This year marks twenty years that Pokémon has been a part of our generation and even helped us shape who we are today, from the TV shows that would play on Saturday morning’s at 8 o’clock to the movies we would go see and even the card games we would play in between classes in elementary school. Pokémon has been there for it all, however the most memorable are the video games. This year in commemoration of is being “20 years of Pokémon” Game Freak in connection with Nintendo has released a game that is different from the past generation of games and that would be “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon”

Released on Nov. 18, “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon” have a different feeling than past games. The game opens up with the player on a video call with the regions Pokémon Professor, Professor Kukui, continuing the trend of professor’s with tree names. For those who do not know or who have not played Pokémon before, the professor is usually the first person you meet in the game who gives you your starter Pokémon. The game sticks with the tried and true tactic of a fire, water or grass Pokémon named Litten, Poplio and Rowlett respectively. After that you start your own Pokémon Adventure.

In Pokémon Sun and Moon, there are two major differences compared to previous generations. You are no longer on a single continent with some outlying islands; instead the region is made up of four islands, called the Alola Region, modeled after Hawaii. The second major change is the removal of gyms. Instead, the player must complete trials, which range from puzzles to battles with the new Totem Pokémon. Totem Pokémon are strong Pokémon that have a special power that boosts some of their stats. Beating the trial awards the player a Z-Crystal. After completing all the trials on an island, you can face off against the island’s Kahuna, which will allow you to progress to other islands.

Z-Crystals are items that can be given to a Pokémon that allows it to use a Z-Move once per battle, however they are much more powerful than any other move that you might have in your move-set. Think of this as a fifth move, but use it wisely as the Z-moves do not win you the battle every time you use it.

Pokémon Sun is also different from Pokémon Moon, the main point being that moon runs twelve hours ahead from real life time. Moon’s in-game clock is based around the Nintendo 3DS clock so you can technically cheat the system a bit by changing the clock on your system. The other main differences are the game-specific Pokémon and cover legendries.

There are some big changes that only hardcore fans will really notice including changes to certain Pokémon’s stats or getting new moves or abilities, which to the average player won’t really be noticed. The game is wonderful and definitely brings the nostalgia back in full force.

“Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon” were a much-welcomed change to the series and beautiful trip back into the Pokémon world. Sun and Moon get 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Xbox Free Games: Sleeping Dogs, Outlast, Outland and Burnout Paradise

PlayStation Free Games: Color Guardians, Invisible Inc., Stories: Path of Destinies, and Tiny Troopers: Joint OPs