While many of us have enjoyed our foray back into Alola in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon on the Nintendo 3DS which was released just days ago, not all fans have been happy with their purchase. Japanese gamers who expected more than an end-game scenario and expanded regional Pokédex have taken to Amazon to vent their feelings.
Over 50% of the games’ ratings are currently one–star with many reviewers complaining about the overt similarity between the new releases and the original titles Pokémon Sun & Moon. Games, anime and manga are often taken very seriously by Japanese fans (and not just when there are micro-transactions involved) and missteps by publishers and designers can sometimes prove disastrous. We will monitor the situation and watch if GameFreak offers commentary or an apology (the latter is a very common step to take by Japanese companies).
English-speaking players have also used Amazon to voice their frustrations, but on the US site Pokémon Ultra Sun remains fairly well rated with half of players giving it 5 out of 5 stars.
What is your rating for it so far? Tell us down below and include where you are in the game!
I see and share frustrations with these low ratings, but this does not make Ultra Sun or Moon bad games by any means. They might be minuscule upgrades over their predecessors, but Alola is one of the most engaging and fun regions I’ve played through in a long time. The games are just joyous and even in a second or third or tenth play-through, there’s always different steps to take. Based on the pre-release content that was shown, I don’t know just how much these reviewers were expecting! Don’t let any of this steer you guys away from a revisit to Alola, it’ll still be worth it 🙂
lol revisit. from what ive heard, youd probably enjoy the games more if you hadnt played SM since a lot of the games is the same
I’ve been thinking about it more and more. I think the real problem is the fact that they released 2 additional alola games. This sorta gave the feeling of them being sequels which was obviously expressed that they are not months before the release. Thinking of “middle” games or as some (Joe) might call “enhanced” versions, it was clear that past ones were enhanced versions and expected as such. But I’m pretty sure they fixed things in the split before released. Crystal I have heard fixed a lot in terms of obtaining items like fire stone just to name one example. I also think the trailers they have shown were a problem. They released multiple trailers showing off this whole ultra space aspect of the game, but from what I have heard, the entirety of the games are almost identical to SM with the addition (not even much from what Ive heard) of the ultra space.
That’s why im not going to buy this game because the experience of SM is fairly new to me…. even if i havent played it for moths tho..
Also they just make the story complicated that’s already lackluster and shallow….
So far its like the worst Gen for me Gen 5 was far better than this because of BW2.
As much as I’m enjoying the game at the moment I can’t really argue with these reviews
@Luigi0301:disqus summed up some up a huge problem. Then Crystal, Yellow, Emerald and Platinum were released, no one had issues with them. But B2W2 was totally new. The fact that there are two games is bad advertising that makes the consumer expect something entirely new. And no text bubble on the back of the box is going to help that.
The issues is furthered by the fact that Mele Mele island is the worst experience in a pokemon game to date. I was so bored while playing this part. It took an hour to reach the pokemon center and five hours to leave the island.
That is 5 HOURS on a boring island with no significant differences from SuMo. That’s insane. I was regretting the purchase while playing it. I was bored, I was sad. And when i lost against Illima it didn’t feel like a signal that I need to try again, it felt like a sign to put the game down. Which I soon did after a bit more playing. I stopped playing for three hours to play with my little brother instead as he got Lego Marvel Super Heros 2 and right away had a great time
When I am more captured by a damn lego super hero game than one of most successful franchises on the planet that has been a part of my entire life, There is an issue.
Currently I’m nearing the end of Akala and enjoying it alot more. But for most people, they will just stop after 5 hours of boring gameplay. I mean why shouldn’t they? That’s alot of time they could be dedicating to things that they enjoy.
This is a major issues with the game and it baffles me that they didn’t fix it in Sun and Moon. To me that makes it even more unforgivable.
Goddamnit…
As somebody who’s just now now finishing up Poni island… I am not the most reliable source on this…. I got a lot to say…. so … just … I’ll need some time to sort it all out
An Alolan fanboy’s lament
So… as you may have all recalled there was a silly little game called Evolve something around two years ago. The game itself was a fun experience and had its own niche but the marketing for it was flat out abysmal.. the game died soon after launch
Another game about a year later that I became fascinated in came out.. it was called Battleborn. The game literally suffered the same fate but with additional stupidity-filled choices from the company….
Skip to yesterday, the release of Ultra Moon and Ultra Sun. If you want my honest opinion, these are probably my second or first favorite game in the series… why?
Because I was perfectly content with SuMo… I just wanted a bit more added on… and USUM did just enough for me…..
What they didn’t do was market it as a game like that…. this game has been referred to as gen 7.5… and it’s honestly more like a 7.1. Imagine if Pokemon was to make a second savefile with a moderately different storyline, updates, and added it onto the main SuMo game for the price of forty dollars… that’s what this is, the forty dollar ad on,
And the saddest part was this…
the parts that were actually added are some of the best additions to date
-An easier way to get BP
-One of the best regional dexes
-An interesting way catch legends
-Photo club
-ACTUALLY BALANCED LEVEL CURVES
-Difficulty!
So many requests were answered… and that so many translates to about 5% of what was actually needed.
They made promises of something new and spectacular…. and well… the spectacular part was met but….. new? Not in the slightest….
And… this is just scratching the surface of the issue…
(Part 2 continuing below)
Part 2…
When you look at the new additions… It almost seems like Pokemon is preparing for something bigger. Intractable overworld Pokemon and minigames…. Some of these things are a tad interesting for a Pokemon game aren’t they?
But.. Well… it isn’t much else….
I’m going to make this clear
this.. is probably among the most amazing games in the franchise. It does a lot right…. but it almost feels like the third version needs a third version
And on that topic… we didn’t need two games
Especially since ultra necrozma is the real mascot and the forms? They’re nothing more than figureheads with some disgusting stats. . This basically invalidates the whole idea of this being two games… This game honestly feels more like the SuMo team took the game and said “Look at all this cool stuff I can do!” while adding a bunch of small edits. It honestly strikes me as a 40 dollar rom hack….
I’ll be honest… I loved so so so much in this game… but a part of me feels hurt… This is more the “test” for some Ultra game in the future…
When you think about what this really is… this is a gamefreak deciding that the best way to mend an unfinished game was to turn it into a testing ground for other things..
And godforbid the switch games end up bombing too.. .lets just say things will go horrifically wrong
Of course there’s one last point I’m not mentioning
Part 3, in progress
Lemme open up by saying this
Black and white 2 are the most important games in this entire franchise
I don’t mean the best… I mean the most important.
This was the first time in the series we ever saw a third game that was actually a third game
They were different.
I mean don’t get me wrong, games like Emerald, Platinum, hell even USUM themselves added some much needed fixes to the game.
But were they REALLY worth 40 dollars? Honestly, no. Let’s face it, these three are really just glorified dlc packs. The difference was that the first two were accepted because of the situations and resources. USUM is an entirely different story.
Black and white 2 were the first time we saw something truly WORTHY of being a third game.
So I’ll be honest, do I really mind spending 40 dollars a year later on a third game?
If it’s anything like BW2 were, I’d be perfectly fine with it, and so would plenty of other people.
But in order to achieve that, the game can’t feel the same… This game honestly feels like a false advertisement.
You want a game to nuzlocke? This is the best in the series
Want to see the characters from SuMo and the story itself to get a more satisfying conclusion to their arcs? It happens
You in the mood for having a game that lets your competitive and collector sides shine? This is perhaps the best in the series for that as well
But do you want a Pokemon game because you expect it to be different from the last one or to feel even remotely like a new experience?
If the last one applies to you, stay away from these games, save your forty dollars and just go play Pokemon showdown to fuel your competitive drive.
Maybe the overall reaction these games will receive will possibly deliver an “Ultra” shock to gamefreak and make them realize they have to step up their game. I mean they clearly are capable, Rainbow Rocket as a whole may be short but it clearly shows GF is perfectly capable of making something amazing .
Gamefreak needs to stop eating the edges of the pop tart and just plunge straight into the center.
Go all in Game freak, the cards are in your hands now. Sun and Moon wowed us because it showed you can create an amazing story. USUM told us you can finish a story amazing
Now, your job is to make us understand that you can make a game with gameplay of the same quality of everything else in it…
~A small excerpt from a certain member
(note: I’m up to Kahuna Nanu as of now so I’m not entirely done with the game. I’ll be giving a review on the game itself in oppose to the atmosphere once I finish)
black and white 2 arent “third” game. they are sequels. completely different
Why would anyone want third versions when we could have sequels though
I mean I guess but in a sense they kinda are, They’re a “third game” in a sense and if Pokemon continues the tradition, BW2 is the more ideal model
what tradition? BW2 were sequels. Kalos didnt have any third game. USUM arent sequels. so there are only two cases of the third game because two versions, but one was a sequel and the other was an alternate universe and not requiring 2 versions. the necrozma forms were pointless except for its ultra form so it did not need 2 separate versions
interactable in what sense? like in colosseum and gale of darkness?
Like the rockruff and stuff
one more thing, you say “perfectly content with SuMo” so dont let me take this the wrong way but are you saying that because you liked SM you liked USUM? Because I can understand that considering they are basically the same. But like me personally, I didnt like SM that much, so that is turning me off even more
Somewhat, I mean I liked these games becase basically they were exactly what I expected
I honestly don’t care what others say at this point. The games are what they’re supposed to be. Hold overs until we get to gen 8. It was never gonna be something crazy brand new. Could it be better? Sure, but they are what they are. I’m still having fun playing
On another note I’m not sure how I feel about Mantine surf. I’ve done it a couple of times and I’m somewhere between it’s frustrating and it’s usefully fun. It’s a dumb game that I can’t see myself using EVERY time I go from one island to the next, but it seems like an easy way to earn BP so it’s not all bad. Should be more fun once I get more tricks to use and get better at it
That is totally fine, you are allowed to have an opinion. And in the end youre completely right, they are hold overs. Nothing more. And that is how they should be treated.
as a shiny hunter i am happy, but as a gamer im not happy with these games.
what??? as a shiny hunter you like increased rates for shinies???? b-but Joe complained about that. He hasnt gotten any non event shinies and now that hes getting shinies, he wants a patch to fix rates. People say that it lowers the value even more which to me (unpopular opinion alert) is crazy because shinies lack value in the first place lol
It’s sad but it is kinda deserving it. Not 1 star maybe, but it’s to raise voice. Although I’m happy that they are still making new Pokemon games and generations, I gotta admit that I’m not happy where this franchise is heading towards.
http://i.4cdn.org/vp/1510981049401.png
Definitely, DEFINITELY doesn’t deserve that much backlash. I don’t know how they did it, and I haven’t been rushing myself so I haven’t experienced most of the new things, but even then I almost feel like it’s a different game entirely. I can’t really explain why, the different trainer encounters and wildly different early Pokemon just gives it a unique feeling. Of course I wish they would have done more, but we all love Platinum for making the same quality of life improvements as Ultra Sun and Moon do. I certainly won’t be applying double standards like many of these uneducated reviewers.
I agree! I especially appreciate the slight yet noticeable level curve.
Are we playing the same game?
I’m gonna start US today and im 100% positive they will be much better than reviews suggest!
I’m glad you can see through all the rubbish, ShinyXatu :]
I never even asked you guys. Here’s something I need to know about USUM. after reading Seraph’s long posts it made me think, did they actually fix one of the main problems with SM? The alolan pokemon, are they still difficult to find at 5% chance?
I also gave it a 1/5
But that’s because they didn’t deliver the Pokemon Center pre-order goods that I ordered along the doublepack for me and my roommate..
Yeah but… the game can still be good… the game’s quality has nothing to do with this sad fact…
That’s why you have to read the reviews. I also left it on a different listing, not the one in the article. Mine was on the Doublepack, which had no reviews prior to mine.
New flash buddy, the review area is for the product itself and not the delivery of the item. You’re not really helping anybody.
The Amazon JP version has different listings. I just left it on the specific edition I bought, though. Not on the overall game one, linked on the article.
( http://amzn.asia/cGYY66c )
Well the team I picked in splatfest on splatoon 2 won! I love both fantasy and sci fi bur lvor fantasy slightly more . Can’t wait for the next one! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/52bf0afea85ab706e918358daf00c34c772ef8d4e55152e68f7531151cf95f3c.jpg
PLEASE JUST LET ME INTO THE PIKACHU RV, THIS IS TORTURE!
I dunno, for me it was just funny and I gave up after the 5th time
Why am I getting Lycanium Z 19 levels before my Lycanroc learnes Stone Edge?
I didn’t buy these, but have seen some playthroughs on YouTube and I must say I’m fairly disappointed with the storyline.
For me URS doesn’t bring much to the game. It’s an additional team for a region that seems overpopulated with teams; Skull, Aether, URS, RR.
If I have seen right (someone pls correct me) they chose to remove battle with ultra beast Lusamine. That was one of the most epic battles in Pokemon games for me, ever. And it was one that explained why Lusamine acted the way she did, because of the Nihilego poison. Without this the storyline seems kinda dumb for me.
And I haven’t seen Mohn in any playthroughs. Does anyone know did they explain his storyline? Do we finally know why is no one paying attention to him? I get it he lost his memory, but his family members didn’t, are they unaware of his whereabouts?
Finally, I was hoping team RR would have bigger role in the games. Didn’t think it would be just one short episode in the end game. Seems like nothing more than a Pokemon anniversary/gimmick/nostalgia thing.
I’d spoiler the story because some people are playing through the story blind 😡
Not adding anymore alola forms is disappointment within itself, they didn’t have to add alot of them just 3 or 4 would of added more variety and some incentives
Like some sort of trade-evo item to change Arcanine to a dual type. Something fairly simple.
It’s a shame. People are giving it one star to protest an outdated business model (third versions and split versions) when the reality is, this game is far more deserving of good reviews than Sun and Moon is. It addresses the complaint that it takes you like half an hour just to get a Pokémon, makes the long boring Nebby bridge scene a bit less boring by adding a battle in, and has upgraded the difficultly but has kept it so you have options to make the game easier if you so choose.
Are these games, as third versions, not address the right complaints? Yes. They added a whole lot, but not where fans wanted it. There’s a lot of love and effort put into Mantine Surfing, Photo Club, Warp Ride, and the little side scenarios you encounter the game. There’s lovely little details such as Alola being more bright and vibrant, seeing wild Pokémon in the background in the overworld, and small world building facts such as what happens to boxed Pokemon when their trainers die. But the thing is, GameFreak needs to start appealing to consumer demand more. If they didn’t rush these games for a year, like Platinum and Emerald which came out two years after, we could’ve had all these amazing additions and more. Not necessarily a Battle Frontier, but possibly something like the PWT, or something completely fresh and new.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is that they fail as third versions because Alola didn’t need changes as much as Hoenn or Sinnoh did. It needed to be elaborated on, not refined. You could move a lot of plot points of USUM into a sequel and it’d still make sense.
As an individual experience, they pretty much render SuMo redundant in my own opinion. So individually, I believe they deserve higher scores than USUM.
But I can also underhand the disappointment the Japanese fans have, and if I’m being honest, it does deserve low stars for what it is. It’s a third version for a game that really needed sequels, and they didn’t even take the opportunity to add in things that the fanbase has been asking for for like ever.
If they’re really just filler to prevent a year gap when we just had one before USUM, to make Gen 7 last longer, or to tide us over until next year’s Switch game (if it’s not a 2019 release), it’s ashame they didn’t do all they could with these games. They’re really good as individual experiences, but they weren’t needed and just make the thing you spent like £40+ on last year and played for a long time extremely redundant.
I agree with you 100%. GameFreak always disregard what fans want, that really bugs me.
A bit of a fact check, This is the 3rd game of Pokemon history as far as the handhelds go as far as versions that has been done in under a year. (Yellow, gen 2, and Crystal if I recall were barely a year a part.)
Im sorry but I agree with Japanese players on this one. Pokemon USUM are what Pokemon S/M should have been. This 3rd version thing really needs to stop. I think if USUM were a update patch or DLC which they should be imo, people would be less upset. I adore Pokemon but I can’t justify GameFreak actions anymore, this a blatant cash grab. Move tutors, old legendaries, and all the small things they added should been in the original game. Charging full price for the same game with minimal changes is ridiculous. I’m glad fans are calling bullshit.
At the very most USUM could have been a paid DLC around £5-10, with the choice of endgame being decided by a series of choices you make around the mid-game area. That might have been an interesting idea.
I guess they could have also given you choice of which totems to fight by choosing one of two paths during the trials. Now that’s something I would have liked to see…
I agree 100%. We have DLC and patches now. Having a 3rd version of Pokemon games is obsolete now.
Although I purchased US on release I have not started the game as I was completing AS and didn’t want 2 rush myself.
Therefore until I have I can’t give an accurate reflection on games but I feel 1 star or anything less than about 4 is greatly exaggerated from what I’ve seen.
I’ve heard positive reviews but many negative however I reserve judgement until I play. People can say whatever they like, it doesn’t change MY experience.
However what I will say is that these reviews will push and motivate GF for gen switch which is perfect but poor GF they don’t deserve this, they do try and are passionate. But like I said this works out in the long term for better games!
Does anyone care about Amazon reviews though? I thought everyone can add one even if they aren’t a verified purchaser. Gamefreak right now: http://foolishgadgets.com/files/2011/02/sweat-bills.jpg
I think it may sway people who want to buy these games as Christmas gifts for kids. Basically people who don’t know or care about Pokemon…
But hard-core Pokemon fans won’t really care.
Those people wouldn’t even care regardless, they’ll just buy their kids a Switch and if they don’t they’re bad at parenting.
Or super poor.
I think Im gonna write a blog type review for these games whenever I finish detailing the good and bad. I have a lot to say and I only just left melemele. So far the upgrade has not been worth it, but we’ll see how I feel later on. I’ll probably have part of the review look at it as the game itself and part of it comparing it to SM and the improvements it made/failed to make.
Well I knew this day would come….Hakamo-o is extremely close to evolving