Music for the Day

And by completed, I mean I got through the main story, seek out all Pokémon, and caught Arceus itself. And boy, was the battle with Arceus a tough one. Of course, it didn’t help that I was doing a self-imposed challenge on resetting the game every time I fainted (which I think I fainted about seven times, give or take). Call it me being prideful, but I love the challenge of facing the bosses and taking them down while they’re at full health.

So, what are my overall thoughts on this game? Personally, I find it an excellent mainline game, the best since Pokémon Black/White/Black2/White2. However, I will admit that, though I wasn’t the series’ most prominent critics since their jump to 3D, I wasn’t too impressed by them either. Don’t get me wrong, I like some elements; for example, the Mega Evolution was pretty cool, and Dynamaxing is still excellent as a macro fan. Plus, form variants of older Pokémon are the best new thing. It’s just that those games felt pretty lacking, especially Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, where they only really diverge from the original Sun/Moon late into the main story.

But Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a breath of fresh air that the franchise really needed. Though the graphics can get choppy, especially in the distance, I didn’t mind because it was so much fun to play through. Plus, I find the main story to be engaging. It reminds me of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and, as a fan of that side series, it makes me happy. I don’t want to give too much away regarding the story but let me tell you this: you’re on a mission from Arceus.

The music in this game is also pretty sweet, which I’ll set up as the music for the day. It’s atmospheric lovely out in the fields, yet intense during a boss fight. The controls and the open-ish world (it’s not an actual open world, more like the ones from Monster Hunter) also go well, and I will be happy if it continues in the future.

In short, if you are a fan of Pokémon, this is a must-buy.

As an aside, does anyone else find it dumb that, to get Arceus in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, you have to complete all main missions in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which has the final mission where you fight and get Arceus anyways? I get the idea of having extra goodies in one game if you happen to have save data from another. But this, you have to nearly 100% it in this game to get the extra goodies in another. It’s just dumb.