I'm a longtime Pokémon fan, with my first game being Pokémon Blue and playing at least one version of every main entry since then (jokes on you Mom, you said I'd grow out of it and I never did!). I never really had a favorite game (HG/SS and Black/White 2 were the closest to best gameplay features) because there's something I like from each installment, but I can confidently say that Arceus is my absolute favorite Pokémon game to date.

The freedom of running around like an actual Pokémon trainer, not being tied down to one linear path, running and hiding from wild Pokémon was so much more fun than I expected. Trainer battles are usually one of my favorite things in mainline games, so I was worried that wild battles were the main appeal but I was so pleasantly surprised. Don't think I'll forget two wild Buizels ambushing me while I was already in combat with something else. 3v1'd by wild Pokémon!

I try to fill out the Pokédex in mainline games but I don't bend over backwards trying to finish them. In Arceus, though, I did bend over backwards. It was so much fun hitting the research checkpoints because yeeting Pokéballs at lightspeed has never been more satisfying.

I really, really hope that there'll be more Legends titles in the future that expand on what we were given, because while I'm always looking forward to the next Pokémon, I don't think the gameplay of Legends can be topped by the next mainline title.