More like Pokemon Legends: Looks Like Arceus amrite? I know I’m hilarious, but that’s not why you’re here. Or maybe it is, in which case thank you for the continued support.

Anyway! Game Freak’s latest main entry in the Pokemon series arrived last week in the form of Legends: Arceus, an ambitious evolution of the formula that makes some changes many of us have been waiting decades for. The act of catching, battling, and exploration have experienced changes so seismic that taking a step backwards now feels impossible.

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I couldn’t imagine random battles pulling me away from the magic of exploring Hisui every couple of minutes, even if the archaic landscapes I inhabit are often barren and lifeless. It feels like we’ve reached a point of no return from a mechanical perspective, so it’s a shame that Pokemon remains shackled to so many frustrating vices that hold it back from greatness. We’re stepping forward, but it still feels like we’re stuck in the past.

Legends Arceus

Not that anyone cares about these shortcomings though. Let’s be real, millions upon millions of people have already purchased a copy of Legends: Arceus and were immediately smitten by its refreshing approach to catching ‘em all, even if its open world resembles a dodgy version of Breath of the Wild your dad brought home from the pub one night. He promises you it’s absolutely legitimate and is the perfect way to play a game like this, and it’s not like you have the money to disagree anyway.

Imagine Game Freak is your daddy in this scenario, and you’re eating up Legends: Arceus like a good little gamer even if there are very real grievances to be made. Maybe I’m cynical, but Pokemon absolutely gets a free pass because of its popular brand, while it is also held to a higher level of scrutiny if it fails to include every Pokemon under the sun or please fans in needlessly specific ways. There are no consistent loyalties amongst the hardcore, which makes the current climate around Legends: Arceus all the more difficult to comprehend.

Legends Arceus

The game looks bad, there is no debating that. It isn’t a hardware issue. The Nintendo Switch is a console that houses the likes of Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Splatoon 2 - all gorgeous, imaginative games that perform well and look fantastic thanks to a mixture of clever optimisation and unparalleled art design. By comparison, Legends: Arceus feels like a student project that we’re happy to display on the fridge anyway because we’re just really proud that Pokemon is trying something new for once. It could look and feel so much better, but the development philosophy Game Freak operates upon ensures that such advancements are never going to be made in the way many of us are hoping for. Pokken and Snap both look better than this too - it’s not a Pokemon issue, it’s a Game Freak issue.

I love a studio that embraces new talent and gives them a shot at a franchise with the staying power of Pokemon, but surely it would be wiser to have them incubate new projects and properties instead of subjecting your golden child to a permanent state of infantilism. Pokemon has been going through the motions for decades because change has been unable to cement itself, and Legends: Arceus gets so close to breaking the mould but remains held back by its own technical limitations. I’m not saying that graphics make a game - they almost never do - but a game that doesn’t spark imagination can be detrimental to your personal enjoyment, which is sadly how part of me feels about Arceus. It doesn’t feel like a magical world with untapped secrets to uncover, it feels like a handful of poorly rendered fields and buildings spliced together to make an inconsistent whole.

Legends Arceus

Every piece of fanart I’ve seen since the release of Legends: Arceus surpasses the game that inspired them in terms of creativity, taking the basic blueprint provided by Hisui and turning it into something magical. The fact Pokemon is able to inspire such things is a testament to what this universe is capable of achieving, it’s just a shame that it continues to feel like its full potential isn’t being reached. But I’m unsure we’ll ever reach that point, which is a shame, but a compromise I’m willing to accept given how Legends: Arceus is causing people to fall in love with it despite so many shortcomings. Games not worth their salt just don’t do that, and perhaps this evolution in the overall formula will be enough to inspire further change in the years to come. Or at least, maybe the next one won’t look so rubbish.

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