Pokemon Sun/Moon Review

20 years ago a small company made a unique game for the original Gameboy about some Monsters, which you could catch and train. And only 20 years later this small game has developed into one of the biggest franchise on this planet. Calling Pokemon a Juggernaut would be an understatement. Pokemon has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry of its own. But after 20 years, countless spin-offs and six mainline games the formula started to get stale. Eight Gyms, Pokemon League and about 100 new Pokemon.

And while X/Y where huge steps forward in graphics, it was still the same old structure.

When Sun and Moon were announced, from the get go, Game Freak presented them a sort of a new beginning. The biggest Pokemon adventures to date should breath some fresh air into the storied franchise.

Did they manage to pull it off? Or are Sun/Moon stagnating on a high level? Lets find out.

Story:

After moving to the new Alola Region your character is introduced to Professor Kukui. And while the start is very similar to every other Pokemon edition, some fundamental changes show itself further along the road. The Alola Region isn't as developed as other places in regards to Pokemon Battles. On Alolas four island you won't find any gyms and even the Pokemon League is still in the process of getting build .

Instead of traveling from city to city and from Gym to Gym your character is sent to partake in an old Alolaen Tradition. The Island Challenge.

When a Alolaen Child reaches its eleventh birthday it travels the four islands of the region. On this journey it has to master several difficult challenges and finally beat the four Island Kings. In the end it works the same way as the eight gym badges in earlier games, but it still feels fresh and new. GameFreak created a good balance of new things, without losing the familiar essence of the Pokemon Games.

On your characters first evening in the region he (or she) encounters Lillie, the mysterious assistant of Professor Kukui, and her Pokemon Nebbie. During those events your character and Nebbie are saved from a fall by the guardian deity of the first Island Kapu Toko. Of course there more to Nebbie and Lilie and over the course of the adventure the two take a central and important role.

On the next day you then finally get your first Pokemon and can start your Island Challenge.

Over the course of your travels across the four Islands you'll no only encounter the nefarious Team Skull, which steals Pokemon and sells them, but also the mysterious Aether Foundation, which tries to help Pokemon and keep them safe. But that is not all. The Aether Foundation also researches the mysterious Ultra Beasts. Creatures from a another dimension, which spill into ours.

From the get go Pokemon Sun/Moon offer a much better Story than their predecessors X/Y. And while it doesn't reach quite the quality of Black/White, it's still one of the best Pokemon Storys to date. Of course most of it ''Twists'' can be seen miles ahead by observant players, but it doesn't diminish the quality of the overall story. It is well written and very enjoyable, while not leaving the trail set be previous games all too much.

Gameplay:

Gameplay wise not too much has changed, apart from some new features and quality of life improvements. This makes the enjoyable and addictive Pokemon Formula work even better.

It has worked 20 years ago and still works perfectly now. The basic principle of capturing and training Pokemon still creates the old, perfectly oiled treadmill that we all love. I would say they perfected it even further with Pokemon Sun/Moon. Never before my adventure felt as fluent as in the new Alola Region. Some of the new additions just straighten out the gameplay and make the journey much more enjoyable.

Another great use of the Rotom Pokedex is the Pokemon Finder feature. At specific places throughout the world you'll get the hint to use this feature. This allows you to take pics of Pokemon. Yes it's exactly what you think. There is a small Pokemon Snap Minigame built into Pokemon Sun/Moon. Just like with the original Game you'll try to take the best picture possible. It's a lot of fun, but also makes you wish for a true Pokemon Snap follow up.

One of the first new additions, which is also introduced in the Story, is the Rotom Pokedex. It basically functions as a guide, which allows you to travel the Islands much more effectively. I generally found it really helpful, while navigating Alola and I think it's a great addition.

It also helps you during battles by giving you information about your attacks and the Pokemon you battle. Now if you have beaten a Pokemon before, you always see if an attack against this Pokemon will be effective, very effective or not effective.

It also allows you to display information about the attacks your Pokemon knows. Now you can see a quick description of the attack, whether its physical or special, and how much damage it deals with one tip on the touchscreen.

These two additions make battles much more fluent and enjoyable for People like me, who haven't memorized the strengths and weakness of each and every Pokemon.

Another great quality of life change is the fact that GameFreak got rid of the HM system. In older games you were required to have at lest on HM Slave in your team. A Pokemon, which you didn't use for battle, but instead only used because of its ability to learn multiple HM. Now abilities like Surf or Strength are covered by the new Ride Pager, which also replaces the bike. This new item allows you to call different Pokemon to ride. It's such a simple idea, which makes you think why it wasn't used before.

Over the course of the adventure you'll unlock different Pokemon, which all have different abilities. Through this you'll also gradually unlock more and more of Alola to explore. Even on older Islands.

Apart from these two quality of life changes not all to much has changed. You still encounter Pokemon in the tall grass, battle trainer and become stronger.

Still there is one more thing that has changed in battles. Or rather reverted. During my travels throughout the region I hardly encountered any special battles. Things like sky battles, mass battles and the like. It seems as if with Sun/Moon they wanted to go back to the basics. The only exception is the new Battle Royal, but you're only forced to do it once during the main story.

Battle Royal is a mode where four Trainers fight at the same time. Everyone can attack everyone and the battle ends, when one Trainer has no more Pokemon left to fight. It's ok, but in my experience three trainers quickly start to dogpile in one ruining the fun for this Trainer in the process.

Apart from that it's not bad as a battle mode, but I doubt that it will stick for longer than this generation lasts.

The addition of Z-Attacks is this generations defining feature, just like the Mega-Evolutions in X/Y. These attacks work pretty much the same. By giving your Pokemon a special item to carry it can unleash a Z-Attack once every battle. These attacks are extremely devastating and should be used wisely. I personally prefer the Mega-Evolutions. They simply offer more variety design and gameplay wise.

As you can read the core concept hasn't changed much and received only minor quality of life improvements. But it wouldn’t be a new Pokemon Generation if there weren’t several new Gimmicks for you to enjoy. Some of them are improved versions of older minigames and others are completely new.

PokeMonAmie has been replaced by the new Pokemon Refresh. The only real change is that it can be triggered directly after a battle and it doesn't contain minigames any more. Instead the interaction with your Pokemon has been increased. You can't just pet them now, but also clean them and heal them from Status effects after a battle.

Petting your Pokemon, cleaning them and giving them some PokeBeans to eat increases the affection the Pokemon feel for you. Apart from some Evolutions, which require a high level of affection, it also increases the power of your Pokemon in Battle. They will sometimes avoid attacks, strike harder or even hold out instead of fainting after a fatal hit.

The Festival Plaza is a new way to play together with other Players from across the globe. Players from around the globe can join you to battle, trade or just mingle.

Each player visiting you, will also have a request. If you fullfill this requests you can earn Festival Coins, which can be used to increase the rank of your Plaza or buy cool stuff.

As you progress further you'll even unlock the possibility to host special missions for several Trainers to tackle together.

After I took some time getting used to, I have to say that I greatly enjoy the festival plaza. It's a fun little extra that allows you to join up with other people from across the world. Of course the communication possibilities are very limited, but that had to be expected. After all Pokemon is still played mostly by children and Nintendo needs to ensure their safety.

The last new worthwhile addition is the so called Poke Pelago. This paradise for Pokemon in your PC Boxes consists of several islands. More Pokemon inside your Boxes means that you'll be able to develop more islands and activities. Via these activities your Pokemon may grow stronger or bring back some valuable items. It's a nice idea that makes Pokemon not on your team useful. Also it's not in the slightest invasive. It's enough to check Poke Pelago once a day. From all the new features in Pokemon Sun/Moon I think this has the highest chance to stay.

Pokemon Sun/Moon don't completely revamp the Gameplay of the series, but they add enough tweaks and changes to make the whole experience feel fresh again.

Presentation:

It can be said that the world of Pokemon has never before felt this alive. But it also has to be said that the limitations of the 3DS can be felt quite clearly. On the positive sight of things the Alola region is absolutely phenomenal. It's a joy to explore it. If X/Y were a test for a 3D Pokemon Mainline adventure, these games are the generation to truly leap into it. This time the characters look much better. The new lean look clearly trumps the half-hearted chibi style from X/Y.

It just feels great traveling around the Alola region.

On the other hand this game clearly shows the limits of the 3Ds hardware. During battles there often after clearly noticeable frame drops and slow downs. As well as long loading times on the regular 3DS. I can't say if this is fixed on a New 3DS.

There is also the fact that the 3D is turned off for the entirety of the game. It is a shame that even Nintendo games don't use the features of their console, but I think it would have been impossible for Sun/Moon to run on 3DS otherwise.

On the Audio front there is nothing to complain or praise especially. The themes are quite catchy and fit the island vibe perfectly.

Conclusion:

Pokemon Sun/Moon are called the best games since the series debut. While I don't agree with that statement (The best games are still Silver/Gold/Crystal) it can't be denied that Sun/Moon have been the most enjoyable Pokemon experience in a long time for me. The new additions made the whole game even more accessible and streamline, which isn't a bad thing. Small improvements and the new Island challenge shake up the Gameplay Formula without abandoning the roots of the series. Newcomers and Veterans alike will enjoy the new start in Alola, while there is still enough familiarity for returning players to not completely get lost.

The new Z-Attacks often come across like a cheaper version of the cool Mega-Evolutions from the previous generation. But they still work in creating some unique battle strategies.

Like in every generation there are many new additions, which are quite enjoyable, but never get past the stage of Mini-Game.

Graphically the games are the most beautiful to date. The Alola region is beautiful, diverse and a lot of fun to explore. Some graphical hiccups tarnish this slightly, but overall it's not enough to bring the game down.

Sun/Moon are the best Pokemon Games in a long time. Simple as that.

Conclusion (One Sentence):

Pokemon Sun/Moon don't reinvent the wheel, but they tweak enough to make the Pokemon Machine run well again, and in the process create the best Pokemon Games in a long time.

Pictures ©Nintendo