Fun in the Sun (Fun in the Dark): Pokemon Sun and Moon Review

Back in February of 2016, the newest generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, were announced. This seventh generation of games brought a lot of attention to the series, as new Pokemon games always seems to do. The last Pokemon games released that contained new Pokemon before Sun and Moon were Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, which were released in October of 2014. So needless to say, Pokemon fans were itching for some new monsters to catch. As more trailers and promotions were released for this generation of games, it was clear that we were not going to get the typical “fight Gym Leaders, fight the Elite Four, catch ‘em all” routine that we have all grown accustomed to while playing this beloved franchise.

There were, not surprisingly, mixed reactions when gamers heard that the Pokemon games were shifting gears slightly. We had, after all, grown rather used to that gym leader after gym leader rinse and repeat method of the older games. Game Chop is here to say that this new change to the games could not have come at a better time, and we were ecstatic to review Sun and Moon.

Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, as many of the previous Pokemon games, have their location based on a real place. The region of these games is called Alola, and it’s based on the islands of Hawaii. There are four main islands in Alola: Melemele Island, Akala Island, U’la U’la Island, and Poni Island. The typical bad guy team is these games is called Team Skull, and the player has to stop these baddies in their tracks. The games also feature the mysterious Aether Foundation who seeks to protect wounded Pokemon on their created Aether Paradise. The Alola region, however, does not have any typical Gym Leaders like you would find in any other region. Instead, the player faces several Island Trials on each island, and faces a Trial Captain at each one. Once a trainer has faced and defeated all of the Island Trials on an island, they must defeat the Island Kahuna, which is what can be most compared to a Gym Leader. Having defeated that Kahuna, the player travels to the next island

Honestly, this change in dynamic is just the breath of fresh air that Pokemon needed. While gamers have played many different spin off games such as Pokemon Mystery Dungeon or the Pokemon Ranger series, the fact remains that the main line of games has always been repetitive. The differences between the two versions are similar to how games in previous generations have differed. Different Pokemon can be found in each version, and items are found in different places in each. The legendary Pokemon found on the covers of each game box, Solgaleo in Sun and Lunala in Moon, are just one example of this version difference. The different Pokemon in each game are designed to make gamers trade with each other in order to complete the region’s Pokedex – basically an encyclopedia of the Pokemon in the region. This forms cooperation among Pokemon players everywhere. Gamers can trade with their local friends using the Nintendo 3DS’s wireless feature, but they can also trade globally with players from all over the world using the Global Trade System, known as the GTS.

There is an added dynamic in Sun and Moon’s world clock. Gamers who choose Sun will find that the game plays like any other Pokemon game, daytime when it’s daylight, and night time after 6:00pm. Moon players, on the other hand, find themselves in darkness in the middle of the day. Sun and Moon have opposite timeframes – when it is daytime in Sun, it is night in Moon. This makes catching time-sensitive Pokemon an interesting pursuit, and a welcome new twist. The storyline of this generation seems longer than that of previous games. That may be due to the new style of progressing the story – Island Trials as opposed to Gym Leaders. Unexpected twists lie around every corner, and sometimes the player doesn’t know who to trust.

All in all, Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon are both incredible additions to the wonderful world of Pokemon. The changes are very welcome, and very refreshing. Some have said that this generation of Pokemon games seems more immature than previous ones, but we would like to remind you that the Pokemon series has always catered to younger audiences. Just because members of the generation that was raised with Pokemon have grown, does not mean that Nintendo has aged the ever-present characters and monsters - the charming and child-like wonderment is still there. The Pokemon added to this region are very interesting and different, and whether you are seasoned Pokemon trainer or just a beginner, Sun and Moon are definitely games to add to your list!