Crystal, then any of its Normal Moves can
be used as a basis for it.
The attack animation is always the same, but the properties of the attacks changes depending
on the original move’s power and whether it’s physical or special.
They also work with status moves, but no special animation plays out, instead just increasing
how effective it is.
Z-Moves feel balanced from my experience.
They can only be used once per battle but can turn the tide if used properly.
And since they scale with the power of your current moves, and are affected by the same
Type strengths and weaknesses, it never feels like a win button.
The only issue is that the animations, as cool as they are, can get a bit dull if you
end up using them a lot.
I mentioned before how the Island Challenge was a bit more unpredictable in its structure.
But it does have a flow.
Each Island has Trial Captains, and you must clear their Trial in order to face a Totem
Pokémon.
The Totem Pokémon is larger and stronger than a typical Pokémon of that type, plus
they’re able to put out an SOS so other Pokémon can come help for a two on one battle.
Once they’ve been defeated, you’ll be rewarded with a Z-Crystal, though you’ll
receive other Z-Crystals in other ways throughout the game.
Once all of the Trials on each island is completed, players can challenge the Kahuna in a Grand
Trial that’s pretty much a Gym Battle.
After defeating the Kahuna, you’re able to move on to the next island.
But again, there’s so much more variety to this Challenge.
One trial may simply be hunting down hiding Pokémon while another has you using the Poké
Ride Stoutland’s nose to find ingredients or even watching a dance to see the differences.
They’re not all treated seriously either with some fun and silly moments.
There’s a real feeling of positivity through it all as you meet each of the Trial Captains
and Kahunas.
Honestly, it’ll be quite hard to return to the standard Gym Battles because these
short highlights helped mix things up just enough.
Again, different yet familiar.
A lot of the changes in Sun & Moon comes down to player convenience.
The Rotom Pokédex provides a constant map on the bottom screen that shows players exactly
where they need to go to continue the main story.
While I never needed the help to know where I should go, it did give me an idea of how
much I could explore before going to that point.
I enjoy being able to check everything out before I move on and accidentally stumbling
into the next story bit is always kind of a bummer.
The Rotom inside doesn’t do much else, usually commenting on the places you should go or
a line about the latest event, but the Pokédex itself, specifically the Pokémon finder is
excellent.
As long as a Pokémon isn’t in a cave or building, it’ll show the exact patch of
grass and what time of day a Pokémon can be found making catching them all just little
bit easier.
A new screen will also appear whenever you catch a Pokémon.
This provides the option to look at its stats and moves, compare it to your current team,
and decide whether to swap them out on the fly or not.
It’s a great tool for those looking for the ideal team, but if it doesn’t matter
to you, it can be switched off in the Options.
The biggest and best change though is the complete removal of HMs.
Instead, there’s the Poké Ride system which allows you to summon specific Pokémon whenever
you want.
Tauros and Sharpedo will smash through rocks on land and sea respectively, Stoutland can
find hidden items, Charizard flies you to previous areas, and so on.
It’s incredibly useful, very simple, and should never be taken away.
Exploring everything in Pokémon no longer feels like a chore.
Another change is Pokémon-Amie, which has been replaced by Pokémon Refresh.
While similar, Refresh is essentially more streamlined.
Gone are the mini-games to help increase a Pokémon’s Affection.
Instead, it comes down to either petting them or feeding them new Poké Beans.
However, after Pokémon Battles, an option will sometimes appear allowing you to clean
your Pokémon.
They get dirty from using Mud-Slap or getting hit by one, dusty from rock moves, or wet
from battling in the rain.
Cleaning them will help toward increasing their Affection, and it’s even possible
to cure status ailments through the system.
I found Pokémon Refresh much easier to manage than Amie.
No longer did I have to play through simple but repetitive mini-games in order to get
the benefits of Affection.
Instead, the option is there after a battle, and I could easily ignore it or use it and
throw in a few extra beans or petting them for a job well done.
It felt natural and not overbearing or wasted in its use.
Poké Pelago is similar in that regard.
While you only start with one isle that provides beans, you can spend those beans to unlock
more isles or develop them for better rewards.
In addition to the bean-providing island, there’s one where you can grow berries,
one to send your Pokémon to collect items including stones, one to train your Pokémon,
and one to increase their happiness.
All of these are extremely useful though they take time to unlock due to the limited amount
of beans you can collect each day and the total Pokémon requirement that some have.
It’s a fun addition that rewards players for their time.
It also changes up how the Day Care works in that it’s no longer a Day Care but a
Nursery.
Your Pokémon won’t level up while in the Nursery.
They only breed since the leveling is handled by the Poké Pelago where many more than two
Pokémon can train at a time.
These are changes that feel beneficial to the player.
Each one matters and helps you along your way no matter which one you focus on.
Then there’s the Festival Plaza where you can earn Festival Coins to buy special items
as well upgrade your Plaza for different shops that you can choose from.
It also serves as a hub for trading and battling with other trainers.
Unfortunately, I was unable to fully explore its potential since its focus is so much online,
but I found it simple to navigate and easy to use all the same.
It’s something I’ll use more after the official release.
The same can’t be said about Poké Finder though.
This photo mode is interesting in that you can take pictures of Pokémon in the wild,
but it doesn’t have much use beyond.
If it is a new Pokémon, they’ll be added to your Pokédex, but other than being able
to save them to your SD Card, the Finder didn’t really attract me.
It’s there to enjoy, but the mileage out of it will differ from person to person.
All these elements come together in a way that makes Pokémon more accessible than ever.
And the game simply looks great on the 3DS.
The models are well detailed with the characters emoting when they need to.
Plus, simply having trainers on-screen with the Pokémon in addition to the battle arenas
reflecting where you are adds to the experience.
It makes you feel like a Trainer.
Alola is a varied and beautiful region with plenty to explore and a lot of it that you
want explore.
It naturally pulls you in.
The layout of each area is also subtly different from previous games.
There are often paths through the tall grass that allow you to avoid wild Pokémon.
The grid-like structure is also gone, providing a freedom that was sorely lacking.
In a lot of ways, it feels like Pokémon has caught up with the times while still remaining
a Pokémon game.
Unfortunately, all these changes and extra details seem to be pushing the 3DS to its
limit.
While Sun & Moon run smoothly during exploration, battles take their toll.
Single battles fare fine with the system being only slightly slower, but it’s during the
Totem Pokémon fights and double battles that things grind to a halt.
Often, double battles had both sides of the trainers freeze in place for a few seconds
before the animations kicked in, but the slowdown never really went away.
It’s an unfortunate blemish on such a polished game.
However, this only happens with the old 3DS models.
I tested these moments on my New 3DS to discover that the slowdown was almost entirely gone.
It’s unfortunate that there’s a difference at all, but I do recommend playing on a New
3DS if you’re able to.
Thankfully, the music is simply gorgeous.
It captures the feeling of each environment and every story beat perfectly.
And it’s truly eclectic; ranging from harmonious melodies to the disjointed music of a haunted
mall to the rap-inspired Team Skull themes.
It all clicked for me, and I highly recommend playing with headphones on.
Taken all together, Pokémon Sun & Moon is a wonderful game.
There are light stumbles here and there with the biggest being the slowdown on the old
3DS, but I still enjoyed every moment of it.
The new Pokémon are fun and interesting, the characters are memorable and sympathetic,
and the adventure is classic yet surprising.
I simply love this game and how it was able to make changes that improved the experience
while still remaining a Pokémon game.
To be honest, this is my new favorite Generation, and I think Pokémon has a bright future ahead
of it.
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