Pokemon Sun

There can be no question that the Alola region’s colourful landscapes are joyous and captivating to wander, but larger battle instances are still unable to overcome framerate woes that have been present since the Pokémon series arrived on Nintendo 3DS. It’s not a particular deal breaker given how superb the whole package is, but it’s a notable notch in what is otherwise a near perfect realisation of what many hope to see from a Pokémon adventure.

They stop Pokemon Sun/Moon from being everything that they could have been, and that, more than anything else, is the biggest disappointment here- not the games themselves, because they are excellent, and will probably go down as one of the best entries in the series, but that they stumbled, and didn’t achieve their full potential. Pokemon Sun/Moon deliver what might be the best game the franchise has had in 20 years, but incredibly enough, and in true Pokemon fashion, they manage to disappoint along the way nonetheless.

I get that Pokémon has become a bankable institution and change can only realistically happen so fast, but the risks they took here have almost all been worthwhile. Simply put, Pokémon has never felt more alive to me than it does in Sun, and while I did have high expectations coming in, I can't say I saw that coming. This series is catching up with our imaginations.