Pokémon Sun and Moon

Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are two exciting games from 2016 made by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. They are the first games in the seventh generation of the Pokémon video game series and celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary. These games take place in the Alola Region, which is based on Hawaii, where players guide a young Pokémon Trainer on an adventure.

The main goal in the games is to complete island challenges and stop the plans of Team Skull and the Aether Foundation, while also battling stronger trainers along the way. Sun and Moon introduced 81 new Pokémon, special forms called Alolan forms, powerful moves named Z-Moves, and mysterious creatures known as Ultra Beasts. The games also feature better 3D graphics and new battle mechanics.

Although Sun and Moon can be played separately, trading Pokémon between them is needed to complete the Pokédex. Players can also bring Pokémon from older games into these titles. The games were very popular, selling millions of copies and becoming some of the fastest-selling Nintendo 3DS games ever.

Gameplay

See also: Gameplay of Pokémon

Pokémon Sun and Moon are fun role-playing games with adventure elements, set in a place called the Alola Region. Players control a young Trainer who catches and trains magical creatures called Pokémon. By winning battles, players help their Pokémon grow stronger, learn new skills, and sometimes change into even more powerful forms. Players can find wild Pokémon and add them to their team, and they can also battle and trade with friends using the Nintendo 3DS.

These games show everything in 3D, making battles more exciting. Players can choose how their character looks and get new outfits. There are brand-new Pokémon to discover, including special ones called Legendary Pokémon. The games can be played in many languages and include special versions of older Pokémon called Alolan Forms. Players use a special device called the Rotom Pokédex to see maps and take pictures of Pokémon. There are also cool new moves called Z-Moves and places to meet and battle other trainers online.

Plot

The games take place in the Alola Region, a tropical group of islands inspired by Hawaii. The player moves to this region and meets a girl named Lillie. Together, they start a journey called the Island Challenge, which includes battles with powerful Pokémon and island leaders known as Kahunas.

During the journey, the player faces a group called Team Skull and an organization called the Aether Foundation. They help stop mysterious creatures called Ultra Beasts from causing trouble. In the end, the player becomes the first champion of the Alola League by winning battles against strong opponents.

Development

The directors of the games, Shigeru Ohmori, chose the names Sun and Moon because these represent relationships between people. They based the game's world on Hawaii because of its sunny weather. Development began right after the games Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were finished. Since these games celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, the team made many new changes from scratch. They focused on making the Pokémon come alive and improving how players interact with them.

The first new Pokémon created for this generation was Jangmo-o. The designers added special forms for Pokémon from the original Red and Blue games as a surprise for fans. They also made the Pokémon move more realistically, building on ideas from earlier games. Although the success of Pokémon Go helped make more people interested in Pokémon, it did not change how Sun and Moon were made. The team of about 120 people worked for three years to complete the games. Later, Kazumasa Iwao helped direct the updated versions, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

Music

The music in Sun and Moon was created by Junichi Masuda and is inspired by traditional Hawaiian music. While it uses similar rhythms, the melodies are new and give the games a tropical island atmosphere. A complete soundtrack with many songs from the games was released in Japan on 30 November 2016, and later became available on iTunes internationally.

Promotion and release

In February 2016, people found out about the games when Nintendo registered them on a website. They were officially shown to everyone the next day during a special presentation. More details came out in May, and the games were released in November 2016 in most places, a little later in Europe.

When the games came out, people who bought them early got a special Munchlax that could use a unique move. A special version of the Nintendo 3DS also came out, designed just for these games. Before the release, a special version of the game could be tried out, and it was very popular — over 3.5 million people tried it. Many people wanted to buy the games when they came out.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

Main article: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon are special versions of the original games. They were announced in June 2017 and released worldwide on November 17, 2017. These games have a different story and include new Pokémon and places that weren't in the first games.

Reception

Critical response

Pokémon Sun and Moon got good reviews from critics. On Metacritic, they scored 87 out of 100 based on 84 reviews, showing that most people liked them. Another review site, OpenCritic, said 95% of critics recommended the games. They were the 5th and 6th best-rated games for the Nintendo 3DS in 2016.

Reviewers liked the new ways to catch and battle Pokémon. One reviewer from Famitsu gave the games a high score of 38 out of 40. IGN gave them a 9 out of 10, saying they made the game more fun than before. VG247 said the story was more interesting than any other Pokémon game. Nintendo Life called them the best Pokémon games ever made. Eurogamer said they were the best in more than ten years.

Some people thought the early parts of the game had too many instructions. USGamer felt some special moves took too long to use. Polygon thought the game was mostly just one path with not much extra content, but still very memorable.

Sales

Sun and Moon sold very well when they came out. They were the fastest-selling games for Nintendo at the time. By March 2023, they had sold 16.30 million copies, making them the third-best-selling games for the Nintendo 3DS. On the first day, they sold 10 million copies around the world. In Japan, they sold over 1.9 million copies in the first three days. In Europe, they sold over 2 million copies in the first weeks, with the United Kingdom and France selling lots of copies. In North America, they sold over 3.7 million copies in the first two weeks.

Awards