Pokemon Legends Arceus: A Brilliant Inversion

The mainline Pokemon series has had such a long tradition sticking so firmly to its tried and tested gameplay loop of random encounters, gym badges, and meta game. And with the success it’s created for itself, any mechanical deviation from it’s long-running formula has been met with skepticism from it’s patrons and the trio of Game Freak, The Pokemon Company, and Nintendo. Taking risks with a series as guaranteed financial and critical success as Pokemon has been is not something we’re used to, barring tweaks and additions over the past 20 or so years, dating all the way back to Gold and Silver on the Game Boy Advance.

With all of that in consideration you can imagine the excitement of myself and countless other lifelong Pokemon players when Pokemon Legends Arceus was first shown off at a Pokemon presentation in the early fall of 2021. Not only did it look massively different from the previously tepidly received Sword And Shield, which were derided by many as a derivative and continuous step sideways, its mechanics were unlike anything previously seen in the franchise. Wide open expanses, stealth involving free Poke ball aiming, and a battle system that occurred within one’s current surroundings to mention a few, albeit with a questionable graphical/visual quality.

It wasn’t until I was able to get my hands on Legends Arceus myself to see the quality it had at it’s disposal. Admittedly beyond the initial trailer I kept myself mostly in the dark on new updates over the course of its release window coming into focus, as I wanted to go in as blind as I possibly could. 

It is canonically the earliest game in the Pokemon series. Taking place in the far flung past of the Sinnoh region (known then as Hisui). Jubilife City nothing more than a quaint burgeoning community of those seeking refuge from the Pokemon of the wild and quite literally untamed lands. A time where the mostly harmonious relationship between people and Pokemon was still in its infancy, most people needing to seek refuge with Pokemon rather than live alongside them. Many of Jubilife’s inhabitants and their relationship with Pokemon is much more in common with our relationship with real world wild animals. There are some that specialize in the field, others that are completely uninterested in the idea of coexisting, and some that having a tentative interest but not the courage or education to do so. And it is you, an interloper between time periods that is tasked with helping the Galaxy Team, those who oversee Jubilife’s development, to record the world’s first Pokedex by observing and training prospective Pokemon partners in the wild.

In previous Pokemon games, was a certain dynamic to random encounters that had much more an aggressive edge to them. Upon finding a wild Pokemon you get the sense that you and your team are the instigators of the battle, the Pokemon you found very much on the defense. You invaded their territory because you could, and your opponent on its heels. You had the right to consider unwanted battles “an annoyance” because the Pokemon defending themselves posed very little threat to you and your team.

In Legends Arceus, you are once again, a foreign presence in these Pokemon’s habitats and while there are certainly Pokemon who still prefer fight over flight, the majority upon noticing your presence let out a defiant roar, in the case of Alpha Pokemon, the more powerful and larger variants, quite literally knocking you off your feet with their aggressive intent. Barreling toward you as they hurl various attacks at YOU. The only way to stave them off is to send your own Pokemon in your stead, reducing you from the predator you knew yourself to be in previous games, to prey, at the mercy of your partner’s ability to defend you. Patches of grass this time, unlike in previous Pokemon games, provide a cover for you instead. If a Pokemon gets a beat on you and ultimately finds you in the grass, behind that rock, etc the defensive process/fight of flight occurs all over again. Instilling that sense of vulnerability the likes of which I can never recall feeling in a Pokemon game.

Not to oversimplify or sensationalize by saying something like “Legends Arceus is a Pokemon game where you are the Pokemon” but it really is remarkable what Game Freak has done. Not only are the narrative, the setting, and the time period cohesive with the gameplay mechanics and systems present within, but they have created a wholly unique inversion of the relationship between trainer and Pokemon we have become so accustomed and arguably numb to. I never thought I’d see the day where I would find myself not just running but literally sprinting away from Pokemon battles, not out of impatience or annoyance but of genuine fear of my character’s own life.

It is in these gameplay mechanics and narrative beats, that I’m finding myself reading Legends Arceus as an admission from all creatives involved that they’ve discovered through it’s okay to change, not just for preservation purposes, but for creative refreshment as well. Adjustment is a painful process that involves many a self-reflection and a massive risk but when given genuine feedback from those whom you value and respect, you might find yourself all the better for it in the long run, which to me is a particularly powerful message at this point in our collective gaming consciousness, given how much friction there has been in the medium of gaming between its patrons and its creatives.