Less than three weeks before launch, Pokémon Legends: Arceus got a six-minute overview trailer, released by Nintendo Japan’s official channel in early January 2022. The video featured plenty of gameplay, with battles, world exploration and many details of the new systems.
With a visual style and systems different from the usual, Legends: Arceus mixes a new type of action and exploration with the RPG formula of the other games in the series. The game is set in the Hisui region, the old name of Sinnoh, the region introduced in the series’ fourth generation, in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. In other words, it is a prequel set centuries before those games. Hisui, in turn, is inspired by the island of Hokkaido, in the early period of Japanese colonization.
The approach changes the relationship with the little monsters quite a bit. Here, Pokémon are treated as wild animals or forces of nature, not as companions. Poké Balls are made from the Apricorn fruit and let out steam when capturing a Pokémon, and the Pokédex is a paper notebook. The player is sent to the past by Arceus, the creator deity of the Pokémon universe, with the mission of finding all the Pokémon of Hisui, and joins the Galaxy Team’s Survey Corps, which studies the region from Jubilife Village. The Noble Pokémon, driven mad by a rift in space-time, become bosses that must be calmed with balms.
The game had been announced in February 2021, during the celebrations of Pokémon’s 25th anniversary, and was set for January 28, 2022, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
What came next
Pokémon Legends: Arceus was released on January 28, 2022, received generally favorable reviews and was nominated for Best RPG at The Game Awards 2022. It was also a commercial success, with more than 14.83 million copies sold through March 31, 2023. The formula got a follow-up in 2025, with Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
Where to buy
Source: Nintendo / VGC.
Max Xavier
Sapo
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