Pokémon Legends: Arceus (28th January 2022)

[Ashley]

2 hours ago, Julius said:

Yeah, I know they do. I meant more in the sense that, for example, GAME and other big retailers are likely going to have more accurate stock tracking systems, etc., which are going to make it much harder for them to break release date and get away with it than a much smaller store without such systems in place. A lot of the stores that have broken street release date in the past have been smaller, independent stores or chains, oftentimes in more remote locations (be it on a map or technologically, such as in a developing country). Like I mentioned, they also won't be putting anywhere near as much at risk if they break street release date than if a massive retailer like GAME consistently did so. 

Oh sorry, reading in haste!

[Julius]

17 hours ago, Ashley said:

Oh sorry, reading in haste!

No worries 

18 hours ago, Glen-i said:

That said, the choice is easy. Typhlosion is easily my fave of the three starter evolutions here. Assuming I actually commit, it'll be the first time I use it, seeing as Totodile isn't there to immediately make my decision for me.

Yep, Typhlosion is my favourite of the bunch too. Thanks Legend of Thunder! 

For me I think it's just wanting to keep things fresh, I've been using Fire-type starters a lot more over the last few years. But we'll see, with all of the Sinnoh starters being available in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl and there being no version split, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some way to get the other two starters at some point in the game anyways, seeing as you'll have to potentially catch everything anyways. 

...so I guess I just convinced myself that I might be getting Cyndaquil 

[MindFreak]

I'll go with Rowlet as I like Decidueye. It looks cool, shoots arrows, and is part Ghost type! It's also not as slow as the usual grass types which is nice. 

[Julius]

1 minute ago, MindFreak said:

I'll go with Rowlet as I like Decidueye. It looks cool, shoots arrows, and is part Ghost type! It's also not as slow as the usual grass types which is nice. 

I mean, I'd guess it's getting a Hisuian form (I think it's why they've not shown off anything about the starter evolutions so far), so maybe it won't be part Ghost-type? 

I'm pretty nervous about some of the Hisuian forms they might be hiding from us actually. The last few generations have been some of the most contrasting for me when it comes to the quality of some of the designs, some are top tier and others have a Pokémon knock-off vibe to be. 

[Glen-i]

10 minutes ago, MindFreak said:

It's also not as slow as the usual grass types which is nice. 

Yeah, gonna have to correct you there.

It's the third slowest grass starter ever. Torterra and Chesnaught are slower, everything else is quicker.

EDIT: I'm agreeing with @Julius though. That screenshot showing an Oshawott at Level 50-ish early on was very suspicious. They're hiding something with the final evolutions. I'm sure of it.

I don't agree that the regional variants have been as mixed, almost all of them have been hits for me. Whether it be cool takes on old designs ("KISS fan" Zigzagoon) mechanical tweaks that save a Pokémon from mediocrity ("It's better when it's dead" Corsola), or a mixture of both ("Best regional variant" Marowak) I can't think of a single one that I don't think is better then the original version.

But hey, if the starters have regional variants, maybe Decidueye won't be so slow!

Edited January 20, 2022 by Glen-i

[Ashley]

Seen some of the leak stuff and obviously won't say anything but dang if you're trying to avoid anything it must be a pain. 

[Glen-i]

16 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Seen some of the leak stuff and obviously won't say anything but dang if you're trying to avoid anything it must be a pain. 

Not really. Pokémon leaks are so textbook, I've got avoiding them down to an artform.

For the next week, I'm only going on this site, and Serebii. Anywhere else, and I just risk seeing something I don't want to.

Helps that those are two of the three sites I periodically visit every day.

[bob]

Helps that those are two of the three sites I periodically visit every day.

I'm presuming the third site is porn. Pokémon themed.

[MindFreak]

1 hour ago, Glen-i said:

Yeah, gonna have to correct you there.

It's the third slowest grass starter ever. Torterra and Chesnaught are slower, everything else is quicker.

EDIT: I'm agreeing with @Julius though. That screenshot showing an Oshawott at Level 50-ish early on was very suspicious. They're hiding something with the final evolutions. I'm sure of it.

I don't agree that the regional variants have been as mixed, almost all of them have been hits for me. Whether it be cool takes on old designs ("KISS fan" Zigzagoon) mechanical tweaks that save a Pokémon from mediocrity ("It's better when it's dead" Corsola), or a mixture of both ("Best regional variant" Marowak) I can't think of a single one that I don't think is better then the original version.

But hey, if the starters have regional variants, maybe Decidueye won't be so slow!

Oh. Then I won't call it Hawkeye, that's for sure. He's fast. Still going with it, I like stealth stuff as well. And yeah, it's probably got a regional form.

[Glen-i]

55 minutes ago, bob said:

I'm presuming the third site is porn. Pokémon themed.

Actually, it's worse.

It's ResetEra.

Now that I think about it, I bet even dirtier sites are full of spoilers now. Pokémon fans are weird.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Glen-i

[Ashley]

1 hour ago, bob said:

I'm presuming the third site is porn. Pokémon themed.

 

Poking 'mon. 

[Julius]

1 hour ago, bob said:

I'm presuming the third site is porn. Pokémon themed.

 

I mean, there's definitely enough material out there to get some lewd fan fiction going...

 

I think that's enough internet for today. 

[darksnowman]

On 19/01/2022 at 10:58 AM, MindFreak said:

Ah, not this Friday - the Friday it comes out. Nintendo doesn't distribute review copies before release to smaller vendors anymore - they are afraid of leaks. (Oh, the irony)

You got me on tenterhooks here!

[Ashley]

This is part of a wider Twitter thread explaining their experience with the game (mild spoilers in that thread) but thought I'd post these two as part of the summary

 

 

[Glen-i]

Quote

and the Pokédex to feel like a proper achievement to complete,

I'm insulted! Way to dunk on my National Dex completion over on BD/SP.

That took 180 hours of hard work, damnit!

Edited January 23, 2022 by Glen-i

[Ashley]

You caught them all, but did you get to know them all?

[Glen-i]

25 minutes ago, Ashley said:

You caught them all, but did you get to know them all?

Enough to know that Decidueye is the third slowest grass starter by memory alone. And I didn't even pick it as my starter in Sun/Moon. Pokédex entries are something I like to read for fun. I also know that Lugia can no longer learn Toxic via TM.

I currently have around 80 Pokémon that I'd say I actually use regularly. And that's not counting the ones that are still stuck on the 3DS.

That said, I'm guessing that comment about getting to know Pokémon is more about some kind of behavioural traits of wild Pokémon. But honestly? I highly doubt it will reach the standards of something like the anime or Pokémon Snap. A game structured like Arceus wouldn't be able to realistically depict 200 or so creatures with that level of detail in an open environment like that. It's just not realistic.

Instead, it might be wiser to interpret that as "You can see the Pokémon, and watch them meander about before interacting with them" Because anything more complex then that, and I'd be shocked.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Glen-i

[Ashley]

From the rest of that thread

Spoiler

It's because of the quests you're given; catch so many, battle so many, see it use this move so many times etc.

In a way you get to "know" it more before it's count as caught than if you use a move against a Pokémon, catch it and it goes to your PC and you never do anything with it. 

 

[darksnowman]

On 20/01/2022 at 2:45 PM, Julius said:

Oh, oh! I know this one. Would have mastered it using a Slowpoke tail!

[MindFreak]

That was a reassuring read. I am starting to really look forward to the game though I still fear the world being a bit too empty with nothing but fetch quests to do. 

[Julius]

Looks like they've finally got around to releasing the Japanese overview trailer from two and a half weeks in English (some of it covers stuff from the overview trailer, but there are one or two new tidbits and some more music to listen to):

I'm definitely starting to get excited for Friday now. The game still looks rough visually a lot of the time, and naturally I wish Game Freak had years more for a project like this but that was never to be, but I'm very much looking forward to something fresh. I don't know if a goal of catching all of the Pokémon in a region is going to suit the flow of a game like this, I really dislike what they've got going on with throwing balms and the most basic of dodge mechanics, but I'm more than willing to give it a go with the hope that I'll at least feel a bit refreshed. I think the best sign they've pulled that off is if I don't find myself coming away due to burn out, seeing as we go remakes just two months ago. 

What I'm also not looking forward to is that this is all but guaranteed to bring up similar debates to those we saw with Breath of the Wild, where longtime fans go in with preconceptions based on prior games (for BotW it was: where are the temples? Where's the music? Where's the story?) and with their mind already more than half made up. I get if a game isn't for people, and for example I have my own issues with Breath of the Wild despite really enjoying the experience (I do wonder if not having too much of a connection to the franchise and not completing a game before shaped that a bit for me), but acting like there's nothing good just because it's a different take or just because it's an open world/more open is a real tired take. 

That's not really aimed at anyone here re: Arceus (though the Breath of the Wild part might apply to some based on opinions I've seen around here! ), I just struggle to see how the wider discussion around the game doesn't head that way, which will be a shame because, hey, at least they're trying something pretty brave and new (I know, I know, biggest IP ever and that shouldn't be an excuse for them not giving things more time/effort/money/manpower/etc.), and I want to see those new things discussed more than the fact that people go in expecting Breath of the Wild and end up with Monster Hunter. I hope that I'm wrong - weirdly I think Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl rubbed people the wrong way to the point that this might be received even better than it would have otherwise, and I don't think the Pokémon community prior to this game was as narrow as I think the Zelda community was prior to Breath of the Wild - but we'll see. 

Just for the love of Arceus give us something representing a post-game and continue down the path of trimming some of the fat on some systems and I'll be pretty chuffed. 

Edited January 24, 2022 by Julius

[Glen-i]

I'll be sure to give it a fair crack (At least 2 hours) before starting to think about whether it's for me.

It's funny that expecting BotW, but ending up with a Monster Hunter kind of structure is seen as something that could be a detriment to the games credit. Because that's the only reason I turned around on my initial "this is gonna suck" thought.

My concern is that the actual battling (my favourite part of the series) will be shunted to being second fiddle, which is the biggest reason why I hated Let's Go.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Glen-i

[darksnowman]

55 minutes ago, Julius said:

I wish Game Freak had years more for a project like this but that was never to be, but I'm very much looking forward to something fresh.

If you're saying this is a Monster Hunter pastiche, it certainly looks like they've been working on it since the PS2 era so I'm not sure how many more years you could wish for them to have. 

17 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

I'll be sure to give it a fair crack (At least 2 hours) before starting to think about whether it's for me.

Oh, come on. Stop playing coy with us. We all know this will be your game of the generation.

[Julius]

Throwing this in a spoiler tag because I know some might want to avoid it, but it's been shared by official channels - some new Pokémon have been revealed:

Spoiler

Hisuian final starter evolutions:

Well, silhouettes of their faces anyway. 

Strange decision to share them with us just three days from release in the way that they have, though could be because of the leaks, and I suppose they'll want to show it off in marketing and it might have been tough to keep a lid on with reviews going up (I believe the embargo is lifted tomorrow?). 

Edited January 25, 2022 by Julius

[Ike]

If it's what I think it is, Serebii posted it as well so I got a minor spoiler, uh, spoiled.