Let’s talk about a new video game that I’ve been playing. I wanted to jump into this game for a little bit. I got the game two Christmas’s ago. But I haven’t really played much Pokémon before that. So why did I pick Pokémon Legends: Arceus to start, not really sure. It was the one that was available at that point in time. And I thought the story sounded interesting. But now that I’ve put a number of hours into it, in the past week, let’s talk about the game.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

I won’t spoil much of anything here. But let’s talk about where it drops you into the world and generally what the story is. You are literally dropped back in time through a rift. You land on a beach and you’re in the past. The you meet Professor Laventon who vouches for you and gets you into a village and a team of Pokémon researches. So you need to go out there, complete missions, complete requests, and capture and battle Pokémon.

How Is The Game Play?

The game play enjoyable. I won’t say that it’s amazing, but it’s very fun as you go around doing what you expect to do. And I think that’s kind of the best thing to say about it. Are you capturing Pokémon, yes you are. Are you battling Pokémon, yes you are. And when it comes down to it that is going to be what you want to do in a Pokémon game.

The controls themselves are very easy to learn and master in the game. It actually gives you a lot of assisting when it comes to targeting. There is an element of the game of dodging that I’m not that good at. That is a me issue, not the game issue. The game gives you warning when something is going to attack. For me it is just remembering which button to hit, and I am not that great at it. It’s the one element of the game that really has timing with it though. So I think that it might be an area that some players will struggle like I do.

How Is The Story?

I plan on avoiding spoilers here. But that might be tricky to do when talking about the game. I think that the story is again solid. It is good enough that it keeps me generally engaged with what is happening. It also isn’t so much that I feel like I’m going to forget everything if I take a break. That is the challenge for me with a lot of games, I tend to play for a while and then pause and come back again later.

But the story is fun, and the characters you interact with are fun. I also like how it is building up this history for the game. I know they need to have a lot of history for all of the games that they have, but it’s a fun element to the game. When you start the game, you build the Pokedex. It isn’t something that exists already. That is generally your goal in the game beyond the main story is to build that up.

I find it interesting that they are doing an out of time story as well. You find yourself in the past, and that is unique as well. I think they could have just done a story where you are just really talented as a Pokémon scout/fighter for Galaxy Team. But to be from the future is a nice twist and gives characters other ways to interact with you. And it is good at making the story feel big because of that.

Final Thoughts on Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends Arceus is a fun game. It’s also a fun game for me because I can play it while my kid if watching. Some of the other games that I just love either aren’t interesting to them, Balatro and Slay the Spire, or are a bit violent and mature, Horizon and Baldur’s Gate 3. And while I enjoy playing games like Mario Kart and Mario Party Jamboree with him, I think it is more fun, or just as much fun to play that type of game that is more of a game. Mainly, I find myself playing it even when he isn’t around.

The one more negative thing, and I suspect this is the case with all the Pokémon games, is that it does feel like you do a lot of the same things. You catch Pokémon and you battle Pokémon. You might say “well duh” but it is an element of the game that is just fine for me. It is something that I expect from the game for sure. But it being my first game, I find that it is enjoyable, but sometimes it feels like I’m doing the same thing a lot. Or I feel like I should grind some in order to get to the level where the next big mission is comfortable for me.

That said, I find this game fun. I wouldn’t keep playing it if I didn’t. And I think that it’s a very solid and enjoyable. And I suspect that when I am done, I’m going to go find another Pokémon game to play. Such as Violet which we own.

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