Pokemon Sun/Moon is probably the best Pokemon game yet. A significant part of that is that more than ever before, it’s breaking from the formula or at least obscuring the formula enough that it feels fresh. It’s modern, it’s got quality of life improvements out the wazoo, it’s got a persistent map. If only it could have had your buddies following you around the overworld, it could have definitively claimed the crown from HGSS (unused data suggests this feature was planned but frustratingly scrapped). Ah well.

There are so many nice features that I appreciate here. Having Rotom as a Pokedex/guide/constant companion is helpful and fun. No more HMs required for traversal! In-battle effectiveness tips. The Poke Pelago with all its useful features such as simple berry harvesting, free stones, and automatic happiness training. A plot with an actual fake-out, and a more organic challenge system compared to another 8 gyms.

It’s got all the usual streamlining that a new Pokemon instalment brings too, but on the other hand it’s also got the usual gimmicks. They’re not quite as overwhelming though; I didn’t find the need to use Z-moves but they’re integrated into the progression effectively by means of acquiring Z-crystals as prizes. Alolan forms of old Pokemon is another addition with potential, but it ended up just being an avenue for yet more Gen 1 nostalgia. The rampant Kanto references took away from the Alolan setting that was otherwise well-established; characters from other Gens popping up likewise distracted.

The reason I wanted the game to be itself more is because I really engaged with the story and characters more than ever before. I became attached to Lillie, Gladion, and Hau and felt like they were really participating in the adventure in a significant way. Island kahunas and trial captains show up and interact with you and their environment, giving the sense of a living world. Team Skull were appealingly goofy punks, and the Aether Foundation was an interestingly insidious force. These characters also develop as the game goes on; sure they have simple arcs but they work. On the other hand, your player character seems dumbly oblivious, never speaking and displaying the same bland expression no matter the circumstances. Despite the clothing customisation attempting to make the protagonist your own, the cinematic style that the game has taken on was at odds with the complete cypher that “you” are presented as.

My plan to create an all-Australian team fell through as Pokemon Bank support was delayed and the available selection didn’t quite cover enough of what I wanted. But I still managed to make a cool team that I developed affection for—as intended (again, despite ignoring the patting/feeding feature that was meant to facilitate this). In fact I had 12 active mons that I freely swapped and changed between, in an attempt to make the experience less of a cakewalk. It worked, and I got enough challenge to make my victories feel fun and well-earned, as well as allowing more diversity in who I would take with me.

At the risk of repeating myself, this is a good game. Sure, I wish there were more available Pokemon, and the writing often smacked of poor localisation with obvious “translation-ese”, and turning off battle animations should get rid of the long intros to battles, and the framerate drops to single digits with more than two Pokemon in battle, and dammit why can’t they just make your little friends walk behind you on the field??? But yeah, probably the best one yet.