Pokemon Sun – So Many Quality of Life Improvements
I’ve spent a good deal of time playing Pokemon Sun since its release last Friday. So far, I haven’t been disappointed at all.
Actually, I wanted to talk about all the quality of life changes they’ve made to the game since the previous one I’ve played – Pokemon X. Now, I didn’t play Pokemon ORAS, so I can’t compare it to any changes they may have made at that point. I just know that a lot of my user interface wishes/issues I experienced in Pokemon X were fixed completely.
Here’s some of the things I really like about Pokemon Sun:
- The game tells you which moves are effective against rival Pokemon after you’ve battled them once. This may not be a popular change, but I’m glad that some developer out there finally realized that there’s no way I can memorize the types of all million Pokemon. You really need to be aware of these things in Sun, because it seems the battles are a bit more challenging than games in the past. What’s even better is that when you go to switch to a different Pokemon in your party, the game tells you who will be most effective to switch to. Nothing is more of a bummer than when you switch out and find the Pokemon you picked sucks against the rival Pokemon’s move types just as much.
- Pokemon box management is so much more intuitive to use. Oh my gosh. Pokemon X… there was no easy way to swap out Pokemon from your team with ones in your box. You had to select Deposit to deposit and Retrieve to get one out. And if all you wanted to do was just switch a few around, it was a long, tedious process. Pokemon Sun makes it quick and easy to do – just drag and drop Pokemon around without any fuss. Thank you!
- When you capture a Pokemon in the wild, the game now allows you to choose whether to send it to a box or place it in your party, switching out one of your current Pokemon. This is so useful compared to X, where it would just automatically send it to a box no matter what.
- When you get a new Pokemon in Wondertrade, you see the Pokedex animation for it! I can’t tell you how important this is as someone who loves to Wondertrade a lot. In Pokemon X, I never knew if a trade was a Pokemon I already had in my box, so I ended up making a crazy spreadsheet to document which Pokemon I still needed. I’m happy the game does this for me and I no longer need a spreadsheet!
- Pokemon Refresh. A useful Pokemon Amie system, it not only allows you to earn your Pokemon’s affection, but you can actually remove status effects rather than using berries or potions.
- Pokemon interactions. When your Pokemon becomes more affectionate towards you, their interactions with you change. I love how, for example, my Dartrix will glance over his shoulder as I encourage it, or as it responds to me during battles. One time he was even checking out my fashion! He also sometimes acts silly, like hanging upside down, when I enter Pokemon Refresh. It really gives the Pokemon a personality and ignites my own attachment to them in a way I haven’t experienced before.
- Riding Pokemon. This seems so natural. Why didn’t we have more of this before?
I’m taking my time while playing through this game, catching and leveling various Pokemon as I go. I just completed my third trial last night, and have a long way to go, still. Looking forward to continue progressing in this game!