Longtime Pokemon fans who have played Pokemon Legends: Arceus know just what a breath of fresh air this entry was. Fascinating lore implications and revamped gameplay systems are just a few reasons why the Pokemon Legends series needs to continue for the good of the franchise.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus was released for the Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2022. Upon its initial reveal, Pokemon fans were wowed by the gameplay deviations this title made compared to previous mainline entries.
While many were skeptical about the graphical issues present throughout pre-release material—something the final release unfortunately maintained—trainers were eager to step into the ancient world of Hisui to see what this new adventure had to offer.
Though the game had its flaws, Pokemon Legends: Arceus provided a breath of fresh air for longtime fans, contributing some excellent ideas, systems, and features in a compelling package. So, let’s break down exactly what made Legends: Arceus so special and why this series needs to continue in the future.
You can still teach an old Pokemon new moves
First things first, it would be difficult to talk about why Pokemon Legends: Arceus felt so special without mentioning the many gameplay innovations it introduced to the mainline Pokemon series.
Perhaps the biggest change Legends: Arceus made to the tried and true formula was how the game handled Pokemon encounters.
While Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee were technically the first titles to introduce “symbol encounters,” or the ability to dynamically encounter Pokemon in the overworld, Legends: Arceus expanded this feature further than ever before.
Running into a Pokemon in the overworld would no longer trigger a transition into turn-based battles. Pokemon would react to the trainer’s presence. Some would curiously hop towards the player, while others would flee at the first sign of approach.
Other stronger Pokemon, however, would attack trainers, dealing physical damage to them—a first for a series that was previously bent on limiting the action to the Pokemon themselves.
These dynamic encounters enhanced the feeling of being a fledgling trainer out in the wild. How a player approached Pokemon in the field mattered. Different items and Poke Balls had tangible differences out in the field and could make or break certain encounters, and trainers would have to learn which items or Balls were best for certain Pokemon over time.
Despite how clichéd the sentiment may be at this point, these changes served to make players actually feel like Pokemon trainers for the first time in decades.
On top of these significant changes to the core Pokemon formula, Legends: Arceus also implemented some engaging RPG mechanics like quests, a crafting system, and boss fights.
Not every new feature in Legends: Arceus was a homerun, of course. For example, the change to the battle system effectively took away much of the depth found in the traditional system. Certain Statuses were outright removed, some stat-changing effects were simplified far too much, and the Strong and Agile style felt fairly underbaked as a concept.
Still, the innovations that worked really worked. Which is why it’s a shame many of them were lost in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.
The wonderful world of Hisui and the potential it brought
Pokemon Legends: Arceus also introduced the fascinating Hisui region. Those who’ve played the game know that Hisui is the ancient form of what fans would later know as Generation 4’s Sinnoh region.
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Sinnoh itself was already one of Pokemon’s most lore-rich regions—delving into the creation of the Pokemon universe, Pokemon themselves, and so much more.
Now, for the first time in the series, trainers could see firsthand the history of the Pokemon world. Hisui showed how people in ancient times feared Pokemon as unknown creatures of terrible power.
It showed how early settlers invented rudimentary Poke Balls, organized expeditions into the unknown, and sought to learn more about these strange creatures. Of how adventurous trainers first reached out to Pokemon and built the foundation of cooperation that is core to the series in the present.
These concepts and ideas are things Pokemon fans had only been given the slightest inkling of up until Legends: Arceus. While not every idea was fleshed out to perfection, Hisui served to fill in some major gaps in Pokemon’s lore in a compelling and dynamic fashion.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus allowed for experimentation
One of the most important things Pokemon Legends: Arceus did for the series was offer an excuse for much-needed experimentation on Game Freak’s part.
While Legends: Arceus is technically counted as a core Pokemon entry, it’s clearly very distinct from the mainline entries—from its graphical style to its gameplay and nearly everything in between.
Regardless of the reasons, developer Game Freak took a lot of risks with this unique entry. While some fell flat, many of them paid off. As a result, plenty of fans found Legends: Arceus to be the most exciting entry in years.
The juxtaposition between this reception and Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s is stark. Though Scarlet & Violet shares much of Legends: Arceus’ DNA, it didn’t nearly strike the same chord with players who gave it a chance.
No doubt much of that has to do with the game’s plethora of bugs and performance issues, it also left much of what made Legends: Arceus special on the cutting room floor. While Scarlet & Violet is undoubtedly a major step forward for the core series, it played it safe in many ways.
Should the Pokemon Legends series continue, it could prove to be an excellent series to experiment with and take risks—something the Pokemon series desperately needs going forward.
Pokemon, please take us back in time
With a Pokemon Presents event set for February 27, 2024, fans are undoubtedly eager to see what the future of Pokemon looks like.
Many trainers may be hoping to see an early tease for Generation 10. Generation 5 fans are anticipating the long-awaited Black & White remakes. Some savvy Pokemon connoisseurs could even be holding out hope for a new addition to the Mystery Dungeon spin-off series.
However, it would be a shame if no confirmation or tease was given to a new Pokemon Legends game. It feels like a series too important to be relegated to a one-off title.
Although Pokemon Legends: Arceus was by no means a perfect game, it proved one very important thing to many Pokemon fans around the world: this series can still feel fresh after more than 25 years. And it would be a shame to see that sentiment disappear.
