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Writing about this here because I am so excited about it, but also trying really hard to avoid spoilers (this is as spoiler-free as I have been in a new Pokemon game since at least Gen V). Didn't get the game until last week and so far it has exceeded my expectations beyond what I would have ever imagined. I'm really not very far because I am trying to not play too fast (just "battled" Kleavor - wow was that intense - and now can see Lake Verity for the first time), but so far it is so amazing I just wanted to write about it! May not even read replies because I am really worried about spoilers, but might write about it again as I move forward.
First I want to mention the music. This is exactly what I had hoped for, "remixes" in the sense that it reminds you of music from DPPT without being the same music. The closest music so far is probably Eterna Forest, but in general you can hear bits of the original tracks of related areas in most the music, but with it still being its own music. I really love that and I'm excited to hear more of it.
The map is also really awesome. You find similar Pokemon in similar locations as "future" Sinnoh and can piece together the locations as you move through the game. I was really excited when I got to what became Eterna Forest, saw the Moss Rock, and all sorts of Pokemon that live there in the "present" (but apparently the Old Chateau wasn't that old). Today I was also really excited to finally get to Lake Verity and also enjoyed that the name Sandgem was used nearby. Can't wait to see more of this as the map expands.
The gameplay is so fresh and way better than I expected. In the previews I got the feeling it would be a cross between Let's Go and a normal Pokemon game because they implied you could choose to throw balls or battle, but this is so different and so much better. There is actually some difficultly to catching Pokemon now and also just some general danger. Way back when Oak told us not to go in the grass without Pokemon this is what he was warning about. The fact that different Pokemon act differently based on their species is also a really cool touch. I remember thinking it was really cool in Shield when a Liepard ran me down, but in that case you automatically battle with your own Pokemon, in this game you have to react quickly to get your own Pokemon involved or dodge/run away. Being able to move during a battle (and even get hit if you aren't careful) adds even more depth to the game. It all just makes the entire scene so much more realistic, you can imagine you are actually in this world.
Just in general being out in the field with your team has a totally different feel to it. You have to be alert at all times and you have to be sure you have the right items with you. I remember I used to really like the route from Fuchsia to Lavender Town because it felt like a bit of a challenge in terms of having enough PP/HP to make it through all the battles, this is like that but so much better because it actually can be a challenge. And being able to battle stronger Pokemon to make it more challenging (or having to avoid them) really adds to the fun. This game did a good job of having the tutorials without making it too cumbersome like some past games - the start was a tad slow, but since then the entire game has been highly entertaining. I honestly don't miss having a lot of trainer battles (I was expecting I would), the battles mean more now because they are necessary and have an added edge of intensity and moving around the "route" is a lot more entertaining when you never know what Pokemon you might run into and what that Pokemon might do. Also everything just looks amazing!
They also did a great job of adapting modern Pokemon stuff to fit into the timeframe. The pastures are a good example and I honestly feel better about having my Pokemon in the pastures then in a PC (and actually being able to see them when you walk by is cool too). Crafting is cool too (although I really shouldn't be instantly good at it - but it is a game) and I like that Apricorns are used to tie into what we had learned in other Pokemon games.
Open world is also fantastic. I like being able to do stuff like jump off cliffs and climb rocks and also being able to get really cool views depending on where you are standing and how you move the camera. Wondering if I will be able to learn to swim... The different times of day (and how that impacts what you see), even little things like the different stage in the moon cycle really add to the world. Having Pokemon moving around in that world is just really neat, like seeing a Gyarados flying over the waterfall, Buneary wading in the stream, or Drifloon coming out at night, there are so many cool examples of how they made this so life-like. I also feel like the Pokemon density is a lot more realistic than in SwS where you would have 16 Pokemon in a small patch of grass. Funny how the patch of grass is actually the safer place now...
The characters are also really interesting. I like the temporal theme, although I do think there are some temporal issues here and there, it still is a really interesting setting. Cool to see the largest city in Sinnoh began as one of the original settlements. I also enjoy seeing the characters that are almost certainly ancestors of the characters from the Sinnoh games (I don't remember many of the new names yet, but Sinnoh characters like Cynthia, Cyrus, Mars, Galaxy logo similar to Galactic, etc). Even the town people are interesting and I like the developing relationships so far as well as the side-quests. Not very far yet as far as the "story", but so far I really like it and I am looking forward to more. It was actually really exciting to think about what Kleavor might look like and not knowing if it was a new Pokemon or a nickname for an old Pokemon (or something in between like I feel it really is). In fact if you have been like me and spoiled yourself in the past you may consider trying not to for a future game - its really amazing (I got within two days of not spoiling Nebby - still wonder to this day how I would have reacted...). There really hasn't been any spot where this game has dragged at all and I honestly spent a lot of time doing field expeditions without moving forward in the story because that is so fun too - even postgame I imagine this will continue to be fun. And interesting how any area can be dangerous, because even that level 3 Shinx is still a lot stronger than a human.
The "new" Pokemon are pretty cool so far too. I'm guessing these aren't evolved forms, but some sort of ancestor form (don't want the spoiler yet). Haven't encountered any Hisui forms yet and only have Zorua spoiled (I know there were some others I heard about that I'm sure I will recognize, but honestly don't even remember the ones I was spoiled on other than Zorua because I love it) - guessing there are 10 lines like the other games and looking forward to encountering them. Excited to encounter something I've never seen before in a game like this because it will feel a lot different when seeing the Pokemon in its environment.
I even got a random shiny on day two (Geodude), first random shiny since Lets Go. Really happy you can see them in the over world again. Kind of cheap to get the free shiny Ponyta, but whatever it is a cool Shiny.
All in all most excited I've been about a new Pokemon game during the first few days since at least X. I had felt a lot of the more recent Pokemon games had been going more in the direction of flash as opposed to content, but this game brings it with both as it does have an amazingly fleshed-out world, but also some really interesting content presented in a whole-new way while still having all of the classic elements you expect from Pokemon. Can't wait to play more (but trying not to overdo it). Depending on how it winds up this has a chance to be very close to my favorite game (going to be really hard to beat SS for so many reasons, but this game is already way up there). Has me really excited about the future of Pokemon. I sure hope this game was received well (I honestly haven't seen a single thing), because I am already thinking about Johto as the next region in the "revisit" line and how cool something similar to this would be for Johto.
First I want to mention the music. This is exactly what I had hoped for, "remixes" in the sense that it reminds you of music from DPPT without being the same music. The closest music so far is probably Eterna Forest, but in general you can hear bits of the original tracks of related areas in most the music, but with it still being its own music. I really love that and I'm excited to hear more of it.
The map is also really awesome. You find similar Pokemon in similar locations as "future" Sinnoh and can piece together the locations as you move through the game. I was really excited when I got to what became Eterna Forest, saw the Moss Rock, and all sorts of Pokemon that live there in the "present" (but apparently the Old Chateau wasn't that old). Today I was also really excited to finally get to Lake Verity and also enjoyed that the name Sandgem was used nearby. Can't wait to see more of this as the map expands.
The gameplay is so fresh and way better than I expected. In the previews I got the feeling it would be a cross between Let's Go and a normal Pokemon game because they implied you could choose to throw balls or battle, but this is so different and so much better. There is actually some difficultly to catching Pokemon now and also just some general danger. Way back when Oak told us not to go in the grass without Pokemon this is what he was warning about. The fact that different Pokemon act differently based on their species is also a really cool touch. I remember thinking it was really cool in Shield when a Liepard ran me down, but in that case you automatically battle with your own Pokemon, in this game you have to react quickly to get your own Pokemon involved or dodge/run away. Being able to move during a battle (and even get hit if you aren't careful) adds even more depth to the game. It all just makes the entire scene so much more realistic, you can imagine you are actually in this world.
Just in general being out in the field with your team has a totally different feel to it. You have to be alert at all times and you have to be sure you have the right items with you. I remember I used to really like the route from Fuchsia to Lavender Town because it felt like a bit of a challenge in terms of having enough PP/HP to make it through all the battles, this is like that but so much better because it actually can be a challenge. And being able to battle stronger Pokemon to make it more challenging (or having to avoid them) really adds to the fun. This game did a good job of having the tutorials without making it too cumbersome like some past games - the start was a tad slow, but since then the entire game has been highly entertaining. I honestly don't miss having a lot of trainer battles (I was expecting I would), the battles mean more now because they are necessary and have an added edge of intensity and moving around the "route" is a lot more entertaining when you never know what Pokemon you might run into and what that Pokemon might do. Also everything just looks amazing!
They also did a great job of adapting modern Pokemon stuff to fit into the timeframe. The pastures are a good example and I honestly feel better about having my Pokemon in the pastures then in a PC (and actually being able to see them when you walk by is cool too). Crafting is cool too (although I really shouldn't be instantly good at it - but it is a game) and I like that Apricorns are used to tie into what we had learned in other Pokemon games.
Open world is also fantastic. I like being able to do stuff like jump off cliffs and climb rocks and also being able to get really cool views depending on where you are standing and how you move the camera. Wondering if I will be able to learn to swim... The different times of day (and how that impacts what you see), even little things like the different stage in the moon cycle really add to the world. Having Pokemon moving around in that world is just really neat, like seeing a Gyarados flying over the waterfall, Buneary wading in the stream, or Drifloon coming out at night, there are so many cool examples of how they made this so life-like. I also feel like the Pokemon density is a lot more realistic than in SwS where you would have 16 Pokemon in a small patch of grass. Funny how the patch of grass is actually the safer place now...
The characters are also really interesting. I like the temporal theme, although I do think there are some temporal issues here and there, it still is a really interesting setting. Cool to see the largest city in Sinnoh began as one of the original settlements. I also enjoy seeing the characters that are almost certainly ancestors of the characters from the Sinnoh games (I don't remember many of the new names yet, but Sinnoh characters like Cynthia, Cyrus, Mars, Galaxy logo similar to Galactic, etc). Even the town people are interesting and I like the developing relationships so far as well as the side-quests. Not very far yet as far as the "story", but so far I really like it and I am looking forward to more. It was actually really exciting to think about what Kleavor might look like and not knowing if it was a new Pokemon or a nickname for an old Pokemon (or something in between like I feel it really is). In fact if you have been like me and spoiled yourself in the past you may consider trying not to for a future game - its really amazing (I got within two days of not spoiling Nebby - still wonder to this day how I would have reacted...). There really hasn't been any spot where this game has dragged at all and I honestly spent a lot of time doing field expeditions without moving forward in the story because that is so fun too - even postgame I imagine this will continue to be fun. And interesting how any area can be dangerous, because even that level 3 Shinx is still a lot stronger than a human.
The "new" Pokemon are pretty cool so far too. I'm guessing these aren't evolved forms, but some sort of ancestor form (don't want the spoiler yet). Haven't encountered any Hisui forms yet and only have Zorua spoiled (I know there were some others I heard about that I'm sure I will recognize, but honestly don't even remember the ones I was spoiled on other than Zorua because I love it) - guessing there are 10 lines like the other games and looking forward to encountering them. Excited to encounter something I've never seen before in a game like this because it will feel a lot different when seeing the Pokemon in its environment.
I even got a random shiny on day two (Geodude), first random shiny since Lets Go. Really happy you can see them in the over world again. Kind of cheap to get the free shiny Ponyta, but whatever it is a cool Shiny.
All in all most excited I've been about a new Pokemon game during the first few days since at least X. I had felt a lot of the more recent Pokemon games had been going more in the direction of flash as opposed to content, but this game brings it with both as it does have an amazingly fleshed-out world, but also some really interesting content presented in a whole-new way while still having all of the classic elements you expect from Pokemon. Can't wait to play more (but trying not to overdo it). Depending on how it winds up this has a chance to be very close to my favorite game (going to be really hard to beat SS for so many reasons, but this game is already way up there). Has me really excited about the future of Pokemon. I sure hope this game was received well (I honestly haven't seen a single thing), because I am already thinking about Johto as the next region in the "revisit" line and how cool something similar to this would be for Johto.
