POKÉMON SUN AND MOON
ANIMAL MAGIC ! $59 | 3DS | www.pokemon-sunmoon.com
Alola is a set of four gorgeous tropical islands heavily inspired by Hawaii. Its effects on Sun and
Moon are far-reaching, a bright and healthy setting shaking up series complacency. This is still a game in which you capture monsters in balls, then send them into turn-based battles against other monsters and it’s still heavily skewed towards kids. And here, again, a youngster wants to learn about Pokémon and become the land’s best trainer.
There’s now a handful of Trials on each island and they make a decent change from successive fights set in a stuffy dojo. Easy difficulty aside, snapping Gastlys in an abandoned supermarket is a vast improvement on solving a gym’s block puzzle. These mini quests are merely the first leg of a Trial. In the second, you’ll face a Totem Pokémon — larger versions of existing Pokémon that come pre-buffed with stat boosts and summon help during the fight. They force you to think critically and fight smart.
There’s a clear effort to make each area distinct —secluded black-sand beaches, grand resorts, merchant-flanked avenues, mountain observatories under starry skies.
Items are in need of streamlining, though. You’ll acquire tons over the course of your adventure. It’s simply too much.
Sun and Moon are best when breaking with convention. Rideable Pokémon are brilliant, Island Guardians and Ultra Beasts differ from Legendaries (we won’t spoil them for you) and Z-Moves enliven battles. Rather than easy-win buttons, these Dragon Ball Z-esque techniques for each elemental type are emphatic endings to battles you would’ve won anyway, limited by a one-use system and you have to give your chosen Pokémon the relevant Z-Crystal to hold.
Older generations do take up a few too many spots on the roster though (looking at you, Zubat and Caterpie), especially when you see the high standard of new Pokémon designs. New forms of old friends are a great compromise. Who doesn’t love a surfing Raichu?
If you’re after something pleasantly familiar and refreshingly modern, a bold transformation that doesn’t lose sight of tradition, then Sun and Moon is it.