Arceus is more Monster Hunter than Zelda

Since the first trailer for Pokémon Legends: Arceus returned in February, the vast open areas and lush green hills of the game have drawn comparison To Breath of the wild. While the idea of ​​a massive open-world version of the ancient Sinnoh region, filled with Pokémon to play with, seems incredible, Arceus seems to have more in common with Monster Hunter Stories than THE Legend of Zelda.

I know we called the game “open world” since the original announcement. I even called open world in August, when The Pokémon Company dropped the first gameplay details. In this same article I say: “Although comparisons have been made with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it actually looks like Arceus looks a bit more like a Monster hunter Game. “Since then, I have been thinking about Pokémon Legends: Arceus like Nintendo’s version of Monster hunterthe turn-based RPG spin-off, Monster Hunter Stories. Maybe I should have said more about this, because an article posted yesterday by Game Informer suggests that there is still some confusion.

Most of the information pointing to a Monster Hunter Stories– adventure style comes from Pokémon Direct August. “The bustling village of Jubalife will be the base of your adventures,” says the narrator of the video, as the camera slowly traverses the rustic town. Jubalife is the central hub of the game, from which members of the Galaxy Expedition team set out to study the region and its Pokémon. This is where you accept NPC missions, returning when the job is done.

These missions are called fact-finding missions and they send you to various areas of the ancient Sinnoh or Hisui region. The video map shows different areas outlined in green. This suggests that instead of a large open map, the region is divided into a series of large playable areas.

“Your excursions outside the village will begin with the preparation of a base camp,” the narrator continues. It is another staple of the Monster hunter to live. Each segmented area begins with a camp, where Monster hunter players can collect supplies for their expedition. Although Pokémon Legends: Arceus seems more keen to sprinkle their world with friendly NPC faces than Capcom’s series, the basic idea is the same.

The Live description of the turn-based combat system in Pokémon Legends: Arceus suggests that this is another area where developer Game Freak has borrowed ideas from Monster Hunter Stories. Turn by turn Monster hunter spinoff lets you choose between power, speed and technique attacks. Arceus lets you choose between strong style and agile style attacks, one more powerful but slow, the other faster but weaker. Although this is not a direct correlation, Arceus‘the fight immediately brings Monster Hunter Stories in mind. And certainly not BotW.

All of these signs point to a game that is not an open world, but rather a series of large, connected regions. The camp system suggests that we will not be able to walk seamlessly between these regions, instead being limited to the area where our missions take us.

There is nothing wrong with it. I’m completely down for one Monster Hunter Stories-style adventure, where the monsters are of the pocket variety. So is Serebii.net webmaster Joe Merrick, who started the conversation on the open world with a Tweet at the end of last month.

I contacted The Pokémon Company for clarification on how Pokémon Legends: Arceus‘regions are working and will update this message if I have any news. The game won’t be available until January of next year, so I think we’ll have a clearer picture of its structure as the release date nears.