I recently had the joy of playing the Pokémon Sun and Moon Demo for Nintendo 3DS and I have to admit that this is shaping up to be the best Pokémon experience yet.
ALOLA!
As soon as I fired the demo up, it was clear to me how fun hanging out in the Alola region would be. Right off the bat I noticed how Game Freak took a slightly more cinematic approach with this game. You can see this both in the camera placement when you’re running around or during the game’s ‘cutscenes’ if you can call them that. It is the perfect mix of new and old and it made me feel more connected to the world and its inhabitants.
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
Other than the slight graphical/animation upgrade, the smooth frame rate and bloom lighting, I have to hand it to Game Freak for making navigating through the menus so seamless. Choosing your Pokémon or items mid-battle has never been faster or easier. Information is displayed on the lower screen in a smart, efficient way. The best example of this is being able to see your Pokémon complete move list while cycling through them. The game flows faster and from what I can see thus far, is tweaked to perfection.
SIMPLY WORTH IT
If you’re curious about the game even in the slightest, you should download the demo. Not only will you get an idea of the cool new features (which I won’t spoil here) but you can also save your special Ash-Greninja to transfer in the final game, all while listening to awesome Pokémon tunes in what is shaping up to be a fantastic new soundtrack.
THE RIVALS
Team Skull are the rivals we know about thus far and they’re hilariously wacky and a good choice for the Alola region. I am curious to see how the story will play out in these games, because judging from some of the trailers, it seems to have more scope than other entries in the series.
SUN OR MOON?
Pokémon Sun & Moon will be released on November 18th in the US and November 23rd in PAL regions. The demo is available now in the Nintendo eShop. Give it a shot and tell us what you think. Personally, I cannot wait to make my Alola team and complete my Pokedex. Now if I could only decide which starter to choose….
