Pokemon Scarlet and Violetare the first games ofthe ninth generationof the epic franchise, butPokemon Legends: Arceusreally stole the show in 2022. While several fans eagerly await the release of each new generation ofPokemongames in order to discover the new creatures added to the series,Pokemon Legends: Arceusdid something completely different.
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Pokemon Legends: Arceusintroduced several new features to the series and really did reinvent the wheel when it comes toPokemongames. There is plenty to love aboutPokemon Scarlet and Violetas well, including some unique features of its own. Sadly though, there are a handful of great features that were introduced inPokemon Legends: Arceusand have suddenly been abandoned with the next entry to the series.
8Crafting Everything
Pokemon Legends: Arceusbrought a staple RPG feature to the Pokemon universe; crafting. It allowed players to gather a ton of different materials from various locations,learning recipes to combine theminto the items used throughout the game.
There is something similar inPokemon Scarlet and Violet, as players can now craft TMs in order to teach their Pokemon new moves. This is significantly stripped down from what was inPokemon Legends: Arceusthough, and it would’ve been better to allow players the ability to craft everything they need.
7Agile Style And Strong Style
Pokemonhas always been a turn-based game, butPokemon Legends: Arceusintroduced a new element that effects the turn-order. Originally players took it in turns to act in the order oftheir speed attribute, but this game allowed players to change the order they act in and even act twice in a row.
This was done by introducing the option to use Agile Style or Strong Style attacks. This acted as a modifier on the attack that made Pokemon focus on maximum damage, or maximum speed. It was an interesting feature that changed the way battles were won and lost.
6Changing Cities To Reflect Story
The environment surrounding players has experienced minor changes in several Pokemon games, usually thanks to the story progressing. This was magnified in Pokemon Legends: Arceus though, where several side quests changed the way Jubilife village looked permanently by adding Pokemon or changing the scenery.
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This helped make the village feel more alive and although Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has over ten towns, it would have been fantastic if it could have incorporated the same feature. Giving Pokemon to NPCs and seeing them run around after helps players to feel as though they are truly part of the world.
5The Player Fainting
When a Pokemon runs out of HP, it faints and cannot be used in battle. When all Pokemon in a party faint, they’re no longer able to continue and are returned to a safe area.Pokemon Legends: Arceusadded another element for players to worry about, as now the trainer could faint as well.
This made navigating the world feel more dangerous and moved the game in line with the anime, where wild Pokemon regularly attack people. InPokemon Scarlet and Violet, players are safe once again and moving through the open world feels much less tense as a result.
4Instant Catching
Pokemon Legends: Arceusintroduced a mechanic to thePokemongames that has been sorely missing for some time. Up until its release, Pokemon could only be caught by weakening them through battle and eventually throwing a pokeball when ready.
InPokemon Legends: Arceus, players could now throw pokeballs at unsuspecting Pokemon from a distance and potentially bypass the battle phase altogether. This went a long way towards improving both the immersion and the overall flow of the game, but it is sadly absent fromPokemon Scarlet and Violet.
3Completing The Pokedex With Research Tasks
Completing the Pokedexis one of the main goals in anyPokemongame, and for many players it is more important than the story itself.Pokemon Legends: Arceuswas set in the past and gave players the task of completing the very first Pokedex, so it changed the way it worked on a fundamental level.
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Instead of catching a single Pokemon, players hadresearch tasks to completecentered around catching and battling them. This breathed new life into a classic feature from the series, butPokemon: Scarlet and Violetsaw a reversion back to the old ways.
2Easy Escaping
In anyPokemongame, it’s very easy for players to find themselves trapped in a battle against a wildPokemon too powerfulfor them to handle. As a result, players need to have the ability to run away from a battle when things start to go south.
InPokemon Legends: Arceus, the ability to run away from battles was made easier. Instead of selecting the ‘run’ option and hoping that they were successful, players simply moved away from the scene of the battle instead. This made the process much simpler and helped make the game feel more immersive too.
1Bulk Releasing Pokemon
Releasing Pokemonis a necessary evil of the series. Whether through breeding or catching, over-zealous players can quickly find themselves drowning in Pokemon that they don’t have any use for. As they only have a finite amount of space, sooner or later some of them are going to have to be released back into the wild.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusintroduced a simple quality-of-life update by allowing players to release large quantities at once rather than forcing them to go one at a time, and for some reason this is missing fromPokemon Scarlet and Violet.
Pokemon Legends: ArceusandPokemon Scarlet & Violetare available now for the Nintendo Switch.
