Pokémon Sun & Moon (2016) [3DS] review

At The Pixels we are running Maui Week, a multi-day event designed to raise awareness of this disaster and the suffering inflicted upon Hawaii. A lot of folk have asked me where and how they can help. We will be directing people all week-long to the Hawaii Community Foundation – Maui Strong Fund where you can give to help the people of Hawaii, though I encourage you to explore other charity options if you’d like. Please help us to perpetuate Hawaii, its traditions, its way of life, its history and heritage, and its peoples!

-Red

“Hula is the language of the heart and, therefore, the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.”

Melemele. Akala. Ula’ula. Poni. Long ago, the four islands lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Aether Foundation attacked. Only you, the next Pokémon Master, can stop them… Just a normal vacation away to the Hawaii-inspired islands of Alola.

While we aren’t air-bending or being reborn to save our world, we find ourselves in one of the most distinctive and memorable Pokémon adventures that the franchise has seen. As someone who has played every Pokémon release since the original Red & Blue, I was especially curious to explore Alola. This increased tenfold when learning that its region was split into disjointed pieces and there would be a brand new approach to the standard gym challenge. It didn’t feel like GameFreak was playing it as safe with this generation. Spread throughout the four primary islands are diverse landscapes and alterations that maintain a sense of novelty within the surroundings. With an abundance of areas to investigate, enthusiasts will naturally discover themselves casually roaming around Alola solely for the enjoyment of exploration.

I knew that Pokémon Sun & Moon would be a stand-out experience from the opening moments of Route 1. The music, scenery and flowers instantly painted a picture of what I imagine everyday life on the island feels like. As I progressed through the cities and routes across Alola, it became easier to find reasons that supported me living my best tourist life. This is one of the strongest features of Pokémon Sun & Moon: you aren’t a local in this generation, but a sightseer. GameFreak had successfully helped me experience a location in the world that I’ve always wanted to visit. The inclusion of Malasadas, townsfolk referring to to each other as “cousin”, and the Pokémon Centers being filled to the brim with gifts to take back (omiyage) are all frequent experiences within every play session.

Recognizing the legacy of the franchise while also envisioning the future likely posed a challenging task for Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. However, the outcome is a combination of meticulously crafted, essential offerings that will surely captivate both longstanding enthusiasts and newcomers. This was most noticeable in replacing Gyms with Trials, removing HMs, and breaking free from the grid-based movement system found in previous entries. Pokémon Sun & Moon offers small but significant combat enhancements such as showing additional type advantages while engaging in battle. The concept of Mega Evolutions have also taken a new form here with the insertion of Z-moves, which are one-use attacks that are activated by Z-Crystals gathered across the 25-30 hour adventure.

Alola isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately. The amount of handholding is at an all-time high in this generation with extended cutscenes, NPCs and island events that break the pace every couple of minutes. I’m all for an increased focus on characters and a more engaging story in our Pokémon adventures, but it often feels like they do anything they can to not let the player roam freely through the island’s enticing areas. Keeping players on the rails for a bit too long can get frustrating, even with the increased focus on narrative. Additionally, while the Trials are a nice shake-up to the traditional formula, they do lose a lot of the grandiosity that gyms carry. Trials themselves may start off feeling like Pokémon’s version of fetch quests, but they do improve and find their own identity as the game progresses.

As the sun sets, Pokémon Sun & Moon shine bright in their ability to help you feel like you’re truly a tourist on vacation. This aspect ended up being my favorite thing about this generation, even with its shortcomings and limitations. Whereas in other Pokémon games you play as someone who lives within the region, Alola was developed with the visitor’s perspective in mind. Whether it’s strolling through an exotic getaway, passing by a shop resonating ukulele-fronted melodies, or taking your board out to the Mantine Surf challenges on the beaches of each island, Alola stands out as one of the most memorable regions we’ve explored in Pokémon.

Undoubtedly, this marked a momentous occasion for Pokémon aficionados, delivering the long-awaited gaming celebration they’ve yearned for. The formula remained the same for so long that these Pokémon Sun & Moon ended up being a breath of fresh air.

PIXEL PERFECT

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Look forward to more Hawaii-related content this week and don’t forget to help the people of Maui!

Hailing from the mitten state, Alex is a physical collector and gamer of all genres for over two decades. He has established himself in wedding videography and finance which he uses to help encourage others in forging their own path in remote work and full control over how far they can take their passions to support themselves and their families.