5 things to know about Pokémon Legends: Arceus

5 things to know about Pokémon Legends

Now that Pokémon Legends: Arceus has officially arrived in all stores, digital and otherwise, we can talk about it more freely. Nintendo has been very jealous of the surprises prepared for this new course in the Game Freak series; surprises that, unfortunately, have been partially ruined by the diffusion of codes and cartridges before their time. We have written a spoiler-proof review of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but we know that the nature of this title is still very mysterious to those who have covered their eyes and ears while waiting for the launch.

Here are 5 things that you absolutely must know about Pokémon Legends: Arceus and that could help you decide whether or not it is right for you: some of them could anticipate certain contents of the game, but you will easily recognize them from the title of the paragraph and you can skip them. And so we begin.

Tip: Pokémon Vs. Pokémon Legends

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Starly and Bidoof strolling around the Obsidian Rift Notwithstanding that it is still too early to understand how to will develop this new branch of the series, it is important to point out that Nintendo considers Pokémon Legends the new course of the pocket monsters. Whether this means that the series will henceforth be called Pokémon Legends or that the next few games will simply follow in his footsteps in terms of approach and gameplay, we cannot know. Everything will depend on the success of Arceus, which could very well remain an isolated experiment as happened with Let's Go! Pikachu and Eevee. In any case, it is unlikely that it will revert to the old-school formula recently expressed by Pokémon Shining Pearl and Shining Diamond.

Coming to the differences between the two courses ... they are a bit too many to list them in detail but, in summary, it all boils down to a question of approaches. If previous RPGs were mainly focused on turn-based battles, Pokémon Legends: Arceus revolves around capturing pokémon and completing the PokéDex. The action takes place in large 3D scenarios that we can freely explore. The wild pokémon are all around and we can catch them, in real time, by throwing the Poké Balls and perhaps helping us with a series of tools designed for the purpose, which we can manufacture through a simple Faidaté system.

Continue to fight, of course, but the clashes with the coaches have practically disappeared: we will face only some human beings capable of controlling the pokémon, since the figure of the coach actually does not exist. The game, in fact, takes place in the past, in an era in which humans have just begun to know the pokémon. For this reason, some RPG aspects that counted a lot in the old titles are missing: pokémon no longer possess the Skills, cannot keep the tools and cannot procreate on command. The combat system has been streamlined, although a mechanic has been introduced - which however did not fully convince us - called Powerful and Quick Technique.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is played more like a third-person action adventure that like a traditional Japanese RPG, and above all it is a fundamentally single player experience: although it is possible to exchange pokémon with another player by connecting the consoles locally or via the Internet, it is not necessary to complete the PokéDex (and in fact there is only one version of the game) and it is not possible to fight in multiplayer.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, if a pokémon notices you it will be more difficult to catch it. in search of the best synergies and the perfect formation, Pokémon Legends: Arceus could be a title very far from your preferences. However, if you've always dreamed of going where you go, and not stopping there, capturing pokémon just like Ash Ketchum did in the cartoon, the new Game Freak game could be the evolution you've been waiting for.

Tip: build the PokéDex

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, in the Giubilo Village you will find a general store, a hairdresser and other services The story of the game will bring your alter ego (Luca or Luce, but you can change the name) to join the Team Galactic Research Squad with the task of gathering information on pokémon and helping Professor Laven build the first PokéDex in history. Each time you capture a pokémon, and add its page to your rudimentary PokéDex, you will find a series of tasks to complete: for example, you will have to capture that monster a certain number of times, perhaps without getting noticed or at specific times of the day, defeat it. in a fight using moves of a certain type, and so on. You won't have to complete all the tasks to complete a page - something that will often be required by some NPCs - but every task, pokémon captured or defeated in battle will translate into analysis points when you report to Professor Laven. Once you have reached a certain amount of analysis points, you can level up by speaking to Selina at the Team Galactic headquarters.

Leveling up is used to obtain various benefits. Higher level pokémon will obey you, for example, and you will earn more analysis points by completing future tasks. Above all, it serves to continue the campaign. The world of Pokémon Legends: Arceus is divided into five large maps and the storyline will gradually lead you from one map to another, but at some point you will have to have reached a certain rank in order to continue the exploration and the story. Our advice is quite obvious: capture all the pokémon you meet. Analyze them (by holding the ZL button) to consult their page in the PokéDex and find out if there is any assignment you can complete on the fly. Most of these tasks are solved in a few moments and at the same time: for example, if there is a pokémon that you have to capture and that you also have to feed, just throw a treat at it, wait for it to consume it and then throw a Poké Ball to complete. two or more tasks in one go.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the three starting pokémon If you adopt this approach, you will never have to retrace your steps and, without realizing it, you will reach every promotion even before the map which requires it. While it is not mandatory to capture all Pokémon, it is clear that capture and exploration is the philosophy behind Pokémon Legends. Basically, your goal is to complete the PokéDex. You could tend to ignore this aspect beautifully, capture only the pokémon you need to defeat a Regent or a Captain, and take care of the rank only at the last minute, but it would be pure self-harm: the game would become much more monotonous, linear and repetitive. Take your time and enjoy the experience.

Tip: Collecting and Faidaté

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, throw pokémon at trees to get XP, berries and maybe some Burmys Pokémon Legends introduces a very intuitive Faidaté system (call it crafting, if you want) that you can use at the camp, drawing on every resource in your item storage, or at any time during the exploration, but only with the resources you bring in. purse. For this reason, we advise you to invest your first savings in the expansion of the bag: you can buy any additional space from Crescenzo in the headquarters of Team Galassia.

Our advice is to collect everything you can while exploring the various maps. Many resources, such as herbs or wood, can be collected simply by pressing the A key in their vicinity. In this way you can also collect lost items, which appear randomly every time you load a map, and will yield you some PCs with which you can buy some useful tools, such as the one that will allow you to evolve certain pokémon without having to exchange them. with another player.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, kings and queens are fun but challenging bosses To collect other resources, such as Apricorns or Pebbles that are used to make different kinds of Poké, among other things Ball, you will have to throw any pokémon against trees and mineral deposits. Not only will you receive one or more items, but the pokémon that retrieves them for you will gain experience points, and maybe even find a monster like Burmy or Geodude. These resources are very useful because the Faidaté will prevent you from returning to the Giubilo Village to refuel with PokéBall and also because you may come across chromatic or alpha pokémon for which it may be necessary to prepare a bait on the fly with what you have in your bag. Learn to recognize the resources on sight and collect them on the fly even while you are galloping a Wyrdeer or a Basculegion: in this way you will always be ready for any eventuality.

Spoiler: the chromatic pokémon

Legends Pokémon: Arceus, of course you can change your hairstyle and clothing Cross and delight of any self-respecting Pokémon fan, Shiny Monsters are much easier to recognize and capture in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. You could happen to meet them from the very first minutes: if the game generates a chromatic pokémon in the surrounding, you will hear a kind of trill and you will recognize it not only for its different color than the others, but also for the stars that surround it. Keep this in mind and don't be like us, who encountered a Shiny Drifloom within five minutes of starting our first hike in Obsidian Rift, and defeated it in combat because we ordered a move instead of throwing a Poké Ball. ..

However, Pokémon Legends does not leave you completely to chance, and there are at least a couple of different ways to "force" the appearance and consequent capture of Shiny Pokémon. For starters, there are real NPC Requests that will put you in a position to capture a Shiny. The first is titled "Unusual Ponyta Spotted" and you will get it by talking to Yota in the Jubilant Village, so as soon as you see this Request on the map, catapult yourself to accept the secondary mission.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Quick Technique allows you to perform less lethal but faster moves There are also some random conditions that occur during explorations. The space-time gaps, for example, will not only allow you to capture some pokémon that shouldn't even exist in ancient Hisui, but also the chromatic variants. And in the later stages of the game, you will find that Hisui's map will show you the regions where some species of pokémon in particular are proliferating. These pokémon will continuously regenerate for the duration of the event, and you can use this opportunity to capture or defeat them. Each new pokémon that appears in their place could be chromatic and it seems that the chances are significantly higher than in the past.

Here the Faidaté will come in handy: in case you spot a chromatic pokémon, you should take advantage of the right tools to capture it more easily. Consult the PokéDex to find out what his favorite food is, get it or prepare it, and throw it at him to distract him. Remember that it is best to hit a pokémon from behind with a Poké Ball, so use the right angle from a bush to maximize your chances of success.

Spoiler: After the credits

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Professor Laven will be our mentor It seems that Game Freak has taken advantage of the criticism received for the slightly limited extra content of its latest titles, and we can tell you that Pokémon Legends offers a robust "post game" as soon as you will have finished reading the credits and you will have returned to the Giubilo Village. Of course you will have to go around Hisui to hunt for legendary monsters as in any self-respecting Pokémon, and there are several, even unexpected ones, that you will have to capture to complete the PokéDex and challenge Arceus. These are challenging fights, of course, that will test your reflexes and favorite pokémon. Keep in mind that to catch Darkrai and Shaymin you will need, respectively, the rescues of Pokémon Shining Diamond or Shining Pearl and Pokémon Sword or Shield.

In addition to the legendaries, in the post game, the rematches against the Captains you have await you defeated during the adventure, including a very special challenge against a team of pokémon that true fans of the series will recognize immediately ... but we will not tell you more.

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