Pokemon Sun

 3DS
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1265 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 868 out of 1265
  2. Mixed: 186 out of 1265
  3. Negative: 211 out of 1265
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  1. Macka7
    Nov 21, 2016
    0
    As per usual when it comes to GameFreak, this is 2 steps forward and 60 steps back.

    So much for the 'fresh changes to the formula'. The trials generally suck and the Kahuna's are essentially gym leaders anyway. The game feels almost on rails with all of the handholding and cutscenes every five minutes. The supporting cast are generally irritating. The game was even easier than XY for    As per usual when it comes to GameFreak, this is 2 steps forward and 60 steps back.

    So much for the 'fresh changes to the formula'. The trials generally suck and the Kahuna's are essentially gym leaders anyway. The game feels almost on rails with all of the handholding and cutscenes every five minutes. The supporting cast are generally irritating. The game was even easier than XY for me, repeatedly OHKOing Totem bosses and Kahuna's with their three Pokemon are a joke.

    The game is a bit of a mess. Frame rate can't hold up very well in the new otherwise fun Battle Royale mode. The game constantly needs to load and 'cut away' whenever you interact with anything. There are loading zones everywhere. There are bugs with the way abilities and such work.

    I could keep going.    … Expand
  2. Come_on_son
    Nov 21, 2016
    9
    The game is great! Although I dont know why some pokemon charcter models like seriously incineroar!! Why cant you be like some of those fan made ones! Nintendo plz employ those artists to help you!! Or just make the game cool!! Everyone thought incineroar would look better on all fours, sleek with some dark aura! smh
  3. SiCriCy
    Nov 20, 2016
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. going to keep it breif:
    -looks flashier than previose games resulting in slowdown in combat on a brand new 3ds,
    -loads of new well made cut scenes leading to unwanted load screens (so many loading screens),
    -a now MANDATORY and UNSKIPPABLE tutorial INCLUDING UNSKIPPABLE trainer school ~1-2 hour -FML,
    -no more puzzles, hm's and hm slaves, now a summonable mount that imo looks dumb af (way to overprotected and overdone riding gear making it look dumb, clunky, and overly safe for a shelterd 8 yr old to enjoy),
    -pokemon games have always been pretty linear with a little bit of exploring, but this is PAINFULLY LINEAR: rather than hm's that allow you to rexplore old areas, you have a free skilled mount to summon that directly allows you to progress with the fact that rather than puzzles or skill blocks you giet railroaded by physical barreiers to be removed after trial complete, i find this forced railroading painful and dumb

    OVERALL:
    aesthetics: 10/10 pretty AF, look great in all aspects
    story: 5/10, typical pokemon game with nice cutscens, but UNSKIPPABLE cutsenes
    quality of life: 4/10 LOADING screens, FORCED TUTORIAL, SEVERE BLATANT RAILROADING (no way to do anything you want in your own order since you MUST PLAY STORY to unlock ANYTHING)

    I personally think this is a one step forward two steps back kind of game; it has better visuals and looks nicer, but hardware unable to keep up and noticable slow downs appear in combat and sometimes lag spikes occur, MEANWHILE this game punishes you for knowing how to play the game by not allowing you to skip the tutorial at all and forcing you to further do an unskippable trainer school BS; compared to X/Y and ORAS this game was painful to play and painfully targeting a younger audience rather than aiming at a younger audience and accomadating the loyal generations that follow.    … Expand
  4. datass
    Nov 20, 2016
    10
    Also to the people complaining about how "easy" the game is, don't use the XP share, and also put "set" on in the settings instead of "switch" will make the game more fun and frustrating when fighting trial captains.
  5. Ibanez89
    Nov 20, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ok I'm going to start off by saying that is far from a bad game. Infact, its a very good game. But I cant help but express the few things that really frustrate me as a first impression with about 7 hours into the game.

    1. The handholding in this game is at its max. It feels like you cannot lose. I've always had an issue with that exp share since X and Y as you don't even need to use the pokemon to level them up. I dont feel you earn your levels and its not satisfying at all. On top of that, you dont even need items to heal pokemon from status conditions! all you need to do is use the medicine tool from the care menu and its infinite use. This makes paralyze heals, antidotes etc absolutely pointless.

    2. The framerate in this is probably the worst the series has produced. The camera function and double battles are actually laggy enough to make you lose interest. Even overall the FPS is quite average.

    3. The constant stopping and starting through the game. So much tutorials and pointless dialogue. Someone will stop talking to you after about 2 minutes, you then take 10 steps forward and someone else will stop you and talk for another 5 minutes. Its very frustrating and loses the games intended flow.

    Putting those aside though, this game looks great and it plays great. I love the 3d world, how you interact with things, the possibilities and just how much more efficient they made it. I dont know too much about the overall story because those cons I listed above made me lose interest quickly, but thats not saying I have lost hope because it has something special going on. Deep down, they have a very good direction but its just a shame that you cant experience it properly from the beginning.
    What I also really love is that they give you a variety of pokemon to catch from the very start. No more do you have a party full of birds and bug types.
    They have done a very welcoming change to the formula to a point where its not completely different, but enough to keep the franchise fresh and also keep alot of the old gameplay along with it.

    The best thing that I had noticed in the game is that when you catch a pokemon but your party is full, they have now given you the option to switch a pokemon out and put the one you caught straight in there. I wish I could go up to gamefreak and shake their hand.

    Do I recommend this game? definitely. Just be aware that the early game could bore you to tears but there will surely be things in the game that you will love about it. Another must own for the 3ds for sure. Even if you go back to it months later to give it another chance.    … Expand
  6. USER34455
    Nov 20, 2016
    10
    Its a your standard Pokemon game Its pretty good. The only bad things people seem to find about this game are cherry picked. People need to loosen up and see these are some great games and I hope Game freak sees the positive reviews and not the negative because these games are honestly one of the best in the series.
  7. JavierNF
    Nov 20, 2016
    10
    Amazing. The best Pokémon game.

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  8. SuperRon
    Nov 20, 2016
    10
    This game is a great surprise.
    This is the second instance of when pokemon break their own norm and create a real game better than the other one.
    The first pokemon game that did that was colosseum, the second one is sun and moon. The gym are remplaced by challenge of island that really gives an immersive feel to the game. Excellent music, the most inspired and fitting of the    This game is a great surprise.
    This is the second instance of when pokemon break their own norm and create a real game better than the other one.
    The first pokemon game that did that was colosseum, the second one is sun and moon.

    The gym are remplaced by challenge of island that really gives an immersive feel to the game.

    Excellent music, the most inspired and fitting of the franchise.

    Great graphic, minus the slowdown that happen on multi battle.

    Great variety of pokemon, so you can build pretty interesting team during the game.

    Honestly the story is really good and the best that has yet to be produced in pokemon, it's easy to let yourself follow the trame, and be excited to just move on to the next thing.

    Mecanically everything is conveniant, no HM needed,when your party is full you can add to your team and send to PC, same thing for eggs, everything is easy and fast to do, including EV/IV training once you figure it out.

    Finished the main game at around 35 hours, the main story is slightly longer than usual, and lots to do in the post game, depending on your taste and preference.

    Most people commenting negatively are either just at the beginning of the game or just hate change, and would be the same that say "but pokemon is always the same!"    … Expand
  9. Shabok
    Nov 20, 2016
    8
    I've been playing pokemon, both competitively and casually, since RBY first came out. Here are my feelings:

    Pro: + The new mons are some of the best overall in terms of design. Much better than XY + Gyms have been replaced but its a nice change and actally makes the game harder + Graphics and animations are great + Lots of things to do aside from clear the trials + Customization of    I've been playing pokemon, both competitively and casually, since RBY first came out. Here are my feelings:

    Pro:
    + The new mons are some of the best overall in terms of design. Much better than XY
    + Gyms have been replaced but its a nice change and actally makes the game harder
    + Graphics and animations are great
    + Lots of things to do aside from clear the trials
    + Customization of your avatar
    + Festival Plaza is a great consolidation of thing competitive players care about
    + No more HM
    + Tons of QoL improvements for casual and competitive
    + It's pretty long

    Con:
    - Framerate drops on standard 3DS whenever more than one mon is on the screen
    - Wild pokemon calling for help is the worst mechanic in any of these games. Ever. It's worse than hoarde battles, which were actually very useful for EV training. This is just irritating. It's supposed to add challenge, however it just translates into useless tedium
    - Boring, predictable, stereotypical characters
    - Rival (if you can call him that) is irritatingly cheerful and says about 4 different things just in different ways... What happened to all the jerk rivals?
    - The amount of handholding is nauseating
    - Rotomdex is annoying. It never shuts up and always tells you exactly where to go
    - Zmoves are cool but I find myself never using them because I can get 2 attacks off by the time the animation finishes
    - Team Skull is...embarassing
    - You can only go fishing in designated spots
    - New mons are all slow as dirt, with only 2 or 3 non legends having base Spd >=100

    This is not the best game in the series. GSC still blows it away. I'm still giving it a solid 8. It's not a bad game by any means (although those framerate drops are, frankly, embarassing in 2016) and it's definitely worth playing. It's hard to appeal to every type of person who plays this game. They definitely tried to. In my eyes, they earned B when, with a few tweaks, this could have been a solid A title.    … Expand
  10. ke
    Nov 20, 2016
    1
    Why this game is pure garbage:
    1. Endless dialogs without any meaning
    2. horrible low fps
    3. still narly never in 3D
    4. Zero anti aliasing
    5. **** music
    6. Horrible long loading times
    7. Moore cutscenes than a telltale game
    8. Still much to easy
  11. TyrannicalDonut
    Nov 19, 2016
    6
    The game is good, however the game seems to be more marketed towards beginner players than previous fans. The game takes a large departure from the previous games centered around collecting badges to the new "trials". The story is also now very linear. You will find npcs blocking you into an small area until you clear an objective. The game seems a lot more hand holdy than previous gamesThe game is good, however the game seems to be more marketed towards beginner players than previous fans. The game takes a large departure from the previous games centered around collecting badges to the new "trials". The story is also now very linear. You will find npcs blocking you into an small area until you clear an objective. The game seems a lot more hand holdy than previous games as the talking pokedex tells you exactly what to do. They also introduced calling for help. This mechanic occurs when you get a wild pokemon down to low health, they will auto call for help at the end of the turn (even if they attacked that turn). This makes it a huge chore now to catch wild pokemon as you may end up fighting a large chain forever if the pokemon is successful in calling in help over and over again. 3D has also been completely removed from the game. Previous games had 3D battle scenes, sun and moon are completely in 2D. Overall, I would say I enjoyed the game but it definitely was the worst of the 3DS titles so far.… Expand
  12. SuperMatt777
    Nov 19, 2016
    8
    Pokémon Sun/Moon are an interesting take on the main series of Pokémon, taking a break from challenging 8 gym leaders in favor of Island Trials. It definitely fits the Hawaii theme that the game has going on and I think it's pretty cool. The games themselves are really good, making the long, hyped wait well worth it. The new Pokémon introduced maintain a level of creativity in theirPokémon Sun/Moon are an interesting take on the main series of Pokémon, taking a break from challenging 8 gym leaders in favor of Island Trials. It definitely fits the Hawaii theme that the game has going on and I think it's pretty cool. The games themselves are really good, making the long, hyped wait well worth it. The new Pokémon introduced maintain a level of creativity in their designs, types and abilities, in my opinion. A few new and incredibly useful features introduced include the removal of HMs in exchange for the Poke Pager, a device that calls specific Pokémon to fill in the place of the missing HMs. Incredibly helpful and relieves you of forcing yourself to have a water or flying type just for Surf, Waterfall and Fly or a completely different Pokémon all together for the rarely used Strength or Rock Smash. Another addition is the Poké Refresh, which replaces the Poké-Amie from the previous generation. The repetitive mini games are gone and instead, you can just pet and feed your Pokémon. Simple enough. You can also clean it after battle and, best of all, restore the Pokémon of any status condition it may have gained from the battle, effectively eliminating the need for a few status restoring items. You can also check stat alterations in the battle itself as well as the game telling you which moves are effective against the Pokémon you're up against, making it incredibly helpful for new players. The game's locations are quite nice as well, perfectly fitting in with the game's theme and the many characters are filled with personality, many of which really make you wonder what their backstories are. The Battle Royal idea is a cool thing as well. I've seen some YouTubers do free for all battles in gen 6 games and this idea seems to take that idea and make it official. The only complaint is how the battles end when one person loses all their Pokémon.

    However, despite how much I'm enjoying the games, there are a few flaws. While I don't mind the change in Island Trials, the Totem Pokémon battles are incredibly irritating, mainly due to the introduction of wild Pokémon being able to call for help. Not only does this stack the odds against you, but it makes catching wild Pokémon a hassle and facing the Totem Pokémon almost one sided against you. I don't mind the Island Trials idea, but I still much prefer gym battles. Another big thing is how uncommon or hard to get the new Pokémon are. If they don't have a five percent chance of finding in the wild, the either evolve in a specific place more than halfway through the game. I love the idea of Alolan forms, a change in type for past Pokémon makes them more interesting to use, but the variety is low and limited to generation 1 Pokémon, which I'm not huge on. There is also a hefty amount of Pokémon missing from the game, meaning you must transfer to get them. Z-Moves are also a new introduction to the game, but I barely see use in them. I feel they were meant to compare/compete with the Mega Evolution idea, but in my eyes, I just don't see use in them. Trainer customization returns, but it's incredibly dull compared to X & Y.

    Overall, Sun and Moon were definitely worth the wait. Various fixes made playing the games much easier and the new ideas are, in my opinion, not bad. The new Pokémon are amazing and creative and the game's story is interesting so far, as it is filled with amazing characters. However there are those various flaws that are easy to complain about and they can be pretty glaring at times. But get passed those and your looking at pretty great games. The change of pace wasn't a bad idea, but it's not one I hope to see become the new normal.    … Expand
  13. desdar300
    Nov 19, 2016
    10
    I've read a lot of the negative User reviewers and they all seem to have one thing in common " They hate change" and that's really sad to me for multiple reasons.
    Pokémon Sun and Moon are without a doubt the most innovative games in the series to date and it feels like a honest to God step forward and that's a good thing for a guy like me who's grown tired of the standard Pokémon formula.    I've read a lot of the negative User reviewers and they all seem to have one thing in common " They hate change" and that's really sad to me for multiple reasons.
    Pokémon Sun and Moon are without a doubt the most innovative games in the series to date and it feels like a honest to God step forward and that's a good thing for a guy like me who's grown tired of the standard Pokémon formula.
    >The story
    One thing that I can say is that I found myself really getting sucked into the story, mainly because the characters are a lot more well rounded this time around and go through ACTUAL character development.
    I'd say by the end of the game you'll love at least one of the characters whether it's Kukui, Lillie, or Hau
    > The Graphics
    Sun and Moon are some of the best looking games you'll find on the 3ds and the little touches added between each version really adds to the players immersion something that other Pokémon games barely do.
    That said they'll take a bit of a dip in double battles and it is noticeable but it didn't harper the game for me.
    > Gameplay
    Ditching Gyms are the best thing GF gas done since Gold and Silver because it makes the games a lot more unpredictable due to the Island trials being quite varied and also make things less formulaic.
    Verdict:
    Sn and Moon are a very welcome addition to the Pokémon franchise that not only keeps things fresh but it doesn't stray away from what made Pokémon great to begin with. I highly recommend picking these up whether you're a long time fan, a returning fan, or new to Pokémon in general. A must buy for this holiday season!    … Expand
  14. dexMax
    Nov 19, 2016
    1
    This has got to one of the most disappointing entries in the series. The trials are stupid and boring. All the new pokemon are to damn slow and there is no national dex. What was Ganefreak thinking? One of the worst thing of all is the story. Pokemon was never about the story and never should have be. One of the worst things about it are the long unskippable cutscene that bring progress toThis has got to one of the most disappointing entries in the series. The trials are stupid and boring. All the new pokemon are to damn slow and there is no national dex. What was Ganefreak thinking? One of the worst thing of all is the story. Pokemon was never about the story and never should have be. One of the worst things about it are the long unskippable cutscene that bring progress to a grinding halt never mind the actual story is garbage. I want to explore the region on my own pace not the crap the game forces on me. There no good postgame to make up for it. Also pokemon calling for help is very annoying.

    Gamefreak scrape the story and refine the other good features just never make this kind of disappointment againm    … Expand
  15. abbe44
    Nov 19, 2016
    10
    i really loved these games
    loved the trials and the new Pokemon and i loved that there was cut scenes instead of just static dialogue
    the region was beautiful and lush
    the only real gripe i have is that the first hour or so is a little slow
    and omg the story was great! so many likable characters
  16. SkullShards
    Nov 19, 2016
    1
    The entire first hour/hour and a half is a cut-scene driven tutorial. You are forced down linear paths and need to skip through relentless exposition in order to get to the meat of the game. I found myself thinking at about the 1 hour mark, "It would be more fun to just play Blue or Gold again...". And now I am forced to watch the Pokedex blink at me every 3 seconds.
  17. bigcheese53535
    Nov 19, 2016
    0
    This game feels more like some weird spinoff to the anime series than a mainstream Pokemon game. There's so many pointless cutscenes and dumb tutorials....it doesn't feel like a Pokemon game. 5 Hours in and I just can't play it anymore. Super boring compared to the other games.
  18. NewFaceofFun
    Nov 19, 2016
    4
    The only issue with Battle Royal is that the game’s performance takes a massive dip when four Pokémon are duking it out on-screen. These framerate drops happen more frequently than in previous games where two-on-two battles were the only serious offender, which is a shame, but thanks to the slow-paced, turn-based combat it never really becomes an issue, more an inconvenience.
  19. tpab
    Nov 19, 2016
    10
    This game is great. The region is an improved Hoenn and has lots of places to explore. My favorite part of the games is the removal of HMs. Another positive is salandit and its evolution being my new favorite Pokemon.
  20. Maxson
    Nov 19, 2016
    8
    It's a good game, probably not the best one but I'm still exploring the game. The introduction is a bit slow, especially for the hardcore pokemon fans. I think this game in my opinion is great for newcomers. The graphics are a bit better than the previous 3DS Pokemon games. The gameplay is still the same, they didn't change much with the core element in the game. For those that areIt's a good game, probably not the best one but I'm still exploring the game. The introduction is a bit slow, especially for the hardcore pokemon fans. I think this game in my opinion is great for newcomers. The graphics are a bit better than the previous 3DS Pokemon games. The gameplay is still the same, they didn't change much with the core element in the game. For those that are suffering from long loading time and lag, you guys are playing the game on the old 3DS. I have the new 3DS XL, and the game runs fine. I'm pretty disappointed with some of the reviews here, because some of the guys just don't understand. Gamefreak wants to bring new players in, that's why we have the tutorial and introduction in the game. They want new players to understand the basic concept of the game, especially the younger kids that are playing this game for the first time in their gaming life.… Expand
  21. guetzalwoatl
    Nov 19, 2016
    10
    You get the awesomeness of the originals with the updated look of x and y. If you have been liking the more recent games you will like this one. I like the new versions of pokemon and soundtrack.
  22. SteelDragon
    Nov 19, 2016
    1
    Big disappointment to me. The framerate issues and the lack of difficulty make this game feel as if they were antagonizing the older Pokemon fans while they let the younger fans depend on long tutorials and boring cutscenes.
  23. PokeCritic
    Nov 19, 2016
    6
    Personally, I have mixed emotions about the game. Yeah, I'm excited for the new changes, and yeah, SOME of the Pokémon look horrendous. There's a lot of new features so I'm holding my breath wondering why this game sucks. Hoping for the best. On a more positive note, I got the game for FREE!!!!
  24. FranklinDiancie
    Nov 19, 2016
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pokémon Sun and Moon are worth the price, just not quite as good as the hype. To be honest I was somewhat disappointed but I do think the game is worth the price. I've been playing since blue originally came out so I'd like to say I've been for quite a while. This game has a lot of hit and misses. I don't think this will be the game to revolutionize Pokémon completely but it does take some steps in the right direction which makes me excited for future instalments. This game did feel unfinished but I wonder if that's because of the rumored new game for the switch.

    The story is relatively boring until it does a 180 and escalates really quickly. It feels like it takes age for something worthwhile to happen. When it does it's over almost as soon as it starts. Most if not all the story revolves around the character Lillie. So much of the story revolves around her and "Nebby" that you almost the main character by proxy only. Lillie's constant inability to do anything for herself did sort of get on my nerves. Even when she "changed" it felt like the majority of that was her wearing different clothes and remind us how different she is now. However, she still refused to use Pokémon, become a trainer, etc. She still relies on you to do everything until the very end when she leaves to Kanto. Gladion could have been removed from the story and it would have been almost 100% the same. He only really felt like a vector to shoehorn in type: Null    … Expand
  25. RealPokeGamer
    Nov 18, 2016
    3
    Pokémon Sun is one of those games that changes the face of a successful franchise in a bad way. Although it is a very fresh and innovative Pokémon game in the saga, it lost all hope when the developers took the most important part, Pokémon Gyms, out of the game. Without any badges to get, this tedious adventure lasts more than 30 hours with the least favorite story of the series. ThePokémon Sun is one of those games that changes the face of a successful franchise in a bad way. Although it is a very fresh and innovative Pokémon game in the saga, it lost all hope when the developers took the most important part, Pokémon Gyms, out of the game. Without any badges to get, this tedious adventure lasts more than 30 hours with the least favorite story of the series. The designs of the Pokémon and scenarios are very wacky, strange, and queer, and the graphics look alright and decent. The soundtrack is the worst of the Pokémon series, terribly depending on versions and sounds of other regions. What a disgrace. Without a doubt, the worst game in the Pokémon franchise.… Expand
  26. TheDonald
    Nov 18, 2016
    2
    I'll keep this review updated as I go but this is the most unplayable DAY 1 release I've ever witnessed and I've been buying Pokemon games on release day since red and blue back in the 90s. And despite being an oldie - I am definitely not the type to hate new changes. I loved ORAS and XY and B2W2 (XY had a small struggle because Nintendo completely bungled the Pokemon Bank release, but theI'll keep this review updated as I go but this is the most unplayable DAY 1 release I've ever witnessed and I've been buying Pokemon games on release day since red and blue back in the 90s. And despite being an oldie - I am definitely not the type to hate new changes. I loved ORAS and XY and B2W2 (XY had a small struggle because Nintendo completely bungled the Pokemon Bank release, but the game was still wonderful from day 1). The last time I was this infuriated by Pokemon was with the original Black and White when there was that annoying character following you around the whole game interrupting the flow of gameplay with inane button mashed scrolls of garbage small talk. However, this one is worse by far. It took 90 MINUTES of game play before I could even get to a Pokemon Center, save and discover that Pokemon Bank was unavailable (and sadly Pokemon bank is the least of my problems here). I had bred a level 1 Omanyte and Dunsparce in ORAS to try to make my first playthrough of Sun be more challenging (they tend to make each generation more and more idiot friendly - for example, taking away type-matching by giving players a cheat prompt now in Sun and Moon). Anyway, not being able to import my Pokemon was definitely a bummer and really inexcusable for Nintendo (they're like the lazy employee at a job) but still not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that even after 90 minutes of absolutely horrible intro-scene/tutorial patchwork, finally being able to get to the Pokemon center -- the intro-montage STILL isn't over! It's like they have gone out of their way to design a game that should have been titled "BUTTON MASH MEANINGLESS SCROLLS OF GARBAGE: Pokemon themed edition". Anyway. I'm super disappointed. I don't know how anyone is supposed to get into this story line with all this crap pulling you out of the game mentally. It feels like a chore to play this so far and it shouldn't feel like that after two hours. I should actually be able to play the game at this point.… Expand
  27. randomnessiswow
    Nov 18, 2016
    4
    There are SOOO many cutscenes. I played for an hour, and literally 30-45 min of it was cutscenes. In addition, the load times are brutal, as every time you enter/exit a cutscene THERE'S A LOAD TIME. Furthermore, they found a way to make the training school required, which... I mean, just kill me.
  28. Rinoa_Heartilly
    Nov 18, 2016
    10
    Note: Don't listen to the whingers who gave the game a bad score based on only 1 or 2 hours of play into the game. No one likes them and they aren't helpful at all. The best way fo judge is to play for yourself or at least read reviews of people who have actually played the game (15-20hrs+ recommended).

    Anyway imo this is absolutely the best one yet and a great gate-way for the new    Note: Don't listen to the whingers who gave the game a bad score based on only 1 or 2 hours of play into the game. No one likes them and they aren't helpful at all. The best way fo judge is to play for yourself or at least read reviews of people who have actually played the game (15-20hrs+ recommended).

    Anyway imo this is absolutely the best one yet and a great gate-way for the new players to get into. Please purchase and play the game to decide for yourself but if you love Pokemon you will not be disappointed. The game should get at least an 8 just for removing the HM system.    … Expand
  29. labarith
    Nov 18, 2016
    1
    Cons:
    (old?) 3ds load times are ridiculous.
    TOO MANY CUT SCENES. I've played the game for an hour, and most of that has been me taking 2-3 steps and entering a new cut scene. Pros: It looks good. End of the day, you're going to buy this if you like Pokemon. But this is the first main-series Pokemon game to be legitimately unfun. Not "boring" or "slow" or "repetitive," but just    Cons:
    (old?) 3ds load times are ridiculous.
    TOO MANY CUT SCENES. I've played the game for an hour, and most of that has been me taking 2-3 steps and entering a new cut scene.

    Pros:
    It looks good.

    End of the day, you're going to buy this if you like Pokemon. But this is the first main-series Pokemon game to be legitimately unfun. Not "boring" or "slow" or "repetitive," but just a waste of your time.

    There are rumors about a new, better SWITCH version - in which case, maybe it's time to just not give Nintendo you're money anymore. Because ruining a franchise, and making people buy newer hardware to make it run even remotely well is not okay.    … Expand
  30. FireDragon
    Nov 18, 2016
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have been with the Pokémon franchise since Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and I must say, the main series have gotten better over years! It was not until X and Y where I thought Game Freak finally revolutionized the series with 3D models and big beautiful landscapes to the point of making it great to play again. They finally changed the game for the better! However, it was not until I played Sun and Moon, where, overall, the games have changed the formula of the series in such a dramatic way, that it was not the way I was hoping for Generation 7 to turn out to be. With that being said, I have listed the pros, where the games did well on, and the cons, where the games did poorly on.

    Pros

    + The new forms for some of the Pokémon are fun to use

    + The Festival Plaza is pretty entertaining and a good way to get items

    + You're now able to heal status ailments by taking care of your Pokémon after battle

    + HMs are replaced with the more efficient Pokémon Pager system

    + Trials and Kahunas provide an interesting twist to the standard gym battle formula

    + The graphical upgrades make trainers and Pokémon look better and more interesting

    + Ability effectiveness now appears on the move select screen

    + A map on the bottom screen shows where you're at and where your next objective lies can be pretty helpful

    + Battle mechanics offer a new and fun touch

    + Does experimental things with formula

    + Riding Pokémon lifts the move limitations throughout your adventure

    Cons

    - Daycare only breeds eggs and no longer levels Pokémon

    - Very few Pokémon in game and no Pokémon Bank until January

    - Serious frame rate drops during totem battles and double battles

    - A lot of unnecessary cut scenes slow down the game. (I love cuts scenes normally but some of them feel pointless. There are quite a few cut scents that comprise of people only waving at you.)

    - No room to explore freely until almost the third island, everything is extremely linear

    - Alola Pokémon seem to have a low encounter rate

    - Not a lot of variation in Pokémon. Many places just have the same Pokémon with one new Pokémon added into the mix

    - Your dialogue choices almost have no impact what so ever

    - Your character's expression almost never changes which is a bit jarring when other characters are
    visible upset.

    - Double Battles chug rather harshly

    - More linear and easy going
    - Story less intriguing than expected and, at times, can be nonsensical and uninteresting - Z-move animations are way too long can and be boring to watch after several times From an overall standpoint, Pokémon Sun and Moon had many great points about it. However, the big changes to it feel as if Game Freak is trying to reboot the Pokémon series, even though it is already great. Instead of these big changes, why not just keep the gyms and add more Post-Game content to the new games? Taking pictures of Pokémon, challenges and trials from different characters, and fun minigames all feel like optional activities that you could do by yourself, but you are forced to do them in Pokémon Sun and Moon. Because of this, I did not enjoy the game, and I felt like they changed too much to the new generation. The game has its great and beautiful moments, but it also has it tedious and monotonous moments as well. * Now remember this clearly. This is just my opinion. Please do not feel offended by it. Thanks for reading my review and I hope you have a wonderful day!*    … Expand
  31. FutureWorld
    Nov 18, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Don't get me wrong. I have played all of the Pokemon games, and I am a definite fan of the franchise. However, I do feel that Pokemon Sun is not the epic Pokemon game that I myself was looking for. Remember, this is just my own opinion, and I do agree that the game was had cool new additions and finally changed the gameplay into a full 3D world. However, I just didn't feel as hyped as what others have been all over the Internet. One of the main things that I have criticized heavily on Sun is the fact that they changed the Gyms. The trials were a great idea.......for post game content that is. To me, Gyms in Pokemon are like the Rings in Sonic or the Mushroom in Super Mario. They are important to the game, and are part of the formula of the game. Losing the gyms makes the game feel a bit left out, but this is just my opinion. I would love to go on with more details, but here what I will finally say: Pokemon Sun has its fun moments, but there is plenty that can be desired for the next Pokemon generation… Expand
  32. SuperSony
    Nov 18, 2016
    10
    This game is truly beautiful. It shows that nintendo can break away from the traditional Pokemon formula and make it even bigger and better. The Pokemon designs are creative and blend in with the environment making the whole game feel more fluid and natural.
  33. snakekill321
    Nov 18, 2016
    9
    The Alola islands are truly spectacular! I was tempering my expectations of the game and did my best to avoid any spoilers, and being about 10 hours into the game, I am pretty happy. The cast and characters are well done, the battle system is fun as well as the animations of the trainers. This is not a simple reskin of X and Y this is a whole new adventure with new mechanics and newThe Alola islands are truly spectacular! I was tempering my expectations of the game and did my best to avoid any spoilers, and being about 10 hours into the game, I am pretty happy. The cast and characters are well done, the battle system is fun as well as the animations of the trainers. This is not a simple reskin of X and Y this is a whole new adventure with new mechanics and new pokemon. I am honestly excited to write this review and go back to playing the game.… Expand
  34. vgmkyle
    Nov 18, 2016
    10
    Will the reviews change how well this game is going to sell? Absolutely not. The audience is well educated at this point, and I think most Nintendo players don't even check... and they shouldn't. See this as a coping well for Sony Fanboys that don't have any expansive universes to come back to in this incredible fashion.
  35. lizthewiz
    Nov 18, 2016
    10
    Pokemon Sun shines brighter than any predecessor in the Pokemon franchise. The graphics are fresh and lush. The story is entertaining. Above all, it's the most lively Pokemon adventure yet.
  36. EpicLadySponge
    Nov 18, 2016
    8
    It is agreeable that Pokémon Sun isn't getting anywhere from its predecessors, X and Y, but to be on the safe side, it does have its beauty moments and anyone wondering when to buy it, it would possibly be now... only if you have a 3DS that is.
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best 3DS Game of 2016
1
#1 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2016
1
#1 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 85 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 87
  3. Negative: 0 out of 87
  1. Vooks
    Apr 8, 2017
    100
    Pokémon Sun and Moon make terrific changes the twenty-year-old formula, allowing new fans and returning ones back into the series with a wonderful lively and colourful world. It's just a little too easy for us who have been here from the start - but it's easy to forgot that when you're having such a blast.
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  2. Easy Allies
    Mar 19, 2017
    90
    If you’re a newcomer to the series, this is an excellent opportunity to learn the fundamentals in a laid-back setting. If you’re a pro, you’ll relish the new options in place for making your Pokémon all they can be. Sun & Moon is a Pokémon vacation we’d gladly take again.
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  3. Vgames
    Mar 8, 2017
    90
    These games exceeded my expectations by a mile. Pokemon Sun and Moon are games that every Pokemon fan and every 3DS owner needs to own. Nintendo and Gamefreak did an awesome job creating a great story and the changes they made for the format make the game feel fresh and exciting more so than ever before. The game has its minor issues like the end game and some performance issues on Old 3DS models but the soundtrack, the story and the new features more than make up for it, to make an unforgettable experience.
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