‘Pokémon Legends: Arceus’: Where to buy it and what new features to expect

Game Freak is coming strong into 2022 with a brand-new Pokémon game. First announced in February of last year during a Nintendo Direct event, fans were treated to a brand-new trailer that promised the open-world gameplay of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild along with classic monster-catching action the games are known for.

In that trailer, viewers saw vast open fields populated with familiar Pokémon in a region that mimicked 19th-century Japan, suggesting that this game is set earlier than previous titles as players are tasked with putting together the region’s very first Pokédex by studying the creatures and catching them in Pokéballs.

Playthroughs of Pokémon Legends: Arceus have also been spotted on Twitch, as streamers have managed to access the game via an emulator. Nintendo tried to remove any pictures and gameplay ahead of release, but be cautious of searching for content if you’re hoping to keep the Hisui region free from spoilers.

The last Pokémon games we were treated to were Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl in November 2021, both remakes of Nintendo DS releases from 2006 that closely followed the normal series formula. With Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Game Freak has rebuilt the series from the ground up with the most anticipated Pokémon game in years.

Many long-time players will be wondering if Pokémon Legends: Arceus will become the template for all other Pokémon titles to follow.

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With that in mind, here are all the details we have about how to order Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and what exciting new features we can expect.

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First revealed in February 2021 during a Nintendo Direct live event, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is now available to purchase from top retailers online, and in store.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus has been released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. The game is also playable on the Nintendo Switch lite model as well as the OLED model.

In a first for mainline Pokémon games, Pokémon Legends: Arceus doesn’t have two separate versions released simultaneously, as was the case with Red/Blue, Diamond/Pearl, Sword/Shield and so on. The focus of this game is on single-player experience rather than trading version-exclusive Pokémon, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally purchasing the same version as your friends if you were looking to trade with them.

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People can buy the game from the Nintendo website (from £49.99, Nintendo.co.uk). Game is offering a similar deal (£49.99, Game.co.uk), similarly to Amazon (£49.99, Amazon.co.uk), and Smyths (£44.99, Smythstoys.com) is offering the standalone game at a slightly discounted price.

A gameplay trailer ahead of the launch gave us a much better idea of what new features to expect. Rather than travelling between towns, battling gym leaders and winning badges, as trainers do for the majority of previous titles, Pokémon Legends: Arceus opens up the world to the player in efforts to explore a wide array of different regions.

Many were quick to compare this new Pokémon title with Breath of the Wild, but rather than being one continuous open world, the game is broken up into multiple large areas. A more apt comparison would be Capcom’s Monster Hunter series, where players would venture out of settlements to explore the wilderness and hunt the monsters therein.

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Pokémon Legends: Arceus also introduces a new crafting system into the game. Rather than buying items such as Pokéballs from a shop, players are able to make their own by gathering resources, which should incentivise exploration of every corner of the map. Pokémon can also be used to help harvest materials from trees, rocks and other parts of the environment.

The different Pokémon that can be found roaming these regions will show different behaviours. Some are docile to the player’s presence, while others may appear more skittish and need to be approached cautiously. Items, such as bait, can be used to distract Pokémon in order to make them easier to catch and observe. Other Pokémon may be more aggressive and can enter an “alert state”, where they won’t be able to be captured until they are defeated by one of your Pokémon.

When these battles occur, gameplay shifts to a turn-based battle system that will be more familiar to Pokémon veterans. However, there are now two different styles of fighting: strong and agile. Agile fighting techniques allow your Pokémon to attack at greater speed at the cost of strength, whereas a strong style can do greater damage but leave you vulnerable to counterattacks. If a player is attacked by a Pokémon and loses all their health, they will blackout, lose some of their items and be returned to the nearest settlement.

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The main base of operations for the player is Jubilife Village, where they can craft items, change outfits and trade Pokémon with other players. This will also be where missions and requests can be taken from the local residents. Each mission advances the story of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but requests are optional extras that can be undertaken for small rewards.

According to Nintendo, Pokémon Legends: Arceus takes place in the past in the Hisui region, which goes on to be known as the Sinnoh region during Diamond and Pearl.

As a new recruit to the Galaxy Expedition team, the player’s character is tasked with documenting different Pokémon across the region by Professor Laventon. As the game unfolds, players will encounter an unusual phenomenon that causes ‘noble’ Pokémon to act aggressively. It will be up to players to find the cause of this unusual behaviour as the story progresses.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus features many of the characters from the previous games, with a handful of new creatures confirmed. It also features regional variants of existing Pokémon, meaning they have new type advantages/disadvantages and an updated appearance to match the new setting.

Players also have a grass-, water- or fire-type Pokémon to choose from at the beginning of the game – Rowlet, Oshawott, and Cyndaquil, respectively – which they can train and evolve into stronger monsters.

There have been a number of new Pokémon announced including Wyrdeer, an evolution of Stantler that can be ridden by the player, as well as Basculegion, a fish-type Pokémon that can be used to cross lakes and rivers.

According to the Pokémon website, if you have save data from Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, you will be able to take on exclusive research quests to add a mythical Pokémon called Darkrai to your team.

Similarly, if you have previously played Sword and Shield, you will be able to add another exclusive Pokémon, Shaymin, to your team after the credits roll. You can also claim exclusive outfits for your character to wear.

The official Pokémon YouTube channel has released a trailer showcasing the Hisui region from a 360° perspective which shows off how players will get around the region by riding Pokémon.

A number of older Pokémon are set to make an appearance in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Here is an alphabetical list of the ones we have been able to verify:

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