Mechanics and Features
The biggest feature of Legends: Arceus is of course the game’s open world design, and the developers did an outstanding job with it. The Hisui Region is beautiful and fun to explore. Of course the biggest danger of exploring Hisui comes from the Pokémon that inhabit it. These Pokémon will either run away as soon as they see you coming, or they will try and straight-up maul you, or spray you with toxic spores or zap you with electricity or…well, you get the idea. Furthering this danger aspect is the presence of the Alpha Pokémon, which are greatly larger than the other members of their species and also way more aggressive. The risk of the indigenous Pokémon outright attacking the player directly adds a fun thrill to the game and makes some Pokémon captures memorable, especially with the game’s Legendary and Mythical Pokémon. More on that later.
One feature of the game I was excited about going in was Poké Ball crafting. The Poké Balls in this game are made using the items known as Apricorns, which was a fun callback to the Gen. 2 games. I always enjoyed using the Poké Balls made by Kurt in Azalea Town, even though there was no efficient way to get them. Of course in Legends: Arceus, it’s unfortunately impossible to make the specialty Poké Balls made by Kurt. The only types that can be crafted are antique versions of the regular Poké Balls, Great Balls and Ultra Balls, plus two other types that are used for catching close range and long range targets. Still, this adds some depth to the concept of Poké Ball crafting introduced in the Gen. 2 games.
While Pokémon battles in Legends: Arceus are more or less the same are they are in every other game, they do introduce the concept of Strong Style and Agile Style moves. These moves affect the turn order of the battle. Agile Style moves have less power, but also makes the next turn of the Pokémon that used it come sooner in the battle. Inversely, Strong Style moves have more power but causes the next turn of the Pokémon that used it to be delayed. It’s an interesting mechanic, but I can honestly take or leave it.
The one aspect of Legends: Arceus I did not enjoy was the “Frenzy Battles” against the five Noble Pokémon in the game, and against Arceus and Dialga/Palkia. These battles involve the player dodging attacks from the Pokémon in question while throwing special balms at them to calm the beast down. Some of these battles were much harder than others. It took me about thirty minutes to an hour to beat the Noble Arcanine in the Cobalt Coastlands. Of course the hardest of these was the battle against Arceus.
For me, the “Frenzy Battle” against Arceus took at least an hour, and I was knocked out I don’t know how many times. At one point I had to pause and watch a YouTube video of someone else doing the battle so I could figure out how to beat it myself. I also foolishly chose to go up against Arceus pretty late at night, and after I finally managed to beat the great deity I was too wound up to get any sleep that night. So yeah, for me these “Frenzy Battles” were more frustrating than fun, and I feel like they’re the kind of thing players have to practice with a lot in order to get good at them. I’m hoping they won’t bring “Frenzy Battles” back in Legends: Z-A, but I won’t be at all surprised if they do.
