Pokémon Sun - Nintendo 3DS

Pokemon Sun was okay. Although I started playing in December I beat the pokemon league in May because there wasnt THAT much motivation to get back to it...and I still have yet to collect the legendaries and defeat Red and the gang and that sort of thing. Now the game itself is quite easy. It was interesting of them to give you a Rotomdex; that is, Rotom is essentially your Fi or Navi or Midna if youre familiar with Zelda games--but that feature also made me a little lazy. Every time I turned on the game Rotom reminded me of where to go since he even has a map with the destination written on it! Thats very coddling in my opinion, and while I become familiar with almost every city and route in other pokemon games while playing through, I still dont quite remember where things are in Sun and Moon because I didnt have to. They point you there anyway. So I will spend about five minutes flying on Charizard from place to place until I realize that I should probably take the ferry/ship to another (guessed) island because what Im looking for isnt here. The best part of the game to me was Team Skull; they were really funny in the sense that Game Freak knew how lightly the bad guys are taken by the players anyway so they took the liberty to show that through their lines. That being said, because of Team Skulls humor I saw early on that Aether Foundation was suspicious. Skull was too non-threatening and disorganized to be the true threat, so even if Aether acted like perfect citizens something felt off. Theres also questions I had about the deeper motives behind Aether funding Skull; I believe theres always something deeper when money is involved between two parties. Then the leaders of those two parties blindly jump into another dimension together with these strange pokemon theyve barely seen? And one is older, has more influence and power than the other? But I keep that to myself. Also, although the dimensional lore and such is being expanded through the events and tidbits from this game, the plot is basically oriented around Lillie. Thats not bad at all--you dont have to be the main/most important character all the time, but yes, Sun and Moon is Lillies story which can be summarized as Mom, what are you doing? Mom, STAHP! And Lillie learning to stand up for herself and stop being a helpless child all the time. Although my character is friends with her and was a catalyst for her growth in the series, I am not attached to her (Lillie) as a player of the game. Maybe if she were in some other series shed be more interesting to me? I dont know. Gladion and Hau were rather one-dimensional too but still nice to have as companions. (It wasnt anything as disarraying as having four friends constantly skipping and flocking around you and calling your name in circles like in X and Y.) But anyhow, I like them more than Lillie. Hau never gets flustered when crazy stuff is happening; he really keeps his cool and remains positive, and Gladion...hes so afflicted and standoffish its funny. But on a deeper note I approve how he got away from his mother and made his own path when she was losing it. Unlike Lillie, he didnt wait around for anyone to save him while suffering in the meantime. He took type:NULL and got OUT of there! Thats my boy. I really like that. Anyhow, moving on to the soundtrack: its not bad at all. Until I went to YouTube looking for the songs I liked, I never knew that there were two versions for most of the songs, so I suppose every time Ive picked up Sun Ive only played at night (I highly favor those compositions over the day version anyhow) and missed the daytime renderings. The music is fine but to me the routes used a lot of the same songs around the same places so I didnt differentiate them as well as I would other Pokemon games. And although the music is objectively decent, I only have about three that I regularly go back to actually listen to out of affection...DEFINITELY not the wild pokemon song though. The totem pokemon version makes it better but the original makes me angry for some reason... What I dont like is the new menu for handling pokemon. In many ways its convenient but I dislike trying to move a pokemon in my party and then remembering OHHH, I have to go out of my way to press Y to move this fool! On the bright side, I really like the options they give you when your party is full. You can exchange pokemon and items back to the PC all in one go! HMs: Its sort of convenient to not have to have an HM slave to perform all of the functions you need to get around the terrain, so I think its an interesting system them procured over in Aloha. Definitely enables you to have only who you trained to be a warrior with you while youre going. Alolan forms: Pretty cool; it brings out observations that we can see in the real world. Not all squirrels, even though theyre all squirrels, occur in the same appearance throughout regions or the world. So that makes it a little more interesting, though I wont comment on Dugtrio nor Golems alolan form...or whatever random stuff they did there. And the oricocos! Oh my god. All in all: not bad. I really didnt want Solgaleo though. I can only remember him as Nebby (should name him that for kicks!) and if only they had given us the choice to catch him or let Lillie have him! He iS hers. Honestly it would be gold to see a girl as clumsy as Lillie have a magestic pokemon like Solgaleo as her starter pokemon in Kanto. They deserve each other; she saved him from his demise and they went through a lot together as a team already. I really, really wasnt interested in having him because...you know...Im not a fan of legendaries anyway. I was more excited when I accidentally stumbled upon Tapu Lele the other day. Though the nature of the guardian pokemon rub me the wrong way too...going around on MY island punishing people as you will...who gave you the right?! Just kidding. I just dont really connect with legendaries in general. And I think she would feel better with him as her partner as her mom rehabilitates. And it was interesting for them to make a legendary that evolves too. That about wraps it up! Pokemon Sun and Moon...pretty okay game, I wont lie. I wasnt motivated to do any more that I had to, though.

This is a great game for my son who is in the 5th grade. Pokemon Sun has a okay story-line and great to collect all the pokemon. Its a great gift for anyone who is into Pokemon.

Ive been playing Pokémon since Pokémon Blue and this is definitely the most fully realized Pokémon world. The cities are larger than ever were towering buildings and some breathtaking interiors. You start on Alola island which is clearly meant to represent one of the Hawaiian islands. I love the usage of the Hawaiian theme in the game. This is the first time I can remember a Pokémon game having such a distinct theme. There is a hula dancing bird and one that looks like a Lei. Im a big fan of Toucannon which has the look that Id wished Archen would have had. Even some of the existing Pokémon like Mirowak have been given a Hawaiian feel, If I have one issue with the graphics its that the camera is fixed which seems a bit archaic. For the longest time I was trying and trying to swing the camera around but tis not meant to be. Long gone are the squatty little game characters replaced by characters that look closer and closer to something youd see in the cartoon. The basic game mechanics remain the same but there are a lot of adjustments and a bit more hand holding. Once you fight a Pokemon creature, from then on the game will let you know whether an attack on the creature will be effective, very effective or ineffective. You no longer have to try and memorize the attack matrix in your head and remember whether a bug attractive is effective against ghost and all the other attack permutations. The game will even let you know how well a Pokémon matches up prior to swapping it in. Kids these days have it so easy. There are a lot of improved features in the game that make life easier. Ive still only scratched the surface of the game at this point being about 15 hours in but so far Im loving it. I cant yet see when any fans of the series would be disappointed in the newest iteration of the game.

If you love Pokemon you have to get this. I havent beaten it yet but this one sure does knock it out of the park. The cut-scenes alone are enough to sell the game The whole world is lively and full of Pokemon to interact with. Not only that you can ride Pokemon all over the towns and maps! Theres a lot to be excited about this game especially now that everything is build from the ground up on this one. No more mini characters and full sized characters that was really bothering me the last games. If you love Pokemon you will definitely love this one, Its the same game we knew to grow and love 20+ years ago!

Pokémon Sun is really fun to play!

Pros. Graphics and sound have been greatly improved ! But if you are using an older model of the 3ds then the frame rate drops a little during battles . On the other hand the *new* 3DS handles things pretty well, you wont notice the frame drop as much. HMs are a thing of the past! No longer will we required to have HM slaves on adventure team! We can now page Ride Pokemon ! Need a bolder smashed out of the way? Summon Touros! Need to go for a swim? Summon Lapras or Sharpedo ! Need to fly? Summon Charizard! The only downside is that these are rental pokemon . You cant use your own . They also seem to be shiny locked as well. Kurts Apricorn Pokeballs have returned ! For the trainers out there who have dreamed of having 5th, 6th and now 7th gen pokemon in this special balls REJOYCE ! Love Ball Sylveon is a thing now! Moon Ball Rockruff is a thing! Keep in mind that Apricorn trees are not in game but you can find these special balls through out the game. Trainer Customization is back and better then ever ! First off! After 20 years we can finally take the damn hat off! YES ! There are more hairstyles for both boys and girls ! Girl trainers get to wear make up. White colored clothes can be dyed whatever color you want! Breeding mechanics have gotten an upgrade ! Male and Genderless Pokemon can now pass down their pokeballs if they are bred with Ditto ! Before it was females only ! The Day Care was replaced by the The Nursery . Pokemon will not level up and auto forget moves that you are trying to breed down . Because they dont level up in the Nursery its hella cheaper to boot! These games are more story driven then any other pokemon game! There a few flaws I do NOT like but Ill just have to deal with. GTS . Game Freak still has NOT figured out how to block people from asking for unreasonable trades. Like Caterpie for Arceus , for example . Not much backwards compatibility with 6th gen games . Theres NO way to trade directly between 6th and 7th gen games without Pokémon Bank . I myself and many others have tested this. Theres NO way to battle players who have 6th gen games either . But in the end , despite the flaws I still think these are solid games .

Ive been a Pokémon fan since Gen 1 and this game is one of best ones in my opinion. The story is immersive, theres plenty of content to play through, and its a visually stunning game overall. I am in love with this game and would love future Pokémon games to be of this caliber. The only things I noticed that irked me were during double battles theres a bit of lag. The frame rate drops noticeably. Also, theres some slow loading time during screen transitions. However, both of these things werent bad enough that it hindered the gameplay so its cool with me. Overall I would definitely recommend this game to old as well as new players. Theres plenty of content and fun to be found in the Alola region.

Ive been playing since Red and Blue and Sun/Moon truly stand out as one of the bests in the series. Music is themeatic and colorful, the story is unique and refreshing, and visually the game is a solid improvement from X and Y. A lot of the improvements like ditching HMs, labeling move effectiveness, and the ability to raise IVs are small but greatly remove the annoyances of previous titles. Bringing back clothing customization from X and Y is great and the large amount of options make the experince as a whole much more unique. Z moves feel a lot less broken (Mostly) than a lot of the Mega Evolutions, and add another great element to competitive battles. Game Freak knows its fans and Sun and Moon never feel like a deviation of what has made Pokemon consistently a fun experience for both veterans and newcomers alike.

Pokemon is one of the highest selling, most preordered, and anticipated games for the 3DS. And for good reason (sort of). Despite the franchises age, the series seems to outsell itself with every new release. After 20 years, Game Freak has decided it might be time to shake up the formula beyond new pokemon and slight adjustments to type sets/moves. Some changes are welcomed (no HMs) while others are a bit of a head scratcher (can’t fish where you want.) I will give the game the benefit of the doubt as I am only wrapping up the second island, but most of my complaints are true issues throughout the game: 1. No 3D. Absolutely none present in the game. Unlike the previous games where 3D was limited to certain areas, this game has none at all. I have a problem with that considering I am playing this game on a 3DS. Clearly the hardware was too taxed as it is, so 3D was dumped to try and give the game a wider release. 2. This game should have been a New 3DS exclusive. The original 3DS is almost six years old and the New 3DS is almost 2 years old. There are currently only about 3 exclusive games to the New 3DS, this would have been a great opportunity to get people to move on to a new unit. I know I would have. As it is, the game supposedly runs “slightly better” on the new hardware, but that is debatable 3. The game runs poorly. Despite having released two other pokemon games for the system, Game Freak has yet to learn how to properly optimize the game. The game runs fine when walking around the world, but in battle things can get dicey. Totem battles, which happen after every trial, will make the game run slow. When the totem pokemon calls for an ally, it runs even slower. It took damn near 10 seconds from me pressing flame bite for the game to actually show the move on screen. Even single battles can cause the frame rate to dip. That is insane. How are there frame rate issues in a POKEMON GAME. This isn’t Tomb Raider or COD. 4. The game fools you into thinking it might be free roaming, but it is possibly more restricting than the original Red and Blue releases. There are trainers not letting you pass, barriers in the way, wild pokemon blocking you. All in an effort to make sure you follow this extremely linear path to the one place the game wants you to go. At least in Blue/Red you could skip gyms and come back if you wanted. 5. I feel like the probability of random battles has been raised. I can hardly walk through grass a few steps without been attacked. Maybe it is just me, but I am using more repels than ever in this game. I don’t know if it is a result in moving on a 3D plane rather than a grid, but I don’t remember having battles this much in ORAS, X/Y 6. People talk WAY too much. I understand dialog is going to happen, but this isn’t Metal Gear Solid with deep political intrigue and an engrossing story. Pokemon’s story is pretty straight forward, so why do I have to hear three different people talk and then move to another location just to have them talk some more? Even the random NPC characters have nothing interesting to say. I’m usually just trying to get the basic info and move on. Don’t drown me in exposition and unnecessary cut scenes. 7. The game is even easier than ever. A. Experience share is back, which makes leveling a joke. At least you can turn that off. B. NPCs will literally tell you where to go to next. No need to roam and maybe find something cool C. If that isn’t enough, the map will show you with a red circle D. If THAT isn’t good enough, the pokedex will TELL YOU WHERE TO GO YOU DUMMY DUM DUM E. The game tells you type advantages. God forbid you learn something F. People are constantly healing you or giving you free healing items. G. No trainer has more than 2-3 Pokemon. Not ace trainers, not trial trainers, not big Kahunas. You will steam roll everyone 8. I can’t fish where I want. Now you have to find special zones by the water to fish. You can’t just do it wherever, that wouldn’t make sense. 9. Your avatar’s stupid blank face. Every other character in the game can emote, but you are left with this stupid grin on your face that makes me want to punch him. If other people can raise their eyebrows, open their mouth, and make other expressions, why can’t I? 10. There is no audio options to raise or lower background noises and music. Maybe I just want to hear the music and no noise, or vice versa? Or just turn the music down a smidge in the mix from the battle sounds? You can’t. Most modern games give you this option but you can’t do it in pokemon. WHEW, Ok. So what do I like about this game? 1. Despite the terrible optimization and frame rate drop, I will admit the character models and environments are well made and LOOK nice. I am not condoning trading function for pretty polygons, but the art direction is quite nice. 2. I’m glad Game Freak tried to make a move in a slightly different direction with these games. Trial challenges are interesting and fun for the most part. It breaks up the monotony of the game. Granted they are not all that different from gyms, but different enough to give the old fans something fresh 3. You can move freely in all directions. No more grid based movement. I really hated this in the past two games. In the DS and gameboy days I could live with it, but when everything is fully 3d, but you still moved on a grid, that was awful. Great change. 4. No more HM slaves. Long gone is the need to have a pokemon’s move list be deluded with strength, cut, surf, etc. Now you open a menu and you can ride a pokemon past obstacles. It is a bit of a bummer that only one specific pokemon is flagged to be that specific HM (tauros for rock smash) for instance. So you can’t designate who you want. Not too big a deal 5. Pokemon refresh is a mini game of sorts where you can get rid of status ailments like poison with the touch screen. You select a brush or comb and touch the pokemon until they are healed. It is a nice inclusion as you are bound to get poisoned or paralyzed along your trip. 6. The new pokemon are perfectly fine. Haven’t run into anything yet and was disappointed with the design. They fit well with the old monsters. 7. The music is also fine. There is nothing there that will blow your mind – has a bit of a been there done that feel, but there isn’t anything in the soundtrack that will grate your ears. (trumpets) 8. There are other things to mess with like poke alego island and the festival plaza. Honestly I never really messed with these types of things much in the old games, but it is nice to have something separate from the main game to play quickly. So there you have it I guess. The game is a disappointment in my eyes. I think Game Freak will really hit it out of the park with their next release. Hopefully they move away from the old 3DS. This wobbly game will make me weary of future launch day purchases. Never thought that would be a problem with pokemon. I honestly would not recommend this game for the full price. Maybe at 30, anything lower than that and I would say go for it.

Ill keep this review updated as I go but this is the most unplayable DAY 1 release Ive ever witnessed and Ive been buying Pokemon games on release day since red and blue back in the 90s. And despite being an oldie - I am definitely not the type to hate new changes. I loved ORAS and XY and B2W2 (XY had a small struggle because Nintendo completely bungled the Pokemon Bank release, but the game was still wonderful from day 1). The last time I was this infuriated by Pokemon was with the original Black and White when there was that annoying character following you around the whole game interrupting the flow of gameplay with inane button mashed scrolls of garbage small talk. However, this one is worse by far. It took 90 MINUTES of game play before I could even get to a Pokemon Center, save and discover that Pokemon Bank was unavailable (and sadly Pokemon bank is the least of my problems here). I had bred a level 1 Omanyte and Dunsparce in ORAS to try to make my first playthrough of Sun be more challenging (they tend to make each generation more and more idiot friendly - for example, taking away type-matching by giving players a cheat prompt now in Sun and Moon). Anyway, not being able to import my Pokemon was definitely a bummer and really inexcusable for Nintendo (theyre like the lazy employee at a job) but still not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that even after 90 minutes of absolutely horrible intro-scene/tutorial patchwork, finally being able to get to the Pokemon center -- the intro-montage STILL isnt over! Its like they have gone out of their way to design a game that should have been titled BUTTON MASH MEANINGLESS SCROLLS OF GARBAGE: Pokemon themed edition. Anyway. Im super disappointed. I dont know how anyone is supposed to get into this story line with all this crap pulling you out of the game mentally. It feels like a chore to play this so far and it shouldnt feel like that after two hours. I should actually be able to play the game at this point. :::EDIT::: Once you get past the horrible intro sequence this game is actually really good. Its not as good as ORAS but I would rate it above BW1 and BW2 (below HG/SS) But hey, its beautiful and apparently thats all most people care about. One plus, they eventually made it compatible with PokeBank. Although unlike every past gen, this one was hackable on day one so I never understood the point of putting off the PokeBank release since it just hurt people who wanted to play legit and did nothing to prevent GTS from being overrun by hack-mons and zubats.