Pokémon Sun - Nintendo 3DS

Ive been playing Pokémon since the original Red/Blue versions and although Im only 25 hours into Sun, its already one of my favorites. Game Freak did a great job of making it feel new while maintaining what I fell in love with back in the 90s. The only issue I have is that the tutorial is way too long. It Last about the first four hours and holds your hand through the entire time; we didnt need back it 96, and kids these days dont need it either. Still, great game. I have heard it runs pretty poorly on older 3ds and 2ds, so keep that in mind if you dont own a New Nintendo 3DS (as in the name of the device, not if it was previously owned or not)

Did you know there are no more HMs in this game? Yeah, there are no more HMs. If youre not a fan of long (2 minute or so) cutscenes, I wouldnt recommend this generation of pokemon. But if youre craving to have cutscenes in a pokemon game to make it much more of a story-based RPG, then this has ya covered. The first few hours (depending on how fast you get through the intro) are pretty hand-holdy, but they mostly let go and let you explore afterwards. Its a great starting/restarting point in the series, and they dont to expect you to know everything about pokemon.

Pokemon Sun and Moon are both fantastic games! Theres not enough that can be said about it. I came into Pokemon Moon as someone who knew of the series and enjoyed the card game when i was younger, but hadnt played any of the previous installments of the video game. So this was brand new for me, but i was able to pick it up very quickly and had a blast playing through the game. Replay value is another thing that this game has tons of. After completing the main story, there are post game missions to be completed and of course the goal of capturing all the pokemon in your pokedex. Overall its a great game and I highly recommend either version to anyone who is a pokemon fan or a fan of rpg games in general.

Very pleased with this game! The change from gyms to island challenges is a welcome change and brings life back to the game! The avatar customization returns, and Ive always enjoyed that. The ride pokemon addition is wonderful, no longer do I need an HM pokemon in my team! I can just hit Y and call for a ride pokemon! Pokemon refresh is a wonderful way to save your money, instead of buying antidotes and such, you can just treat your pokemon with pokemon refresh and boom!, the status effect is gone! Its also a huge help with gaining friendship. Id only had my Eeeve for a few days, before it evolved from friendship into an Umbreon! The pokemon calling for help feature is very annoying however. I was trying to catch a Magby and it called for help four times, each time another Magby appearing. It took far too long for me to be able to catch it and took a whole lot of health out of my Pokemon because I had to keep fighting two on one battles before I could throw the pokeball! Also, I dont enjoy the trade being in the festival plaza. It was so much easier when it was just its own little button in the main menu. Another thing, the new game button is gone from the main menu. You have to hold down up+b+x on the main screen just to be able to reset the game!

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 .

Pros: HM moves abandoned for dedicated Pokemon that are not in your party for utilities like fly. This is implemented well, what they should have done from the start. TMs can be reused over and over, not new to this game but much appreciated continuation Totem Pokemon and island challenges are an interesting alternative to gyms. I liked it, but they could have had both in my opinion Game looks great and plays great Pokemon ally system is great for chaining for advanced Pokemon for competitive play The bean islands are a great addition, I can make mountains of berries quickly Cons: Team Skull is lame Most trainers have 1 Pokemon, I would prefer less trainers with more Pokemon Too easy No mega evolution Abandoned some nice features like the dexnav

This game took over my life for a solid week and thats totally okay (I actually bought a 3DS just for this game). I finished it with fifty hours of game play and I only wish I had slowed down to extend it. This is sooooo fun! My last Pokemon game (unfinished...) played was Black 2, so going from Black 2 to Sun was probably more eye opening for me than those who have played every game, but oh my gooooood. So worth it, it is just so fun. I love how customizable your trainers appearance is and just how different the game is compared to traditional Pokemon. I really hope Pokemon continues in this route for future games, because its an amazing one!

While I grew up with the original 1st Generation Pokémon games, I had lost interest in the series just after Gen. 3. This was around the time I headed off to college, so I didn’t have as much time for video games as I did while in high school. Fast forward to the 20th anniversary of Pokémon and the release of Pokémon Sun and Moon. There were plenty of legendary Pokémon being given out at the time, so I found it was as good a time as any to get back into the series. A lot had changed since I left, and Pokémon Sun carried over plenty of these changes. I appreciated a lot of these tweaks, including the removal of HMs and unlimited-use TMs. And while adjusting the “experience share” to give experience to all the Pokémon in my team made the game a little easier, it also reduced the amount of grind that I’d need to perform to progress. Additionally, the online capability of these newer games meant that I could easily fill out my Pokédex without having to track down a friend who had all the Pokémon I was missing. I’ll also admit that the “Alola variant” of many Gen 1 Pokémon was a nice touch of modified nostalgia. However, there were some things that I found a little lackluster or irritating. While the story was pretty good, there wasn’t much to do after I completed the game, other than to complete the Pokédex. The fact that there wasn’t some form of a National Dex for all the legendaries I had gained through gift codes was a bit disappointing, as there was no impetus for me to truly “collect them all.” And while the Z-move mechanic was a neat and flashy addition, having to sit through the animation for them each and every time I used them became tedious by the end. An enjoyable adventure, despite a few minor weaknesses, I give Pokémon Sun 4.0 stars out of 5.

Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are the first 7th-generation main series Pokémon games. I have been a Pokémon Trainer for 20 years now, and the reason Im giving them a 4/5 rating is because while they do add significant improvements over the previous games in the series (X, Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire), Game Freak has also managed to frustrate players by making some highly questionable decisions and removing certain features from the 6th-generation that, for all intents and purposes, should have remained in Sun and Moon. Ill start with the good points first, then talk about the controversial ones afterwards. --- POSITIVES --- * Graphics have been improved, though this time its not as noticeable as the difference between Gen 5 and Gen 6, mainly because the games are still restricted to using the same 3DS hardware that X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were designed on. * Music is very addictive and reminds you of the type of songs used in the Hoenn region. Also, the music changes depending on whether its daytime or night, similar to Gen 4 and the Sinnoh region. * Battle Interface now displays much more information, such as the opposing Pokémons types, the opponents team, if a Pokémon is affected by a non-permanent status condition (confusion, infatuation, stat increases/decreases, weather effects, abilities, etc.). * The creation of Z-Moves allows for a plethora of new strategies, since they are guaranteed to break through the protection moves, like Protect and Detect. At the same time, they give a particular Pokémon an incredibly overpowered move that they would not normally be able to use, like giving Arcanine an Electric-type move with a base power of 170. But the fact that only 1 Z-Move can be used throughout the entire battle means you have to pick the right time to use it, and hopefully not waste it. * Sun and Moon finally fix the Day/Night cycle. For the past 16 years, ever since Gold and Silver were released back in 2000, Ive always questioned why in the games, morning starts 4:00 am ET and night time begins at 9:00 pm ET. This is in stark contrast to what typically happens in the world, especially during winter, when its pitch black until 7:30 am ET, and daylight only lasts until about 5:00 pm ET. In any case, Sun and Moon attempt to rectify this 16-year problem, with daytime starting at 6:00 am ET, and night beginning at 6:00 pm ET, giving 12-hour periods between each cycle. --- NEGATIVES --- * Triple Battles, Rotation Battles, Sky Battles, Horde Encounters and Double Wild Battles have all been removed and replaced by the Battle Royal and SOS Battles. Battle Royals are essentially 4-player battles where 3 players gang up on 1 other player in order to win -- not a very thoughtful or interesting concept. SOS Battles are regular Wild Battles, except the wild Pokémon can call for help and summon an ally, making it a 1 vs. 2 battle. In any case, if you were a fan of any of these 5 different battle formats that existed in Gens 4, 5 and/or 6, youre out of luck in Sun and Moon. * SOS Battles are annoying and frustrating, both for collectors and competitive battlers. For 20 years, weve been taught that in order to catch a wild Pokémon, you have to get its HP as low as possible before throwing a Poké Ball. The problem with Wild Battles in Sun and Moon though, is that the lower the wild Pokémons HP, the higher the chance it will call for help and summon an ally. It can even summon an ally in the same turn that it attacks you. When an ally is summoned, you cannot throw a Poké Ball. To make matters worse, when a wild Pokémon is knocked out, its partner can call for help again before the turn even ends. This can go on and on for several turns, and until youre lucky enough to reach a turn where the wild Pokémon does not call for help (or where the call for help fails), you wont even be able to throw a Poké Ball at all, making it take substantially longer to catch Pokémon. Now, while it is true that you can paralyze or put the wild Pokémon to sleep to prevent calls for help, remember that Electric-types cannot be paralyzed, and Grass-types are immune to Sleep Powder and Spore, so getting around this annoying mechanic is not as easy as it seems. SOS Battles also attempt to simulate the ease of EV Training in Horde Encounters, but the attempt is poorly executed. Every time you knock out a wild Pokémons partner in a SOS Battle, when another Pokémon partner appears, that new partner will have double the Effort Values it normally has. The doubling of the Effort Values keeps continuing through subsequent knockouts, so its possible to fully EV Train your Pokémon after knocking out roughly 7 or 8 partner Pokémon, but its not a guarantee. When a wild Pokémon calls for help to try and summon a partner, it may fail, resulting in a wasted turn. It may also summon a completely different partner Pokémon that doesnt give Effort Values to the same stat youre training in. For example, lets say youre trying to increase your Pokémons Speed stat -- Magikarp provides Speed EVs, but if it calls for help and summons a Gyarados (which provides Attack EVs instead), then youll have no choice but to run away and break the chain of doubling your Effort Values, making it take that much longer to complete your Effort Value training. * O-Powers have been removed entirely. Introduced in Gen 5 and improved upon in Gen 6, these special powers gave you an easier time catching Pokémon, increased your prize money and the EXP. Points you received from battles, and they even cut the price of in-game shop items by half. All of these helpful powers no longer exist in Sun and Moon. This, coupled with the fact that Sun and Moon use Gen 5s Level-Based Experience System (whereby if your Pokémons level is higher than the opponents level, you get less EXP. Points when defeating it), means it also takes a lot longer to level up your team, especially if youre trying to get them to Level 100. * Questionable decisions have been made regarding the games connectivity features. Unlike in X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, where the player could be connected online at all times during the game, Sun and Moon force the player to remain in the Festival Plaza area in order to be connected to the internet. This small, restricted area, reminiscent of Join Avenue in Gen 5, doesnt even have a PC for you to organize your Pokémon, yet its the only area in the game where you can go online to trade and battle with other players. A definite step backwards in comparison to Gen 6s online features. * There is still noticeable amounts of lag and frame rate drops during battles, even when using the New 3DS and New 3DS XL systems. When youre battling Totem Pokémon (essentially tougher versions of regular wild Pokémon), after you select an attack, it sometimes takes 4-5 seconds before anything happens. It makes you feel like youre battling an opponent over the Internet and youre waiting for them to make a move, except in this case, its just an in-game computer opponent. In Double Battles, you notice the lag when the camera pans out on an angle to reveal both trainers and both of their Pokémon on the field. Apparently, I read it may be a RAM issue -- between the trainers, their Pokémon and any animated effects currently happening in the background or on the field (like the blades of grass moving), even the New 3DS doesnt have the power to handle it all, graphically-speaking. * PC Box Management has been made less touch-intuitive. When you touch a Pokémon with the Stylus to select it, a menu appears that prevents you from selecting another Pokémon until you close the menu. This was never the case in Gen 6, but from what I remember, it was the case in Gen 5, from which Sun and Moons coding seems to be based upon. It makes it less touch-friendly and if youre just quickly looking at your Pokémon in the boxes, its once again faster using the circle pad on the 3DS, rather than the touch screen, because of this unnecessary change. * Pokémon Contests (arguably the best alternative competition to battling) have again been completely removed from the game. Theyve been replaced by a less-interesting Pokémon Snap picture-taking side game, which doesnt provide the same kind of longevity or replay-ability that Contests or the Battle Frontier did, and neither of them are present in this game. --- FINAL THOUGHTS --- Pokémon Sun and Moon make some significant improvements to the core series of Pokémon games, especially with regards to the new battle interface, but at the same time, Game Freak makes an equal amount of questionable decisions, removing previously good features and including frustrating new mechanics that are counter-intuitive to veteran players and newcomers alike. Unfortunately, if youre like me and want to stay part of the competitive battling community, you have no choice but to put up with the frustrating aspects of these games.

Ive been playing pokemon for 20 years now, and every game that has come out has been beautifully amazing. The only gripe I have with these gen 7 games is the fact that not all Megastones are available and the ones that are unavailable will be obtained via events or online competitions. This does annoy me greatly. Equally as annoying is if you have an older 3DS this game loads up much slower than it would on a New 3DS. Sometimes it takes a while to even shut the game off. So if you want to play this I do recommend getting a NEW 3DS to play it on, itll be a lot less slow running. Though beyond that the battles are harder, the graphics are gorgeous, the cut scenes are amazing, and Im just blown away by this game. Though if youre looking to relive your nostalgia for the good old days (Red and Blue) this game is probably not for you mostly because Gyms have been eliminated and in its place is Trials. If youre looking to relive the old days I suggest buying the virtual console in the eShop rather than buy this game. This also applies to players coming to this game via Pokemon GO, do remember if this is your first Pokemon game do not expect it to operate in the same way that Go does. Though I do hope you give this game a try, the core series is definitely the better of the Pokemon games in my humble opinion. I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next. <3