Legends of Arceus almost going to the S - Rank Pokemon Game Tier for me
Another one of my untiring charades regarding Pokemon games. Because why not?
Today I wanna talk about Pokemon Legends of Arceus and the reasons why it was almost the S - Tier of Pokemon Games with me. Keep in mind that this will have minor spoilers so kindly read this at your own risk.
THE S RANK POINTS
Reason #1 : The exploration
Walking around while chasing those Starters and probably getting the imaginary battle that I had in my head while playing Gen 3 came to life is probably the best scenario.
Reason #2: The catching mechanic and encounters. I finally played the Let's Go Series after Arceus (and of course the Price Drop from those older games were worth it). So far what i had experienced in Let's Go is just throwing balls. But no, Arceus is a good mix of that. Sneaking and hitting them at the back with the Balls and getting a critical capture is probably the best feature Gamefreak did. Like who has time for loading mechanics? Seriously, this is a game changer. It feels more realistic when you get chased by those hostile Alphas or just those Beedrills. The best part about that? you can just continue to run away. Unlike in Sw/Sh or in SV were you a forced on an encounter. And let me just say that seeing that shiny shing whenever you see a shiny pokemon is also a good mechanic.
Reason #3 : The sidequests
Sure this game is a short story but man the sidequests are good with the content. And some of the NPCs are actually pretty fun to talk too. Sidequests can either be funny as to looking for all those pesky bidoofs or doing a 900 korok seed style and catching that Spiritomb. The best part is the pay off, if you managed to get all the sidequests, you can relive your DS Diamond and Pearl Trauma by encountering Arceus in the DP Remakes.
Reason #4: The payoff in doing the pokedex and getting all the entries.
Starting from Generation Six XY. I made a living dex and started completing all the pokedex. Sure it was no easy feat, the only pay off that i get is a certificate and a shiny charm that may or may not get me some shinies depending on how good the RNG gods feel like being generous. But on this game, I did get a payoff: its meeting the Pokemon god itself. This kind of makes it good that the plot just ties after you finish the pokedex. And well as for the entries they can be a tiresome to do but hey they are quite fun to complete and that is when you will get the shiny charm.
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S RANK DEDUCTING POINTS
Ok so not all of the games are perfect and this comes with this game. So here is why I think that Arceus almost made an S but got into A rank in my game instead.
Deduction #1: Where is my mini map Gamefreak?
Bruh even year olds game had mini maps on their lower left or lower right. This game promotes exploration and not even a lower map? This is the part that i kind of dislike and it might be just a nitpick. But come on! Dont make me continuously press Y for the map? Oh you will? Well that sucks.
Deduction #2: Fast Travels where?
Muh fast travel posts. I feel like this is not the most often talked mechanic about. Yes the maps aren't that large, but still, I would like to conveniently fast travel on some locations sometimes. Perhaps this is a plot related thing to having little to no travel posts.
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The conclusion: Pokemon Legends of Arceus is a great game! If you want that exploration with no map or just not that nitpicky, it might be an S Rank for you.
