Splatoon 2 Review

It was during e3 2014 that Nintendo introduced us to a strange new project of theirs. A group of young developers had assembled and created their own vision of a new game, without interference from more senior staff. This new game slowly took form and then it was finally unveiled to the public as Splatoon. A new kind of Multiplayer Shooter that would cover the saturated genre with a fresh coat of paint.

Upon first seeing the game I wasn't sure what to think, but then the gameplay demonstration from the Show floor and reports from people, who had tried the game firsthand, started to show up. And from then onwards I was hooked. Just like most of Wii-U Owners. So far Splatoon sold an incredible 4.83 Million copies on an install base of only 13.56. That is an impressive 35% attach rate. Especially in Japan there was and still is a huge Hype surrounding the lovely SquidKids.

So it came to no surprise that Nintendo announced Splatoon 2 earlier this year as one of the launch window games for the Switch. Still some concerns did arise. Did they manage to create a good sequel in only one year of time? After all the development of Splatoon officially ended in 2016 one year after the games launch. And what improvements would Splatoon 2 bring to the table?

Story:

Just like with the first game the second installment also arrives with surprisingly fun single player. But while it was a surprise the first time around, this time this was expected. The story follows the principle of all Nintendo games in that it's basically the same thing as last time with some minor tweaks. But here I didn't mind because Splatoon is a very gameplay driven experience. Even in Single Player. In one way or another it was very refreshing to experience a callback to some of earlier FPS games with a simple story and platform driven gameplay.

Just for competitions sake here is the Story of Splatoon 2. Two years after the defeat of DJ Oktario by the hands of Agent 3 the great Zapfish, source of all energy in the town of Inkopolis, has disappeared once again. But what's even more troubling is that Callie, one half of the popular Squid Sisters Idol Group and also secretly Agent 1, is also missing. And because Captain Cuttlefish and Agent 3 are on vacation it's now up to Agent 2, also known as Marie from the Squid Sisters, to recruit a new Inkling and venture once again into Octo Canyon to solve this mystery.

As you can see the Story is more on the light side in this game, but once more let me stress that this is not a problem.

One thing that also returns from the first game are the sunken scrolls. One of them is hidden in each level of the single player campaign and finding them unlocks some nice trivia about the Inkling world, as well as some background story. But it's nothing really knew and if you played the first game you already know the surprisingly dark backstory behind the world of Splatoon. So for a veteran, while nice, the scrolls offer nothing new or interesting.

Gameplay:

The Gameplay formula in Splatoon 2 follows the same idea as the story. Don't fix something which isn't broken.

Up to this day Splatoon remains one of the few games that truly got Gyroscopic aiming right and the second installment also delivers in that regard. Everything feels fluid and intuitive. Once again you can switch between Squid and Kid form with the press of a button. The former allows you to swim quickly through your own Ink, even up walls, but also makes you more vulnerable, while your humanoid form is used for battle.

The single player once again features a variety of Mario Galaxy style levels. What I mean by that, is that levels consist out of several floating platforms of varying size. Each of these Islands consists of one ore two challenges and after beating them you can progress to the next one. And once more the Single Player proves to be the hidden gem of the game. The levels are extremely varied with each one offering a new idea or at least an extension of a previously encountered one.

One of the biggest changes is that now there are several different weapons, which you can use during your missions. Well to be honest that is not completely true. During the first playthrough of a level the weapon you have to use is preset. But afterward your free to choose. This is a big improvement over the original game where the Sniper and Roller weapon were locked as special challenges behind Amiibo. One accompanying effect of this new weapon variety is that the game in general feels harder. Especially the bosses. For example the second boss is really easy if you use a ranged weapon, but when you fight him the first time you have to use the Roller. So later on when you have access to all weapons for a level you can individually adjust the difficulty of your playthrough via the weapon you choose.

Apart from that the Single Player hasn't changed much. You still collect Salmon Roe as a sort of currency to upgrade your weapons. One thing that is new is a resource called Sardinium. One of these is also hidden in each level and they are also used to purchase upgrades.

One negative aspect of the Single Player is that it feels much more grindy than the first campaign. To 100% the game you need to beat every level with each of the 9 weapons. Also while the Salmon Roe you collected in the first title on your way to the last boss was easily enough to upgrade everything this time I didn't come even close.

If you just want to finish the single player then the campaign is once again a very enjoyable experience, but if you want to complete everything it becomes a grind pretty fast.

But in a game like Splatoon the single player is, of course, only the complementary course. The heart of the game lies in it's different multiyplayer modes. All of them are still 4on4 Matches against an opposing team of inklings. Except for one, but more on that later. Once again the game distinguishes between Turf War and Ranked battles. As you need at least rank 10 to participate in the latter, let us focus on the former for now.

The goal of Turf war is to cover as much of the map with your own Ink. Walls aren't counted for points, but can help you traversing the terrain faster. With a match lasting only 3 Minutes the frantic, fast and fun mentality of this mode is perfectly enhanced. The concept of Turf War is easy to grasp, but it will entertain you for several hours. It's perfect for quick match after work, as well as extended hour long sessions. At least I have yet to grow tired of these quick and entertaining battles.

At the end of each round you'll then earn experience points and money based on how well you performed during the battle.

Ranked battles are unlocked once your reach rank 10 and pit you against other players in one of three battle modes.

The first one, called Splat Zones, is a simply king of the hill style of mode. You and your team have to capture a point somewhere on the map (most of the time right in the middle) by covering it in your own ink. And then you simply have to defend it while accumulating points.

Next up is Tower Control. Here the goal is to capture a tower in the middle of the map, which then starts to move towards your enemies base. If it reaches the base your team wins, but if the enemy manages to capture it instead it starts to move towards your base.

And lastly there is the rainmaker mode. This mode is easily the most fun, but also needs the most coordination between you and your teammates. The goal here is to get the mighty rainmaker weapon int your enemies base. This weapon can be picked up by any player, but it slows you down. It also fires powerful, but slow bombs, which are easy to dodge. So to be successful you need the support of your team.

All three ranked modes require some coordination between you and your teammates. Because of that it can feel rather frustrating if you're stuck with group of bad randoms, but if you manage to play it with some friends it's a great deal of fun.

And because of this, once you reach at least A rank in Ranked battles, you can then participate in so called league battles. Join up with one friend to form a two man team and get paired with another two man power trip or ask three friends to form a full squad. Then you battle against others. At the end of each Legaue Battle (it ends when the stages rotate) your results will then displayed and you'll get to see how well you ranked in comparison with other players.

The last of the multiplayer modes is the newly introduced salmon run. Here you team up with three other players to work for the dubious Grizzco Industries and collect fish eggs for them. It's basically a horde mode, like so many shooters offer nowadays, but that is not keeping it from being loads of fun. Your team has to work together to survive on one of two maps against a seemingly endless stream of strange fishlike creatures called Salmonids. Just like most horde modes Salmon Run is incredibly addicting and fun. Not only are the enemies really varied and cool to fight, but there are also eight boss Salmonids, which need special tactics to be brought down.

The mode may rise and fall with your teammates, but that is true for every multiplayer focused game. As far as it concerns me I think Salmon Run is the best addition Splatoon 2 made to the game. Because of that it's even more bewildering that Nintendo once again choose to restrict your freedom on how you want to play the game.

With that let us head towards the negative points. One of them returns from the first game, albeit a little bit improved. Once again Splatoon 2 features a map rotation. That means for multiplayer you can't choose which map to play. You can't even vote for one out of the selection of stages. Instead you get to play tow maps for two hours before they change again. This means that if you plan on an extended session of Splatoon 2 you'll get the same two maps over and over again.

Even worse is the treatment Salmon Run got. Because Grizzco Industries isn't hiring all the time Salmon Run is only playable during specific time periods. That means if you have a worklife or other commitments on some days you simply won't be able to play this game mode, because it was only available from 2.am til 2.pm. This is simply unacceptable. If I pay full price for a game I expect to play all it's modes during all times of the day. It's especially bad because Salmon Run is the hidden star of the multiplayer in Splatoon 2. Also there are some sweet rewards like new equipment.

And that brings me to the next point. Inkopolis is still a very style driven metropolis. And because of that it's not only important to be good in battle, but also to look good in battle. Like in the first game you can equip your Inkling with Shoes, headgear and Tops. And once again these pieces of stylish clothing not only look good, but also help you in your fights. Each piece can hold up to four secondary benefits. These can range from quicker Ink regeneration to more movement speed in Squid form all the way to a quicker respawn after getting killed.

And once again you are able to re-roll these random benefits until you finally have crafted the piece of equipment that is perfect for your gameplay style. With that you're then finally able to jump into battle.

But to kill your enemies you need weapons. Luckily Sheldon has you covered. The charismatic shellfish once again sells you all the hottest stuff to efficiently destroy your enemies. With each rank up you unlock more and more weapons.

Like in the first game weapons always come as packs of three. One main weapon, one secondary and an ultimate. For balancing reasons this is fixed, so you'll always know that someone who uses a specific weapon will always have the same ultimate.
Weapon wise the game hasn't changed much. Most weapon types from the first game make a comeback, but there are also some new ones like the new Dualie weapons.

Probably the biggest change affected the ultimate weapons. They aren't as powerful as they were in the first game and are now much more situational in their use. But in the right hands they sill prove to be absolutely devastating.

Splatoon 2 once again uses the updated principle from the first game, which also is used in ARMS. That means the game shipped with a, to be honest, ridiculously small amount of maps and general content, but over the course of the year it will receive free updates adding new equipment, weapons, maps and maybe even game modes. Nintendo choose this model to ensure the longevity of Splatoon 2. Instead of dumping all on you at release they keep updating the game in order to have the player come back again and again. It proved to be a success with the original Splatoon and I'm sure it will work here again.

On the other hand some players may have the feeling that they get their full moneys worth only after one year when the Updates have finished.

Presentation:

On the first glance it would be hard to tell Splatoon 2 from its predecessor. In fact the game looks exactly the same. This isn't a bad thing however, as the first title already had a pretty unique art style. Again Nintendo doesn't need to fix something which isn't broken, but visually its exactly the game as the first one.

Apart from that the worlds are once again lively and colorful. Of course the Comic style helps with creating memorable scenes without having to add too much detail, but calling Splatoon 2 anything but a beautiful game would be a bold lie.

The stronger aspect of the presentation is, just like in the first game, the musical score. It accompanies the game perfectly. Both remixes from the first title as well as new songs fit perfectly into the colorful world of Inkopolis, where everything has to ''fresh'' and cool.

The new Band Off the Hook (Tentacles in Japanese) provide some really interesting songs. And even though Nintendo opted to use a gibberish language once more, that gibberish actually sounds really good.

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It doesn't matter if it's in single player or during the frantic last minute of Turf War. The music always perfectly captures the feeling of the game and enhances it. In that regard it's a job well done.

Conclusion:

Splatoon 2 is a by the books sequel. It's the embodiment of the Don't fix what's not broken mentality. As a second installment in, what's hopefully going to be a long running franchise, it gets away with a lack of innovation, but at some places the ink is starting to run thin. With basically no changes and only new maps, weapons and one new game mode Splatoon 2 often feels more like an add-on to the original game.

However this doesn't change the fact that the game is pure additcing fun. From a great singleplayer where every mission is pure enjoyment to the quick and easy to grasp Turf Wars each and every game mode of Splatoon 2 is fun. I don't think there is a bigger achievement for a game. Or any game in that matter.

That is why some of the decisions Nintendo made hurt so much more. Not being able to play the excellent Salmon Run whenever I want really dampens my enjoyment for that mode. And the map rotation still is, and always will be, a dumb concept.

It's a testament to genius game concept that is Splatoon that despite all of this I can wholeheartedly recommend the game to all of you. It's full of charm and details.

If you loved the first one and own a Switch it's definitely worth the purchase, but if you own the first one Splatoon 2 won't offer anything truly new to you. At least not enough to buy a new system just for it.

Conclusion (One Sentence):

Splatoon 2 often feels more like a 1.5 edition of the base game than a full blown sequel, but the genius game concept is so much fun you won't mind this fact.  

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - The Master Trials Review

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Breath of the Wild was a new start for the series in many ways. It was a return to the roots of the Zelda series, but at the same time the next step in its evolution. After years of repeating the Ocarina of Time Formula of a semi-Open World Breath of the Wild, for the fist time since the first game, offer a truly open Hyrule. From the get go you could go anywhere you wanted. The only restricting factor was you.

But this open approach to the game design wasn't the only way in which Breath of the Wild broke with Zelda tradition. Earlier this year Eji Aonuma announced that this would be the first Zelda title to receive paid DLC. And the reception to this was... mixed.

And understandably so. The initial announcement was kept very vague. We only knew that the first part of the DLC would arrive in Summer and the second one, containing a new Storyline and Dungeon, would come around the end of this year. And then we were told that you only can purchase both DLCs together as a season pass for 20$.

This is quite the heavy investment for something we know so little about. Luckily over time Nintendo unveiled more and after e3 we had a pretty good idea of what to expect. And while I'm really looking forward to the second DLC The Champion's Ballad, which will serve as an epilogue to the main game, the first offering The Master Trials still looked somewhat sketchy.

It released on June 30^th and after checking it out thoroughly let's find out if it is enough incentive to return to Hyrule once more or if you'd better wait until you spent your hard earned money on it.

The Master Trials: 

We'll start with the cold hard facts. The Master Trials consists of two big pieces of content surrounded by several smaller additions and quality of life improvements.

Master Mode serves as this games Hero Mode, but instead of simply upping the Damage Monsters deal and maybe mirroring the game world, like in older games, it does a lot more. Of course the higher damage is still a core part, but in addition the game also shuffles monsters around. For example you'll now encounter a Lynel right there on the Great Plateau. Also nearly all monsters in the game have been upgraded. This means instead of red Bokoblins you'll encounter the Blue Version from the get go. Also all Monsters now have regenerating health. So no hit and run tactics. And lastly the Mode introduces a new type of foe. Golden Enemies are even stronger than the silver variant. Fighting a Golden Lynel is an incredible feeling and the surest way to breaking all of your weapons trying to empty it's massive health bar.

All in all Master Mode makes an already challenging game even more challenging, but for me it's not really an incentive to start a new playthrough immediately. It doesn't add anything truly new to the game, which alters the experience. Since its launch I have spend over 300 hours in Breath of the Wild and just adding a higher difficulty isn't enough to spend another 300. At least for me.

Also it sill leaves a bad aftertaste that a feature that was included in older titles from the start is now sold as DLC, even if Master Mode is better than the older Hero Mode.

The other huge new addition to the game is the Trial of Sword. After installing the DLC and starting the game a voice informs you that Link is now ready to finally unlock the true power of the Master Sword. Of course you have to acquire the Master Sword first. When returning to the Deku Tree after receiving the message, he'll tell you about the Trial of the Sword. To enter this challenge you'll simply have to return the Sword to it's pedestal.

The Trial itself takes place in an interesting environment. It's clearly inside a Shiekah Shrine, but there are also pieces of the Overworld inside. This creates a really cool artificial looking place. Having the futuristic looking walls coupled with trees and Bokoblin Camps is a cool visual.

But I have completed Breath of the Wild, found all 120 Shrines and have all Armor upgraded to the maximum, is this Trial even challenging for me? Well if you ask yourself this then I have good news. Yes it absolutely is. Because it uses a simple, yet effective little twist, that already created on of the best Hidden Shrine Quests in the Game.

You see once you enter the Trial of the Sword you'll be stripped of all your equipment and inventory. Link starts this challenge completely naked. You have to complete the challenges ahead with only the items you find on your way. And the challenge ramps up pretty quickly. Soon you'll face black Lizalfos, Hinox and so forth. And with no armor these enemies will hurt you a lot.

The Trial of the Sword is great content and a lot of fun, simply because it's the quintessence of what makes Breath of the Wild so great. You continuously need to adapt to your surroundings using only your wits and the items you find along the way.

Because of that I don't think it's fair to compare the Trial to the simple gauntlet style challenge caves of older games. These could be ''outleveled'' to some extent. Here you'll have to truly master the game in order to complete the Trial. And even the reward is not too shabby. After beating the Trial of the Sword the Master Sword will unlock it's true power. From that Moment on forth it will always deal it's full 60 damage even when you're not fighting Guardians. It still has to recharge after some time, but now it's actually a very powerful weapon all over the World.

Apart from this two bigger features the DLC also includes the new Heros Path feature, a teleportation rune and new outfits for Link to wear.

The Heros Path is a cool feature that maps the path you have taken while traversing the vast world of Hyrule. It's especially helpful in narrowing down places you haven't visited and should be a great help in finding the last couple of missing Shrines. But this feature shouldn't be sold as a DLD, period.

The Traveler Medallion is in the same vein. It allows you to place down a rune anywhere in the World to which you then can teleport. With 120 Shrines and 15 Shiekah Towers there are enough places to teleport too already, but nonetheless this rune is a welcome improvement. It can help in a lot of cases, especially with those hidden shrine quests which can only be solved at specific times.

But both these features have the problem that they should have been included in the base game or at least be patched in for free. Quality of Life improvements should never be sold separately. This is maybe acceptable in Free to Play games, but not in a title which is sold at full price already.

The last part of the Master Trials are several new outfits for Link. These include Tingles Outfit.

Majoras Mask.

Midnas Helmet.

Korok Mask.

And the Phantom Armor.

What I really liked about the new outfits was how they got included. You don't simply get them handed over to you, but you have to find them first. This suits the kind of game Breath of the Wild is extremely well. It starts with side quests appearing in your logs. These then lead you to a journal in which you find hints on where to find the armor pieces.

Including DLC Armor this way is perfect, because it creates a new incentive to venture out in the world and explore it again. It was a lot of fun tracking down the Treasure Chests and figuring out the hints. My only gripe is that the Treasure Chests containing the Armor pieces could have been spread better across the whole map. They are pretty concentrated in one area.

Conclusion:

Since starting the practice Nintendo has been pretty hit and miss with their DLC. For every Mario Kart 8 or Hyrule Warriors we get a New Super Mario Bros. 2 or Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia. And sadly I have to say that the Master Trials falls into the latter category. Both big features of the DLC have been part of the base titles in the past. And even though the Trial of the Sword and Master Mode are superior to their counterparts, the Cave of Ordeals and the Hero Mode, in older titles the Upgrade doesn't justify the price. The same goes for the Heros Path and the Travelers Medallion which both are Quality of Life improvements, which shouldn't be sold to you after already paying full price for the game. So the only part of the DLC that I fully can get behind are the new costumes, which were perfectly included. A new incentive to once again venture into Hyrule and explore the beautiful landscape is always welcome. Sadly the other parts of the first DLC Breath of the Wild offers to us don't do that for me.

Now before you misunderstand me. I'm not saying that the DLC is completely bad. Master Mode is brutal and the Trial of the Sword dungeon is a great expansion of one of the most entertaining Hidden Shrine Quests in the regular game. But still the Master Trials offers mostly features that have been part of the base game in the past. And because Nintendo decided that you can't buy DLC for this game separately, I'll have to treat as if it cost's 10$. And when I look what Mario Kart 8 offered for 12$ I have to say that Zelda falls short... by a lot.

With this the second DLC launching later this years has to really outperform my expectations and maybe I'll change my opinion. Maybe with the full package the DLC will be worth the 20$ you pay for it. But for now I only can recommend it to Hardcore Zelda fans, who don't have enough of the game and are looking for even more challenges.

Conclusion (One Sentence): 

The Master Trials mostly offers features which have been part of the base game in older titles and doesn't feel like it's truly worth half of the 20$ you pay for the DLC, but it offers a new challenge for Fans which still want more out of the world of Hyrule.

And as always

thanks for reading

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Review

Seven Weeks, 350 Hours and I've not even found half of the Koroks in this game.

From this sentence alone you can grasp the immense scope of this new Hyrule, but bigger isn't always better. Has the new start for the Zelda series took off or are its wings burning off rather quickly?

Before we can answer this question there is a lot to do. 900 Korok seeds, 120 schrines, 76 side quests, four divine beasts and Ganon wait to be discovered, conquered or banished.

When Eiji Aonuma announced that a new Zelda Game was in the making for the Wii-U in 2013 we couldn't know that it would take us four more years (and another console) until we finally would be able to experience this new Hyrule. But one thing was always mentioned over the course of this four years. The Goal of this new Zelda would be to break with some of the conventions of the Zelda series. Little did we know just how different this game would feel to it's predecessor Skyward Sword.

After Ocarina of Time was the blueprint of 3D Zelda Games for the last twenty years, Breath of the Wild takes a step back to the Open World roots of the series on the NES.

The complete Review is spoiler free of course. 

Story:

A mysterious voice calls out for Link, waking him up from his slumber in a strange, futuristic looking cave. After exploring the small room he stumbles upon a blue glowing terminal, which hands him a device known as the Shiekah-Slate. This opens the way out of the cave. And with this he steps out into the huge, endless seeming world of Hyrule.

As you can see from this introduction Breath of the Wild really follows through on the promise of an open Zelda experience. The Story is definitely one of the lighter parts of the game. Which doesn't mean it's bad, just that it's not the main focus. After finishing the first area, the Great Plateau, and unlocking the full power of your Shiekah Slate, you're given only two objectives. Defeat Ganon and find Impa. And from there one it is completely up to you how and if you want to experience the Story Breath of the Wild has to offer.

You can try to fight Ganon directly or head towards Kakariko... or you simply wander into the wild and explore this huge and beautiful Hyrule. It is completely up to you and the Story reflects that. Now I won't spoil anything here, so you can read easy.

The Story itself is, like I said, rather light and pretty much the standard Zelda story. And while I prefer the personal touch of, for example, the Wind Wakers Story, I have to admit that Breath of the Wilds Story is perfectly suited for an Open World experience. And it has some of the best Character Work seen in the Series so far. Especially for Princess Zelda. Through different cutscenes you'll get to know the Princess rather well and learn to understand her struggles and where she comes from.

Like the rest of the Story, except for the final Ganon Battle, these cutscenes are completely optional, but if you manage to collect them all you'll get the true ending of the game. So calling them completely optional isn't totally right.

Also there is more than the Main Story that can be experienced. There are lots of side stories to be discovered. These are mostly simple on task missions, which tell a small story. Only a handful side quests tell a deeper tale. So in that regard they can't be compared to the often extensive Side Quests in other Games. In Zelda it's mostly: Hey I'd like to see these weapons could you bring them to me or some Monsters took our sheep, please rescue them.

But the stories are told in a charming and quirky way, so there is that.

Also this doesn't mean there are no longer side quests in the game. For example there is one, where Link has to solve the mystery of a theft in a small village, where everybody could be the culprit. And one Questline even sees you building a whole town.

But the light focus on storytelling also has one negative impact on the game. The villain. Zelda has always been home to some quite colorful bad guys. Girahim, Yuga or Zant, just to name a few. But with Breath of the Wild, and it's open design, you can't really build a Bad Guy in the same way. Heavily scripted encounters wouldn't work with the open design philosophy of the game.

This is the reason why Ganon has had a rather weak impact on me during my playthrough. He is build up by many characters as this calamity that has to be stopped, but in the end he is just that. A Calamity without character.

Lastly let me say that I really like Zeldas role in this game. Without going into much detail, she plays a vital role in Links journey. For the past couple of Games Zelda has become more and more involved in the story. She is no longer a Damsel in Distress, but her own character with her own journey. And while Link is primary there for fighting Ganon, without Zelda he would not be able to win. This also holds true for Breath of the Wild. Without Zelda you wouldn't have the opportunity to challenge Ganon. It's simple. Without Link Zelda can't succeed, but without Zelda Link can't succeed either. The Co-dependency makes neither of them a weak character, but relatable.

The Story of Breath of the Wild isn't the games strongest point, but it's serviceable and offers some great and unique characters. You may choose to ignore it, but if you decide to explore it you will find it very rewarding.

Gameplay:

When Aonuma said he wanted to rethink the conventions of the Zelda series and introduce a more open approach, I couldn't imagine how far he and his team would go. Breath of the Wild is a complete new start for the franchise, and now you don't need to have played a Game in the series before to enjoy this entry to the fullest.

The game literally throws you into the world, with only a basic objective to follow. But you're free to explore your surroundings from the get got. No more hand holding or drawn out tutorials. Well that is not entirely true, because you start out on the Forgotten Plateau, which acts as an introduction to the new world of Hyrule. And it does this job splendidly. Without the need of constant text boxes and hints. This area teaches you everything you need to know about the word. It contains all challenges and environments you'll encounter in Hyrule, albeit on a much smaller scale.

And if you need it the old Man is always present to serve as a guide and help you out. But it's not forced in any way. There are even things you can easily miss in this area, like him giving you the Winters Clothes on the peak of Mt. Hylia. From the get got Breath of the Wild respects the player and his ability to solve problems.

After learning the basics of survival and getting equipped with all necessary tools to save Hyrule the game finally lets you run free on it's massive world. But don't be fooled. The Forgotten Plateau is already quite extensive. I easily spend nearly ten hours there at the start and haven't found everything. Far from it.

Now with only two basic goals given to you you're free to head of to wherever you want. And when I say wherever I mean wherever. Breath of the Wilds world gives you an unprecedented freedom to explore and traverse your surroundings.

In older Zelda games it was common for the Overworld to open up piece by piece. In Twilight Princess you had to reclaim the different provinces of Hyrule from the Twilight Realm for example. In this game there is nothing holding you back.

In Ocarina of Time you needed the Hookshot to enter the Forest Temple. In Breath of the Wild you earn all your abilities on the great Plateau.

But these are not the only barriers that Nintendo removed. Do you know the feeling in other Open World Games when you see a point of interest and want to head there? Almost all of the time there is a clear path you're meant to take. Maybe you awkwardly try to jump up a mountain, but almost all of the time you're forced to take the developer intended path. This has the effect that even the biggest Open Worlds can feel rather small and confined.

Breath of the Wild solves this Problem with two easy solutions. Climbing and Gliding.
Link has the ability to climb almost everything (as long as he has enough stamina) and with one push of a button he pulls out his sail cloth, which allows him to freely glide through the air.
You see a huge mountain at the horizon? You don't need to follow a road. Just climb it.

See something interesting from a high vantage point? Just jump and glide there.

Breath of the Wild gives you and unprecedented amount of freedom and control over Links movement. How you traverse the varied lands of Hyrule is completely up to you. Never before did a Open World feel this open.

But this open World is also quite dangerous. Breath of the Wild is probably the hardest Zelda Game since the NES days. Ironically the most time I died was on the Great Plateau. But this only served to teach me about the brutality of this new Hyrule early on. Instead of rushing right in, I learned to prepare and adapt to my surroundings. After that I hardly ever died during my main adventure. Again the game does an excellent job at respecting the players abilities.

If you find an enemy camp, observe it closely. There is almost always a way to exploit your surroundings. Be it carelessly placed explosives or the crates, which can be used with your magnesis ability.

Which brings us directly to the enemies of the game. Overall the diversity is good, but not overwhelming. You will often end up facing a stronger version of a enemy type you've beaten countless times before. If you have seen one Bokoblin, you've seen them all. They only vary in colors and the damage they deal and tank. And while there are many iconic Zelda enemies in this game, some, like the Lynels even make their 3D debut, there are also some iconic ones missing. Sadly the Darknuts are nowhere to be found. I always enjoyed those epic battles against the dark knights in Wind Waker or Twilight Princess and with Breath of the Wilds great combat systems, I'm sure they would have been a blast here too.

Still the slightly lacking variety of enemies is diminished by the fact that they all have a very different style in Battle. Lizalfos normally try to keep some distance and only close in for an attack, while Moblins are big Berserker types, which swing wildly at you. Also the different kind of monsters often interact with each other in a hilarious way. Seeing a Moblin pick up a smaller Bokoblin and throw it at me, was a priceless experience.

Generally combat is a strong point of the game. Not loner are you confined to one Type of Weapon, namely the Sword, but are free to choose which style suits you best. Maybe you prefer the standard combination of Shield and One handed weapon, or maybe you prefer the devastating attacks of a Broadsword? Or maybe you enjoy the quickness and range of lances? Couple this wide array of weapons and fighting styles with well thought out dodge and block mechanics and you get a nearly perfect combat cocktail.

Simply said each and every fight in Breath of the Wild feels unique. I never ever felt bored by a Yiga ambush and even after more than 200 hours of play I still love jumping into an enemy camp from above to wreak havoc. Just like with everything else in this game, Breath of the Wild gives you complete freedom to approach combat situations as you see fit. Stealth or Rambo... both paths lead to victory. But only if you properly prepare first.

The combat, however, also houses one of the few points of critique in this masterpiece. Weapon durability. I'm sure you've heard everything about this by now, so I'll keep it short. The weapons of Hyrule are more brittle than glass. Its not uncommon for a sword to break after five to ten enemies. The idea behind this, as stated by the developers, was to create a world, where you constantly have to adapt. And in that regard the succeeded. Enemies often drop their own weapons. So there is a constant stream of new weapons and in fact I've never even gotten close to run out of weapons. But even though there is a constant supply of weapons the durability creates another problem. Right now half of my inventory is filled with weapons I feel hesitant to use, because I don't want to loose them. Why should I use my Royal Greatsword on a simply Lizalfos, if there could be a Lynel around the next corner?

The weapon durability creates the need to save your valuable weapons because you don't want to ''waste'' them.

There is no easy way to solve this problem. All I can say is that I never felt restricted by the weapon durability and I fully understand the intention of the developers. But if you're a weapon horder in other games, you'll probably hate the system in Breath of the Wild.

I talked about the importance of preparation a few times now. In that regard Breath of the Wild also allows a extent of customization that has not been known in a Zelda Game so far. In older titles there was hardly any crafting or combat preparation. This is also one of the things Breath of the Wild fundamentally changes. Not only do you have countless different armor sets with different bonuses, but also crafting has become a huge part of the game. Hyrule is full of ingridients you can collect. From Fruits to Fish to Mushrooms to Insects. There is something to collect on every corner. You can hunt different animals for their meat or just be contempt with collecting what the Nature provides you with.

Also all enemies drop different body parts. Guts, Horns or Tails. There is a lot to collect.

But that isn't all there is to gather in the fields of Hyrule. Chopping down Trees provides you fire wood, which can be used to build campfires to rest or warm yourself. And the Ore Veins scattered across the various mountains provide you with rare gems, which can be sold for a large amount of money.

So what can you do with these full bags you'll definitely have after one trip into the wild? The first and most important use of ingredients is cooking. Every Human settlement, be it a town or a stable, offers you a cooking pot, and often you'll also find some in the ruins of Houses. Once the fire burns these can be used to create food and medicine. Especially early on these are necessary if you want to survive the harsh environments of Hyrule. And once again the Game respects the player and doesn't hand you anything on a silver plate. There is no menu, where you can read up on recipes. Instead you'll learn them by experimenting and exploring the world. Characters you meet may tell you a recipe. Also in every stable and most buildings you can find pictures of recipes hanging on the walls. Also if you have a cooked meal you can look up which exact ingredients you used, if you want to recreate it.

So what does cooking do? In Breath of the Wild you won't find Hearts by simply cutting grass. The only way for Link to restore Health is sleeping in a bed, resting by a fire or eating. So during heated battles you should definitely take the time to eat some Curry Rice if you want to survive. There are many different buffs food can give you, determined by the ingredients. Using Chili will create a fiery dish, that keeps you warm in cold environment. Make a delicious Fruit Cake with Mighty Bananas and increase your attack power. Together with different Armor and Weapons these buffs allow you to customize Link to fit your own personal fighting style. Maybe you want to play a raging Berserker, who dishes out devastating blows, or you prefer a defensive Tank, who takes even the mightiest blows.

Medicine works in the same way. But instead of cooking delicious fruits, meat and spices you'll use Insects and Monster Parts. Medicine won't restore Hearts, but the effects are generally stronger and are active for longer periods of time.

Master cooking early on and surviving in Hyrule will be much easier for you.

Fighting monsters and gathering ingredients. Is there more to Breath of the Wilds World than that? Of course. Hidden across the entire World are 120 Shrines and 900 Korok Seeds as well as 76 Side Quests. The Side Quests, like stated earlier in the Story section, are pretty basic most of the time. Which of course doesn't mean they don't tell engaging Storylines from time to time. But they were definitely not to focus of the game and can't keep up with the great offering provided by other games like the Witcher.

The much bigger star are the Shiekah Shrines hidden across the land. These mostly replace the Dungeons of old Zelda titles. Most of them revolve around one puzzle concept and can be solved in five to fifteen minutes. And they are home to some of the most unique and imaginative Puzzles in the series. Also while there is often one clear solution, the open design of Breath of the Wild often allows for completely crazy solutions. There are some truly insane ways of solving some shrines.

The shrines also serve as means to progress your character. Solving one rewards you with a Spirit Orb. Four of these Orbs can be used to either increase your Stamina Gauge or get a new Heart container.

The Shrines can be found all over Hyrule and often you'll probably stumble across them by accident. However there are also 42 Hidden Shrine Quests. Those aren't like Side Quests, where you're told the objective quite clearly most of the time, but more like riddles. These often serve to make the world even more believable and alive. For example Link finds an old Diary in a destroyed hut on the peak of an icy mountain. Instead of having a Quest Marker telling you exactly where you have to go, you just have the notes from the diary, which abruptly stops. This makes you wonder what could have happened to the Author, and also it makes finding the Shrine even more rewarding, because you finished his work after so many years. It just feels great stumbling across this destroyed hut on this mountain peak, finding the diary and solving it's mystery. Something that Breath of the Wild manages to create is a very believable Open World.

120 Shrines may sound like a lot, but Nintendo cheated a little because not all of them contain puzzles. Some are simple Combat Trials, where you are pitted against a small guardian. These come in three different difficulties. Another cheap method to increase the Shrine number are the blessing Shrines. These often come at the end of a hidden Shrine Quest and simply contain one chest and a Spirit Orb.

Still searching for the Shrines never grows tedious. Something that can't be said for the Korok Seeds. 900 Koroks are hidden across Hyrule and wait for you to find them and solve their Puzzles. Of course it's not 900 different Puzzles. They often repeat themselves, but the variety is high enough. But still there is Korok around nearly every corner in Hyrule. So if you focus on finding them all there is hardly a time where you can just enjoy the breathtaking lands. Instead you'll be forced to search every nook and cranny. And the reward for finding all 900, without spoiling it, is simply not worth the hassle.

Still you should try to find at least a few because these seeds are used to increase the size of your Shield, Bow and Weapons pouch respectively. But to increase all of them to the maximum only needs 441 Seeds.

When Aounuma first announced Breath of the Wild he stated that the World is the true star of this game. And he was absolutely right with that statement. I've simply never explored a World that has felt that alive and believable in any game so far. Hyrule is a living and breathing world and you can see the love to detail the developers used to create it. It's many different factors that make this Open World. But the two central pillars are the absolute freedom to traverse the land and the great physics engine. Link can interact with anything in this world. Nothing feels like it's just scenery.

The whole game revolves around survival. To survive the bitter cold of the Hebra mountains you either need to put on some warm clothes or cook special food or medicine. Snow and Sand slows you down. During Rain Fire and Bomb Arrows won't work. Metal will attract lightning. The environment plays a huge role in how you approach the situation.

But that is not all what makes this world so alive. It's not just how you react, but also the other characters. People will seek shelter when it rains. They tell you to stop if you pull out your sword in a town.

To put it simply everything in Breath of the Wild has impact. If you shoot an arrow at a tree you can retrieve it. Link will leave footprints in the snow. You can cut down a tree and use it's trunk to cross a gap. Everything you do influences the World and the World itself influences your actions.

In regards to the world itself Breath of the Wild is simply the best and most complete Open World experience so far.

Presentation:

Breath of the Wild takes a similar approach to presentation as Skyward Sword did. The characters and world are clearly influenced by a cartoon look, but not to such a degree as in Wind Waker. Instead the presentation often reminded me of Animes, especially the works of Studio Ghibli. This means that if you're a fan of realistic looking Zelda tittles, you probably won't enjoy the presentation as much.

But if you don't mind such colorful graphics, I would say that Breath of the Wild is among the mot beautiful looking games currently available. The presentation is very colorful and time and time again Hyrule manages to create breathtaking views.

On the technical side of things the game runs with 720p and 30fps on the Wii-U and with 900p and 30fps on the Switch in docked mode. In Handheld mode this is scaled down to 720p and 30fps also. But, and this is unusual for a Nintendo game, from time to time there are recognizable fps drops. Especially during high intense actions scenes it can happen that the frame rate drops below 20fps. Nintendo has already applied several smaller patches, which helped with the problem, but didn't entirely fix it. And while overall these technical issues didn't bug me much, they should be noted. They can diminish your enjoyment of the game greatly if you deem such things important. Even though the don't happen around every corner, fps drops are a semi-regular occurrence.

On the music side of things Breath of the Wild also breaks with series tradition. For the first time Konji Kondo isn't the main composer. Luckily the music didn't suffer from this fact. But in this game takes a backseat, sort of. While you're exploring the Wilderness there is little to none background music. Everything is kept very light with natural noises being most of it. Only during select view events or confrontations the music starts to push into the foreground. But this general natural and light approach to music makes these events even more impactful.

Saying that Breath of the Wild doesn't have a memorable score would do the game injustice. Like everything else in this game it's a bold new step for the series, but overall Breath of the Wild has an amazing score. Just not the one you would expect at first. Still there are some absolutely epic pieces of music in this game. To me Hyrule Castle stand out the most, combining dread and the glimmer of past grandness with many memorable tunes from the series.

Conclusion:

The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is a bold new step for the series. For the first time Link and the player are able to explore a truly open world. And Nintendo really knocked it out of the Park right from the get go. Simply speaking Breath of the Wild is THE Open World games on which all others will be measure from now on. Never before have I experienced such a degree of freedom. Never has a World felt more believable and alive.

Exploring the new Hyrule is one grand adventure. Climbing every surface and gliding from tall peaks gives you an unprecedented freedom of exploring your surroundings. And the world was designed with this in mind. There are countless high vantage points which you can glide off.

The World is filled with countless secrets to uncover, treasures to find and people to encounters. This sheer size can feel overwhelming at times, but Breath of the Wild does a splendid job in simply making traverse the terrain fun.

This new Hyrule is home to some fierce foes however, which make exploring the lands quite dangerous. And the game isn't afraid of letting you fail. Without proper preparation the Game Over screen will be a common sight. The enemies are fierce and often will take you down with one or two hits, but the combat system is never unfair. Everything is beatable from the get go. With Parries and dodges the combat has never felt more rewarding and fluent in any Zelda game. Even without a treasure chest at the end it's a lot of fun to attack an enemy camp, no matter if you take them out one by one with a stealth approach or storm in like a Berserker.

The Key word that comes to mind when describing Breath of the Wild is survival. Hyrule is a harsh and hostile land, but it offers you everything you need to survive. Medicine and food with helpful effects can be created. The countless weapons allow you to quickly adapt to any situation. Simply said Hyrule demands a lot from you, but it's incredibly rewarding.

Of course not everything is great. Beath of the Wild is no perfect game. No game is. Weapons often break after you have barely used them. The quickness in which you find new weapons helps with this problem, but it still feels bad to have your Savage Lynel Sword break after only one Hinox battle.

Also the Story is quite hit and miss. With the open World approach and the fact that you can go anywhere anytime (only hindered by your own abilities) it is a given that the Story has to take a back seat. And while the Story isn't bad this is a recognizable fact. Also the Side Quests often feel very mundane.

What Breath of the Wild nails however is the characters. While the overarching plot is on the lighter side of things the characters are great. Especially Zelda comes to mind. Her story is told splendidly and I greatly encourage you to get the true ending of the game to give it proper closure. And while most of the other characters remain a little bit pale they are still very likable.

However there is one exception to this. Ganon. The big bad himself is probably the weakest incarnation of the dark Lord we have ever seen. Storywise. Powerwise he is freaking powerful.

Conclusion (One Sentence):

Breath of the Wild drastically changes the Zelda formula to create an unprecedented world of survival and exploration, which will be the go-to comparison for every Open Word in the future and simply is one of the best games of the last decade.

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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.

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