My First Impressions of Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is here. These are my first impressions.

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TWOOTER: @ArloStuff

This video was edited by the excellent Yoshiller!

"Reloaded Installer #11" by LHS.

[AkuTenshiiZero]

The one fascinating thing that immediately struck me is just how different the tone of this game is. It's an older time where modern tools and amenities don't exist, _and people are afraid of Pokemon._ It's absolutely a new experience for the series to see a time before people understood Pokemon and saw them as a threat, hearing word that a team of explorers was *mauled* by an angry Kleavor, we're so used to these creatures being our friends and this game is just like "These are wild beasts and they WILL try to kill you.

[SurrealKeenan]

Arlo in voice over: *gushing over how fun the gameplay is*
Arlo in gameplay: *challenging level 40+ alpha pokemon with a level 6 worm and a dream*

[AustinJohnPlays]

I cannot count how many videos I have heard Arlo not happy with a Pokemon game.
But at 1:39 I had a reaelly big smile. I'm happy you're enjoying it my dude

[stinos]

I really like that the missions don't feel forced, you can be doing a mission but also go exploring, even if the destination where you need to go is miles away

[amritsodhi]

Everything being in real time makes such a huge difference. When I was playing i threw two pokeballs at two Pokemon that were standing next to each other, then threw a pokeball with one of my own Pokemon at a nearby tree to collect apricorns, and these three actions happened simultaneously in real time, which would be unthinkable in one of the older games. You know they would just freeze you and remove control each time until the animation completes. All this makes the game feel so smooth and natural!

[OmegaChase]

"It's tricky" he says as he throws a lv. 6 bug out against a lv. 40 fire type.

[FreckleFoxShow]

Got it skeptically today. During my first survey I got hooked when I came across a Lv. 28 Graveler that just obliterated my party, but with my last hail mary Bidoof I made a critical hit and then caught it. Felt like I did something I wasn't supposed to be able to do and that my choices mattered rather than just slaughtering up a predetermined difficulty progression that makes turn based combat games dull and repetitive.

[BagaJr]

I was shocked when I saw "Change moves" in the menu. It gave me hope that they are willing to rethink every old tradition and so far it seems like they have.

[Mattriix]

This is what Pokemon needed after so long, I hope the "Pokemon Legends" series becomes a thing to be right next to the classic formula like Monster Hunter did with it's "Stories" series

[BragiZero]

One thing I didn't even realize I was taking huge advantage of until I really thought about it was the quick selection in the bottom right. When you're traveling from just one section of the map to the next you'll often find yourself encountering completely different pokemon. Using the second area as an example, there's a section with both Toxicroak and Rhyhorn, with require different pokemon to handle effectively. If this were sword and shield, you would have to open you the menu, manually switch your lead pokemon, back out, and then engage in battle by walking up to the correct pokemon. But here, just press L and R a few times and throw your pokemon out. It saves so much time and is one of those quality of life changes that makes me feel like I'm really experiencing pokemon rather than playing a simulation of it.

[disneyvillainsfan]

I like how when battling a Pokémon, the environment stays the same and doesn't turn into a standard flat area, even if said Pokémon is at the bottom of a cliff. It makes the battles feel more realistic.

[joebot]

This is the most fun Pokemon I've ever played, I really hope they refine and continue this style.

I'm 20 hours in and haven't even left the first area yet

[eoncaliber]

I pray that we get Legends games for other regions, like having one for Unova that goes into the Original Dragon, or one for Hoenn that shows the apocalypse started by Groudon and Kyogre (and maybe possibly the Eon Duo’s lore), I could go on. I pray that this becomes a series.

[stayalivefriend]

My face lit up with a HUGE smile when Arlo said he was loving the game so far. I'm not too far in, but I'm also loving it. Arceus is definitely a great first step in the right direction. Excited for the future of Pokemon games after playing this one.

[diablo]

I’ve been playing Pokémon since 1st grade, almost 15 years, and this is the first time I am genuinely excited to catch multiple Pokémon of the same species, it feels like I’m exploring a new world where I have no idea what will happen even tho I’ve played Sinnoh literally dozens of times. This is exactly what I imagined Pokemon was like when I was a kid

[carbon]

A cool feature I didn’t realize is that you can get double teamed in battles. I was battling a shinx and his buddy decided to join in and made things difficult.

[fablejoey]

As a long-time "I'm not mad... just disappointed" Pokemon-Lad, honestly this might be the most fun I have EVER had playing a Pokemon game. I'm enjoying just about all of what I've played so far. Liking the changes to combat, loving the open sections, and thinking the music is quite wonderful. Good stuff! 🙌🥂

[xander]

I didn't realize that there was zero transition between the battle scene and the overworld. AND you can move around freely during Pokemon battles?! This game looks amazing!

[chaincat]

The game is really good. It's definitely rough around the edges, so I'm hoping that they continue with this model of gameplay moving forward and refine the game over the years as we revisit more regions. Johto feels like a good one to revisit next with Celebii or something

[calli]

I also like the fact that in the battles the pokemon hit a lot harder so you're actually forced to switch your pokemon in-and-out and like Arlo said you're not steamrolling everything