Pokémon Legends: Arceus has been out for less than a month, yet fans are already declaring it a major triumph for the venerable franchise. Indeed, critics and players have responded positively to the game, praising its narrative, concept, and gameplay and expressing excitement at what's to come.
Still, the game is far from perfect, and while fans agree it's a step in the right direction for Pokémon going forward, there are still some things that need improvement. From disappointing graphics to bizarre narrative choices, there are many things about Legends: Arceus that ultimately fell short of players' expectations.
For years, Pokémon fans have complained about how basic and unpolished the games look compared to their contemporaries. The Switch era enhanced the complaints, considering the console's capabilities and the groundbreaking work delivered by franchises like Zelda and Mario.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus adopts a Breath of the Wild-like style that represents a considerable improvement over its predecessors. However, while the change is a decisive step in the right direction, there's still room for much improvement. Some of the graphics are lacking, and many fans agree that what's so frustrating about the situation is how good they could look. There's so much potential for an open-world Pokémon game, but the finished product always seems incomplete. Legends: Arceus might be the best Pokémon game so far, but it's still far from one of the best open-world games available.
Open-world games provide the chance for players to lose themselves in the vastness of their creation. The best options out there offer intriguing, complex, and visually dazzling environments that enhance the gaming experience.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus succeeds in creating an expansive open world but falls short of making it truly impressive. There's a surprising lack of variety to the landscapes, and every region of Hisui looks strikingly similar after a while. The game takes place at a time when the Pokémon world is still desolate, but that's no justification for the lack of inspiration on a design level. The developers could've used the opportunity to showcase the natural beauty of the Pokémon world; instead, everything looks safe and, at times, even dull.
Quests and missions are a crucial part of RPGs. Players enjoy meeting NPCs and getting to know a bit about their lives, helping them with their tasks, and earning some rewards in the process. Pokémon Legends: Arceus includes many excellent side quests that advance the plot and deliver precious valuables. However, it also adds an excess of silly requests that seem more like nuisances.
Many of these requests involve showing a certain Pokémon to the myriad of NPCs that inhabit Jubilife Village. There's no difficulty or actual challenge to them because players are already catching Pokémon to complete the Pokédex. Legends: Arceus could've come up with some truly inspired tasks for its players to fulfill, but it instead settled for the simplest options. By choosing quantity over quality, the game ultimately does itself a disservice.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus' main plot concerns a time-traveling character who arrives at Hisui just as a series of bizarre events are enraging the region's Noble Pokémon. Time and space are on the brink of collapse, and only this person seems to have the ability to restore order.
It all sounds so ambitious and ominous, yet things are very different in practice. There's a distinctive lack of tension throughout the plot because players never actually feel any dread at the possibility of the world's collapse. The game maintains a laid-back vibe throughout the story, never once daring to accurately reflect the very real danger the entire region seems to be in because of the massive hole in the sky. There's a lot of talk about how perilous the situation is, but there's never any sign of it outside the frenzied Nobles. The average wild Pokémon seems more menacing than the distortion in space-time, and that's not a good thing.
Music is an integral part of Pokémon. Some of the most memorable moments in the franchise's games come accompanied by a distinctive melody that perfectly captures the location's essence. Whether it's Lavender Town's infamous sinister tune, Mt. Coronet's tense and heart-pounding piano score, or Galar's intense and uproarious Gym theme, music is crucial to Pokémon.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is surprisingly quiet. Music hardly plays a role in the game, a stark departure from previous entries in the main series. Certain pieces come in select areas or under precise circumstances, but there's no constant melody playing over the action. It's a bold choice that further cements the game as a unique product, but fans can only imagine how incredible it would've been to explore Hisui's Mt. Coronet accompanied by the trademark Sinnoh piano.
Nearly every main series Pokémon game succumbs to having info dumps and deus-ex-machina characters to resolve the plot's problems, and Legends: Arceus is no exception. The game employs many convenient narrative choices to make things easier, like the Arc Phone, a device that serves as a direct link to god itself and can open cave doors and send messages from the beyond.
Characters like Mistress Cogita and Professor Laventon serve as bonafide tools to keep the story moving forward, delivering crucial information at just the right time. The game makes a considerable effort to increase the difficulty, but it still can't escape some of the easy narrative choices the franchise usually makes.
After exploring every corner in Hisui and quelling every Noble Pokémon, the player finds themselves going atop Spear Pillar and confronting either Palkia or Dialga, depending on their choices during the playthrough. The battle is exciting and sufficiently intense, although it's not more challenging than the two previous Noble Pokémon. Once the player catches the Legendary, the game abruptly ends.
The conclusion seems rushed and anti-climactic, especially considering how many questions remained unresolved. Of course, the post-game serves as a way to keep exploring Hisui, completing the dex, finishing up the tasks, and catching some of the rarest Pokémon in Legends: Arceus; it also keeps enhancing the lore, which is somewhat comforting. However, the main story's ending is so uneventful that it almost seems like an afterthought, leaving players with a very bittersweet taste for what is otherwise a great gaming experience.
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