Now Playing: Pokemon Sun

  Pokemon goes tropical.

 First things first, I'm almost three hours into the game and I'm already tired of the pace. Let's face it, most people playing this entry will be returning players, I know how to capture a goddamn Pokemon, I've been doing it for over 15 years already. Remember the classics? Back then an NPC would ask you if you wanted to see how to catch a Pokemon. Why not ASK me, Gamefreak, why? Just friggin' ask so I can friggin' deny you and your stupid tutorial. For what it's worth, at least this time around it went rather swiftly. This ties into the pacing because the game starts off, and hopefully this is only a thing for the early beginning of the game veeeeeery slowly and in a veeeeeeeery cinematic way.

 It worked for X and Y because by the time the cutscenes started making their appearance I had already started to like the cast. Plus, tiny details like running around with your chums added personality to the game and made me care for these kids. I don't care for this blonde chick who is running away from these mysterious chumps, I just wanted to play the goddamn game. Older Pokemon games didn't need these fancy set-ups, you were a kid on an adventure, the less it was said, the better. Right now I'm up to the Trainer School, and they keep directing me where to go. 'No, Scion, don't go that way', 'The lab is this way, Scion', 'There's a Tauros on the Road'. Like, chill, THESE GAMES ARE ABOUT A 10 YEAR OLD GOING ON AN ADVENTURE, I CAN'T ADVENTURE IF YOU KEEP ORDERING ME AROUND. And what's up with forcing me into the Trainer School? This has always been an optional detour, why force me into it now? I KNOW HOW FLIPPING POKEMON WORKS, GODDAMN, AND I WANT TO FLIPPIN' PLAY THE GODDAMN GAME.

 And what's up with the Festival Plaza?! The online features in X/Y/OR/AS were very streamlined, simple, to the point, easy to navigate, etc. This.... pseudo hubtown is a needless addition that makes it more of a chore to go online and try trading Pokemon.

 All that aside, at least GameFreak has learned a bit from previous games, almost as if they have been taking the criticisms and took them into consideration. One of my biggest issues with the modern games was the fact that now we had over 800 creatures and it was impossible to remember every Pokemon's type as well as the weaknesses charts... so now not only can you check the type of the Pokemon during a battle, but you'll also know if your attacks are super effective or not. That's a fantastic addition. It also seems like customization is back, although I haven't gotten so far yet, so that's definitely a plus, customization was one of the best parts about X and Y and it was a shame to see it gone in ORAS. And from what I could gather, as hard as I tried to avoid spoilers, HM slaves seem to be a thing of the past. About time!

 It needs to be said: The presentation is nothing short of spectacular. There's not a single 3DS game that looks better than Pokemon Sun and Moon. Heck, I'm pretty sure some of the graphics for the attacks have been given a make over and look much better than before. And it seems to run relatively well on the old 3DS. Relatively, because I've noticed a few frame drops during battles and even while exploring some areas with a lot of objects, like rocks, trees and grass.

 To sum up, what I did like:
 - Graphics
 - Return of customizing your character(?)
 - Removal of HM Slaves(?)
 - Added information during battles

What I didn't like:
 - Being treated like an idiot by GameFreak and Nintendo. I KNOW HOW TO CAPTURE A GODDAMN POKEMON.
 - The slow pace, at least so far.
 - The handholding. I WILL EXPLORE THE TOWN BY MYSELF, YOU'VE ALREADY TOLD ME WHERE TO GO, I WILL GO THERE WHENEVER THE **** I FEEL LIKE GOING THERE.
 - The Festival Plaza.