My opinion of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon is… complicated. Let’s get something clear, I try not to let other games influence my reviews, but USUM is a special case where a lot of my issues either stem from or are made worse by Sun and Moon. However, USUM’s biggest issue is how little it changes compared to the original Sun and Moon, and I find that to be the most important subject for what I have to say about these games. I really like USUM, but this review is going to mostly be negative because of how I’m focusing on USUM’s existence compared to SM.
Don’t get me wrong, USUM makes SM’s gameplay better. There’s a lot of extra side quests added (that are actually pretty fun and charming), an expanded dex, and Rainbow Rocket to touch on some aspects. But USUM is afraid to do something more with SM. I think this is most evident with USUM’s story: 90% of the game is the same as SM and the changes made to the plot are bad, especially compared to SM.. Lusamine had what I’d say is the worst character assassination in the series, Ultra Recon Squad are unremarkable, and most of the changes made to USUM end up hurting the cast. USUM’s story feels like they were too afraid to make major changes to the characters introduced in SM, but wanted to take said characters in a notably different direction. It leads to USUM’s writing feeling confused as it tries to find a halfway point between two completely different ideas for its cast and plot. That’s why I can’t avoid bringing up SM, because the issues with the story and gameplay stem from the groundwork of SM and how not enough was changed.
USUM is indicative of an issue with Pokemon that, in fairness, did get rectified slightly by the swap to DLC rather than improved versions of games as well as arguably Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet: the steps forward Pokemon takes can often be underwhelming and Pokemon is afraid to make big changes. USUM is held back by being too afraid to deviate from SM. There are steps taken forward and the games in some ways are getting better, as mentioned USUM has better gameplay than SM does. But it doesn’t do enough to stand out, and it ends up feeling like SM with a worse plot. USUM’s meta flaws are made even more egregious because it was split into two versions rather than a singular “definitive” version like Crystal, Emerald, and Platinum. Even then, USUM doesn't fix SM’s biggest issue: the sheer bulk of cutscenes. Hell, the problem is WORSE than in SM because of Ultra Recon Squad! The prior “definitive” versions of games would always improve on the previous game’s faults (eg. Platinum improving DP’s pace), while USUM leans into the problem more.
With that said, USUM is so goddamn fun. Gen 7 as a whole breaks the usual formula in a (mostly) good way, with totems being a fun alternative to gyms and with ride Pokemon being a really good way to remove HMs from the games while still allowing for the same exploration that HMs brought. Alola is a BEAUTIFUL region, filled to the brim with culture and atmosphere that helped make the region and people of Alola truly shine. The newly added totem stickers also helped with exploring Alola, incentivizing exploring Alola more deeply to find them all. Unlike SM’s Zygarde cells, they weren’t time-sensitive and most of them stuck out a LOT, so the vast majority of them didn’t feel cheaply hidden or weirdly obscure. As well as totem stickers, there were a lot more sidequests and small activities you could do in USUM compared to SM. You’re able to get a deeper glance at what’s happening in Alola and can get more opportunities to spend time with both random NPCs and even characters like the trial captains. And god, the writing of characters when they’re not involved in the plot is great. There are so many small moments where both notable characters and random NPCs say a funny line or share a touching moment. What USUM excels at compared to SM is how you can independently interact with the region of Alola when you aren’t in cutscene hell, with a lot more small activities to do, more opportunities to learn about the characters, and a better system to incentivize looking around the region. USUM is better than SM is, without a doubt.
USUM should’ve either come out as a singular game and been a third version to SM, or SM should've released as USUM. USUM are great games, if you’re going to play a gen 7 game you should play USUM, but their biggest flaw is the existence of SM and the ways that USUM fails to deviate or improve upon their predecessors. As a result, USUM exists in a weird position of being games I REALLY enjoy and would recommend, but that also feel greedy and, in some ways, disappointing. The meta issues with USUM didn’t affect my enjoyment of the games very much, but they definitely can harm or even ruin USUM for someone else.
Don’t get me wrong, USUM makes SM’s gameplay better. There’s a lot of extra side quests added (that are actually pretty fun and charming), an expanded dex, and Rainbow Rocket to touch on some aspects. But USUM is afraid to do something more with SM. I think this is most evident with USUM’s story: 90% of the game is the same as SM and the changes made to the plot are bad, especially compared to SM.. Lusamine had what I’d say is the worst character assassination in the series, Ultra Recon Squad are unremarkable, and most of the changes made to USUM end up hurting the cast. USUM’s story feels like they were too afraid to make major changes to the characters introduced in SM, but wanted to take said characters in a notably different direction. It leads to USUM’s writing feeling confused as it tries to find a halfway point between two completely different ideas for its cast and plot. That’s why I can’t avoid bringing up SM, because the issues with the story and gameplay stem from the groundwork of SM and how not enough was changed.
USUM is indicative of an issue with Pokemon that, in fairness, did get rectified slightly by the swap to DLC rather than improved versions of games as well as arguably Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet: the steps forward Pokemon takes can often be underwhelming and Pokemon is afraid to make big changes. USUM is held back by being too afraid to deviate from SM. There are steps taken forward and the games in some ways are getting better, as mentioned USUM has better gameplay than SM does. But it doesn’t do enough to stand out, and it ends up feeling like SM with a worse plot. USUM’s meta flaws are made even more egregious because it was split into two versions rather than a singular “definitive” version like Crystal, Emerald, and Platinum. Even then, USUM doesn't fix SM’s biggest issue: the sheer bulk of cutscenes. Hell, the problem is WORSE than in SM because of Ultra Recon Squad! The prior “definitive” versions of games would always improve on the previous game’s faults (eg. Platinum improving DP’s pace), while USUM leans into the problem more.
With that said, USUM is so goddamn fun. Gen 7 as a whole breaks the usual formula in a (mostly) good way, with totems being a fun alternative to gyms and with ride Pokemon being a really good way to remove HMs from the games while still allowing for the same exploration that HMs brought. Alola is a BEAUTIFUL region, filled to the brim with culture and atmosphere that helped make the region and people of Alola truly shine. The newly added totem stickers also helped with exploring Alola, incentivizing exploring Alola more deeply to find them all. Unlike SM’s Zygarde cells, they weren’t time-sensitive and most of them stuck out a LOT, so the vast majority of them didn’t feel cheaply hidden or weirdly obscure. As well as totem stickers, there were a lot more sidequests and small activities you could do in USUM compared to SM. You’re able to get a deeper glance at what’s happening in Alola and can get more opportunities to spend time with both random NPCs and even characters like the trial captains. And god, the writing of characters when they’re not involved in the plot is great. There are so many small moments where both notable characters and random NPCs say a funny line or share a touching moment. What USUM excels at compared to SM is how you can independently interact with the region of Alola when you aren’t in cutscene hell, with a lot more small activities to do, more opportunities to learn about the characters, and a better system to incentivize looking around the region. USUM is better than SM is, without a doubt.
USUM should’ve either come out as a singular game and been a third version to SM, or SM should've released as USUM. USUM are great games, if you’re going to play a gen 7 game you should play USUM, but their biggest flaw is the existence of SM and the ways that USUM fails to deviate or improve upon their predecessors. As a result, USUM exists in a weird position of being games I REALLY enjoy and would recommend, but that also feel greedy and, in some ways, disappointing. The meta issues with USUM didn’t affect my enjoyment of the games very much, but they definitely can harm or even ruin USUM for someone else.