Review: Pokémon Sun and Moon

Pokémon Moon | Principal Platforms: Nintendo 3DS | Developer: Game Freak | Publisher: The Pokémon Company | Genre: RPG | Year: 2016

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Well it's that time at last; Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon have been released, the reviews are pouring in, the wikis are being updated, and the money is being printed as we speak. Could these be the definitive Pokémon games that we've all been hoping for? Slip into your ride suit, saddle up, and let's do this!

The game opens with a cinematic cutscene introducing an NPC called Lillie. It's certainly a more cinematic way start things off! The cutscenes are a step above those of previous games because they have more meaning. For instance there's a cutscene midway through the game where the player character takes a boat ride to the next island with his/her rival trainer Hau. They converse about the current situation and enjoy a tasty Malasada together and this cutscene is enjoyable because it wasn't intended to forward the plot or dump exposition, it was just meant as a cheerful little break for the characters and the player and that's good to see.

The region of Alola, where the game is set, is based on real-life Hawaii and it's easy to identify the inspirations this has on the many different landscapes you come across. The land is separated into four different islands all with their own unique features and terrain. It's staggering how lush and vibrant the game looks, the dense foliage often had me just standing there, admiring the beauty of Alola. One town for example is comprised entirely of stilted houses and riverboats! Another had a clear Japanese influence to it complete with its own botanical garden and sushi bar. I'll doff my hat to you if you can pronounce the exotic town names correctly. Game Freak has clearly put love and care into crafting the land of Alola. Out of all the games in the series it's never been so much fun exploring the game world as there's so much to do, so much to see, and it's a genuine pleasure to tour through it.

That being said, sometimes this experience is mired by the number of blockades that you'll come across. In true Pokémon fashion, you will find someone standing in your way who is determined to not let you pass, but that approach is taken too far here. In one instance a woman tells you to go away because her dog is sniffing out items in the nearby area, which is something that occurs on two different occasions. It's undoubtedly a side effect of HMs being removed, as normally there might be a rock or a shrub in the way instead of a person. I'll take it over HMs any day of the week, but it's a shame that the game ends up feeling so linear.

This leads us to perhaps the biggest change in Pokémon Moon, HMs being ditched in exchange for Ride Pokémon whom a player can call on almost anywhere. These Ride Pokémon fulfill all the different roles of the HM moves such as shifting boulders and surfing the seas whilst making it more fun to carry out said tasks. In previous games such things felt repetitive and mostly pointless, but here they feel more like obstacles to overcome, and more natural to the landscape. Ride Pokémon were teased in Pokémon X and Y where small sections had you riding a Rhyhorn to traverse rough terrain. I'm glad they expanded on this because it was a unique element of Pokémon X and Y that was enjoyable even in its limited capacity.

Pokémon Moon boots up a lot faster than previous games in the series most likely due to the fact that it doesn't load any intro movies or logos. Unfortunately the frame rate suffers during battles with more than two Pokémon. This problem may not be evident when playing on a 'New 3DS', but on the original hardware the limitations are as clear as day.

The graphical changes in Pokémon Moon are significant. Character models have been overhauled with people appearing more realistic and more believable, hairstyles not withstanding of course. A lot more Pokémon inhabit the game world too, so it actually feels like a world shared by humans and Pokémon. Some trainers even keep their Pokémon in different Pokéballs when you battle them, like Dusk Balls or Dive Balls for instance.

Pokéballs even have their own little quick select tab in the battle menu now which is handy, especially if you're like me and just use Quick Balls all the time! Speaking of which the whole bag has been streamlined with items being arranged into neat tabs and free space area for all those pesky items you'll probably never use. This is something that really could have benefited ORAS, *sigh* so many Mega Stones...

Mega Evolution has taken a back-seat in this game though. This is to make way for the series' newest gimmick called Z-Moves which are absurdly powerful one-hit moves that you can deploy in battle. One hit, one kill is a fitting description for these devastating attacks as most Pokémon will struggle to take them unless their type is resistant. Z-Moves are tedious because their attack animation sometimes lasts over 20 seconds, although they can help players out of tough situations. They look spectacular, but aren't worth using over a regular attack as they feel like overkill.

In terms of new Pokémon designs, Game Freak has done a good job this time around. All the Pokémon on my team were new and it was cool to see some of the new type combinations and abilities that the developers thought up. The new Alolan Pokémon look mostly fine save for Dugtrio, *ugh* shield your eyes! Standard Gen I Pokémon are prevalent throughout most of the game which is obviously intended to keep old fans interested as there's already a bunch of newly redesigned Gen I Alolan Pokémon. Why did the developers feel the need to overcompensate?

The overall difficulty level in this game is good. Things start off easy enough, but it doesn't take long before the challenge ramps up. During one of the many Island Trials I found myself staring down a gigantic Totem Pokémon who frequently knocked out my team in one hit. These Trials that replace the old Gym battles are well balanced and are a much needed change of pace.

Festival Plaza is an online element of the game where you can buy buildings and earn coins from doing online missions. These buildings provide services such as raising/lowering your Pokémon's base stats, raising their levels and increasing their friendship meter. You can also conduct trades and battles here with anyone in the world; isn't technology amazing? Unfortunately collecting the coins is a time-consuming process and the only way to get the best facilities for your Plaza. Poké Pelago is a similar feature that offers a range of services too. Collecting Poké Beans here allows you to upgrade the different islands to improve their services, which I preferred because it was a lot less time-consuming than Festival Plaza.

A proper mini-map has also been added to the lower 3DS screen which gives you all sorts of information on the various places in Alola. This is useful for locating Pokémon Centers, vendors, NPCs or for just general pathfinding. It's difficult to get lost in this game as your trusty Rotom-Dex will display handy navpoints on the map for you. The Rotom-Dex is also useful because it allows you to use Pokémon Refresh which is a revamped version of Pokémon-Amie from the Gen VI games. If your Pokémon ever gets afflicted with a status condition you can also use it to heal your Pokémon without having to use any items.

The story is where the game takes a nosedive. It's a story of love, selfishness and impossible hairstyles. Throughout the game you'll be hounded by Team Skull who are so cringeworthy in their awfulness, they make Team Rocket look competent by comparison. Eventually the enigmatic Aether Corporation enters the fray, vowing to protect all Pokémon in the world and banish all suffering. Assumedly it's intended to be a surprise that the two groups are actually working together, but the twist is totally given away by the opening cinematic that showed Aether employees chasing a key character with clenched fists and dastardly smiles. As far as stories go it is very underwhelming and difficult to make sense of at times.

The post-game story, if you can even call it that, is pretty horrible. It involves revisiting all the islands whilst seeking out the 'Ultra Beasts' that everyone just seemed to forget about during the events of the main game. You catch each one with special Beast Balls, but the capture rate on these things is ludicrously high. I simply lobbed a Beast Ball as soon as each encounter started and caught almost all of them on my first attempt. At the end of this you are given a ridiculous amount of cash which seems more like an apology than a reward. It's the lowest point of the game for me and a disappointing note to end on.

Fortunately it's about the journey, not the destination. Pokémon Moon is delightful on many occasions and although the story is lacking, the journey itself is satisfying. I'd recommend this game for its sense of exploration and improved gameplay, but don't expect too much from its story. If you're a dedicated Pokémon fan then it's unlikely you'll be disappointed with what Game Freak have to offer here because its still the same quality production you expect from them. Let's just hope they continue to improve their storytelling skills in the future.