Nintendo definitely exemplified the notion of quality over quantity at E3 2016, as the first day of the convention was dedicated to two titles – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pokemon Sun and Moon. While Zelda got a significant amount of screen time, Pokemon opted to pick one specific slice of the early-game and show us what’s up in the new Alola region.
We’ve seen the starter Pokemon, now we’re starting to dig deeper into Pokemon Sun and Moon’s wildlife. Yungoos was a foreign Pokemon brought in to deal with a certain rat Pokemon, not unlike real world Japan did with the mongoose. He looks adorably angry. Pikipek is your typical bird Pokemon that every region specializes in, though it’s specifically a woodpecker. Grubbin is, as of now, your standard bug Pokemon. What was shown in the stream, however, is how they’re differentiating Pokemon animations. Pikipek is twitchy and energetic, while Yungoos is mean mugging you the entire time.
Speaking of visuals, the game has a nice smoothness to walking around and interacting with the world that Pokemon X and Y, the first fully-3D main Pokemon games, simply didn’t have. The Alola region is made up of four natural islands and one manmade island that looks to represent the Pokemon League. Though based on recent news regarding the Kalos legendary Zygarde, this chain of islands probably won’t be the only places you’ll be exploring in Pokemon Sun and Moon.
Exploration has always been an interesting feature of the Pokemon titles, and while that aspect is growing, a lot of the technical aspects that keep Pokemon novices at bay are being identified and streamlined. Effects of certain moves are made more clear, certain types of Pokemon are more noticeable after you catch a similar type thanks to your Rotom-infested Pokedex.
Pokemon Sun and Moon launch November 18th for Nintendo 3DS. While hype levels aren’t as sky high as they were for Pokemon X and Y, the evolution, not revolution, of this franchise continues to impress.