So here's a question for everyone. Sun and Moon have been out for about half a year now, so what are your thoughts on the game now that the hype has died down?
It's a mixed bag of sorts for me, though the good outweighs the bad. I'd still place Moon in my top five Pokémon games, alongside Black, Black 2, Omega Ruby, and Platinum, though I'm not sure exactly where in that list it would go. There are some things I really love about it. The music was phenomenal, the region itself was gorgeous. I loved the aesthetic of it all. Some characters, like Lillie, Lusamine, Professor Kukui, and Guzma, were welcome additions to the Pokémon cast. Additionally, I loved what they did with some of the returning characters, with Looker, Anabel, Red, Blue, and Burnet being standouts in this regard. This batch of starters was fantastic, with Decidueye and Primarina being standouts in particular. Z-Moves are a neat addition as well, and the lack of HMs was great. The Tapus were a neat bit of lore and a nice way to incorporate the obligatory smaller "group" legends. Solgaleo and Lunala were some of the best additions to the legendary pantheon in recent years. There were also some nice Quality of Life things for competitive battling, which was nice. I also really liked their attempt at a deeper story with the Ultra Beasts and the Aether/Skull dynamic. Also Alolan Exeggutor.
It's not without its annoyances though. Worst of all are the issues that continue to exist in the series, since it shows that GameFreak didn't listen to certain criticisms. For one, GameFreak followed up the series's 20th anniversary, for which they elaborated that many players have been playing for close to two decades, with a game containing the lengthiest unskippable tutorial in the series's history. That's a huge show of tone deafness. The fact that we still don't have a simple "Have you played Pokémon before?" option at the game's startup is absurd.
Additionally, the Festival Plaza is atrocious. It needlessly complicated the process and took huge steps backwards when they got it perfectly with the PSS in XY and ORAS. The Trial Captains didn't stand out to me at all with the exceptions of Ilima and Acerola, but that's mainly due to Ilima being shown throughout the tutorial and Acerola being part of the Elite Four. Getting rid of HMs was nice, but Poké Ride kind of ruined the immersion. It would have been better if you could call on your OWN Pokémon to clear obstacles, without using move slots. Like, natural built-in abilities. I should be able to ride my own Mudsdale, dammit.
The lack of a lengthy post game really hurts it, since it again shows that GameFreak doesn't listen to complaints that haven't existed since the series's beginning, like HMs. The Ultra Beast side quest was really interesting and did a lot for Looker and especially Anabel as characters, but it could be completed in an hour at most. After that there was literally only the Battle Tree. Additionally, certain major characters like Plumeria, Faba, and Gladion fell really flat for me.
Another gripe that isn't exclusive to Sun and Moon, but I feel like mentioning. I miss when you actually had to catch your mythical Pokémon and work for them. Diancie should have been fought in Anistar City. Volcanion should have been fought at the Kalos Power Plant in XY and Mount Chimney in ORAS. Magearna was at least a step in the right direction, as it made sense for it to be at an old and eerie antique store, and the QR scan was at least SOMETHING you had to do. Having a delivery man hand you a literal god at a Pokémon Center kills immersion.
Finally...I REALLY wish the Ultra Beasts weren't able to be caught. They built them up as something totally alien and eldritch, only for them to be glorified legendaries. It also would have been a neat way to showcase how Solgaleo/Lunala/Necrozma differ from the UBs, by making them able to be caught due to their somewhat different circumstances. As of now those three are awkwardly "kind of like Ultra Beasts but not really." Non-catchable super bosses would have been awesome, and damn it all, Lusamine should have fought without her team.
But for all my issues with it, I still really liked it. That being said I definitely think those are issues that should be addressed in the future.
praline Have you played Thumper before? I only watched it and jesus, it gets nuts. It got so fast that I didnt know what the person playing was even doing
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