When Pokémon Legends: Arceus launched in 2022, it was a breath of fresh air. Where the series once pushed the envelope, post-Gameboy iterations slowly began to feel disappointingly iterative, with developer Game Freak finding a formula so winning in Red and Blue that they repeated it ad nauseam.
Thank Palkia, then for Legends Arceus. The intriguing Nintendo Switch spin-off allowed the franchise to break away from its well-cemented trappings, transporting players to a novel feudal Japan setting, where they threw ancient wooden Poké Balls and dodged wild Pokémon attacks.
