Pokémon Moon - Nintendo 3DS

I pre-ordered this back in October - I was super stoaked when it arrived on release day. Ive been a super big pokemon fan since Red/Blue were released 20 years ago. I was a little apprehensive since Id heard Sun/Moon kinda deviated from the traditional pokemon game. ~Spoilers! Dont read this part if you dont want to know about storyline~ The biggest thing I didnt really care for was how guided the game is - there are a TON of cut scenes you cant skip through, and the beginning of the game really forces you along (blocked paths, required tasks before you can do anything else, etc.). This makes the game quite easy to progress through since there isnt really any way you can get lost. Sun/Moon dont have the traditional Gym Leaders/Battles - instead, you are a trial-goer and participate in little mini-tasks through your journey across Alola. Rather than Leaders, you are given trials by Island Captains, and eventually face the Island Kahuna as the Grand Trial on each island. I honestly found some of the trials to be rather silly - one is a find the difference sort of game, another is wandering around finding items in a jungle, etc. None are particularly difficult puzzles or anything. Grand Trials are battles, and those arent particularly difficult either (you get the Alpha Saphire/Omega Ruby style Exp. Share pretty early on, so your team is pretty OP. The main story line is pretty interesting - I enjoyed some of the unexpected twists. The after-story is also pretty good, and theres quite a bit to do after beating the pokemon league the first time around. There are no HMs in Sun/Moon - instead, you get to ride various pokemon around and can call them from anywhere. Pretty useful, and theres no need to keep an HM slave around to get through different dungeons. I liked Pokemon Refresh a lot - its really cute to be able to interact with your pokemon after a battle. Pokepelego is also pretty cool - the ability to farm berries so quickly/in one spot is insanely useful. Im not too thrilled with the Festival Plaza - it seems you need to be connecting with other trainers via NFC, etc to get the most out of this one. TL;DR - Fun pokemon game.

Fun game and came new nice and quick.

The Pokemon series doesnt quite affect me like it used to (I was an absolute fanatic back in the day) but its still a great way to pass the time. Especially on a boring commute. Features/changes that I like: - HMs are finally not necessary - They brought back the fashion and customization options from X and Y (although I wish you could do more with trainer customization, even if its just more hairstyles) - The Pokedex has divisions by island so your progress is easier to see - The game world + characters are as lively as ever - 80 brand new Pokemon to catch, making the total reach a little over 800 - Making money and getting cool items is easier than ever with mini quest-like objectives that random NPCs give you. (e.g., catch this Pokemon and show it to me) Features/changes that I dont like: - The game telling you which moves are super/not/normally effective after encountering a Pokemon once. It makes the game too easy in my opinion, although I do see why it would be implemented - to make the game more accessible to new players who dont want to go back and memorize the typing of 800 Pokemon and their moves. This can absolutely be a pro to many, but a con for me personally. If youre a Pokemon fan its definitely worth your time.

PROS: At first, I really did not like the Alolan theme, thinking that it was cheesey, but I see it was made in good taste and actually appreciate the immersion the game makers have established. If youre a player that loves the fine details of the game, and recognizes the effort game developers put into making every aspect interesting, this is the right game for you. Its chock full of great fun minigames, pretty good customization, and a lot of quality of life improvements. I havent loved a Pokemon game this much since Pokemon Ruby-Sapphire! CONS: The only con is that a lot of the male character customization is limited and seem low effort, especially compared to that of the female characters! I wish the devs would focus more on male-player customization-- or at least provided a way to change player gender. Men like a diversified look and occasionally don long hair too, I promise.

Since I received my game I have developed the habit of not being able to stop when I play. At first I did not think that Pokémon Sun and Moon were going to be as good as Pokemon X and Y due to the changes. However, I was completely wrong because Im enjoying completing the trials and the story, some of the changes were a good thing because defeating eight gym leaders and facing the elite four was starting to get repetitive even though the plots of each Pokemon game was different. More importantly, hidden machines were taking up slots, so Im glad that they got rid of this option and have use pokemons to fil those hidden machine requirements instead.

This Pokémon game really feels like a next step, its crammed with so many features, itd overwhelmingly exciting, nothing feels difficult to get into. If youre looking for a challenging game, Ive never felt any Pokemon game is challenging, and the same applies here. I would have given it 5 stars if they had further simplified how to get competitive Pokémon, they did introduce new mechanics to make IVs better, but you still have to farm natures, and spend time making different sets of the same Pokémon for the competitive scene, if you just want to have fun its an amazing game. If youre looking to get into its competitive side, just keep in mind you still have to spend a lot of time breeding, grinding EVs, getting the right nature, the right moves, and hidden abilities. Ill go ahead and update my review if I happen to find its much easier to go competitive.

Ive been playing this game for a little over a week now and I love it. Obviously I havent finished it, I play casually when I have some time, but so far it is great. Im leaving a review for some notes about the game, for people wondering if theyd want this newest one. For starters, youre not earning badges in this one, youre completing Trials on 4 different islands, its different from the others and I really like it. There is virtually no 3D in this game. Apparently in just one small portion of it, a mini-game of sorts, it is used, but in regular game play and in battles there is no 3D. I like that, because honestly I rarely use the 3D, but I can see how this would be a deal breaker. I feel like the different battles, parts of trials, and fighting the Kahuna are broken up so in between you train and level your team, and you dont have to grind like crazy before you get to the next gym. It feels more like a story rather than you just running from town to town to battle gyms. Theyve changed a few other things and I really like it, they made it different enough yo justify the purchase, but not so much that it doesnt feel like a Pokemon game.

I logged so many hours within the first month of owning this game! I opted for Moon mainly because my nickname is Sun and I needed some balance in my life. As an old-time player of Red/Yellow/Blue, Moons gameplay keeps the original style in-tact while introducing better alternatives; for example, no longer do you have to rely on Pokemon solely for HM use - you will always have all the HMs at your fingertips as you progress through the game! It keeps the online capability and clock-dependency of previous games, which can be a little weird if you choose Moon because your in-game time will be offset by 12 hours (day when its night, vice versa). A personal favorite capability of Moon is Poke Pelago which lets you make the best use of the time that youre being a responsible adult and doing work instead of playing Moon. You can train up Pokemon or let Pokemon collect items for you to pick up when you return which is determined by how much you decide to give them treats. Its not necessary to use Poke Pelago to complete the game, but it does allow for better time management. All in all, I havent really been fond of the newer games since Im more of a casual gamer, but Moon is a lovely bridge between casual and serious gaming. Ive definitely had friends who take the game to the next level and create a Pokemon team to be reckoned with, but I prefer to play on my own terms. Moon allows for both types of gamers and I have found myself going back to the game every couple of days with enthusiasm. Oh, and Nebby? Please get in the bag.

Overall I like this version of Pokemon. Starter pokemon are cool, but dont pick the fire cat unless you want to destroy the game . . . or its your first play. Happily, you may have two games at once, so you can collect multiple pokemon to trade, and perhaps use a different starter. Also, fire cat evolves into a dark/fire/some sort of fighting pokemon that is not cute at all! I love cute pokemon (dont judge) and the water-seal actually ends up cute. I still love him, but wish he werent so creepy looking as a fully evolved! I recommend starting with the water pokemon, since its probably the toughest to start with (and I think most of us playing are a bit of old hats. I picked the fire pokemon for my first run through, so I could beat it quickly/check it out. I just used my fire pokemon . . . and pretty much beat the game with just him. He can be more than a bit op. Story line is different, and interesting, but not amazing. It just seems like a more advanced (graphic-wise) good pokemon. I love crystal/gold/silver/soulsilver/heartgold, so I really enjoyed this one. Its got a plot that in nearly on par with those (but not quite). I am not impressed by the pokebeans . . . or petting the pokemon. Its cool that there are more ways to make your pokemon happy/friendly, but it gets tedious fast, and can be pretty boring after a few times. Also . . . the fire cat starter has a fire belt as a fully evolved pokemon that burns you. He makes a weird face when it happens, too. . . not a huge fan. I do like that when my pokemon loves me it is less likely to faint. It makes me feel loved in return. Island evolutions/varieties are very cool/fun to collect--except for the bird that needs different nectar. I caught one and was unimpressed when there just kept being more and more forms that didnt fill my pokedex. Filling your pokedex is perhaps easier than ever, with the trading being so simple/kind of interactive? You can put up messages (appropriate) that others can read.

Ive been a fan since Gen 1, but its fun to see what new features / changes they make every generation. Pros: The graphics seem to have moved entirely away from the old everythings a grid format. Makes the world seem newer. I also like that they brought back character customization / fashion stuff. Though this will show up in the cons section, I do like the call for help mechanic. It shakes up the battle system and makes it feel a bit more organic. And it can help with the leveling. My favorite feature, though, is the removal of the HMs and bike and replacing them with the pokémon ride system. You now get to ride around on various pokémon to accomplish the same results without having to carry an HM slave with you or wasting move slots on your team members. Cons: Theres a lot of tutorial-ism in the game. Though I do sometimes like how the map has a marker showing you where to go (and this certainly makes putting the game down and picking it up later more doable), the game sometimes bashes you over the head with reminders of what youve gotta do next or (in one case) are in the progress of doing. Then again, it does seem like games are generally moving in that direction. My only other complaint is the one mentioned above: call for help. While it shakes things up and makes things feel more organic and all that, it can be tedious as hell. As in the pokémon can chain call for help and do so on the same turn you murder their friend, making it impossible to catch the pokémon or end the battle without retreating or AoE moves.