Pokémon Sun and Moon Demo Impressions

Yesterday, Daniel dropped all the good Pokémon Sun and Moon demo information for you all to read, but if I’m being honest – and if Daniel was here commenting he would concur – Daniel isn’t the biggest Pokémon fan, and although he might be able to provide the criticisms, someone needs to gush over this. That will be me. Again, for an extended look at all things Pokémon, please visit our good friend Abdallah’s YouTube page by clicking here.

You can find a lengthy demo walkthrough from Abdallah at the bottom of this article.

If you are a long time fan of the video game franchise, you will know that the game has been taking small steps over the last number of years. Improved graphics, new animations, new MEGA Evolutions and more have made each of the last few Pokémon games worth playing for the changes alone. Using the tried and true basic mechanics and game play, Game Freak has created a franchise that has stood the test of time.

Sun and Moon are innovating again, and no, I’m not talking just about the Z-Ring. There is so much more you can do in this new project, and for those on the fence, it will feel drastically different than even X and Y, or Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

My first opinion is to stop reading my thoughts and just go grab the demo. It won’t take you too long to complete the initial demo, although you can play more after finishing to unlock more items that will transfer over to the main game. When you are complete, you should have the following to transfer: Nugget, Star Piece, Ash Greninja, and more.

The biggest change for me is the fact that the grid based movement appears to be completely gone. Although Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire did away with the grid movement while on roller skates and the bike, even walking around in the new titles is more fluid and realistic. Along with this change comes new animations that you can figure out for yourself. Just a tip – run around in circles a few times and see what happens!

The other big change I want to rave about here is the ability to ride on Pokémon. From the demo, it appears as if you may be able to ride Pokémon at any time during the game. You will get the opportunity to travel around the island using Taurus in the demo, and will have multiple challenges to complete along the way, such as removing boulders. If the demo is any indication, using ride on Pokémon will be required to open up certain areas of the game.

There is a lot to love in this demo, and very few things to hate. I haven’t – and won’t – write about them at length here. The initial demo, even with walking around, shouldn’t take you more than an hour to complete. During that hour, you will get to experience so many new things, including a new-look Pokémon centre, town halls, police stations, harbours, and much, much more.