Pokémon Sun & Moon First Impressions

Pokémon has been a pretty significant franchise throughout the lives of everyone at A-To-J, and we're all celebrating the 20th anniversary by drowning in the latest incarnation of "that one Pokémon you find in every single bush, under every single rock, on every route" (it's Yungoos). Personally, I haven't actually gotten deep into a Pokémon game since Diamond & Pearl, so this game is really my first foray into the series in a long time (I admittedly did check out X, but didn't play enough of it for it to have left any impression on me). Luckily, that isn't the case this time around!

I picked up Pokémon Sun (everybody else at A-To-J got Moon, and the only reason I didn't also get Moon is because SOMEBODY had to try Sun!) and got about as far as the second island for the purposes of this article. ​The latest incarnation of the franchise sees you, a kid from the Kanto region, moving into your new house in Alola (Basically Hawaii).

I'll try not to spoil the story, but as with every game you choose your starter very early on (I went with Popplio, who I will defend TO THE DEATH as the best of the three starters, come at me internet). I took my seal dog thing and set off to become a Pokemon master and all that, ready to conquer all of the islands that make up Basically Hawaii.

As far as Pokémon games go, this sure is a Pokémon game. It's got all the staples of the franchise. As far as new features, gyms are replaced by island trials (eh...), wild Pokemon can call for help (please stop doing this), and the new Bad Guy Group has something going on with their arms when they walk. As far as I can tell, it's a solid addition to the Pokémon franchise. To be honest it's the most fun I've had with the series in years (see my above comment about how X failed to keep me interested for more than a day or two).

It's a good game, but it's not like it flips the franchise on its head or anything. If you're a fan, of course you should play it! If you've never liked the series before, this game probably won't change your mind. A full review (by Teepu!) will be coming as soon as he finishes the game, which shouldn't be too long considering he dropped his entire life and hooked himself up to a Pokémon I.V. for the past week or so.

​-Justin

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