Test of the game Pokémon Legends Arceus: A new start for the series? on Switch
After years of waiting, a breath of fresh air is finally blowing on the Pokémon game series, with Legends Arceus. A breath of fresh air that meanders between the green hills of this resolutely more open adventure. Here, no League, no badge. Only nature and the wild creatures that make it up. Your mission: complete the first Pokédex in history, and understand why some monsters are much more aggressive than usual (in addition to shining like disco balls). Successful bet for Nintendo and Game Freak? Our verdict on Pokémon Legends Arceus.
Above, in auto-play, find our video test of Pokémon Legends Arceus. Released January 28 on Switch.To say Arceus Legends is highly anticipated is an understatement. On the sidelines of a crazy success, almost hegemonic for the very mainstream RPG genre, fans of the series often point out the lack of profound novelties, risk-taking on the part of the Game Freak studio (not to mention the debates on difficulty and systems like Multi-Exp). And for once, Legends Arceus puts both feet in the dish: with its dimension in the open world as well as the possibility of catching creatures in real time, it is an unprecedented revival for the series, looking like fantasy for some players. What enthusiast has never dreamed of getting lost in nature, PokéBall in hand? Now it is possible.
Buy Pokémon Legends: Arceus at 44€ at Amazon
Adventure, the real thing
It's possible and it's above all successful. Before we even get to the storyline and the various game mechanics, let's start with the most important: Pokémon Legends Arceus undeniably captures a great sense of adventure, offering several decently sized open areas, where the famous creatures frolicking innocently waiting to be captured (or knocked out then captured, as you choose). Areas that are also rather pleasing to the eye. Despite a technique far from stunning - a lot of clipping, aliasing, textures and 3D models in the low average - Arceus Legends displays satisfactory visuals, with very rare drops in framerate, whether in portable or docked. Only real downside regarding the realization: the interface and the menus, laborious to use.
That being said, how do play areas for this Pokémon work? What is there to do, and is it interesting to do? Concretely, Legends Arceus takes you on a mission to complete the very first Pokédex and investigate the Monarchs, creatures revered by the clans of the world of Hisui - former name given to Sinnoh - and who have lost their minds. To do this, you will have to go to each of the regions. These will unlock as you progress. In fact, as soon as you have appeased the Monarch in one area, the next one will unlock and so on. The whole forms a consequent playground. As you probably already know, Legends Arceus is not strictly speaking an open world. It's not a bad thing: Game Freak breaks down the progression and saves the player from getting scattered.
From tac to tasks
But to access these areas, you will have to do something else: improve your rank by validating tasks attached to each Pokémon to fill the Pokédex. A focal point of Arceus Legends. Tasks add meaning and strategic flavor to the hunt for pocket monsters. For example, you will be asked to capture an animal a certain number of times, after a fight or discreetly; beating him repeatedly, either by brute force or with some type of attack; use such an item on a monster; feed him. There are between five and ten tasks per creature. Some make the research level of the species in question evolve more quickly. Once this index has reached ten points, the sheet is considered complete.
A strategic, quasi-arithmetic approach to monster hunting that we liked (we can cross tasks to complete several at once), not taking precedence over the exhilarating pleasure of to see a new Pokémon in the distance, to approach silently to finally catch it. This pleasure was still intact after long hours of play. In Arceus Legends, the creatures of course have different behaviors. Some will remain motionless when you arrive, gently letting themselves be captured. Others will take to their heels at the slightest noise and will ask for the utmost caution, moving slowly through the tall grass, or even diverting their attention with the help of a fruit. For still others, it will be necessary to call upon a powerful PokéBall or go through a fight to complete a capture.
Craft, Bivouac, Defeat - Pokemon Catch Details:
This is how a monster hunt goes in Pokémon Legends Arceus. First of all, you will need the appropriate objects - potion, PokéBall - which will be possible to buy or craft. For this last point, the player can craft items at any time in the open world thanks to the Toolbox (provided he has the right resources on him) or in the workshops installed at each Bivouac, places that act as a point of teleport, rest and storage for all your creatures and many finds. To unlock these practical havens of peace, you sometimes have to complete side quests.
Capturing a Pokémon is simple. Either you play the card of discretion, making sure to use the right type of PokéBall (SuperBall, MassBall, even PlumeBall for flying Pokémon): a well-placed throw, especially in the back, is enough most of the time. Either you choose to attack. The clashes also take place in real time: you will then have to throw an allied Pokéball right next to or even at your target. If you're not in a combative mood, watch out for retaliatory creatures in the open world. A few hits will be enough to send you back to the Bivouac and lose a lot of resources along the way.Arceus Pokémon Legends - 13 minutes of commented gameplay
Pokémon Legends: Arceus trailerStill Momentum
So yeah, hunting the Pokémon in Arceus Legends is more than enjoyable, but Game Freak could have gone the extra mile to make that nature believable. The creatures in the title too often give the impression of wandering around randomly. For example, you will never see a creature build its habitat or search for resources. It's a shame, especially since the title relies almost exclusively on its fauna to punctuate the exploration, regularly introducing species that the player has not yet encountered, not to mention the surprising encounters with the Barons, more powerful Pokémon which require a better strategy when fighting. Moreover, apart from this fauna, Legends Arceus does not offer real points of interest in the open areas (no puzzles, small dungeons) except those dedicated to the plot. There are still caves and secrets. And thanks to mounts - jumping, swimming - you will be able to reach other places.
Is it serious doctor? Not really. The range of species in Arceus Legends is wide enough to always surprise the player, even after many hours of play, and the quests - main and secondary - highlight this richness. Beyond doing what is necessary to calm the Monarchs, the player will have more than once the opportunity to help the inhabitants of Rusti-Cité (one and only city in the game) by gathering information on a Pokémon especially. What to be brought to meet new creatures. Overall, the missions of Legends Arceus are rather successful, with a cold web of a relationship between human and animal world that takes shape, shared between fascination, veneration and fear. With the Pokdédex to complete, the main and secondary quests, the lifespan is substantial. Not to mention other content, such as avatar customization and photos with Pokémon.
Need for balance
What is less exciting, however, is the lack of challenge of Pokémon Legends Arceus. In fact, there were few times when we had to really pay attention to the composition and level of our team. Whether against the Barons (which can be beaten with a difference of 20 levels as long as you use a “super efficient” attack) or even the Monarchs, whose action phases - unprecedented for the series - turn out to be pleasant but repetitive, and ultimately not very challenging. Ditto for the trainers who will challenge you, with one or two exceptions. It must be said that in Legends Arceus, everything or almost is done so that your team progresses quickly. The Multi-EXP, which distributes the experience of a fight to all members, is in the game. It is also possible to capture high level creatures quite early.
A problem which, depending on the players, will not really be a problem, especially for a title so focused on exploration and contemplation. However, the lack of difficulty of Pokémon Legends Arceus has a very real impact: certain systems and mechanics take a back seat. During our game, for example, we never felt the need to buy new skills for our team, given the speed at which it was growing, whether in terms of size or different types. Or even to use the range of bonuses and items provided to give a boost in combat. A comment that also applies to the fruits offered to attract wild monsters: they all work more or less well on each Pokémon. Legends Arceus regularly struggles to justify its wide range of possibilities.
Fast Style, Powerful Style, which one to choose? You probably did not miss the news: with Legend Arceus, the fights give way to a major novelty, the Fast and Powerful Styles. These are variants of the basic blows, capable of inflicting more or less damage and above all of acting on the order of the turns of the confrontation, now visible at the top right of the screen. The Rapid can thus allow you to attack twice in a row or to break an opponent's double chain, while the Powerful Style can lead to the completion. The whole thing is likely to play a significant role in a fight, but the lack of challenge really doesn't do them justice.Between two worlds
That kind of fine-tuning - choosing your team and their abilities wisely , its items, etc - would probably have made more sense in a classic Pokémon game, with a League and an online battle system, which Arceus Legends does not have (the only online component is a global exchange). The latest Game Freak software seems torn between two worlds: a new, more open, through this new formula; and the other much more classic, imposed by the specifications of the license. But the result is far from unpleasant, and that's what we decided to keep. Legends Arceus ultimately takes more the form of a beautiful letter of intent than an irreproachable renewal. And for a new start, it's already very good.
Conclusion
Strengths
Weaknesses
Editor's note
Pokémon Legends Arceus is a great experience that will manage to satisfy both fans always looking for a change, as well as newcomers looking for an enjoyable open-world adventure. Adventure is the word. For this great first with an unprecedented formula, Game Freak undeniably manages to absorb the player, now released alone in large open areas with Pokémon on the loose and a scent of mystery at every moment. The captures remain exhilarating from start to finish, as is discovering new species again and again. Even so, the excursions gradually sketch out a world that could have offered more. Like a more believable fauna, which is not content to move randomly, without interacting with the decor. More points of interest to discover, and challenges to take advantage of the many game mechanics. By sometimes clumsily reconciling a new formula and heritage, Pokémon Legends Arceus misses the mark from time to time. But certainly remains a pleasant and successful title.
Buy Pokémon Legends: Arceus at 44€ at Amazon
