Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon Review

making this truly an ultra title hey what's up guys stan with the new backdrop here and after quite the journey it's finally time to put the handheld era of pokemon reviews to bed with pokemon ultra sun and ultra moon for the nintendo 3ds so let's begin despite never reaching the meteoric heights of pokemon go and falling just shy of x and y sales numbers pokemon sun and moon definitively prove that the franchise's momentum wasn't slowing down anytime soon and lucky for fans of the games the wait for the next installment wasn't too far off as less than 7 months after sun and moon's late 2016 release game freak teased something new to both excitement and intrigue across the board given generation 5 and 6's lack of upper versions for their respective main titles there was wild speculation that the team working on alolan follow-ups would create something different titles like pokemon stars to pokemon eclipse had become frequent click bait and videos right here on youtube while other more optimistic fans began speculating that fully realized nintendo switch titles complete with hd graphics would be launching within the same calendar year as nintendo's latest blockbuster console and some within the community even felt certain that given sun and moon's heavy rpg elements and lack of resolution for lily and her mother that like black and white before them proper sequel games were all but guaranteed but on june 6th 2017 most of this speculation was finally put to rest during a nintendo direct broadcast where junichi masuda announced ultra sun and ultra moon two alternate adventures that would feature brand new pokemon as well as some sort of fusion of solgaleo elunella with the previously unexplored third member of the light trio necrozma and while i think it's safe to say that this brief teaser garnered adulation and positive reactions from most fans i feel like many including myself were a bit more conflicted about what had been shown off i mean sure i had an absolute blast with the original duology of games and definitely thought that despite leaving an overall positive stamp on the series there were many elements that could still be refined and bettered in some sort of a sequel or ultimate cut but what left me wary was the decision to split whatever this alternative experience was into two distinctive games in the past we'd gotten upper versions like platinum that resulted in definitive ways to play certain generations and of course black and white 2 were ambitious sequels that only added to the 5th generation's distinctive world and identity but these felt different and i couldn't quite put my finger on why and after a few more trailers showing off even more of the game's unique offerings i along with an army of players picked up a copy on november 17 2017 when pokemon ultra sun and moon launched in stores around the world to glowing reviews however despite the positive critical reception the games didn't sell quite as well as the other 3ds entries generating just under 8.8 million units sold overall and honestly regardless of any outside noise after playing the new releases for myself that winter i came to really dislike them for starters i couldn't believe that after having an entire year of development to tweak and refine sun and moon's biggest issues they still hadn't made getting off of the first island any less of a chore and then when i discovered what they'd done regarding lily and her role within the story i pretty much closed my mind off to the rest of the experience however in all fairness it had only been a year since sun and moon and after taking off my nostalgia goggles for my review of those games it made me wonder if perhaps the opposite might be true for their 2017 counterparts is it possible that despite my best intentions i went into the ultra games ready to hate them simply because they couldn't possibly compete with my first impression of alola and was i being needlessly angry and stupidly stubborn based on an assumed expectation that hadn't even been promised or were they legitimate cash grabs that marked a sad finale for an otherwise solid era of 3ds games well grab a helmet and watch out for the electric obstacles because it's time to take a proper look at pokemon ultra sun and moon right off the bat there's a ton of gameplay changes that immediately set these titles apart like the brand new ui previously uncatchable pokemon now appearing in the tropical region or how certain pokemon and the starters in particular will have overworld models that you can interact with from time to time but of course the most prominent changes are plot driven and when it comes to ultra sun and moon there were admittedly more than i'd remembered now fair warning i'm not going to discuss the entirety of the story as i already did that in the sun and moon review and things are about 80 the exact same here so please check out that video first if you're a little fuzzy on the details but when it comes to these follow-ups there are some noticeable differences that i need to discuss just like before everything begins with avatar characters elio and celine having just moved from their native kanto to the more traditional alola region but almost immediately after the first of many tutorials players will discover a few glitches in the matrix like professor kakui giving you your starter instead of hala or the sudden appearance of a mysterious blue duo who have deep ties to necrozma an otherworldly being who feasts on the light of various worlds in order to satisfy its never-ending hunger as our adventure continues we eventually learn that these smurf-like beings named either dulce and zossie or fico and soleiro depending on the version you play are from an entirely separate dimension from ours and are visiting alola to obtain information on how to defeat the monstrous light vampire as a part of their world's ultra recon squad and it's due to their existence in the game's already deep story that a sort of butterfly effect is created as they partner up with lucimine and the aether foundation which causes drastic revisions to the way the adventure plays out this time around and along with these new plot-based developments these awkward tourists are also here to introduce previously unknown pokemon into the games including a handful of ultra beasts exclusive to these upper versions and while the addition of poiple or blacephalon may not seem like a big deal now back in 2017 the idea that brand new pokemon could just come out during a non-introductory title seemed impossible so watching these aliens throw out this purple blob for the first time was surprising to say the least eventually though lusamine betrays the recon squad's trust and opts to use nebby's latent abilities to travel across space so that she and guzma can defeat necrozma before it travels to alola in search of more light however as we continue finishing our island challenge and make our way to pony's altar once again this time instead of awakening solgaleo or lunala in order to save lusamine our reunion with nebby is cut short as the defeated matriarch stumbles out of the wormhole alongside both guzma as well as necrozma who suddenly fuses with the newly evolved pokemon before escaping back to its resting place in ultramegalopolis luckily the recon squad lets us use their legendary pokemon to follow the beast back to their home world where we're able to encounter and defeat ultra necrozma now in its ultimate form before returning home to finish up our final trial and take on the brand new alolan elite 4. make no mistake though encountering altrinicrosma and beating it are two entirely separate things as the minds of game freak opted to do with this psychic legendary what they should have done with lusamine's transformation in the previous titles and made it a ridiculously overpowered final boss that will make you long for the days of cynthia i'm not kidding this fight is so challenging that i purposefully chose a litten more than 20 hours prior to this encounter also that i'd have a strong dark type pokemon on my team for this particular moment and even then i still needed to max out every one of my pokemon's affection levels using poke refresh and reset until incineroar successfully used his quick claw and signature move twice in order to win it is with no hyperbole the most unfair battle in the entire series and like cynthia before it it boasts one of the franchise's most impressive musical tracks that perfectly summarizes the exhilaration you feel just trying to survive long enough to hit the totem boosted titan and you know despite messing up some of the familial drama that i'll get into later the inclusion of both necrozma and the ultra recon squad were solid additions to a previously established intergalactic storyline that only served to better unify the plot's many side quests and characters into something even more memorable but that being said while i liked what these installments did with trainers like mullane mina and even howe who definitively beats his kahuna grandfather and takes over for kakui as your final opponent on your quest to become a lola's inaugural champion even all these years later i still don't understand why they thought minimizing lily and her primary role would be a good decision in sun and moon the entire narrative is built around this shy assistant and her evolution into a confident trainer who not only overcomes her mother and her cruel abuse but selflessly chooses to still save the woman who discarded her but because of the inclusion of necrozma as a final villain lusamine is presented in a much more forgiving light within the narrative causing lily's ark to feel less complete as a result and while still getting her major moments to shine they just don't hold the same level of gravity this time around because of these key adjustments heck in this parallel universe she doesn't even accompany us to exeggutor island causing players to miss out on one of her best exchanges in either pair of games like i legitimately know people who were brought to tears by her words during this cutscene and gamefreak just erased it entirely so that the player could fight a few pincers i mean i understand why it was important to recontextualize lily and lusa means complicated relationship in order to set up some of the post-game events later on but by choosing to make lusamine a misguided wannabe martyr who's overwhelmed by the loss of her husband and recklessly willing to do whatever it takes to protect her family rather than a controlling parent who unfortunately internalized grief in a more toxic but relatable way it robs lily of her self-identity and contradicts the primary themes of generation 7. and while i'm definitely happier for the version of lily who gets to make peace with her mom in a loving and mutually beneficial way rather than watching her remaining parent literally poison herself and become an abomination it's sad that some players will never understand the depths and triumphs of the original interpretation of this fan favorite character that being said though actually getting to see her battle and using a clefairy to boot is admittedly a wonderful touch as well as a cute nod to a reformed mother that i wish the originals included before her sudden departure to kanto moving on to the post game though this is where i think many of ultra sun and moon's most prominent changes occur and whether it's catching zygarde already in its 50 form or actually traveling through space in order to capture a wide array of ultra beasts in their backyards you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who preferred the previous collectathon or looker missions instead but by far the most remembered and craziest piece of fan service to exist in these games aside from the returning battle tree was the introduction of the team rainbow rocket episode and boy did it leave an impression in a sequence reminiscent of the delta episode you'll be thrust into a narrative-driven piece of post-game content involving giovanni rounding up the series most villainous foes via wormholes and attempting to take over alola from the former aether headquarters but alongside the continuation of arcs for characters like the previously mentioned lily as well as guzma the best part of this entire sequence is that every one of these gang leaders is coming from a separate universe in which they were never beaten and without a player like elio or celine standing in their way they managed to not only conquer their respective homeworlds but also now possess the various legendary pokemon found within them to do their bidding however they like which is just so cool like say what you want about the omori era and his weird obsession with alternate dimensions and timelines but the man knows how to raise the stakes and give players a fun and fanservicey chunk of post game that re-contextualizes the entire series in fresh and interesting ways and yes i'm aware that these titles were directed by kazumasa ueo and not omori himself but between rainbow rocket and the delta episode you can't tell me that since this dude took over from masuda things haven't been a lot more science fictiony which isn't a bad thing as along with mantine surfing the franchise's recent obsession with everything off world provides players with a new method of transportation in ultra warp rides the former is a fun and colorful surfing mini game filled with combos and obstacles earning points to spend on items as you make your way between the various islands while the latter is an intergalactic obstacle course that allows you to build momentum and encounter rare and legendary pokemon by traveling to distant worlds in the back of the mascot legendary of your choice and while i definitely prefer cruising through ultra wormholes at light speed rather than trying to perfect my magikarp splash both of these travel editions add variety to a fairly linear experience and i'd be lying if i said sun and moon wouldn't have been better games for including them and alongside these new explorative minigames gamefreak really wanted to show off the brand new pikachu valley locale which is literally the in-game equivalent to the anime's charizard valley only you know with pikachu there are a few neat items to collect here but overall i'm a little surprised they advertised this special area as much as they did given there's really not a ton to do but while this mousy sideshow left me a bit disappointed i've gotta say i think that when it comes to the island challenge and the various trials themselves the devs absolutely hit it out of the park because while the ones found across sun and moon's four main islands were refreshing takes on the age-old gym formula of past pokemon adventures in the ultra games literally each and every one has been redesigned to be either more engaging or challenging taking advantage of this new format in a way that sun and moon never really accomplished like here i am in lana's water trial fully expecting the same old wishy-washy cutscene to play out when all of a sudden this giant when arachnid barrels in with its bug typing to throw a wrench in all of my best laid plans and let me tell you i was not ready for what was about to happen this thing was totem boosted in a rainstorm with stab water moves and bug type resistances while also calling in masqueraines to lower my physical attacks if its health ever dipped below half and you know what i was having a blast the entire time to me it just made more sense as a totem pokemon and caught me off guard in a way that made me actually pay attention to my strategies so that i could get past it and it was in this moment that i realized that gamefreak had listened and wanted to give players something more difficult than any other modern day pokemon title and the best part is this is just one of seven remix sequences that will leave you feeling just as exhilarated with a special shout out to sophocles and mina who went from having some of the weakest and non-existent challenges to two of the absolute best in fact minano makes you go on a multi-island tour where you revisit and battle many of the previous trial captains in order to create a rainbow flower before you're allowed to complete your challenge properly and take on the elite four and while i think that a few of these revisits are better than others seriously do we really need a 10 minute side quest involving kiawe and his hiker friend and did we really need to battle said hiker friend so that he can have an emotional epiphany i'm sorry you seem like a perfectly nice guy but nobody cares about your dreams dave i'm trying to build a very important flower here also facing off against amina who uses a rabombi only to then need to battle a totem rebombi at the end of her trial is a little redundant but you know what it's still better than the literal nothing burger that was her fairy trial in the previous pair of games and whether you like it or not it's hard to knock a section of the game that only serves to better elola's secondary characters and their relationship to one another in a meaningful way even if again my man kiawe got robbed here but you know who didn't get robbed good old samson oak who's back in alola once again and just like mina this brilliant researcher now has a real impact on your playthrough as he rewards you with powerful totem pokemon that you can use on your team after bringing him enough totem stickers ultra sun and moon's primary collectable that's right say goodbye to zygarde cells because these installments feature a new collectible that actually feels like a natural extension of the region and depending on which version exclusive you choose you'll gain access to all sorts of great totem pokemon like laurentis vikavolt and even mimikyu if you manage to find enough of these hidden tickets scattered through edolola but now as i wrap this up i want to discuss a few minor additions or adjustments introduced that didn't fit anywhere else but i felt the need to discuss with the first of these being the battle agency like the battle royal i didn't really care for this rental based attraction and aside from being forced to engage with it during the lead up to the rainbow rocket chapter like most things in the festival plaza i mostly stayed away that being said if you enjoyed the battle factory from previous games then this might just be tailor made for you and even if you're unsure about it this facility is admittedly a great place to get items like rare candies and gold bottle caps so i'm sure it has its fans and finally along with some cool new z moves that refresh to this parallel universe i also want to shout out both the inflated roll coldress gets as well as the ending credits which do a much better job of teasing players than in sun and moon to be fair there's not really much to say about callress i just love that because of necrozma's ability to fuse with the two mascot legendaries that he's the only one who can harness its power for the recon squad and he even shows up on mount lanakilla to gift you with some items to do just that while alluding to his past dealing with pokemon fusion which is just one of those things where they didn't have to do it but given he was already a fun but somewhat out of place cameo in the originals tying him into the necrozma specific saga in a way that actually makes sense is such a treat for longtime fans of the series and it's something that i wish more games were willing to attempt at times and finally we have the credits and although they definitely lose a little something by placing text over every possible interaction they still do a wonderful job of setting up everything that the post game has to offer and do what this entire generation often fail to do which is emphasizing a show don't tell mindset in regards to its plotting this finale is just so much more succinct than sun and moons and also doesn't require you to battle tapucoco right away instead smartly leaving the guardian deity at its shrine waiting for you when you're more prepared to do battle so yeah just a much better realized version of what had come before which for the most part is exactly how i would describe these two games obviously they still make a few mistakes here and there like how they changed lily's arc and opted to double down on the terrible pacing found throughout the first island like seriously why did they think making the trainer school even longer and more difficult would be a good idea but for the most part i'm now firmly in the camp that believes that these are the definitive editions of sun and moon and while i'm glad i still have the originals to play whenever i want a slightly more relatable plot i do recognize that i probably went into them with misguided assumptions and failed to realize that there's more love and ambition here than i once assumed so if you're on the hunt for a pokemon experience with a bit more rpg flair and lots of post-game adventures but don't have the means to play the ds games then i think ultra sun and moon might be the re-imaginings for you and after finally giving them a second chance i can now confidently say that they do indeed live up to their ultra name but if you choose to play or replay them for yourself whatever you do don't play them immediately after sun and moon just trust me on that one holy smokes that was a lot of pokemon in a two-month span but the content train never stops rolling as right up next we're looking at pokemon let's go pikachu and let's go eevee on the nintendo switch two games that i haven't played in a while but remember being a harmless bit of cantonian fan service for better or worse anyways that will do it for this one but as always i'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on pokemon ultra sun and moon and how they compare to their predecessors down in the comment section below please hit that like button ring that bell and subscribe if you haven't done so already for more random tense content and reviews like this also heads up i'll be taking on the emerald battle tower with my first competitive team ever over on twitch on sundays this summer so if you've got any tips or strategies to defeat annabelle i'd love to have you there anyways thanks for watching as i always say happy hunting baby rhinos hope you like the new set and uh i wonder what my hair is gonna look like on the next one hmm well see you then [Music] as always i want to thank each and every member who supports me as i take my time with these videos they couldn't happen without you and i can't applaud you all enough if you'd like to become a member and get early access and support the channel please click the link down below and if you don't that's fine too i'm not your dad or netflix anyways please stay safe during these crazy times and i'll see you in the next one also last time we did oranges so this time if you stayed until the end post a top hat emoji in the comment section it actually did freak out some people in the audience so let's see if we can keep that joke going [Music]

Channel: RandomTens

Views: 54,538

Keywords: randomtens, pokemon, ultra sun, ultra moon, sun, moon, necrozma, ultra necrozma, fusion, stars, eclipse, 2017, pokemon go, alola, gen 7, generation 7, sumo, ultra wormholes, solgaleo, lunala, nebby, lilly, gladion, hau, kakui, totem stickers, mantine surfing, ultra warp ride, colress, giovanni, rainbow rocket, evil teams, post game, directors cut, review, in depth review, standomtens, game freak, nintendo 3ds, 3ds, handheld, z move, tapu koko, mimikyu, legendary pokemon, z ring, elite 4, guzma

Id: CUwPEp1-7Xk

Length: 20min 31sec (1231 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 02 2021