REVIEW - "POKEMON SUN AND MOON"

A reinvigorated adventure for the franchise's 20th anniversary. 

20 years is a long time. It's especially so for a media franchise that's still actively creating new installments. Few franchises in gaming are as enduring as Pokemon, and even fewer still have had the impact that Pokemon has. The problem is, when a franchise has been going on for as long as Pokemon has, it starts to fall into a bit of a formula. Even when the formula's as winning as Pokemon's is, it starts to feel a bit samey. Get your starter Pokemon, battle your rival, collect the eight Gym badges, battle your rival some more, face the Elite Four and ultimately the champion, and then ultimately become the champion yourself. It's not a bad formula (I mean it's been going on for 20 years), but a little refresh is what Pokemon desperately needed. Pokemon Sun and Moon aren't a complete overhaul of the franchise, nor should it have been, but it's made enough worthwhile changes that will attract newcomers and veterans alike.

There's a variety of new species for you to discover (and capture)

The most noteworthy change in Sun and Moon are the complete abandonment of the standard Pokemon gym challenge. In previous entries in the series, most towns would house a gym dedicated to a single type (Grass, Fire, Water, etc.) that houses a gym leader, whom you would fight for a badge. The Island Challenge doesn't necessarily deviate completely from this system, but it's certainly a big change for the series. There are seven trials scattered around the four islands of Alola, and each trial has a captain running it, still specializing in a single type, though you do not need to fight them as part of your journey. Each trial culminates in a battle with a so-called "Totem Pokemon" of the type corresponding with the captain. At the end of each island you will face the "Kahuna" in that island's "Grand Trial," who also specializes in a certain type. So while combat is still an integral part of the experience, it's not the focus of these trials, rather, the focus is on deepening your connection with the world.

The world is honestly what struck me the most about Sun and Moon. Unlike previous regions, which merely felt like settings for your journey, Alola feels like a lived-in world; a world that's alive, one with its own defined culture, which is no more apparent than in the Island Challenge. Each trial is different, and the fact that I didn't know exactly what it would be helped keep the excitement going. As the captains and kahunas are more than merely obstacles in your way to being champion, but rather supervisors of your journey, they feel more like fully-formed characters than gym leaders of yore. That's not to say all of them receive compelling development, but its certainly a step in the right direction. The fact that each trial ends with you receive a Z Crystal (more on those later), rather than just a shiny decoration helped build the world out even more.

The world has never felt more alive than in these games

 More than any game prior, the world is dynamic and living. The ground isn't flat; the elevation changes constantly, and paths are winding. X and Y definitely innovated in terms of the visuals of Pokemon, though they were really nothing more than the 2D games with added depth. Towns still had the same layout, the world was relatively flat, and despite being able to move diagonally, your movement was still stuck to a grid. Sun and Moon finally break free from the grid, allowing to move freely in this world, making it even more dynamic.

Sun and Moon also streamline the Pokemon experience in numerous ways, the biggest being the elimination of HMs. This has been a long time coming, and the new Poke-Ride system is a vast improvement. Instead of forcing you to fill up a moveslot with an unforgettable (literally) HM move, you now can call a specific Pokemon to help you traverse the various obstacles in the field. It's a great system, and one I'm sure (I hope) will become a mainstay. The other is that once you've faced a Pokemon, the UI will tell you how effective a specific move is on it. Now, some may find this to be "too easy", but with eighteen types now on the board, and all the matchups that come with it, that can be a lot for some. Hell, it even lead me to discover a weakness that I didn't even know existed!

Now, like I said, Z Crystals and Z moves are a thing. Basically, there is a Z Crystal for each type (and some for specific Pokemon as well), and if you know a move of that type (or specific move if it's for a specific Pokemon), and have that crystal equipped, you can unleash a super-powered move. It's not a game-changing feature in a way Mega Evolution may have been, but it can definitely help if you're in a pinch.

The culture of Alola is a central theme in this game

So while I'm heaping praise to these games, they aren't perfect, either. One minor complaint is that your character smiles, all of the time. Even when something potentially cataclysmic is happening, you're still smiling. Nothing game-breaking, sure, but it definitely took me out of the experience from time to time.

 But the bigger issue is the game's pacing. The first island is slow, and almost feels like a slog to get through, which is especially noteworthy compared to the previous generation, X and Y and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which pretty much dropped you into the adventure and let you go. Sun and Moon have hours of tutorial for you to get through, but once you get off that first island, it picks up immediately. It's just a shame that those first few hours are so slow, because the story is the most compelling in any Pokemon game yet.

That's not to say the narrative is mind-blowing, but in terms of Pokemon games, only Black and White really have a claim to the best Pokemon story. Now, I know none of us play these games for the plot, but having a compelling plot definitely helps getting through the game that much more worthwhile. The story gets dark and pretty weird at times, though it can also be lighthearted as well. Not anything award-winning, but a step in the right direction for sure.

Sun and Moon aren't a complete reinvention of the series, but they were never supposed to be. What it is however, is enough a refresh that will not only attract newcomers and those who may have have fallen out of the series, but also those who have played every entry prior. Smart design choices make this the most streamlined Pokemon game yet, and it's story, setting, and character development is the best this series has seen. The game has some pacing issues, but outside of that, this is game anyone can pick up and enjoy. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary, and dare I say, it's the best entry yet. Not a bad way to celebrate, is it?

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