Overall 9.6 Graphics 9.5 Sound 8.8 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 8.8 Difficulty 6.3
9.6
Pokemon Sun: A worthy sequel to an excellent series SacredShadow
After 20 years of sticking to the same tried and true formula, Sun and Moon take pokemon to a whole new level by shaking things up by bringing life to a whole new generation of pokemon. With six generations of pokemon games each contributing something new along the way, Sun and Moon take things a step further by changing traveling, battling, and even introducing island trials in place of gyms, perhaps one of the biggest risks a franchise packed with 20 years of nostalgia could've made, but in the end it all paid off and left behind one of the most memorable pokemon journeys we've had in years.
Graphics: 10/10Altogether, pokemon Sun and Moon are a wonder to look at, the entire region and all of its characters and pokemon all look incredibly polished and refined. Even though X/Y and ORAS graphics were already incredible, Sun and Moon raise the bar even higher. I really like many of the new animations they made for pokemon moves, many of them were in need of an upgrade. The only gripe I have with the graphics is how slow the game can run at times, particularly with the island trials. In each island trial, the totem pokemon appears cloaked in a red-orange aura that slows the game's frame-rate to a crawl. Similarly, Double Battles and Battle Royales also experience a delay in frame-rate. Even with a new 3DS XL, I still experienced many of the same delays people with an older version of the 3DS did. While frustrating at times, you only have to go through the island trials once, and the Battle Royale and Double Battles are optional, so it shouldn't wreck the experience altogether. Aside from these aforementioned instances, the graphics function properly and retain their stunning appearance throughout the entire game, thus, they receive a perfect score.
Sound: 8/10As far as battle music goes, I don't find any of Sun and Moon's battle themes to be particularly memorable. That being said, I don't despise the game's soundtrack, in fact, there are a few tracks that I find very catchy, namely Solgaleo and Lunala's battle track and the Elite Four themes. While I can appreciate the fact that the music has been changed to match the island vibe, there just aren't any standout tracks like in prior generations. While this is a bit disappointing, it doesn't completely ruin the experience. In regard to pokemon cries and battle/move sound effects, everything sounds sharper than ever and the game features a nice variety of improved pokemon cries and sound effects. Altogether, I rate the sound an 8 only because the soundtracks are a cut below previous games in terms of memorability, the sound quality is still excellent though.
Addictiveness: 10/10Pokemon games are generally plenty addictive to begin with and Sun and Moon are no exception. Even after long completing the pokedex, I am almost always either breeding shiny or competitive pokemon, battling against my friends, or spending time in the Festival Plaza
either earning Festival Coins or wonder trading. Even for a pokemon game, Sun and Moon offer more than enough for the player to do to keep them coming back. If you really enjoyed all of Sun and Moon's new mechanics, trials, and all the new changes from previous games on your first playthough of the game, then all the more reason to come back and experience them again. Even with a few newly introduced mechanics, it stays true to the core of what makes pokemon addictive, thus keeping us coming back for more. I rate the addictiveness of the game a 10 because it manages to introduce several new features while still retaining enough elements of the original games to keep the interest of new and veteran players alike.Story: 8/10When I first bought my copy of Pokemon Sun, I had no hopes or expectations for the story, I was expecting to meet the professor, see my rival, watch a demonstration on how to catch pokemon and then be on my way. No sooner do I start the game, I am met with an interactive video call from the Alola region's pokemon professor Kukui. From then on, I knew that I would be much more connected with this story's characters than in past games. If you were to name something that immediately stands out when asked about pokemon games, I highly doubt you would've said story. While pokemon games aren't known for a rich storyline, Sun and Moon undoubtedly delve deeper than any pokemon game has before. In games past, I've been able to begin traveling and catching pokemon on my own within 15-20 minutes of starting the game. What separates Sun and Moon from other pokemon games in terms of story are how involved the characters are with the plot. In previous games, you'd battle your rival, maybe 3-4 random times throughout the game and maybe help them battle against some grunts, but with Sun and Moon, the characters are far more developed and invested in the storyline, making it richer than ever before. Even the goofy buffoons of Team Skull offer an interesting change from the more serious, goal oriented organizations prominent in older games.
While I feel like they held my hand longer than necessary before starting my journey, Sun and Moon's story is a much appreciated step up from previous games like X/Y where there was little to no connection or development in any of the game's significant characters. Overall, the story gets an 8 for being an enormous improvement from other games in terms of story.
Depth: 8/10Sun and Moon offer the player a plethora of different things to do during the main storyline. In addition to the four islands and seven trials and totem battles, there are several side quests that can be completed in exchange for money, items, or in game trades. Once you've beaten the Elite Four, you can go catch the Tapus, help Looker and Anabel track down the UBs, and
battle Blue or Red upon entering the Battle Tree on Poni Island. If you're still in search of something to do, you can partake in Battle Royales, the Battle Tree, and collect all 300 of Alola's pokemon. Ultimately, the game's depth can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be; it all depends on you as a player. Even if you only care about beating the main storyline, you will still be guaranteed hours of enjoyable content. One thing's for certain though, you never have to go far to find extra activities to soak up your free time. I rate the depth an 8 since the game ensures hours of enjoyment while not requiring a colossal amount of time to beat.Difficulty: 5/10In terms of rivals, challenges, and island trials, Sun and Moon are not very difficult. With pokemon however, your team determines how difficult the game is. With this in mind, it goes without saying that a well balanced team of varied types and roles will make the game much easier than simply using whatever pokemon looks cool. Since it was very easy to level grind in X and Y, the elite four were incredibly easy, but in Sun and Moon, leveling up is more difficult with the absence of cafés and Blissey Bases. Nonetheless, the Elite Four in Sun and Moon presents more of a challenge when battling them for the first time, further stressing the importance of creating a well balanced team.
One feature that makes the game somewhat overly easy is the battle menu on the lower 3DS screen. Before deciding what move to use, you can see the typing of the pokemon you're battling (assuming you've battled in the wild or registered it in the pokedex at least once), how many stages its stats have been increased or decreased, and what moves are super-effective and not-very effective against it. This can be either good or bad depending on the type of player you are and how you look at it. It can be really useful for newer players by making it much easier to make decisions and navigate through a battle without
requiring knowledge of all 18 types and their relate to each other. For more seasoned players, however, this mechanic somewhat invalidates years of accumulated "know how" by making it too easy to come to a decision. On the bright side of things, this feature only activates if you have seen or registered the pokemon before, so there's still the initial thrill of deciding how to defeat a pokemon for the first time. Nevertheless, I feel like it would've been easy to implement a setting that allowed this feature be turned on or off depending on the experience of the player, at least then, both sides could be satisfied. In addition to this mechanic, breeding and raising competitive pokemon is now easier than ever with the addition of a new feature that allows you to check your IVs in the PC. Overall, I think Sun and Moon take an incredibly streamlined approach in terms of difficulty. Overall, it receives a score of 5/10 for being just difficult enough to make the game interesting, but not to the point where a new player would have trouble making progress.Overall: 9.6Altogether, this game sets itself a part from other pokemon games while still offering us all the thrill and wonder of the game we've adored for 20 years. Considering what pokemon has to do to encourage new players in while still maintaining the interest of dedicated players in mind, Sun and Moon have done an excellent job of providing us with something both familiar and fresh. In the end, I was very satisfied with my first playthrough of the game and I couldn't have asked for a more captivating story and stunning visuals. While certain aspects of the game could be improved, namely the laggy battles and the lack of information on the mysterious Ultra Beasts, the game's strengths definitely outweigh it's shortcomings. Altogether, Sun and Moon are well worth the money and are an excellent game and a worthy addition to the collection of new players and veterans alike. Overall, I rate Pokemon Sun a 9.6 out of 10.
Graphics 10 Sound 8 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 8 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 4.8/5
Submitted: 10-05-17
Updated: 10-05-17
Review Replies: 2
9.1
Pokemon Sun Review brawler456
Overview: Pokémon, has, and always be the one series I will personally love and adore, even now that adulthood has approached me, and I will say, that Pokémon Sun and Moon were likely some of the most unique Pokémon Games to date, with the wonderful games that were Pokémon Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness. The fact that games present new and unique ways to play a well beloved title, as Pokémon is, allowed Sun and Moon, in my eyes, to become a staple game in Nintendo's 20th Anniversary for the franchise.
With this being said however, Pokémon Sun and Moon did have it's fair share of disadvantages and hard-goings making it a somewhat step back for GameFreak in certain aspects. Now, we can move onto the actual review, in which all these topics will be discussed thoroughly.
Graphics: Beginning with the graphics of this game, I will have to say, I am quite impressed, for the most part. The scenery is very lovely, as would be expected from a region based off of the gorgeous state of Hawaii, and in addition, Nintendo did something that had never been done in a Pokémon game before: they connected each area to each other. For those of you who do not know, a feature was added onto the game known as the Rotom Pokedex, a handy guide that not only tells you about what each Pokémon is, and does, but also provides a Town Map, with markers. As each area is entered or exited, the map just continues with where it left off at each region of the region, allowing for more connectivity. The Rotom Pokedex map also does one more thing however, in the fact that it shows you the land features that are within the region, allowing the player to truly get a picture of the island that he/she may currently be on.
In addition to the Rotom Pokedex, GameFreak also implemented another new 'feature' being that the player can see other portions of the region from other areas. For instance, in one area of the game, the player is required to go to a pier in one of the cities. From this pier, one can see the other side of the island, and actually can proceed to said part of the island later within the game. So, in comparison to a game such as X/Y, where the region felt bland for the most part, and no inter-connectivity between portions of the game, this was a welcomed change.
Moving from the good, let us talk about one of the huge steps back for GameFreak with this game, being the animation loading time, and the lag from double battles or battle royals. One thing that truly irritated me as I played through Pokémon Sun and Moon were the loading times. Every instance of choosing an attack on another Pokémon took anywhere up to three seconds, which is absurd considering the ridiculously fast paced animations of not only X and Y but of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. This to me, was a major setback in animations. Next, is the extremely laggy gameplay when it comes to Double Battles and Battle Royals. For those who have an older version of the 3DS (as I do), the battle times for these welcomed battle types only seem to be torture as the animations take forever within them, with the max frames-per-second being likely thirty, at best, which is sad compared to previous games. It is because of these two negatives that Graphics receive and eight.
Sound: Similar to how the innovations in Graphics were, innovations within the music within the battles, as well as the over-world were made that really gave the game an extra amp up from previous generations. For a moment, let us all think back to the days of Pokémon X and Y, with bland, and for the most part, tasteless music, except for a few areas such as Lumiose City. Now, let us transition to the days of now with Pokémon Sun and Moon, having what is likely some of the best music for Pokémon of it's time, with beats that really make the player tap their feet along, it's just all so invigorating to hear, and can get anyone with a jubilant mood, it's just all so happy and feel good.
Except for one music, of course, being Team Skull, the evil 'organization' of the game, for the most part. However, even their music sparks an enjoyment from the listeners, especially vs. the boss. It is also through these themes however, that Sound lost what could have been a perfect ten. For a game that put so much improvement in from previous titles, the encounter theme for Team Skull, just sounds like it was quickly put together, and with little thought... it's just irritating after awhile.
Finally, the one other theme that seems to get aggravating after awhile is Lillie's, your companion throughout the game. At some point during the game, Lillie does indeed get a theme all her own, similar to how Wally did within Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, but instead of being interesting, or wildly engaging, like Wally's was, Lillie's sort of... falls flat... to say the least. Almost every encounter with Lillie from there on includes her theme, to the point where the player just asks it to stop. For these reasons, it is my belief that Sound deserves a nine out of ten.
Addictiveness: Pokémon has, and likely will continue to be, a very, very addicting franchise game, with so many advanced algorithms beneath the surface, and Pokémon Sun and Moon are no different in this respect. With several different ways to play the game, whether through Nuzlocke runs, or just using different Pokémon that one has never used before, the replayability is there, if one has the time to do so, not one run is ever the game, well, unless one intentionally tries for a specific repeat run. While this is a rather short section, I don't believe there's much more to say within the addictiveness category, so, with the major replayability that Pokémon has, this area is giving a ten.
Story: Ah, the story of this game, the one category I had been dying to discuss. First of all, wow. This could not have been any more a step up from the previous games, if GameFreak had tried. From the very moment the game begins, story hits, even as the Professor speaks to you, it's not a true 'what's your name' and 'what's your gender' type of deal, it's more or less an interactive video call with the Professor of the region. As the player arrives at their new home, story does not stop, with the protagonist (you), meeting with several others throughout the beginning island. Each character within the story given also has a personality, which X/Y suffered dearly with, allowing the player to connect better not only with the main Rival character, but with the majority of the NPCs within the region.
In addition, the story progresses quite nicely, and for the most part, doesn't throw in a major amount of story at one part in the game, meaning that for the first time in a Pokémon game, the story is evened throughout, with little pieces being thrown in here or there, with the story finishing around the same time of the game's climax. Which again, was a nice change from the usual. So, with such a unique and better story I am happy to say that the Story is given a ten.
Depth: From a good thing, to something that's sort of sub-par. In theory, there is always something to do within a Pokémon Game, from catching Pokémon to competitive training, if you're into that sort of thing, but, not really in this game. Unlike previous titles, only around 300 Pokémon are available in the Alola region, which does seem like a lot, except that there are currently over 800 Pokémon in today's day and time. Meaning, that once the 300 Pokémon that are available are caught, that option is off the table, instead having to rely on WonderTrading or PokeBank Transfers to complete the Pokedex.
However, there is a redeeming quality in the fact that optional side quests are included for finding Pokémon for major reward in this game, a feature that had never been included before. This feature allows the player to search for Pokémon for a separate purpose other than just 'fill the Pokedex', allowing them to earn money for certain quests, items for others, and even in-game trades for a specific item that is otherwise hard to find a second one of. But, these for the most part, are meant to be completed during the main story, and not really after-game.
Speaking of the after game, does it truly exist? No. Not really... well, not much of one. Similar to how X and Y were with the after game, the player is given a ridiculous series of quests by an NPC that can be completed in no more than an hour, if the cards are played right, and that's really all the after-game offers post-story wise, the rest is mainly the two sources of grinding: The Battle Tree, and Battle Royal. So, while the game itself does offer a lot of things to do during the main story, and provides long term play, the after game sort of just makes the game fall flat after the fact, so this is why Depth receives an eight...
Difficulty: Yes, I will address the fact that difficulty is high in rating, because this truly was a step up from previous titles, which I am very, very proud of. Titles such as X and Y as well as Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were criticized for the difficulty, thereof, the lack of difficulty. They were much too easy, giving the player one really 'broken' item early on, being the exp share. This one item alone created Pokémon that were extremely over-leveled too early in the game, and made for easy progression, which arguably is not the case in Sun and Moon. While yes, you are given the exp share early within the game, it is not near as game-breaking as in previous installments, as levels seem to exponentially increase from trial to trial, jumping from level 11 to level 20 relatively quick in progression and difficulty due to Totem 'auras', this was the first game in a long time in which I had to personally grind for levels just to beat what was coming ahead.
Secondly, I would like to address the previously aforementioned Battle Tree and Battle Royal, Sun and Moon's Battle Maison. Again, this (being the Battle Maison) was criticized in previous games by being laughably easy to most players, but this is not the case in Sun and Moon. I will admit that I personally am a competitive player, and like many, struggled with the Battle Tree, even after doing competitive training, the AI adapts quickly to the team of Pokémon brought, as well as what moves you have upon your Pokémon, meaning only certain Pokémon have the capability to burst through teams one after another, which was a major improvement compared to previous titles. For such an improvement, Sun and Moon receives a nine.
Overall: Overall, I believe that Sun and Moon was a major staple in the 20th Anniversary of the Pokémon Franchise, and was quite pleased when I played through the game for the first time. The story was engaging, the environment in which was traveled was extremely beautiful, especially on 3DS graphics, and the difficulty scaled immensely for me. That being said, there were some major downfalls of the game, being the laggy battles in double battle situations, the terrible, and I mean terrible, after game, as well as the few sub-par themes that existed within the game. So, all in all, Pokémon Sun and Moon receives a solid 9.1 for me, as it adhered to the expectations, and went above that. Good job GameFreak, you made people remember the name Pokémon once more.
Graphics 8 Sound 9 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 8 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 4.7/5
Submitted: 01-16-17
Review Replies: 0
9.6
Pokemon Sun Review - RAWR XD Lexatom
21 years ago, in 1996, Japan was introduced to Pokemon Red and Green. In 1998, the rest of the world was introduced to Pokemon through Pokemon Red and Blue. In 1999, Pokemon Yellow was released as the "third version" in Gen 1. In 2000, Pokemon Gold and Silver were released, kicking off Gen 2. In 2001, Pokemon Crystal was released, and was meant to be the last game in the franchise. However, fans wanted more. And companies wanted more money. So, Gen 3 begun with Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire in 2003. The first remakes were released, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen in 2004. The "third version" to Gen 3, Pokemon Emerald, was released in 2005. The franchise turned 10 years old in 2006, and released Pokemon Diamond and Pearl in 2007. The third version to Gen 4 released in 2009. The 2nd Gen remakes, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, were released in 2010. Pokemon Black and White begun Gen 5 and was released in 2011. Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 were released a year after that in 2012. Then, the series finally made a jump to 3D with the release of Pokemon X and Y in 2013. The long awaited 3rd Gen remakes, Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, were released in 2014. Everyone wondered what was next. Pokemon Z? Pokemon X2 and Y2? To our surprise, it was Pokemon Sun and Moon, the games that begin Gen 7. These games were the "20th aniverssary games" to the main series, and they were released on November 21, 2016. Many regard these games as the best in the series? What about me? Let's dive in.
Graphics - 10Being the current generation of the series, it's only natural that it would have the best graphics out of all of the games, right? However, they are much better than what I expected. Pokemon Sun and Moon constantly have a 3D point of view, unlike Pokemon X and Y where it only had a 3D point of view in certain areas. The only time Sun and Moon does not have a 3D point of view is when it's unecessary and would just make it harder to traverse. However, I rarely ever see this happen. The models of everything, and I mean
everything, look fantastic. The Pokemon, the trainers, the various NPC's, all of it.
Sound - 10Pokemon Sun and Moon have some of, if not the best tracks in the franchise. You got songs like Gladion's Theme, Lusamine's Battle Theme, YA BOI GUZMA'S THEME. I adore almost every single track in this game. Yes, even the annoying Wild Battle music that you have to hear over and over again, I love that too. It's all so catchy. The Pokemon cries, new and old, sound better than ever. Some cries just have this distinct noise that gives you a funny feeling in your stomach, but in a good way.
Addictiveness - 10Let's be real here, it's Pokemon. You're most likely gonna be addicted no matter what. When I first bought Pokemon Moon, I wanted to constantly play it, but I didn't just because I didn't want to play through the game too fast. Once i beat the main story, I wanted to expierence the amazing game I just played all over again. So I restarted and am currently playing through it again. I never do anything like that when it comes to Pokemon games. I actually had a REASON to restart the game this time. It really is that awesome. And of course, there's almost endless replay value. It is Pokemon, after all.
Story - 10Before we begin this section, be warned that there are spoilers past this point. Consider this your spoiler warning. Got it? Alright, here we go. Pokemon Sun and Moon have the best story out of any games in the series, in my opinion. Yes, even the awesome story in Black 2 and White 2. [spoilers]The game starts out with Lillie running in Aether Paradise with some Aether Employees chasing her. She gets cornered, and the Pokemon in her bag saves her. A while before this happened, Gladion also escaped with Type: Null. Type: Null and Silvally (Type: Null's evolution) is the result of Aether Foundation trying to create another "Arceus". You heard that right. At various points in the game, you come to know both Lillie, Gladion, and Team Skull and the Aether Foundation more and more. Eventually, Cosmog (the Pokemon in Lillie's bag) is stolen by Team Skull and has been taken to Aether Paradise. This means Team Skull and Aether Foundation have been working together. After making your way through Aether Paradise, your character meets up with Lusamine, the President of Aether Foundation, as well as Gladion's and Lillie's mother. Inside the room, Lusamine keeps Pokemon frozen to "protect" them forever. The player battles Lusamine and defeats her. She then uses Cosmog's power to open an Ultra Wormhole, which allows things to travel between the regular dimension and Ultra Space, where the Ultra Beasts reside. Using Cosmog's power caused him to evolve into a motionless Cosmoem. Guzma and Lusamine enter Ultra Space and leave everyone and everything behind. The player and Lillie make their way to the Temple of the Moone/Lake of the Sunne depending on your version. They use Cosmoem's power to open the Ultra Wormhole along with the Sun and Moon Flutes. This allows Cosmoem to transform into Solgaleo/Lunaala depending on your version, and the Ultra Wormhole is opened. Once you make your way to Ultra Space, Lillie tries to reason with her mother, but to no avail. Lusamine says she only cares about Ultra Space and everything within it, since it is beautiful. She says her daughter has become ugly ever since she ran. Lusamine merges with Nihilego (one of the Ultra Beasts) and battles the player again. She is defeated, and Solgaleo/Lunala finished her off. Everyone escapes safely (besides Lusamine with injuries) and they return to the normal dimension. The player defeats the Elite 4 and becomes the first champion of Alola.[/spoilers] Now THAT's a story, and I only summarised it! And there's MORE! I haven't gone through much of the post-game yet, but there is more to uncover about the Sun/Moon lore from what I have heard.
Depth - 9Just like all other games in the series, Pokemon Sun/Moon have a ton of depth to them. Once you are finished with the main game, you can start the post-game, work on the Pokedex, go to the Battle Tree, and more! There's no shortage of things to do in this game, although I wish there could have been a little more based on my expierence so far. However, the only reason I want more is because these games are amazing. There is plenty of stuff to do, I'm just a little biased is all.
Difficulty - 8Being an RPG, the difficulty varies on whether you are ready to take on the challenges ahead of you or not. On my first playthrough, I was not ready. I skipped some trainers and didn't add my last 2 team members until near the end, so they were kind of low-leveled. If you train right, you'll be ready for mostly anything. I do find these games to be harder than Pokemon X and Y, which is a good thing. X and Y was too easy. Sun and Moon seem to have the perfect difficulty setting, in my opinion. A big complaint I have though, is the fact that after you have seen a certain species of Pokemon at least once in the game, it tells you which attacks are effective and which ones are not. It's a minor thing, but I prefer remembering type matchups over the game just telling me what will work. Good thing it only does it if you have seen the Pokemon already.
Overall - 9.6Like I said before, Pokemon Sun and Moon are my favorite games in the entire series. I love almost everything. I feel an actual emotional connection with each of the characters. A huge step up from X and Y, where all the characters were annoying. The changes they made in these games were for the better, and I can't wait to expierence the post-game. Thank you for taking the time to read this review.
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 9 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 4.6/5
Submitted: 01-06-17
Review Replies: 0
9.8
Team Skull sends out Zubat! zanderlex
When I first bought my copy of Pokemon Sun, it was only the second time that I have ever bought a new game the day it was released, and I had very good reasons for doing so. Before Sun and Moon were released, both games were being hyped up as these brand new experiences that were completely different than what Pokemon games were normally about. Sure, I love all the Pokemon games, so the repetition and the occasional new idea like mega evolution was fine by me, but the thought of all these new and drastic changes really excited me.
The idea of erasing gyms and adding in Alola forms just blew my mind away, so when the game first came out I was already expecting to have a blast, but what I actually found in the game was so much more than I could have expected. I remember back in the day when new Pokemon games cost $30 and $35, and the prices went up to $40 match all the new features and graphics, but I personally find that price to be an extreme deal for a game like this, which is a whole new experience, instead of playing the same thing over and over in the same way.
GRAPHICS-10/10
The graphics are just about the same as some of the other recent Pokemon games, only a lot better. I grew up with Pokemon Gold as my first and still my most favorite Pokemon game. The graphics of that game were great at the time. Then I remember about 10 or so years ago, Pokemon Diamond came out, the first game for the DS and I couldn’t believe the advancement in looks between Gold and that one, and I thought it couldn’t get any better.
The look of the game is amazing, whether it’s the battle animations and scenery, the Pokemon themselves, or just the towns and routes. Gone are the days of a simple birds eye view of the world, now we have something that more so resembles that of Gale of Darkness. I wouldn’t say that it’s too different than what the graphics looked like in the previous generation, but the graphics were already amazing, and now they are only better.
SOUND-8/10
I’ll be honest, I’m not a full fan of the direction that Pokemon music has been going over these past few years. I loved the original music, especially Gen 3 music, and then when Gen 5 came out, I really liked the futuristic feel of some of their music, but then once Gen 6 came out, I began to feel that the music was trying to change too much, so I started losing interest.
As for the music of this one, I do like some because of how they have added the whole “Island vibe” to it. To me, it again takes away from the Pokemon aspect but it helps fit in with the environment. There are a couple other songs I like throughout the routes and towns that I do like that are calm and relaxing, it’s just I feel that the music has lost touch with what made Pokemon music awesome.
As for the regular sounds of the game, they are as good as ever. You have a nice assortment or battle sounds, plus you have the various cries of Pokemon, which in case you haven’t noticed, there are A LOT of. Overall, I would probably put this game behind a few others in terms of sounds, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t great.
ADDICTIVENESS-10/10
Pokemon in general has already been a really fun and addicting game, and all the stuff that was added to this one only made that more true. I’m not going to lie, once I was a few hours into the game and first entered Hau’oli City, I couldn’t stop myself from playing with the Poke Finder feature for hours and taking hundreds of pictures. This feature literally serves no purpose other than sharing random pictures that you take online, but it’s still so much fun.
If taking useless pictures isn’t your cup of tea, then what about Festival Plaza? When I first unlocked Festival Plaza, you couldn’t get me out of it. There would be days where I would turn on the game, head into FP so I could win some prizes, and then end up spending my entire time playing there. I guess you could compare it to Join Avenue, but to me it’s better, because of all the mini games that you can play either alone or online and because of all the shops and activities that you can use to your advantage.
Probably the most addictive feature of the game is the fact that it’s all unexpected. The game was already a lot of fun when you pick your Pokemon, battle the gyms, and then become the champion, but Sun and Moon change everything to pit you against the trials, and captains, and Totem Pokemon. No matter how many Pokemon games you have played before, none of them could have prepared you for these kinds of changes, which are all a brand new experience.
Even if you started losing interest in Pokemon you would probably want to play this simply so you can begin to understand all of the new stuff that’s going on. Plus Z Moves look both sick and hilarious. I would literally spend hours battling random wild Pokemon just so I can watch Torracat use Breakneck Blitz over and over, the animation is both cool and just plain funny. Overall, I’d say the game manages to keep you interested all the time and is one of the most fun, unique, and addicting Pokemon games of all time.
STORY-10/10
Like I have mentioned a few times before, the story of this game is so different than what everyone is used to from a Pokemon game. There are no gyms, instead, you go through various trials of each of the 4 islands, you battle powerful Totem Pokemon, battle Island Kahunas, you learn about incredible new moves called Z Moves and you battle the incredibly dumb Team Skull. Seriously, when I first encountered Team Skull I was like
“Oh my god, who are these people? They sound and look just stupid.”
Then the battle started and I saw the battle animation and was like
“Woah, that’s a sick opening maybe Team Skull is cool after all!”
*Team Skull sends out Zubat!*
Oh, never mind then.
I never had a problem with the story of the previous games, which have always found a way to spice everything up a little, whether it was with backstories, legendaries, or whatever, but this complete renovation is wonderful. Even if there are people out there who personally find that the story of Sun and Moon is worse than that of previous games, they would probably give it full credit anyway for being shaken up.
DIFFICULTY-3
I’m going to be switching this up a bit and talk about the difficulty first because I’m going to ramble about the depth for a while. The game isn’t hard at all. I mean come on, there’s so many ways for you to get an advantage that would have probably been unheard of in games like 5 years ago. Two of the biggest aspects that make the game so easy would be Festival Plaza and the EXP Share. The moment you saw EXP Share, you probably already knew what I was talking about.
The EXP Share has been so different since the start of Gen 6 and to the point where I even heard some people say that it’s an unfair advantage. You get the EXP Share so early on in the game now, it doesn’t have to be held by the Pokemon anymore, and of course it gives EXP to EVERY SINGLE POKEMON in your party, so you don’t have to keep switching Pokemon in and out. You get to level up your Pokemon so much faster now and it’s great for evolving as well.
Festival Plaza helps a lot too because all you need to do is have a few of the prize shops set up and every day you get a few free prizes, from Berry Juice all the way up to Nuggets, PP Max’s, and more. Even if you get the really cheap items, you can still use those or sell them, so free items is always a good sign. Other than that, if you find yourself at a point where your enemies are too strong, you just need to go and battle wild Pokemon over and over until you are strong enough. Let’s not forget about your Rotom Pokedex, because being lost is now a thing of the past since it will always tell you where you need to go.
DEPTH-10/10
I would be lying if I said that the game had a lot going on, because that would be an understatement. First off I’d want to talk a bit about the islands. When I first started playing Sun, I thought the idea of having only 4 islands was bad, and I had also thought that they were pretty small as well. I thought I would breeze through the islands easily, but I was wrong because by the time that I had first gotten to the 2nd island, I had already invested more than a dozen hours into the game. Each island had its fair share of things to do and places to explore.
Also, when you are talking about a Pokemon game, you can’t mention the depth aspect without talking about how many Pokemon there are in the game. I mean, who even keeps track of them anymore? I know there’s a fact that there’s more than 100 Pokemon just on the first island alone, and after spending more than a dozen hours on said island, I still haven’t even been able to catch half of them. In addition to the number of Pokemon, you have a decent amount of cities, towns, routes, and houses to explore.
FEATURES OF AWESOMENESS
Now I’m going to talk a bit about some of the new stuff that I find to be the best.
Poke Finder- I already talked a bit about Poke Finder, and it’s easily my favorite part of the game. When I first got the ability to take pictures, I was like meh, this doesn’t seem all that great but then I started to have a lot of fun taking different pictures. It always ended up being a competition against myself to see how good a shot that I can take and how many of the likes my best shot can obtain. Also let’s not forget that some of the AI comments towards your pictures can be hilarious as well. So far I have probably put in 3 hours alone into Pokemon and have more than 200 pictures saved to my SD card.
Festival Plaza- Like Poke Finder, this is one of my very favorites. You get Festival coins for doing pretty much anything. You can talk to other players who visit your plaza and as long as you don’t mess up you get coins. You can also do fun missions. These range from type matchups to language lessons, to whatever else. You can do a few per day and depending on how well you perform you get coins. Coins are life, you can use them at various shops to buy things or to treat your Pokemon to fun activities. My favorite part of Festival Plaza is the prize wheels though, just today I won a Full Heal, a PP Max, and two Berry Juice!
RIDE POKEMON!!!!!- Possibly better than both Poke Finder and Festival Plaza is the fact that you can now ride Pokemon. Forget walking and running, and throw your bike and/or roller blades in an active volcano because you won’t need them now that you have your own Tauros to carry you around everywhere. I love the fact that you can just press one button quickly, and in half a second you’re going to be in full gear on top of your Pokemon of choice. Just riding a Pokemon alone is faster than walking, but using that Tauros Dash gets you wherever you need to be faster than saying “…”.
All of that is just the tip of the Pokemon-berg because there are so many other new features, like Z Moves, Berry trees that have multiple different berries and replenish on their own, special “shadow” Pokemon, and so much more. All this merges together to give you one hell of a game with so much to do.
OVERALL-9.8/10
Overall. I would say that this would be one of the best Pokemon games that I have ever played. I’d even go as far as to say that it could be one of the best DS games that I have ever played as well. If you were able to pre order the game or buy it when it first came out, and played it at the same time as everyone else, along with the few events that have been released, then you have been a part of something awesome, but if you are unlucky enough to not have the game, and you get it later on, then it’s still awesome and you should still totally get it.
It’s a $40 game and if you have a 3DS, then there is no other game that you should be getting if you have the money, it’s money well spent. Overall, the game was a blast and my final grade for Pokemon Sun will be a 9.8 out of 10.
Graphics 10 Sound 8 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 3
Review Rating: 4.5/5
Submitted: 01-11-17
Review Replies: 2
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