Pokémon Ultra Moon - Nintendo 3DS

My son is still playing with it, two months later. He has the original version of Pokemon Sun and this is a good follow-up. Lots to do.

I want to say that Ive been a long time Pokemon fan. Ive played Pokemon Red and Blue during my childhood and played every gen except 4 and 6. Ive noticed a decline in the series after Gen 5. Cut scenes were long, lack of special events, super friendly rivals, easier games, etc. Despite this I still loved Sun and Moon and they are probably behind Pokemon Black and White 2 as my favorite games. Sun and Moon introduced Poke Ride killing HMs which is something weve wanted for years. Gyms were gone in favor of island trials and while the execution couldve been better it was very refreshing. Ultra Sun and Moon brought hardly anything new. You start in the same town and if fact the game feels nearly the same for 30%. There are small changes like the Gym leaders and the story and also the ultra recon squad but it all felt like DLC. The ultra recon squad didnt feel like they had significant part or influence on the story. Overall the game left a very bad taste in my mouth and I forced myself to finish game, afterwards never picking it up again. If you played sun and moon Id skip this one for sure.

Its great, not my favorite pokemon game but you can feel the love for the final 3DS franchise.

The game itself runs on a US 3ds but it is the world release version which can be found cheaper on amazon. Im keeping the game but I now have to go and order a second hand case that is the North American version to match the rest of my games.

Pokémon is always a hit and I’ll buy them every time. This is not the best game of the franchise but lots of fun nonetheless!

Compared to Sun/Moon, ULTRA Sun and Moon offers some differences. This can include new characters, more pokemon, a photo club (basically take pictures of your character and one pokemon, and you can do poses and add stickers, etc.), and more. There are also some differences in story, as well as added extras that can be unlocked after different points (story extras). Id have to give it a 10/10.

The game came in a sealed package and works fine luckily, but it was the UAE World Edition when I specifically bought the US version

I beat sun and got this later when it came out. However I never beat this version for some reason. It actually got boring repeating so many of the same story elements over again so soon.

It was a good game. I played Moon when it first came out, I figured might as well get Ulta Moon too. I feel like this is everything Game Freak/Nintendo wanted to do with the original Sun and Moon games, but they just ran out of time. Overall the story is pretty similar to the original Moon with the exception of adding in the Ultra Recon Squad or whatever it was called. Anyways, they revamped some tracks and enhanced some graphics which made the game feel a lot more polished. Uh basically if you wanna buy this Id recommend it. Its a pretty fun game. Theyve also upped some of the difficulty thankfully, so theres a lot more challenge compared to Moon (to me at least, but maybe not to everyone.) Ive been playing Pokemon games for like 14 years and this ones in my top 5 for now.

I am kind of perplexed by all the one star reviews complaining its the same game. The Ultra Sun/Moon games are essentially remakes/remasters with all new content and drastic storyline changes to the originals, and have always been marketed as such. Its not intended to be a completely different game as, say, from Red/Blue to Gold/Silver. Its better to think of these as alternative versions to the original games because thats exactly what they are. Expectations should be adjusted accordingly. While many locations and a lot of key plot elements are unchanged early on, the experience is significantly different from the get-go in a variety of ways. A lot of scenes are executed much differently (such as the way in which you get your starter), you are chased by an entirely new villain organization with a brand new plot line attached throughout, virtually all characters from major NPCs to simple villagers have new dialogue and quests, there are new areas to find and explore, there are TONS of new secrets and quests ranging from simple and obvious to more obscure and rewarding, there are a LOT more classic Pokemon throughout the entire game to encounter and catch from every generation, not just the legendaries... the list goes on. The latter half of the game plays out VERY very differently with all new events and locations, and the post-game has a lot more meat to it. Even a lot of the soundtrack and the UI have been overhauled and changed. While I can understand not liking a game personally, calling this exactly the same and thus a rip-off feels like a knee-jerk reaction and frankly, not an entirely honest one that isnt offering any helpful information to someone looking to buy this. Be aware of what youre getting and adjust your expectations accordingly. Playing this in no way feels like a retread of the original games and Im honestly surprised by how many changes there are, some big and some small. The story feels like it flows a lot better now; a lot of the cutscenes have been changes and rewritten in ways that make them feel stronger, while many major characters get a lot more characterisation so it feels more rewarding to people who have played the original and felt some of those beats fell a little flat. If you want a completely brand new game as you would going from one generation to the next, this isnt it. But as someone who has played the games on and off since their very first Red/Blue release but isnt a diehard, I am very happy with my purchase and what they chose to do with it.