Pokémon Legends Arceus

 The real New Generation of Pokémon

For all the changes, improvements and gimmicks that the Pokémon Games have owned over the years, somehow this year (or, more appropriately, next year) feels like the biggest step forwards that the games have ever agreed to make. It seems almost unheard of for any level of unilateral change to come to the Pokémon games, with their most substantial up until now being the jump from sprites to models. (And even that one still gets criticised by some the hardcore oldschool players) And just now, we're finally getting that sleight glimpse into what the Pokémon franchise could look like going forward, and I'm sure that this sudden shift from making essentially the same type of game for the past 20 years has absolutely nothing to do with the recent Pokémon competitor game that was becoming popular. (Simply nothing at all.) So now, for the first time ever, we have a Pokémon game that's free roaming?

Yes, technically all Pokémon Games allow players to roam about freely, but this marks a shift in letting players experience a fully realised 3D world in which they can travel anywhere in the region. We saw the absolute beginnings of this idea form in Pokémon Sword and Shield through the wild areas (Proof that those were a beta for something) and now it's been actualised I'm actually quite excited with the way in which it's all turned out. Let the diehards have their Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond, I could care less, let me indulge in this new frontier for one of gaming's most enduring franchises. (Which, honestly, is probably what the team intended for; announcing both these projects at the same time) Things are too early to say for certain if this new the new face of Pokémon, the team themselves don't even seem absolutely sure given the title's suffix, but I'm going to take a side and say that I think this is a bold leap in the right direction advantaged by their firm steps in Gen VIII. Let's get excited for 'Pokémon Legends Arceus'.

First it should be noted that we aren't actually experiencing a new region with this game. No, instead rather like Diamond and Pearl we'll be travelling to the Sinnoh region, based off of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. (Hitman flashbacks intensify) Already this serves as evidence that the team perhaps aren't ready to put their future in the hands of this new direction, which makes sense given how safe they're known to be. However, there is something rather new coming to the setting in that this doesn't take place in the modern day version of the island but rather an undisclosed number of generations in the past when the island was first being settled. That means just one town, acres of open space to roam, and a set of protagonists who appear to resemble their modern day counterparts except for vaguely more frontier-esque attire for some inexplicable reason. (Which has led to me affectionally naming our hero Proto-Lucas or Feudal-Dawn)

I will admit that this change to time period is perhaps what I'm most anticipating. Just glimpsing the change in aesthetic alone has been interesting, with the early Pokeballs standing out for their rustic zeal. The setting do allows the team to touch on  something which the Anime has always represented far better than the Games, in that the manner through which Pokemon are part of the everyday ecosystem of the world has been lacking. They essentially should be as plentiful as the animals of the world we live in and somewhat even more so, considering the amount of everyday household tasks that are apparently left to Pokemon over normal appliances. Just Look at Ryme City from the Detective Pikachu movie and you'll see Pokemon everywhere just going about their day and not necessarily with trainers guiding them; I think that's something which really needs to be bought to life if Pokemon is determined to make the jump to 3D. However, creating several cityscapes worth of worlds with Pokemon seamlessly weaved in is difficult to say the least, and so I think it's easier, yet just as cool, to see them really bought out in the wild first.

Speaking of 'Wild', I know I wasn't the only one who saw the clear 'Breath of the Wild' analogues that this reveal had going for it. It seems that Genshin Impact has really opened the floodgates when it comes to what can and cannot be done in 'inspired by' projects, because there hasn't even been a whiff of discontent over the similarities. I, personally , love this new slightly windbrushed style to the Pokemon world and appreciate it leagues above that gross Diamond and Pearl hybrid abomination. (I can see which new project is getting the full team behind it already.) Watching the Pokemon mill about in the wild whilst trainers sneak up on them and free-throw Pokeballs seems imbued with an explorative spirit that we've never seen captured in this series before. Even the lack of background music in the trailer felt invocative of the serene natural open-space atmosphere that BOTW coveted. And yet as I said for Genshin, as far as influences go you could hardly pick better.

Yet with as much as we've seen, there's always that lingering wanting for more, and in this case it almost feels like we're getting the tip of the iceberg. We saw Pokemon being captured seemingly without having to fight them first, battles that are rendered in the open world seemingly realtime, and a look at the starter lineup that bring no new comers but curiously picks from several different regions instead. But I wonder ever further about the nitty-gritty, like how Pokemon battles work in this new space and if trainers are even a thing. Knowing that the story places us as new settlers to the region, I wonder if building the home village will prove to be some sort of meta-game. And most of all I wonder if Gamefreak have learnt from their Sword and Shield DLC to spread their content in such a manner that encourages replayability and grants value to the whole map space, rather than just some overleveled end-game section.

Of course, the real mystery that we're supposed to be taking away from all this is how Arceus factors into everything, because he's one of the most interesting Mythical Pokemon released to date. Known as the Alpha Pokemon, Arceus is said to have crafted all that there is with his power and thus is something of a god-like figure to the community. Whatsmore, in the Anime he has been identified as a sentient being with a vengeful streak to him, one time even deciding to wipe out all of humanity for conservationist reasons or something. Could 'Legends: Arceus' draw from the antagonistic leanings of their eponymous mythical in order to tell a more nuanced tale that doesn't need another daft team or megalomaniac millionaire to fuel it? It certainly wouldn't be in keeping with Pokemon tradition, but we're looking at a 3D free roaming new dawn for the franchise, 'traditional' might as well be off the table for good!

I won't be alone in rubbing my hands together and proclaiming "Finally! We need something new!" For all the love I have for Pokemon, the formula has passed the best-by-date for growing stale and they ran the risk of making too incremental of improvements to keep up with the tide. Although this is still yet to address all concerns as people still long for an MMO-type Pokemon world where they can experience a whole adventure with their friends, but that can't be far off after this, can it? 'Pokemon Legends' might be the name of the new mainline for the franchise, and if that ends up being the case I don't think anyone is going to be too heartbroken when everything's said and done. I, for one, welcome our new 3D modelled openworld overlords.