E3 2016: Pokemon Sun And Moon Gameplay Enhancements Breakdown, New Reveals, and More!
The Nintendo Treehouse presentation of Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon was fantastic! Not only did they introduce new elements to the games, but new Pokemon were revealed as well! While it’s very easy to note the obvious differences, I will also cover the enhancements to the system that will make the game more accessible to newcomers, as well as help Pokemon veterans! Let’s have a look at some of these amazing changes!
A clear difference at the start of the game, and one that most already know, is the proportions of the environment in relation to the characters are much more accurate. Mountains tower way above the character, trees loom with an exact height, and even distance from the edge of a cliff to a beachfront has a sense of immersion. Within Pokemon battles, not only is the (silly) circle beneath Pokemon eliminated, but also, the Pokemon are shown to be battling right beside their trainers. This more accurately depicts the theme of Pokemon having a bond with their trainer, but also shows how large Pokemon are in relation to the humans in game. Just imagine how cool a Snorlax would look right next to its trainer?
In relation to the fighting system, I will provide screenshots to accompany the points I will make:
For section one, you will notice a handy shortcut to the Pokeball menu. Veterans of the game will rejoice at this option because previously, you had to flip through several menu screens in order to reach that section. Section 2 depicts a two dimensional sprite version of the battle, and allows you to tap either Pokemon with your stylus. Doing so leads us into our next screenshot:
This screen not only displays typing, as well as other info, but is also a shortcut to see the buffs and debuffs that each Pokémon has! Veteran players have always had to keep track of this information in their mind–for example, if you do a Swords Dance, the game states that it “sharply raises the Attack stat.” However, delve deeper into competitive battling, and you will know that the move increases your Attack by “two stages” out of six. If you try to increase past six, the move will fail. This isn’t directly noted anywhere in the game, so this nice additional screen will allow new players to understand this level of battling, as well as take away the burden of memorization from veteran players. But that’s not all!
These images are seen at different points in the demonstration, but they are very telling. First, you can press L+A to see a detailed description of the moves, but also, there is fine print underneath the moves that marks how effective a move is against an opposing Pokémon. Previously, you had to go through several menus to read the description of a move, and type effectiveness was based on a person’s knowledge of the game’s mechanics. Now that the information is on the screen, new players won’t feel as burdened, and matches may be able to move a lot smoother! I’m curious if this takes more than typing into effect–for example, an Earthquake will not affect a Pokémon using an Air Balloon as an item at all. Only time will tell!
The Pokedex is experiencing a huge revamp, but one new feature revealed in the demonstration is the registration screen, where you will see the Pokémon you have captured, as well as all existing evolutions and forms you have yet to experience! These forms will appear on the screen if they have been previously caught, and all unregistered forms will appear as gray Pokeball icons.
The demonstration later takes you to a battle with a rival, where I couldn’t help but notice that the backdrop of the battle was special. Put simply, there is a Street Fighter-like crowd surrounding the Pokémon battle. Special backdrops aren’t new to the series, but were previously limited to Gym Leader battles in sixth generation. It looks like this may be expanding even further to rival battles and even more!
Another new battling style is coming to Pokémon Sun and Moon called Battle Royal! Not to be confused with its wrestling counterpart (but ironically set in a wrestling ring), this is a four player free-for-all with special rules! All trainers get to take their turn at the same time and attack whichever Pokémon they would like. The match doesn’t end until one trainer loses all of their Pokémon. This decides the loser, but doesn’t necessarily decide the winner. When the match has ended the game uses a series of algorithms, such as total number of Pokémon defeated, to determine the winner. Coupled with many of the previous mechanics, the possibilities are endless–ganging up on one player, running stall tactics, etc. It will be fun to see which new strategies this gameplay style can bring to the table!
