The Ultra Recon Squad is a mysterious group of people who live in the depths of Ultra Space in a futuristic city known as Ultra Megalopolis, and they’re incredible in their otherworldliness. The introduction of the Ultra Recon Squad, for example, is a welcome addition to USUM.
Other elements of the story are similarly excellent. Even Gladion, everybody’s favourite edge-lord, gets real character development in USUM, even going so far as to not only smile, but make a friend. RotomDex, too, has gotten a character overhaul, with more interaction and a blossoming friendship over the course of the game.
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Lillie, too, is no longer the weak-spirited pushover she once was, and now stands as one of the best secondary protagonists the series has ever seen. Hau, in particular, has been transformed from my least-favourite whiny tag-along to a formidable rival, a character with drive and ambition, and most importantly, a likeable friend who feels like he belongs in the Alola region. Characters like as Hau and Lillie are given some incredible fleshing out here that they just didn’t get in Sun and Moon. While Sun and Moon’s story was good, USUM added some of the best storytelling the series has seen to date. Negativity aside though, when the story does finally get going, Game Freak knocks it out of the park. I understand that Pokémon has to be accessible to children, but some of us have been playing Pokémon for 20 years, and being taught the basics over and over again in every single new game is getting tiring. Lillie, please stop telling me where to go, I’m certain I can figure out what direction to head in on a route with only one exit. Yes, Hau, I do know what a Pokémon Centre is.
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No, Professor Kukui, I don’t need to be taught how to catch Pokémon. It’s a disappointment, as it was with Sun and Moon, that Pokémon games still don’t have a way to indicate that you’re a seasoned pro. Sun and Moon were dreadfully slow in the early-game, with constant tutorials, far too many cutscenes and way too much handholding, and USUM doesn’t do much to stray from this. The first half of USUM plays out almost to the letter as it did in Sun and Moon, which, if you’ve played those games, will give you some cause for concern. The expanded story takes a while to get going too. I’d hesitate to suggest adding new Pokémon in the earlier parts of the game, but a lot of my excitement surrounding the game was focused on those Pokémon having them available so late in the game, with some even being locked off until the post-game, was frustrating, to say the least. These new Pokémon are definitely interesting, but only feature very late in the game’s story, which takes a little wind out of the sails for the games. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon follow this trend, with a massively expanded story, new features, new forms for the Legendary Pokémon Necrozma, and for the very first time, all new Pokémon. Third versions usually provide enhancements, add new story elements, and often new forms for certain Legendary Pokémon. The 6th generation of games, which started with X and Y, didn’t have a third version, which lead many to believe that Game Freak had abandoned the concept altogether - that is, until USUM were announced. The practice started way back in 2000 with the release of Pokémon Crystal, and continued with Emerald and Platinum, before being retired in favour of sequels set in the same region with Black 2 and White 2. USUM is the latest in what is colloquially called the “third versions,” games that are released towards the end of a generation that acts as a sort of director’s cut of the games they’re based on. So what makes USUM so different from Sun and Moon? Well, that’s a complicated question.
More than that, they’re the best Pokémon games available on the 3DS, and come close to being the best games in the series to date. More than a cash grab, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are a refinement of not only Sun and Moon, but everything the series has worked towards since 1996. I don’t blame fans for feeling like this, but I’m nonetheless happy that they were wrong.
It was easy for fans to feel like this was a misstep by Game Freak, that Ultra Sun and Moon were simple cash grabs to tide us over until a Switch game was ready. “Why isn’t this on Switch?” “Why are we getting a new Pokémon game so soon after Sun and Moon?” “Why should I buy this when I already have Sun and Moon?” The slow drip-feed of information following the announcement didn’t help, with only minor additions being shown off until much closer to launch. When Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (USUM) were announced for the 3DS in June, fans of the series met the announcement with questions.