The franchise could be finished if “Pokemon Legends Arceus” isn’t amazing.
Many of us have found the mainline Pokemon games to be disappointing. Even the most ardent Pokemon fans will agree that Pokemon Sword & Shield are worthy of praise and that Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond are excellent remakes. Most players I have spoken with feel that the series has fallen from its glory days.
There has been a lack of quality in BD&SP since 2019 at the most. The protagonist was left out of the plot of SW&SH. Although some innovations like the Wild Area in the first Switch game improved the multiplayer experience, no new feature has made up the difference in other areas.
It was frustrating how the campaign in Pokemon Shield kept pushing me to the gym challenge instead of fighting Team Yell. It’s a Pokemon game in which we don’t have to save the day during our journey. This is a great idea! Although I’m sure there will be the Sordward & Shielbert stuff, it just feels too little and too late.
We then have the issue Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. I’m only 30 hours into the Pearl remake. I beat the League, Cynthia’s godlike Garchomp and made it to Fight Area. However, I don’t want to go further.
Although it’s not a terrible game, it’s hard to imagine it being anything more. Although the Underground’s new areas are great, and nice to have a Pokemon with you, the overall experience is dreary. I am a long-time fan of the game, so it is probably normal that I feel tired.
It’s not surprising that many video game series have survived as long or longer than Pokemon. Sure, some of them have had their ups and downs. Many players were unhappy with the Skyward Sword control system and linear experience that led to the demise of Legend of Zelda.
It turns out that Zelda was able to come back from that experience and eventually deliver Breath Of The Wild. This game is so great that it has been ranked as the Best Game of All Time.
Since then, countless games have been released. This brings us to January 2022’s highly anticipated Pokemon Legends, Arceus.
Arceus is set in a Sinnoh long ago. It looks very different from the Pokemon mainline games. This is not a typical Pokemon title. That’s why I’m excited to play it. The big change is a better solution than a tired franchise.
It’s a dream to battle against Pokemon in an unsettling, harsh environment. The trailers show huge landscapes that remind me of the 3D Pokemon experience I had as a child. It’s only possible to bring back the past and shake up the way we know the franchise.
The big question is: Can The Pokemon Company live up to its premise? They must create a game as magical and exciting as their previous work while also evolving the experience to new heights, much like BOOTW did with the Zelda series.
I do hope so. I truly do. I won’t accept the same experience over and over again. Because we’ve seen it before, I won’t be tempted to buy into the same thing over and over again. I want Zelda’s Breath Of The Wild, a game that feels just like the original title but is bigger and bolder than any other series.
