What? Pokémon is evolving!
Okay, it's been a busy week of gaming and one that's only going to be trounced next week when Gamescon hits and we all start hearing about cool stuff like the upcoming Saints Row reboot that I literally only just heard about, or some more Dying Light 2 details. (I swear, it's like Dying Light 2 has been delayed for an entire generation at this point; when is that game coming out?) But before any of that takes the centre stage there is a lingering niggling little thing I've neglected to talk about up until now: The Nintendo Direct! And that's because I didn't watch it- I know, the longest Direct ever and I couldn't be bothered to show up, but I got back around to it and now I can say, with an informed eye, gosh they gave us what we wanted, didn't they? There was no faffing about with Pokemon apps that make you brush you teeth, no shovel-ware mobile game flying our way, no updates to the rooster over at Pokemon G- wait no, there was a bit on that. But it was short, I forgot it already. No, instead we were slammed with the two big boys everyone has been waiting to hear from; Pokémon Crazy Diamond and Pearl J- dammit I did it again! And Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Now I never played Pokémon Diamond and Peral back in the day, so I'm lucky enough to be sitting in a position where all the content being thrown my way is totally new. I'm watching these trailers with the eyes of a newbie, marvelling at the customisation, this underground area, the significantly better full character models, and the fact that this game features Team Galaxy. I didn't know Team Galaxy were from this game! They're one of the Pokémon villains that lightly advocated for genocide and we don't really pay it any serious mind because it's a kids game. (Although Team Magma and Team Aqua remain my personal choice for two most homicidal teams of the franchise. At least Team Galaxy's plan would have been relatively quick and painless, Aqua wanted to drown everyone!) But ultimately I must say that I don't particularly care about this game because it's more of the same. (Even if that same is new to me) There's no great additions to the plot or formula that we've been made aware of, meaning that we won't be getting any glimpses of the future of the Pokémon franchise from this game. In fact, these titles almost feel like comfort food in the wake before something truly jarring flying Pokémon's way. And I'm here for the shake up, baby!
This shake-up goes by the name of 'Pokémon Legends: Arceus' and the more I see the more I steadily fall in love with the new face of the Poke-future. Taking us once more to the Sinnoh region, Pokémon's own Hokkaido, Legends: Arceus promises a rare glimpse into the origins of the modern Pokémon world and how human and Pocket Monster society would become so intrinsically linked. In this pursuit it takes us to a rural, practically uncolonized period of Sinnoh's history, where you assume the role of explorer/researchers sent to discover the unique climates of Sinnoh, it's prehistoric Pokémon, and complete the region's very first Pokédex. Which has me wondering what exactly it is that modern professors of the series are doing sending teenagers round the world to make Pokédexs. If presumably all regions got mapped several hundred years previously, what's the purpose of using child labour now? I always got the impression that Pokédex technology was supposed to be rather new, shows what I know...
For the gameplay this seems to be shaping up as a total switch-around of everything we assume to be 'sacred' about the Pokémon formula. There won't be this linear journey across the various towns of the nation, fighting gyms and making rivals, but instead a centralised base from which you span out and explore the different climates and peaks of Sinnoh in search of research subjects. What was proposed first as a sort of Breath of Wild sort of game has revealed itself to be more akin to Monster Hunter, which the various regions of the world cut up into 'hunt zones' that players travel to with goals and targets in mind. Which means we're probably looking at a gameplay loop of building up resources and tools at the central hub village, watching as the place slowly grows into a well-oiled machine, whilst going on expeditions to the homes of impressive monsters and trying to survive their dens long enough to capture the target.
It's that latter part of the loop which has me most excited, clearly, because for the first time in the history of these games we're going to get the chance to see these monsters roam the wild in thier fullest form. That's right, all Pokémon will be rendered to their correct sizes and will roam the map simulating the activities you would expect from them. Will this end up making the monsters look like part of believable ecosystems similar to how the Monster Hunter team have pulled off? You'd hope so, but then the MH team have been at this for over a decade so who can say how Gamefreak's first draft will end up? Either way, this means we'll be getting hounded by the odd vicious Pokémon looking to tear us apart, which paints this interesting image of Pokémon being wild animals that the Pokémon Company seemed to shy away from in the past. To think that now they've grown confidant enough to okay a game which shows teenagers being electrocuted until they pass-out is... an improvement? I'm going to say it's 'progressive for the franchise' at least.
Of course, the highlight of this reveal event to me was the way in which the core RPG battle system of Pokémon got turned on it's head. Unlike what some had assumed, we're still dealing with the turn-based systems of our ancestors, but it's not going to be a simple case of a rigid turn order which pans out to one player attacks and then the other responds. No, this time around a Pokémon's speed stat will determine how often they can attack, which means a speedy Pokémon can strike two times in a row before the enemy can react. (So I can import by Zeraora when?) Ontop of this, each Pokémon has the ability to strike with speed or brawn, meaning that the attack is either weaker and quicker (thus speeding up the turn order) or slower and stronger (slowing it down) thus creating a turn order system that can be dynamic and shift throughout a single fight. I don't know if there's going to be any competitive systems attached to the game but if there are then this has the potential to change the face of online match-ups forever!
Pokémon maintained the status quo for far too long, to the point where many were long since burned out of the franchise, but this step (small though it may be) is exactly what Gamefreak need to rejuvenate the fans and probably the studio too. (How long can you make the same game year after year before you start to lose your mind?) 'Pokémon Legends: Arceus' isn't everything I hoped for: it's not total freeroam, the graphics look severly dated, we don't get to explore a bustling Pokémon city; but it's further towards my dream Pokémon game than we've been in over twenty years now. My only worry is that by releasing the Diamond and Pearl remakes, The Pokémon Company are pitting the past against the future to see how they perform, deciding where the direction of the franchise is due from how many actually buy this new game over their old remade one. Which is why it's the duty of Pokémon fans out there to turn up for Arceus on the day of- for the good of Pokémon everywhere!
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