Pokemon Ultra Sun Review (Old)
So I just finished the main story of Pokemon Ultra Sun, at least getting up to the point of freeing the Festival Plaza from Rainbow Rocket. I have yet to even really start Episode Rainbow Rocket, which I'm excited to do! But here's a review of the game in sections. WARNING: SPOILERS WILL BE PRESENT
Edit: By this point, I have beaten the Rainbow Rocket Episode. I will update this blog at a later date.
Story: I honestly can't tell if the story is a step up or a step down from the original. I mean, we finally know what Necrozma actually is, seeing as we knew little to nothing about it in Sun and Moon, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. but besides the change in how the main story ends, the game is mostly the same, save for the final boss (DEAR LORD, ULTRA NECROZMA IS POWERFUL, AND THAT Z-MOVE). But at the same time they removed some things that made the original so good. Why in the hell did they remove Lillie from when she goes to Exeggutor Island with us!? That was one of the best parts of Sun and Moon! It honestly pissed me off seeing that unfold. And Lusamine's reasons for going to Ultra Space are different, and I honestly couldn't tell if I liked this Lusamine more than crazy Lusamine or less. They also got rid of "Press A to Pound", which saddend me. Also, the trials were somewhat refreshing with how they do things differently (such as finding the ingredients in Mallow's trial or Mina's brand new Trial.) Overall, the story felt the same, and I honestly kept thinking I was playing through the original, but then the Ultra Recon Squad (URS, to keep it short) kept showing up frequently and rather consistently to remind me this is a different game indeed.
Characters: All the characters are likable in this game (except for the NPC trainers. They're always annoying, but it wouldn't be Pokemon without them, so they're mandatory). I especially like what they did with Hau in this game. At first, he was a rather forgettable character in the original, but they really stepped it up with him this time. When I started hearing about his accomplishments towards the building up of the Elite 4, I was honestly getting scared of how strong he might be compared to me (I was thinking "If Kukui almost gave me several heart attacks in the original, this was gonna be a nightmare.") I was glad to see my boi finally take things up a notch. Lusamine, like I said, I honestly can't tell if I like this more composed Lusamine more, or the more crazy Lusamine more. I mean, crazy Lusamine had a great impact on the original, and even underwent a crazy transformation (which unfortunately, if yo think about it, was pointless to do besides making her Pokemon stronger). On the flip side, her motives in Ultra Sun are more reasonable and understandable, though she isn't very competent compared to crazy Lusamine. However, we do see her show more respect towards her children, and I can respect that myself Also, YA BOI GUZMA WILL ALWAYS BE THE HARDEST BONEHEAD IN ALOLA, YO! (I'm sorry...) Lillie, Gladion (who I will miss. He pulled a Lillie without even telling our character goodbye...), Kukui, and the many other characters will always be memorable, even Dulse and Zossie (I wish I could say the same for Soliera and Phyco, but I don't have Ultra Moon, so...)
Music/Graphics: The Music. The music is awesome as usual. I like the remixes of the Wild Pokemon and Vs. Trainer battles, the URS' theme is very cool (I like how they incorporate the Aether Foundation's and the Ultra Beast's theme into it), Rainbow Rocket's theme is VERY awesome, and Ultra Necrozma's theme is just godlike. I don't really have much to say about them music other than I still consider it the best in the franchise. Same witht the graphics. They're the best the franchise has seen.
Gameplay/Difficulty: As expected from any core-series Pokemon game, this plays near identical to any past Pokemon game with updates, balances, and new features. Not much has changed from the original Sun and Moon in terms of game mechanics, but they've added in more features, mainly new exclusive Z-Moves (such as the OP Clangorous Soulblaze and the beyond-ridiculous "Light that burns the Sky"), new forms (Fucking Ultra Necrozma looks more godlike than the Llama God and is almost on par with MEGA RAYQUAZA! Too bad for that Psychic/Dragon typing, though, although Prism Armor makes up for that), and for the first time in the remake series, new Pokemon, mostly Ultra Beasts (Pennyw- I mean Bacephalon, UB-Assembly [it's name is kinda hard to type and pronounce], Poipole, it's evolution, and the new mythical Pokemon. [I am aware of Zerorora. I probably spelled that wrong.]) The RotomDex is WAY more useful than he was in the original and I thoroughly enjoy the benefits it brings to the game (though I wish it would SHUT THE FUCK UP). As for difficulty, it usually varies depending on ow the player goes through the game. For my playthrough, I was at just the right level until i got to that fucking Totem Lurantis. They made that shit harder than the original thanks to its new Ally Pokemon. After getting wrecked by that battle twice, I continued at a decent pace (with the exception of the road-block that was Olivia's Lileep. I would've swept her entire team had it not been for that thing. It nearly swept MY team.) Then I came into Acerola's trial. That. Fucking. Totem Mimikyu. Words cannot stress how much I despise that battle. My Pokemon were just the right level. SO WHY THE FUCK WAS THIS THING ONE-SHOTTING ALMOST ALL MY POKEMON!? Probably my team (I did have Primarina, Gabite [originally a Gible from trade], Dusk Lycanroc, Zoroark, Steenee [which I stupidly forgot to level up with Stomp], and Fletchinder.) It's disguise ability was absolutely disgusting. I had to use Primarina's tanky stats just to survive with it, as well as Zoroarks Illusion to set up how to beat it. It seemingly had answers to ALL of my team. After that, I ended up switching out some of my Pokemon. I swapped out Fletchinder for a Litten from trade, which I evolved into an Incineroar, my Steenee for a Rowlet in trade, which I evolved into a Decidueye, and swapped out my Zoroark for a Swagne-I mean Magnezone. Because my Starter gains extra experience, for some reason, and my traded 'Mons also get extra experience, as I trained them via enemy trainers, they got stronger (especially my Gabite, who evolved quickly into a Garchomp and became my strongest Pokemon. It was at that moment I finally understood why Pseudo-Legendaries are so friggin powerful.) I pretty much breezed through the rest of the game with not very much difficulty (Heck, because I took care of my Primarina, I ended up one-shotting Totem Kommo-o with a Critical Moonblast. I don't think any battle moment in Pokemon has made me laugh that hard). While I am glad I'm not pissing from my sweat glands in rage or nearly having heart attacks from just playing the game, I'm kinda sad because I basically removed the challenge from myself, thus beating supposedly strong NPC's is less satisfying for me. I ended up beating the Elite 4 and Hau with Dusk Mane Necrozma, Primarina, Dusk Lycanroc, Garchomp, Decidueye, and Incineroar. Catching Bacephalon after beating the Elite 4, on the other hand, was a HUGE difficulty spike. But then again, it's a fucking Ultra Beast, which usually have busted stats (Look at Kartana's MONSTROUS Attack Stat of 181!). Good thing my Primarina had Sing, otherwise it would've melted my team. I have yet to do Episode Rainbow Rocket because I am preparing my anus. Seriously, I'm afraid of Giovanni's Mewtwo, which I hear he can MEGA EVOLVE. Then again, Dusk Mane Necrozma can basically Mega Evolve via Ultra Burst.
Before I close up this segment, I just wanna talk about Ultra Warp Ride. While the concept seems cool, and actually doing it is also cool, the execution is kinda poor in my opinion. I mean yeah, getting Legendaries and Ultra Beasts are cool (You even get to buy Beast Balls from Aether paradise, which is an infinitely better upgrade than the limited amount you got from the original), but when it comes to the holes-unless you have a guide-you have now way of learning what's on the other side of the hole. Plus, you might randomly get sucked into a hole and then you gotta start all over. When i really think about it, it's kind of a mess. Yes, it's completely doable, but I wish the Legendary locations were fixed like in ORAS.
THE VERDICT: Pokemon Ultra Sun does many things both good and not so good. While the overall way of how you play the game is entirely dependent on you, I did enjoy it nonetheless. The story has some highs and a few lows, and the gameplay is great as always. I would consider it a worthy successor to the original Sun and Moon, and I will give it a solid 8/10. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who plays Pokemon or enjoys RPG games in general.
Edit: Oh, and if you've read through to the end, then I thank you for taking your time to read this.
Edit: By this point, I have beaten the Rainbow Rocket Episode. I will update this blog at a later date.
Story: I honestly can't tell if the story is a step up or a step down from the original. I mean, we finally know what Necrozma actually is, seeing as we knew little to nothing about it in Sun and Moon, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. but besides the change in how the main story ends, the game is mostly the same, save for the final boss (DEAR LORD, ULTRA NECROZMA IS POWERFUL, AND THAT Z-MOVE). But at the same time they removed some things that made the original so good. Why in the hell did they remove Lillie from when she goes to Exeggutor Island with us!? That was one of the best parts of Sun and Moon! It honestly pissed me off seeing that unfold. And Lusamine's reasons for going to Ultra Space are different, and I honestly couldn't tell if I liked this Lusamine more than crazy Lusamine or less. They also got rid of "Press A to Pound", which saddend me. Also, the trials were somewhat refreshing with how they do things differently (such as finding the ingredients in Mallow's trial or Mina's brand new Trial.) Overall, the story felt the same, and I honestly kept thinking I was playing through the original, but then the Ultra Recon Squad (URS, to keep it short) kept showing up frequently and rather consistently to remind me this is a different game indeed.
Characters: All the characters are likable in this game (except for the NPC trainers. They're always annoying, but it wouldn't be Pokemon without them, so they're mandatory). I especially like what they did with Hau in this game. At first, he was a rather forgettable character in the original, but they really stepped it up with him this time. When I started hearing about his accomplishments towards the building up of the Elite 4, I was honestly getting scared of how strong he might be compared to me (I was thinking "If Kukui almost gave me several heart attacks in the original, this was gonna be a nightmare.") I was glad to see my boi finally take things up a notch. Lusamine, like I said, I honestly can't tell if I like this more composed Lusamine more, or the more crazy Lusamine more. I mean, crazy Lusamine had a great impact on the original, and even underwent a crazy transformation (which unfortunately, if yo think about it, was pointless to do besides making her Pokemon stronger). On the flip side, her motives in Ultra Sun are more reasonable and understandable, though she isn't very competent compared to crazy Lusamine. However, we do see her show more respect towards her children, and I can respect that myself Also, YA BOI GUZMA WILL ALWAYS BE THE HARDEST BONEHEAD IN ALOLA, YO! (I'm sorry...) Lillie, Gladion (who I will miss. He pulled a Lillie without even telling our character goodbye...), Kukui, and the many other characters will always be memorable, even Dulse and Zossie (I wish I could say the same for Soliera and Phyco, but I don't have Ultra Moon, so...)
Music/Graphics: The Music. The music is awesome as usual. I like the remixes of the Wild Pokemon and Vs. Trainer battles, the URS' theme is very cool (I like how they incorporate the Aether Foundation's and the Ultra Beast's theme into it), Rainbow Rocket's theme is VERY awesome, and Ultra Necrozma's theme is just godlike. I don't really have much to say about them music other than I still consider it the best in the franchise. Same witht the graphics. They're the best the franchise has seen.
Gameplay/Difficulty: As expected from any core-series Pokemon game, this plays near identical to any past Pokemon game with updates, balances, and new features. Not much has changed from the original Sun and Moon in terms of game mechanics, but they've added in more features, mainly new exclusive Z-Moves (such as the OP Clangorous Soulblaze and the beyond-ridiculous "Light that burns the Sky"), new forms (Fucking Ultra Necrozma looks more godlike than the Llama God and is almost on par with MEGA RAYQUAZA! Too bad for that Psychic/Dragon typing, though, although Prism Armor makes up for that), and for the first time in the remake series, new Pokemon, mostly Ultra Beasts (Pennyw- I mean Bacephalon, UB-Assembly [it's name is kinda hard to type and pronounce], Poipole, it's evolution, and the new mythical Pokemon. [I am aware of Zerorora. I probably spelled that wrong.]) The RotomDex is WAY more useful than he was in the original and I thoroughly enjoy the benefits it brings to the game (though I wish it would SHUT THE FUCK UP). As for difficulty, it usually varies depending on ow the player goes through the game. For my playthrough, I was at just the right level until i got to that fucking Totem Lurantis. They made that shit harder than the original thanks to its new Ally Pokemon. After getting wrecked by that battle twice, I continued at a decent pace (with the exception of the road-block that was Olivia's Lileep. I would've swept her entire team had it not been for that thing. It nearly swept MY team.) Then I came into Acerola's trial. That. Fucking. Totem Mimikyu. Words cannot stress how much I despise that battle. My Pokemon were just the right level. SO WHY THE FUCK WAS THIS THING ONE-SHOTTING ALMOST ALL MY POKEMON!? Probably my team (I did have Primarina, Gabite [originally a Gible from trade], Dusk Lycanroc, Zoroark, Steenee [which I stupidly forgot to level up with Stomp], and Fletchinder.) It's disguise ability was absolutely disgusting. I had to use Primarina's tanky stats just to survive with it, as well as Zoroarks Illusion to set up how to beat it. It seemingly had answers to ALL of my team. After that, I ended up switching out some of my Pokemon. I swapped out Fletchinder for a Litten from trade, which I evolved into an Incineroar, my Steenee for a Rowlet in trade, which I evolved into a Decidueye, and swapped out my Zoroark for a Swagne-I mean Magnezone. Because my Starter gains extra experience, for some reason, and my traded 'Mons also get extra experience, as I trained them via enemy trainers, they got stronger (especially my Gabite, who evolved quickly into a Garchomp and became my strongest Pokemon. It was at that moment I finally understood why Pseudo-Legendaries are so friggin powerful.) I pretty much breezed through the rest of the game with not very much difficulty (Heck, because I took care of my Primarina, I ended up one-shotting Totem Kommo-o with a Critical Moonblast. I don't think any battle moment in Pokemon has made me laugh that hard). While I am glad I'm not pissing from my sweat glands in rage or nearly having heart attacks from just playing the game, I'm kinda sad because I basically removed the challenge from myself, thus beating supposedly strong NPC's is less satisfying for me. I ended up beating the Elite 4 and Hau with Dusk Mane Necrozma, Primarina, Dusk Lycanroc, Garchomp, Decidueye, and Incineroar. Catching Bacephalon after beating the Elite 4, on the other hand, was a HUGE difficulty spike. But then again, it's a fucking Ultra Beast, which usually have busted stats (Look at Kartana's MONSTROUS Attack Stat of 181!). Good thing my Primarina had Sing, otherwise it would've melted my team. I have yet to do Episode Rainbow Rocket because I am preparing my anus. Seriously, I'm afraid of Giovanni's Mewtwo, which I hear he can MEGA EVOLVE. Then again, Dusk Mane Necrozma can basically Mega Evolve via Ultra Burst.
Before I close up this segment, I just wanna talk about Ultra Warp Ride. While the concept seems cool, and actually doing it is also cool, the execution is kinda poor in my opinion. I mean yeah, getting Legendaries and Ultra Beasts are cool (You even get to buy Beast Balls from Aether paradise, which is an infinitely better upgrade than the limited amount you got from the original), but when it comes to the holes-unless you have a guide-you have now way of learning what's on the other side of the hole. Plus, you might randomly get sucked into a hole and then you gotta start all over. When i really think about it, it's kind of a mess. Yes, it's completely doable, but I wish the Legendary locations were fixed like in ORAS.
THE VERDICT: Pokemon Ultra Sun does many things both good and not so good. While the overall way of how you play the game is entirely dependent on you, I did enjoy it nonetheless. The story has some highs and a few lows, and the gameplay is great as always. I would consider it a worthy successor to the original Sun and Moon, and I will give it a solid 8/10. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who plays Pokemon or enjoys RPG games in general.
Edit: Oh, and if you've read through to the end, then I thank you for taking your time to read this.
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