When it was first announced earlier this year, fans didn’t really know what to make ofPokemon Legends: Arceus. Its initial announcement trailer was somewhat brief and despite the fact that its release date was less than a year away from the announcement, there weren’t many details about what kind of game it would be. Based on its title, some thought that it was nothing more than a spinoff game to tide fans over between mainline releases in the same vein astitles likePokemon RangerorNew Pokemon Snap. After today’s Pokemon Presents, it’s clear that this isn’t the case.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusseems to be a full-fledged new, mainline entry in thePokemonseries following up 2019’sPokemon SwordandShield, however, it seems to be taking the franchise in a bold new direction. As the traditionalPokemonformula has starting to grow a little old among fans of the series,Legends: Arceuslooks like it’s changing the wayPokemongames might be played from here on out. Fans have been calling for a major changeup for several years now and it looks likePokemon Legends: Arceusmight be doing just that.
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The Old Pokemon Formula
Up until now,mainline entries in thePokemonserieshave all pretty much followed the same tried and true formula introduced inPokemon RedandBluein 1998. While there have been some innovations to the turn-based RPGs over the years, the core of each newPokemontitle has been pretty much the same ever since. As a result, whenPokemon SwordandShieldreleased as the first non-remake mainlinePokemongames on the Nintendo Switch, fans were expecting the series to followThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildandSuper Mario Odyssey’s leads by completely innovating and changing the formulas introduced in earlier games in their respective series.
WhileSwordandShielddid have some innovations, the games were hardly the shakeup that fans had been hoping for. When the two games were in development, the Nintendo Switch was still a relatively new console, so fans were expecting the games to take advantage of the new hardware in ways that brought thePokemonfranchise to life in a way never seen before. Although it’s taken longer than somePokemonfans might have hoped,Legends: Arceusseems to be finally meeting the expectations of what the newest generation ofPokemongames can be.
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The Pokemon Legends: Arceus Changeup
In its initial trailer,Pokemon Legends: Arceusbore a strong resemblance toThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildas it’s taking place in a mostly untouched open wilderness full of exploration led by player choice. Now that today’s Pokemon Presents featured a much deeper dive into the mechanics of the game, however, comparisons toBreath of the Wildare being put to rest as the title seems devoted to innovating on thePokemonformula instead of borrowing ideas from other popular franchises.
One of the biggest new changes that hopefully sticks around in thePokemonseries for many entries to come is the enhanced interactions that the player can have with wild Pokemon. As narrated during the gameplay preview,different Pokemon will have different reactionsto the player approaching them. Smaller, flightier Pokemon are far more likely to flee from an approaching human similar to real-world interactions with small animals such as squirrels and small birds. Conversely, larger, territorial, more aggressive Pokemon are much more likely to approach trainers head-on to kick them out of their area. This new feature not only brings more life and personality to each individual Pokemon but also requires the player to really engage with and understand what sort of Pokemon they’re surrounded by.
The way that players engage inbattles with wild Pokemonalso seems to be a step up from the old format. Now, instead of instantly entering a battle when touching a wild Pokemon, the player gets to decide when to bring out someone in their party. This means that players are able to decide if they even want to engage wild Pokemon in battle, or if they’re going to try their luck with catching them unharmed. That can be dangerous, however, as wild Pokemon are actually able to hurt trainers if they’re not careful. If a trainer takes too much damage, they’ll blackout, a similar mechanic to blacking out in previousPokemonentries. It’s currently unclear what the consequences are for blacking out, but it’s likely to have some sort of negative effect.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus' Move to an Open World
The reason thatPokemon Legends: Arceuswas compared so heavily toBreath of the Wildwhen it was revealed was because of how similar the two games’ open worlds look on a superficial level. Now that there’s been more explanation about howLegends: Arceusis going to function, the similarities start and end with such visual comparisons. It looks likePokemonis going to have a bigger emphasis on crafting, asPokeballs are an essential item that players will likely be constantly crafting and using. The open-world shift is reminiscent of the Wild Area introduced inSwordandShield. Instead of simply being another area for players to explore that feels somewhat disconnected from the rest of the region,Pokemon Legends: Arceusseems to have based its entire game on how the open world will work.
From the reworked interactions with wild Pokemon to the heavier emphasis on survival and area awareness, it really seems likePokemon Legends: Arceusis trying something new. Some things are staying relatively the same like the turn-based battle system, but even that is receiving a certain level of change. Hopefully, the changes are implemented well and result in a strong entry for the franchise that changes howPokemongames are made from here on out. It all comes down to if the changes truly feel like they’re a fresh take on thePokemonformula, or if they end up being nothing more than superficial gimmicks.
Pokemon Legends: Arceuswill release exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on August 06, 2025.
