Deep lore and new objectives refresh this series' formula.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Products & Purchases
a little
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is part of the larger Pokemon brand, so engaging with it means that players may become interested in other Pokemon products such as other games, tv shows, or movies. But no past investment in the Pokemon universe is needed to enjoy Legends, and players are not pressured to make purchases in-game.
Violence & Scariness
very little
Players will battle using Pokemon, and this can contain animated effects of Pokemon briefly hitting each other with their bodies or with an element (fire, water, air, etc). Pokemon can also attack players if they are of the “aggressive” nature, but this only includes animations of the player falling down when hit or dodging attacks.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
The experience is polished and well thought out. The menu systems make sense, and all options are organized well. The difficulty of battling and traversing open spaces with aggressive Pokemon is worth noting, since it's noticeably more difficult than in past Pokemon games. This is a welcome change, though, as it introduces a level of challenge that won’t be too much for younger or less experienced players.
Positive Messages
some
Pokemon Legends: Arceus encourages players to pursue and share knowledge about Pokemon. Players are rewarded for completing research tasks, and the plot takes real-life concerns into consideration, such as the risks involved when humans and wild animals interact.
Positive Role Models
some
Professor Laventon and the Galaxy Expedition team are careful to maintain everyone's safety as well as create opportunities for teamwork and in-game skill-building. Even though they don' yet understand Pokemon, they show the creatures proper respect and wish only to explore ways that both Pokemon and people can benefit from having a relationship.
Diverse Representations
some
Players have the ability to choose a male–presenting or female-presenting character.They also have the option to change their clothes or hairstyle. Positively, there are four skin and hair color choices for both the male and female-presenting characters. There are also many clothing options that appear gender-neutral, and characters do have a wide range of hairstyles to choose from. But characters must use the pronouns that adhere with their male-presenting or female-presenting bodies. Additionally, this title highlights tension between groups of people coming from different cultural backgrounds and explores how those from different groups can work together to achieve a common goal.
Parents need to know that Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a role-playing game available for the Nintendo Switch. As expected from the greater Pokemon universe, Legends challenges players to catch and train powerful creatures known as Pokemon. But Pokemon Legends is the first major Pokemon title to completely change its objective. This time, the goal is to catch Pokemon as part of one of the first research expeditions studying Pokemon and their capabilities hundreds of years before the events of the other main games in the series. Those familiar with the franchise won't be surprised to hear that there isn't much violence or other questionable content in-game, but families should note that Legends has some online features they should be aware of, including the ability to send and receive Pokemon and picking up lost bags of other players.
This game is absolutely amazing. The graphics are kinda crap but they still look gorgeous. This game has amped up the difficulty from the past games and might be harder and frustrating for children under the age of 8. If your child has played a Pokémon game and they enjoy a good challenge then go ahead and buy them this game. Pokémon Legends: Arceus has improved on almost everything from past Pokémon games. I personally enjoyed the game and had a lot of fun with it so have others I know. The game is $60 and that might lead some parents away but let me just tell you it is worth the price! Also some parents have bought this game for kids that have a 3ds or an older system. For the parents that own older systems this game is only available for the Nintendo Switch. If you think the $300 price tag on the switch is a bit too much go ahead and get the Nintendo Switch Lite which is $100 cheaper. Thank you for reading this review and have an amazing day!
It’s good! Wouldn’t mind letting the kiddos play this one. Some discussion of death and Pokémon being violent towards humans that might frighten 4-5 year olds, but I think the game might not be their speed anyway. 7+.
What’s It About?
The player character in POKEMON LEGENDS: ARCEUS begins the game by waking up on an idyllic beach in the Hisui Region. Though the name Hisui is new, it will later become known as the Sinnoh region originally made famous in 2006 by Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. The Hisui region may already exist in the Pokemon universe, but Legends takes place in an earlier time period where people and Pokemon don't yet live in harmony. In this time, a team of scientists called the Galaxy Expedition team work to observe and study Pokemon from afar, but most of them are too afraid to touch, (much less catch and train!) the creatures they encounter. All of that changes when the player character mysteriously arrives on the beach. Showing a natural ease and comfort with Pokemon, one of the expedition leaders -- Professor Laventon -- recruits the player to join his research team and show the world the wonderful possibilities of Pokemon and people working together.
All of the main titles in the Pokemon universe have made use of the same formula over 20+ iterations since the mid-1990's. Though many players have asked for innovations beyond the ability to change a character's hairstyle or the introduction of new Pokemon to catch, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is really the first main installment to deliver on fans' requests for a totally new way to experience the in-game world. In this way, changing anything at all could be seen as a risk for Nintendo, but Pokemon Legends: Arceus succeeds in delivering enough twists and refreshed gameplay to keep long-time fans invested. In conjunction with its new objectives, this title offers brand new mechanics such as using the Switch joysticks to aim Pokeballs at unsuspecting Pokemon, the option to catch Pokemon without battling, a slew of side quests to break up the monotony of going after one goal, a crafting system, and extended "boss"-type battles which can be surprisingly challenging at times.
Pretty much all of the changes made to the Pokemon formula in Legends add to the experience, but it should be noted that some of the same issues that players have experienced in past titles do unfortunately carry over. Even with the addition of side quests and more goals to complete within the Pokedex, some mid-game tasks can begin to feel repetitive. In addition, the world can sometimes feel a bit empty. With an effort to make other gameplay in Legends feel more like an open-world RPG (role-playing game), the downside to this is that it's hard not to compare with similar titles that have much more developed and unique towns and spaces, such as Breath of the Wild. Not every game should be expected to reinvent the wheel, but it's hard to overlook feeling like something's missing. All in all, though, Legends lives up to Nintendo's promise of a new kind of Pokemon adventure.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the tension between the Galaxy team expedition and the Diamond/Pearl clans. What do these groups agree and disagree on about how people and Pokemon should share the Hisui region's land?
How do the characters in Pokemon Legends: Arceus interact with their environment? Why are they initially scared to get close to Pokemon, and why does this change over time?
ESRB rating:
E for Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
Last updated:
January 25, 2022
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Angelica Guarino
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
