Sun and Moon are the seventh generation of the popular Pokémon series of games, and they are fantastic.
All Pokémon games revolve around adventuring and capturing creatures called, you guessed it, Pokémon. Some people use them as friends, and some have them battle one another.
Regardless, if you have these creatures, you are a Pokémon trainer.
In Sun and Moon, you are an 11-year-old child who has just moved to the tropical region of Alola. You are eligible to partake in the Island Challenge, where you travel around, completing different "trials." They range from battling a skilled and powerful trainer to doing a scavenger hunt.
The trials are all headed up by Trial Captains with fun personalities. My personal favourite is Kiawe, who is a fire expert and loves to dance.
One of the main draws of the Pokémon series is the sheer number of companions available to capture and train, and this game is no different. It offers more than 100 brand-new creatures, including new versions of old Pokémon.
The game offers fun variety for everyone, from veterans of the series to newer players. I’ve played through every game in the series and am enjoying this latest release immensely.
Sun and Moon bring back all of the old traditions, like having new Pokémon to catch, a rival who battles you multiple times throughout the game, and a region to adventure based on a real world location, with Alola being based on Hawaii. (I only wish I was able to explore the region more.)
There’s also the tradition of having two separate versions (Sun and Moon), with slight differences. Most notably the Mythical Pokémon you obtain at the end of the games are different and Moon is set 12 hours ahead of Sun.
That being said, it brings a lot of new things to the table, namely Z-moves. These are flashy attacks you can teach your Pokémon using mysterious stones called Z-crystals. They do a ton of damage and are super fun to look at.
There are also Alolan forms, which are Pokémon from the older games, redesigned to reflect the new Hawaii-like setting.
Overall, I love the game. It keeps the old charm the series is known for. I love all the little things, like one boy who yells at you about his kneecaps. (Yes, really.)
To me, it really shows that the team behind Sun and Moon took the time and effort to put in little things that would make the player chuckle, or become more deeply immersed in the game.
All in all, Sun and Moon are fantastic games.
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