So last time we looked at the events of Melemele Island, the good, and the bad. However, the island ended off on a good note on one of the game’s most unique new additions, the Mantine Surf minigame.
On Akala Island I found some good parts, some bad parts and some really samey copy/pasted parts. It was on this island that my team for the game began to take shape and I had decided to try all new Pokémon at this point. I’d gone from a Rowlet to an interesting mish-mash of Pokémon I’d never even considered using before – even if some of those were sneakily transferred over from Pokémon Sun via PokéBank. My justification of this was the game was already being samey enough I may as well throw a curveball and shake up the game a bit.
![15](https://thespectacledobserver.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/15.png?w=1100)
So, much like last time I will list my good points and my bad points of this island and try to explain my reasoning of each part. I will be comparing this game to Pokémon Sun because it is a retelling of the story and like all interpretations should stand up to the original or even improve upon it.
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Good Points:
- Mallow’s Trial
Trial Captain Mallow
In Sun & Moon I wasn’t a huge fan of Mallow’s Grass type Island Trial in the Lush Jungle. In Ultra Sun I found myself quite liking it. It felt like the Lush Jungle was bursting at the seems with wild and interesting Pokémon and having a chance to interact with them in a game of chance added a slight hint of tension to it. If you picked the wrong item that a wild Pokémon had its eye on, it would come and fight you for it just before the Totem arrived so the pressure was on to get them right. I got one right and had to fight two Fomantis before the Totem Lurantis came.
- Totem Lurantis
It was a beast in Pokémon Sun, it was a monster in Pokémon Ultra Sun. I actually lost to this thing the first time I fought it. It’s the only time I lost to a Totem Pokémon in Sun, Moon and Ultra Sun up to that point and it brought back that drive to progress in this game and take it down. That difficulty spike I mentioned in part 1? It reared its head again here, and it was very welcome.
- Kaiwe’s Trial
Trial Captain Kaiwe
While this happens before Mallow’s Trial I have it after that in my notes, so I’ll go with that. In Sun, Kaiwe’s Trial was a light-hearted pain in the back end. The dancing Alolan Marowak always seemed to jumble around for me and I could never get the right differences between them. In Ultra Sun I got all of them right first try and it made me feel more accomplished, that I’d grown more observant since last time. The Trial itself was very samey though. Totem Marowak provided some challenge though.
- Ultra Recon Squad
As I said last time, when this game tries to be its own thing and not just copy/pasting Sun & Moon, it’s actually really good. Better than Sun & Moon in some accounts – it’s just a shame this is the 3rd time I’ve sat through it this year. When we encounter the Ultra Recon Squad on Akala Island they battle us with a Pokémon from their world – a Piopole. In the lead up to these games this new Pokémon had gone completely over my head so I had no idea it existed. I freaked out a little with glee. That was the most fun moment of the game at that point.
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Bad Points:
- Character Development
One thing I was sad about missing out on in this game was the boat ride to Akala Island with Hau & Lillie. In Pokémon Sun there was an exciting cutscene showing their journey and setting up the characters you’d be going through the game with a bit more. It was a nice little cinematic that established a friendship between you, Hau & Lillie. It was cut from this game in favour of introducing the Mantine Surf but I won’t complain about it too much because it’s only a small detail that was replaced with a fun and exciting new minigame.
- The Zygarde Cell Quest – Or Lack Of
When we arrive in HeaHea City we’re approached by Dexio and… *Googles* Sina who challenge us to a battle. At this point in Sun & Moon they give us a Zygarde Cube and tell us to collect the Zygon Cells to give us a side-quest that goes on for most of the game. This time, however, the entire Zygarde Cell collection side-quest is taken out of the game and replaced with a Totem Sticker quest, which just made their appearance in this time a bit pointless. Furthermore it makes the Zygarde Cell quest in Sun & Moon seem unnecessary and redundant.
- Lana’s Trial
Trial Captain Lana
Tried to be different, was slightly different, didn’t work as well as in Sun & Moon. Still interesting though. Totem Aquaranid didn’t fit the scene as much as Totem Wishiwashi. Of all the Totem changes in these games this was the most unfitting.
- Too Much Exposition
When you’ve beaten Mallow’s Trial you are required to return to HeaHea City for the biggest exposition dump of the game. In Sun it was interesting and I enjoyed reading it. In Moon it dragged on a bit but I was still engaged enough to be reminded of everything that had happened so far. In Ultra Sun I spammed the A button until I stopped seeing text screens and was allowed to leave the building. There was nothing different to the other two games and it seemed never ending.
- Olivia’s “Grand” Trial
Kahuna Olivia
Imagine this, you’re the top of the leader board in your home town. Everyone who comes there to win a challenge has to go through you to proceed on their journey. What do you bring with you to have in your team? If you said a Lilleep, an Anorith and a Lycanroc get out. Lycanroc, fair enough, it’s a good showcase Pokémon for the 7th Generation… But Lilleep and Anorith? Really? In a Grand Trial? Talk about a disappointment. I JUST defeated a hard-as-nails Lurantis and now I have to take on a Lilleep and an Anorith. That’s progressive.
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So on that rather disappointing note Akala is mostly exactly the same in both tellings of the Alolan story. There are a few new differences but nothing big enough or different enough for me to justify saying that it felt like I was playing an intentionally different game.
By the time I defeated Totem Lurantis and knew I then had to go to HeaHea City and sit through a load of exposition for the rest of the Island I kind of game up on the game for a couple of weeks. If I played it, it was only for a few minutes and then had to stop again. I knew I had to get through it to proceed with the game for this review but I wasn’t looking forward to it whatsoever. I eventually forced myself to sit through it and meekly trailed off to the Aether paradise to sit through that mountain of exposition which was exactly the same as Sun & Moon’s mountain, even down to setting Lusamine up as the villain and battling Nihilego before meekly being dragged along to Ula’Ula Island.
I include to visit to the Aether Paradise here because there would be no point whatsoever in making a review part for that and that alone so there it is.
![44](https://thespectacledobserver.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/44.png?w=1100)
Pokémon Ultra Sun – Part 2: Akala Island gets another 4/10.
Until next time when we take on Ula’Ula Island,
The Spectacled Observer.