SPOILERS! Legends: Arceus Playthrough Discussion

[Celever]

I’m enjoying this game a lot more than I expected. I only picked it up yesterday after I saw the gameplay and it looked surprisingly good, and I’m having a fairly good time with it so far. As I understand it, everything up until Kleavor is a tutorial and boy is it a long one, but a long arduous tutorial is hardly new for a Pokémon game and they supplemented it with worldbuilding so hey, it is what it is.

Story-wise it’s pretty bog standard with a little too much idolising the protagonist for my liking. “oH MY SINNOH THERE’S 3 BIDOOF HELP ME O COURAGEOUS ONE” is complete overkill, but whatever.

The main cool thing about this game is its difficulty. Knowing the first boss was Kleavor, I assumed it was fine to just teambuild whatever mons I came across that I like anyway, because Pokémon games aren’t hard. That was a mistake to say the least; a level 17-20 team (only one star at this point, missed two stars by 30 points and couldn’t be bothered to update with Cyrell) of Stantler, Quilava, Dustox, Drifloon, Staravia, and Luxio scraped through the battle with an in-the-red Stantler and Luxio the only survivors, Luxio using my last revive. Pretty neat, maybe thinking is relevant this time around.

 

[R_N]

Eh it still varies. I only lost one pokemon to kleavor and that was mostly just negligiance. like 2 solid se hits and its over. possibly just the one if you do a strong hit on deck.

It's like the totems, really. The totems can be pretty spooky, I definitely had trouble with several of them, but once you know their shtick you jsut dismantle them. Lord 3 & especially 4 I felt more in danger from the actual field attacks, and Lord 2 would've been tough if it didn't have this weird attack that didnt do anything


I do think the game is more difficult, but this is more due to just...variosu system changes. Like there is SOMETHING with this damage formula that's causing people to hit way above their weightclass and it gets real old, but I've rationlized it as they tweaked things in such a way that they know you're bringing a team of 6 so you can just sack teammates until you win and it's fine. Lack of abilities hurts a lot, as does lack of held items. Weird level interactions. Turn order is kind of more of a suggestion than anything else.
Ltos of things like that. Honestly I don't care for a number of it, but it's....interesting, give it that.

 

[Magcargo]

For the sake of people that didn't get this game on release, what would you guys say are some good beginner tips? Serebii's Dex is making me think that you shouldn't have a set team, especially if you're an absolute completionist. (BTW, I'll ignore the tip to not be an absolute completionist and only go for the Shiny Charm. That one is pretty obvious and I'm ignoring it even though it might be the best tip.)


You should feel worse about the people that haven't gotten the game yet because they preordered from the official website for the preorder bonus Arceus Plushy and having gotten it yet because of bad weather making it come late.

Even without distortions making things even more insane, from what I can tell from looking at Serebii's Dex, it looks like you'll need to catch and/or defeat a total of about 40 Pokemon. You're going to run into way more than 40 of each, so let's say 60 then multiply that by 240 (I'm including Legends to make up for that this still feels like a massive underestimate.) and you get 14400. Absolute completionists are going to find more than a few Shiny Pokemon, even if you avoid the way too common Shinies from Mass Outbreaks.

I dread doing this, but Woo! Shiny Pokemon! I hope I find a Shiny Zorua. :D


For later playthroughs, I'm using a second profile for a second save so I never have to delete the True 100% to start over. I think I'd still go for unlocking the Shiny Charm though.

Yeah, having a set team in this game is a bad idea. You need stars in order to tame higher level Pokemon like alphas and the easiest way to get stars is to use the stuff you caught for a bit and register them in the pokedex I caught quite a few Alphas like Sliggoo and Stantler, but both were practically useless since they wouldn't listen. I might be wrong on this, but I believe that if your Pokemon gets overleveled they won't listen to you either, which is all the more incentive to complete the pokedex by using the stuff you catch.

What I've been doing is having 2 main-stay Pokemon (Decidueye and Staraptor) and 4 Pokemon that are meant to be trained for the Pokedex. These main-stays help a bit against strong alphas. That being said, even these two are getting a bit too overleveled for the point I am in the game.

 

[Steel With It]

Yeah, having a set team in this game is a bad idea. You need stars in order to tame higher level Pokemon like alphas and the easiest way to get stars is to use the stuff you caught for a bit and register them in the pokedex

I think that depends on your playstyle; most things can be caught already evolved (everything but a few Hisuian forms, as far as I can tell), so I've been earning my stars Go-style. I think the only issue my dumb ass's had so far was forgetting to actually pick up my latest star from Not Cyrus before trying to use my Alpha Qwilfish, whoops.

 

[Worldie]

It's like the totems, really. The totems can be pretty spooky, I definitely had trouble with several of them, but once you know their shtick you jsut dismantle them

Well ya know, I repeat it all the time, it's the core problem of turn based games, once you know what's coming you will just be prepared for it and roll it over...

Though, at least this one has that bit of action based section to shape it up. I take it.

 

[Antihaxxer]

I think the most useful tip is increase the size of your bag ! :) I took my time but I really like the game especially when you unlock Wyrdeer ! the world is H U G E (at least first area) ! Finally something logical ! Too many talk at start and too many random NPC but I like it now ! The different tasks / secondary missions could have been all added in the map together instead of one after one after I selected it

Sorry but on Kleavor, I just dodge and launch the small ball (sorry dont know English name), I could battle it ?

 

[sb879]

What's that in the sky? Some kind of flying object?

 

[Magcargo]

What's that in the sky? Some kind of flying object?

Is this near where the alpha Snorlax spawns? If so, I believe its a Togekiss. I actually threw a feather ball at it and caught it lol.

 

[Worldie]

Is this near where the alpha Snorlax spawns? If so, I believe its a Togekiss. I actually threw a feather ball at it and caught it lol.

That's... a Togekiss from below?
*insert Jigglypuff from above moment*

 

[powergo1]

Wait feather balls can go that far? Huh

 

[CPU]

Found the Alpha Blissey that's around the Obsidian Falls/Oreburgh Gate earlier than I was probably supposed to (hadn't quite taken down Lord 3) through careful climbing with Wyrdeer. Really wanted to catch it and figured out it didn't have anything to hit Ghost-types with. Unfortunately none of my balls worked and it ended up Struggling itself to death. Good (and easy) experience at least!

In other news, I ended up overleveled for Lord 3.

 

[R_N]

Well ya know, I repeat it all the time, it's the core problem of turn based games, once you know what's coming you will just be prepared for it and roll it over...

Though, at least this one has that bit of action based section to shape it up. I take it.

Honestly I see this as a feature, not a problem.

You run into problem, deal with it on the fly or your reset, take a step back and prepare accordingly.

What's that in the sky? Some kind of flying object?

I used ALL of my stupid feather balls trying to catch the stupid magnezone and missed all but 2 of them and NO THE TWO OF THEM DIDNT WORK

 

[Worldie]

Honestly I see this as a feature, not a problem.

You run into problem, deal with it on the fly or your reset, take a step back and prepare accordingly.

Well, that is a more positive way to see it, I guess.

I don't mind it, it just boils to distinguish the fact that turn based "difficulty" is usually about preparation and not about the encounters themselves. Encounters will always be easy if you're prepared

 

[Dialganet2]

I have to say I am thoroughly enjoying this even though I foresee some problems.

Mind you, I only have level 15 mons at best and I've just crossed the first bridge (the one where you're challenged by the Diamond team member with a Munchlax, to be clear).

Initial pros and cons (for which I reserve the right to expand or amend my positition, for better or worse, when I'll be deeper in the game):

1. + shaken up formula - novelty for the sake of novelty isn't always good right? Yes, but for now I'm good;
2. + new battle systems seems a little off and "random" but I supposed because I am spoiler (and mechanic) free I am just oblivious to the new damage, moves and turn system formula, I still have to get my feet wet into this. So way is this positive? Because even level 2 mons dished out some punishment in the form of 20-25% health to my level 10-12 mons (we're talking about Bidoof, Wurmple, Ponyta Buizel and the likes here). It seems like not every battle is just a pushover and I hope it stays so;
3. + Finally I can get my ass kicked by stomping on animals I'm not supposed to bother (I've been bellyslammed by the Snorlax on the North-West shore to my sister's behest who sent me there unaware)
4. + Development, RPG elements, personalization, side quests (even though the jury is still out on whether such features will wear out due to repetitiveness and simplicity; more on this later);
5. + (Big Point): finally I can see Pokemon having their personality shown to me and their supposed habits and behavior patterns mean something: I've been advocating this for years. Shinx is aggressive? It will attack you. Bidoof is a relaxed beaver? It doesn't give a blip, you can roll over it no problem. Ponyta are elusive? Throw them off and they'll run away. It is a very welcome addition: every mon has so much potential and personality, it was about time that the potential was not fulfilled, but at least explored.
6. Various homages to the lore (see: clear ancestors of today's characters like Flint and Cyrus, the ones I've met so far) and story: so far I love it.

Now to the few negatives I have seen in the game:

1. - Graphics: so far, so bad. It sometimes look terrible, interact terrible, or both. I am sure everybody has had the dreaded moment of throwing a ball at a mon, it disappears amidst grass straws that should not behave like they're having a seizure (or making you think you're having one...) , the ball then pops in and out of your sight for no reason and, should the catch attempt fail, the Pokemon just drops a wannabe paper board of itself back on the grass. Graphics are not the end all, be all (far for it for me, if anything), but when base SWSH looks better, it is a problem. Such poor quality is inexcusable.
2. - Related to the previous point, game's clanky beyond patience sometimes. The find the invasive, pest Bidoof sidequest was very funny but had the unfortunate side effect of showcasing how poor angles, graphics and color palettes where to me in this game. The quest was legitimately hilarious, but unfortunately 2 out of 3 Bidoof (the one near your lodgings and the one in the residential area) are put in places where their color clearly mashes poorly with the environment behind them, and I literally needed to kick them to see them. The one at the "PC Box" was clear, but had some pop-up issues for me.
3. - Baffling Mon selection: at beginning of game, you encounter Buizel, Starly, Shinx, Ponyta, Wurmple, Bidoof, Drifloon... I just crossed the bridge and I've met Burmy... sounds familiar? Look, I love Sinnoh, it is my favourite region, but maybe some initial variety other than the starters may have worked admirably, especially because many people, myself included, just got the same exact early mon selection in BDSP. Hope this improves later (I'm blind to the new mons bar Wyrdeer, Braviary and Basculegion, mind you).
4. - Jury's still out to the sustainability and novelty of the gameplay loop

Moreover, some lighten the mood notes:

ONE PIECE WANO ARC SPOILERS AHEAD

Is it me, or is the beginning eerily similar to Wano?
You get lost on a beach with a huge mountain behind. Sounds familiar?

One Piece Chapter 910

Everybody is very hostile to you because you're a stranger/foreigneer and you look funny. Sounds familiar?
Everybody is terrified of anything happening outside their village. Sounds familiar?
I'll admit these points make all the sense in the world given the context, but it still made me chuckle.

The professor is Toyonasu:

One Piece character: Toyonasu

Everything considered, I've not had this kind of fun since early USUM, so I can give the game a 6.5/10 for now. Hope it improves.

 

[R_N]

One Piece wano calls on a ton of japanese tropes that would likely find themselves at home in this, the game based on an older japan.

 

[KaenSoul]

Im in the middle of the classic legendary hunt of every modern pokemon game and must say the hardest mon to find and catch in this game and maybe the whole series is

Hide

Cherubi, i have been hitting every single tree in the game because is a honey encounter in modern sinnoh like Burmy so it should be there and have found 0 so far, but somehow found two Cherrim, and i failed to catch both and not only that but it kicked my ass while trying to catch it, and one of the first requests in the game is to complete its dex entry

 

[R_N]

Im in the middle of the classic legendary hunt of every modern pokemon game and must say the hardest mon to find and catch in this game and maybe the whole series is

Hide

Cherubi, i have been hitting every single tree in the game because is a honey encounter in modern sinnoh like Burmy so it should be there and have found 0 so far, but somehow found two Cherrim, and i failed to catch both and not only that but it kicked my ass while trying to catch it, and one of the first requests in the game is to complete its dex entry

i found a cherubi while climbing mt coronet, had no idea it a secret nightmare.

I'll consider this the game making up for showing me one (1) pichu and then it running away and then never seeinga nother one.

 

[Magcargo]

1. - Graphics: so far, so bad. It sometimes look terrible, interact terrible, or both. I am sure everybody has had the dreaded moment of throwing a ball at a mon, it disappears amidst grass straws that should not behave like they're having a seizure (or making you think you're having one...) , the ball then pops in and out of your sight for no reason and, should the catch attempt fail, the Pokemon just drops a wannabe paper board of itself back on the grass. Graphics are not the end all, be all (far for it for me, if anything), but when base SWSH looks better, it is a problem. Such poor quality is inexcusable.

This game looks significantly better than Sword and Shield. Lighting and Shadows are a big step up from that game and the 3d Models look way better too because they have properly modeled mouths, holes and other features. I'd say the textures are better in this game too. There are some downgrades though (the player character doesn't properly adjust their feet on stairs, which are more like Slopes in this game and the water looks worse) but for the most part, the game adds more than it takes away.

I don't think the game looks great, but it certainly looks better than other critically acclaimed switch RPGs that I've been playing like Fire Emblem: 3H and Atelier Ryza.

 

[R_N]

LA is definitely far better looking than SWSH (you'd hope so, certainly) but it's really funny & damning with faint praise when the best "well at least its better than ____" is 3H (Atelier i'll pass on commenting). Good lord now THERE'S an ugly game. At least gamefreak was able to have the time, money & engine for characters to have actual clothing that has like...dimension on all parts of the body.

If gen 9 winds up being next year it can only be for the best, graphically.

Anyway, I've reached the climax. Or I guess the bit before the climax

Hide

The music for this part is great. Cogita is super cool. I've gotta pick Adaman or Iridia, so I assume this determines how I get Dialga or Palkia first. I think I'll go Palkia since I keep getting the "first" games in these pairs...I always get more and more Dialgas! I mean i'm getting another one either way but still.

 

[Ema Skye]

Beat the main game (still working on dex completion). Some thoughts:

• Alpha Pokemon are amazing and I never thought I would love them as much as I did. There is something so satisfying about trying to take down these superbosses (for lack of a better word), and you feel like you're playing something out of Metal Gear. I had so much fun wandering around trying to collect all the Alphas without engaging in battle with them and it was some of the most fun I've had playing Pokemon. I never cared about shinies but this grabbed my attention.
• Similar note, I have never loved catching mons so much. Normally I try to just stick with my team of 6 and never catch anything else, but the gameplay loop is so satisfying, especially when it comes to trying to catch those aggressive guys out of battle. I'm actually pretty close to full dex completion.
• New Pokemon design is always so good. I think I used all of them at some point except Basculegion and Avalugg. Shoutouts to Ursaluna DNA Lilligant for carrying my team as hard as they did.
• Battle system definitely feels wonky but it grew on me. Turn order feels strange when a new mon gets switched in, but maybe I'm not paying enough attention to it. Quick Attack clones and, especially, Wave Crash/Esper Wing due to extra damage, really dominate with giving you more attacks, especially if you combine them with Agile Style. Similarly moves like Bulldoze and Icy Wind help to give you more turns. It really changed how I built my team instead of loading them up with lots of high damage moves.
• Noble battles got repetitive fast. Kleavor and Lilligant were fine; Arcanine felt like it had a strategy and you had to counter the strategy (stay out of the corners); Electrode was total bedlam and Avalugg was pretty meh. Dialga/Palkia battle is total bullshit with the amount of area denial they do and their telegraphs seem to be skipped sometimes.
• Echoing others with the graphics being meh. It's telling when you fly by a Staraptor and you can see the frames of its wings flapping. I'm not expecting something amazing on the Switch but I expected more.
• Initially, I was underwhelmed with the maps as it felt like there was a lot of empty space, but as I explored more, it almost felt BotW-esque with something everywhere, whether that's an Unown, Spiritomb wisp or forced Alpha. I felt heavily incentivized to explore and the map pins were very appreciated.
• Satchel limit is very small and the cost of upgrading it is prohibitive. Item management is awful. I got to 30 slots and I was still triaging everything. This is my biggest complaint about the game.

Overall, this is the most fun I've had playing Pokemon in nearly 20 years. I feel like the kid I was playing Sapphire back in 2003. This is a groundbreaking game for Pokemon and I hope they keep this style of game going forward.

 

[NeonNitroGlycerin]

have not beaten game but am absolutely loving it so far (I've beat arcanine)
only complaints are as follows:
- bag size
- either breaking rocks and walls (by throwing a mon at them) is never clearly explained or I'm just blind
- (not sure if this is the case but) mons ceasing to listen to you after reaching a certain level is dreadful given how long it takes to increase that threshold

other than that I just absolutely love this game

 

[R_N]

have not beaten game but am absolutely loving it so far (I've beat arcanine)
only complaints are as follows:
- bag size
- either breaking rocks and walls (by throwing a mon at them) is never clearly explained or I'm just blind
- (not sure if this is the case but) mons ceasing to listen to you after reaching a certain level is dreadful given how long it takes to increase that threshold

other than that I just absolutely love this game

the bag kills me
there is just so much garbage in the game and even if you stop actively picking things up you still fill it up in no time because everyone keeps dropping things
And the jerk sells them one. at. a. time. FOR SO MUCH MONEY. If you want every slot it costs 4million and the last slot in particular costs 1 million.


Also I'm surprised you've run into the level cap but have trouble getting the stars. I'm on star 6 and have never once hit the level threshold with anyone. I never had to do much to get them, and I don't even change m yteam around that much.

 

[Steel With It]

And the jerk sells them one. at. a. time. FOR SO MUCH MONEY. If you want every slot it costs 4million and the last slot in particular costs 1 million.

For the record, this was ripped directly from Breath Of The Wild. Let's just consider ourselves lucky our Pokemon don't break after three attacks. =P

 

[Missingno.1998]

I'm enjoying this game so far, it is actually way more fun than I was expected. I die A LOT though, and the damage/turn order makes no sense to me. And 3vs1 matches are so unfair.

I feel like either the damage output is insanely inflated or bulk is lowered because my pokemon take half damage from things of a much lower level. I also found the Arcanine boss fight to be insanely challenging and I won by throwing the last balm two seconds before I would have died. Oh and the bag storage is so annoying.

My team is not at all what I planned but here it is so far (just beat Electrode):

Drifblim
Alpha Goodra (insane bulk)
Gastrodon
Liligant
Luxray
Kleavor

 

[TheMantyke]

Credit where credit is due on the graphics: It took me a while to realize but I actually don’t recall any framerate dips while playing the game. If they happened, they were all so quick I didn’t even perceive them. I want to say 99.9% of the experience was like that but… hey I guess I have caught over 1000 Pokémon by now and I didn’t have one be a weird lagspike-fest so I guess that percentage is higher. I can see now that stuff like that choppy chingling in the trailer were the game prioritizing the 30 FPS of the game above all else. It’s a shame the looks don’t sell it in static images because the gameplay being that steady feels great. But yeah, also, flying Pokémon need a liiitle more animation than that 2 FPS gif they revert to when far away lol.