A breath of fresh air and a step in the right direction for Game Freak’s long running and monumentally successful franchise, despite most of the games rehashing the same mechanics and progression beats that have been drilled into our minds since the original Red and Blue. One might be inclined to argue that as Pokemon games are intended for children, the handholding is necessary, but as a, ah, former child, I’d like to politely disagree. If your game is REALLY designed well, it can show you its ideas without a pop-up menu that asks you to read a paragraph or two and then “Press A.”

At the very least, Legends Arceus breaks the mold a bit and changes the way that Pokémon is played, albeit with some pretty underwhelming graphics and somewhat generic locales. The game’s strengths come in the form of its combat mechanics, which are more fast paced than in traditional Pokémon games, and the joy of catching Pokémon with precision ball throws and a little luck. As long as we’re seeing some of these changes and advancements in new games, the Pokémon franchise has a much brighter future. However, I don’t see myself coming back to play this one, for I have no interest in sitting through the droll story and monotonous tutorials again.

TL;DR - A game changer for the franchise, but still leaves a little to be desired from what is the most successful franchise in media history.