Pokemon US/UM [First Look]!

As of yesterday, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were released. Now, if you were like me and you pre-ordered, you were able to go to a midnight release on the 16th. I stayed up playing my new game, and just last night I finished the grand trial…

With that being said, I decided to offer a “First Look” based on my experiences thus far, and my overall opinion on where I think the game is headed, etc.

WARNING!!!
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

For those that may have seen my blog posts in the past about this game, you guys know that I have not really been hyped about it. I mean, I don’t mind a good Pokemon sequel (because I adored White 2) but, the way it was being presented was not all that appealing. But, the closer we came to launch, the more features started looking interesting to me. I still wasn’t super hyped, but it at least made me curious enough to give the game a solid shot.

Because I am not going over everything about this game (just the new stuff that is supposed to separate it from Sun/Moon) I can say without a doubt that this game still looks beautiful. It is absolutely stunning and the music has to be some of the best in the series. The battle visuals are great, and even with some frame drops due to the animations, the game runs smoothly (as well as it can run on this system). We are being given all our favorite features back, and even some we never liked in the first place…so people that have played Sun/Moon will already know most of what to do and how the game functions. Newcomers might be a little overwhelmed…but no worries, the game still has all those annoying tutorials.

But enough, rambling…lets get into my thoughts.

---

• Still too early in the game to make judgement:
  —I recently asked a friend how far into the game he had gotten and he literally told me: “Not far enough to judge it”. This was a statement that really stuck to me. There are 4 islands…all with trials, all with a grand trials, and really when you get down to how Sun/Moon played out, I agree with him. Having just finished the first Grand Trial, I am not in the position to really judge the game as a whole…but, for those lacking patience, I can see where US/UM may not really be selling itself…and I will tell you why: It’s because nothing much has changed from the last games.

• Not much has changed…
  —Pokemon US/UM told us that we would be experiencing Alola like never before! Supposedly this was a story set in an alternate timeline, and from the beginning, you can see there are a few differences…but they really are nothing fantastic. Things such as: In the opening with Kukui, he now has a Cutiefly buzzing around along with his Rockruff, your Mom’s house has vines on it (with flowers) and the garage is open, also when Lilly is running around the Aether Foundation- suddenly we see not only Aether goons, but the Recon Squad is also chasing her. It’s the same scenes with very minor differences trying to set it apart.

  Now, I will admit that some of the differences are actually really good: such as the moment when you get your Starter Pokemon. In the original Sun/Moon I could see where the people that soft-reset for a certain type of starter (and sometimes a shiny one) would groan- the cinematic and dialogue for it felt like a billion years long! But, luckily, that has changed in the new game. This time you go back to the classic ‘being attacked by a wild Pokemon’ scenario when the Starters come running to your rescue. Then you’re promptly asked to pick one resulting in a much shorter scene which was nice.

  You also get your Starter Pokemon before saving ‘Nebby’ from wild Spearow which results in a brand new Pokemon battle with the Spearow before you get blasted off the bridge. This was another one of those pleasant changes, but it still was nothing so much different that you instantly fell in love with the game. It just meant an extra level gained.

  There are some cinematic ‘additions’ with the recon squad…but they were nothing to note. I feel as though they are really feeding you the story with a baby spoon and taking their sweet time with it, but I can’t say whether this is more harmful or good at this moment.

  On the first island, the rest of the differences were mostly visual: in Kukui’s lab you can see Slowpoke moving around outside his window, in Iki village during the festival there is a massive Exeggutor walking around town which had me bursting into hysterical laughter for some reason.  There is a new Peek-a-boo mechanic with some random Pokemon scattered across the island, and the new collectibles are the Totem Stickers. But there are some major mechanical differences that one can experience including using the new photo booth, mantine surfing, and the roto lotto.

 

• Building a friendship with Rotom!
  —One of the features that I absolutely loved was the mechanic of befriending Rotom for benefits much like the O-Powers from Pokemon X/Y. When interacting with Rotom, one can activate the “Roto Lotto” which spins to give you a power that you can spend at your leisure. This can be anything from a power boost, to a PP restorative. Some can even act as a repel for Pokemon, or do the opposite and attract large hordes to you. So it really comes in handy! With a big enough bond, Rotom will sometimes randomly activate a power, like an experience boost…
  Granted, these can come at some inopportune times, but sometimes they are super handy while on your adventure! So this was a feature I knew would actually be good, and so far, I am really enjoying it.

 

• Mantine Surfing!
  —Alright, so it’s basically a new mini-game, but hey it actually has a purpose! Through surfing you can actually earn BP (battle points) which you can then spend on things like powerful TMs and even rare candy. I liked this feature because I have always hated the battle tree and battle colosseum systems. I always hated battling for zero experience and getting very little BP which means you had to sit there and battle for hours on end just to get something mildly-decent…
  But this? You can surf for the high score…earn BP while riding a Pokemon…no battling involved, AND if you get the high score on every beach, you get a surfing Pikachu. THAT’S RIGHT! A surfing Pikachu! So yes, it’s something extra…but hey, it’s new, and for some of us, it actually has a pretty good incentive. This is one of the new features that I actually find pretty fun.

 

• Photo Booth!
  —Okay, so this was actually the picture I had taken after completing my Grand Trial, and I have to say that I have always loved anything having to do with taking pics and customizing them. I also loved making Battle Videos and such when that was a huge thing in X/Y. Even in HeartGold and SoulSilver I was snapping photos like a fool…and X/Y as well, so it should not be surprising that this has got to be one of my favorite features (thus far) to be added to US/UM!!!
  The basic idea is that you get to pose with a Pokemon from your party. You choose your pose, their pose, the background, the frame, all the special effects (aka stickers), you choose it all. Options might seem limited at first, but that’s because you unlock more options as you go through your trials. It’s something extra but really fun…and it’s something fun to share with friends 😀

 

• Ultra Recon Squad:
  —Who are these guys anyways? So, it was as I mentioned before…these guys pop up as the new ‘extras’ in cinematics. They are one of the first visible changes to the game as they are seen trying to catch Lilly as she is attempting to escape the Aether Foundation. We then find these guys skulking around in the background of the more major cinematics (like Iki Village’s battle festival) where they speak in riddles about “The Light” and “The Blind One”.
  They are obviously there to try and bait us into caring or becoming curious about some deeper plot. At some point on the first island, we even battle them where they have constructed a Beast Ball to catch a regular Pokemon. At the end of the battle they say that we might be able to aid them or something along those lines. Strangely enough, they do not seem hostile, but rather, they seem like they will be popping up now-and-again to ‘test’ us as they reveal more of the plot to the game. I mentioned above how I think the game is slowly feeding us the story, and these guys are the reason why. It’s made pretty obvious that they are from another world bathed in darkness. They fear that a great evil is awakening soon and they are hoping to either fend it off or save their world by finding a way to bring Light back to wherever it is they came from. Again, they do not seem hostile, but I would not consider them allies either. They seem a very neutral force, and I believe they come from wherever Nebby originated. Still, nothing more has been said, and your character never mentions it to other players…so we will see where all of this goes. I really don’t have much an opinion on them because right now they just…exist?

 

In conclusion…I guess I must state again “it is too early to judge the game”…at least based on what I have played. My personal opinion as of right now? The game is just “meh”. The story still moves way too slowly, personally I do not see any major differences between Sun/Moon to make me feel like I am playing a new game, and so I wonder if something like this could not have been done differently. I feel like instead of making us start over on a new adventure with little bits of story being given to us here or there that something like this could have been condensed into a DLC or post-game thing much like “episode Delta” was with ORAS.

Then again, that’s just with the Recon Squad stuff. I have yet to run into Team Rainbow Rocket or even learn of their plot in this whole game- not to mention there are other mechanics I still have to explore which would determine further if I think this game is worth it or not. It does have some really cute features and I can say that I have been taking my time with them all to really try and enjoy them. Some of the new things in the game I do understand (like playing Peek-a-boo with various Pokemon scattered about the islands), but there are some (as seen above) that I have had an absolute blast with.

I say that those who have not played Pokemon Sun/Moon might actually be able to appreciate these games more (at first). I feel like those that absolutely adored Sun/Moon will appreciate the differences and might actually like the pace it takes. But, for those like me that thought Sun/Moon was a chore until the end, and then still thought the game was merely “okay” at best…well, I can’t say that you will see this game as any different than the regular Sun/Moon…and therefore it might not be worth the money.

But let me know what YOU think! Did you pre-order either of the games? What do you think of your gaming experience thus far with these games? Favorite new mechanic? Least favorite new mechanic? Was it worth the money? As always, let me know your thoughts/opinions in the comment-section down below.
Thank you all so much for reading, and, I will see you all in the next blog! 😉