Easiest Pokemon Game? — Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee Review
Nintendo is best known as the family gaming company, with the vast majority of their titles able to be enjoyed by anybody, and this is easily seen in the Pokemon series. Ever since the original games released over 20 years ago, Pokemon has been well known across the world by kids and adults alike. However, Nintendo, in an effort to keep hold of the young gaming crowd, has continuously made Pokemon games easier, to the point where some people have been pushed away from the series. So, when it was announced that the first Nintendo Switch Pokemon game would be a remake of the Kanto region bringing in gameplay elements of the Pokemon Go series, some people were annoyed. Now that the game has been released, did it manage to strike a balance in its difficulty, all while still providing an overall fun experience?
Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee follows the story of the first games in the series, which has you partnering up with a Pokemon to beat all the gym leaders and become the Champion, while also catching Pokemon and filling information into your PokeDex. Let’s Go Eevee follows this overall story, as well as following the other elements from the games it’s based off of, such as fighting Team Rocket or trying to help out an orphaned Cubone. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as these story beats can now be truly realized, as technology now allows for these moments to be shown as they were supposed to be over 20 years ago. But, the fact that there’s hardly any new story elements is a bit of a bummer, as other series remakes have made sure to add new ideas, sometimes major ones. On its own though, the story is good, and a classic one at that.
Even though the story is the same as games from over 20 years ago, the new graphics and style really help breath new life into this game. Everything is updated with 3D graphics, but opposed to the semi-realism seen in Pokemon Go, the style is focused on a more cutesy look. This style works very well with Pokemon, allowing everything to look great, and without having any elements that feel out of place. The graphics best shine through when the game has a cutscene, which are just full of charm. Every character has a reaction, and the cutscenes only appear during important moments, like when you first choose your partner Pokemon.
Speaking of your partner, they’re a great feature, but not one that your forced to use. Depending on which version of the game you purchased, either Pikachu or Eevee, you’ll have that Pokemon as your partner through your journey. Your partner Pokemon are different from regular Pokemon in a few ways, the most notable being that they can learn special moves of any type from certain people, but are unable to evolve. This creates a nice balance as to not allow your partner to become too overpowered, but it still is annoying to not be able to evolve your Pokemon. However, you actually can remove your partner Pokemon from your party, so if you don’t want to use them, you don’t have to. The rest of the differences are mostly aesthetic, such as being able to dress them up in different clothes, play with them, and the fact that they’re always either on your shoulder or head as you run around.
While your partner Pokemon is always with you, you can also send out another Pokemon from your party to run around. Most Pokemon just run around, either in front or behind you. However, certain Pokemon can be ridden on, such as Arcanine and Onix. Being able to run around with your Pokemon is a great returning feature, and helps make it feel like your Pokemon are real.
However, the most major change is to the gameplay, which has ditched random encounters, a staple of both the Pokemon series and traditional RPGs. In Let’s Go, wild Pokemon can be seen moving around on the overworld, allowing you to choose if you want to encounter Pokemon, and which Pokemon you want to encounter. Once you actually engage with a Pokemon, instead of lowering its health and trying to catch it, you engage in a Pokemon Go style encounter, where you use different berries and pokeballs to try to catch the Pokemon. But, the Pokemon won’t stay still, and can move around the screen, or even attack the pokeballs you throw at it, making you have to both aim and time correctly to try and catch the Pokemon. This system worked great in Pokemon Go, and using the joy con with motion controls to “throw” a pokeball helps immerse the player.
Fans of regular battles will be satisfied too though, as all trainers are the same style that Pokemon has always used. These battles are actually benefited by the new catching mechanic, as fights against trainers now feel more personal and important, as opposed to something you would do with a random bug in a forest.
Now, another feature of the Pokemon series that has yet again returned is the great music, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. However, this is the first time the Kanto region has had a score using real instruments as opposed to an 8-bit soundtrack, and these iconic songs are much better and provide a better soundtrack to the adventure. The songs also have the bonus of more instruments and better speakers, allowing for songs to have a larger impact, and the impact actually being able to be noticed.
Overall, Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee isn’t anything revolutionary, but it’s not trying to be. Let’s Go Eevee is trying to be a fun Pokemon game that’s a good entry point for new players, and it succeeds spectacularly in that regard. I’ve grown up playing Pokemon games, and when I was young there were some parts that were difficult, but this entry manages to balance difficulty fairly well, although the game can feel a bit to easy at times. Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee is a fun game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and manages to deliver a fun, if a bit easy, and classic Pokemon experience to fans old and new.
