Pokemon Legends: Arceus finally sees the franchise’s highest user rating on Metacritic nearly 13 years after the release of the acclaimed 2009 game Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus launched just last week, and already it’s on its way to making Pokemon history. Bringing tons of new battle features and thrilling ways to meet Pokemon, Legends: Arceus is a wholly unique experience within the franchise.
Throughout the past decade or so, newer generation Pokemon games have struggled to hold up to the franchise’s classics. Looking just at the user scores on review metascore site Metacritic, none have been as high as 2009’s Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver. That is, until now.
Following its successful launch, Pokemon Legends: Arceus has inched its way up the rankings to achieve Pokemon‘s highest user rating score since Heart Gold/Soul Silver.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus | Zorua and Zoroark Trailer
POKEMON LEGENDS: ARCEUS HAS HIGHEST RATING SINCE HEART GOLD/SOUL SILVER
Based on fan reactions, Pokemon Legends: Arceus has truly reignited fans’ love for the main line of Pokemon games. It brings back one of the series’ most beloved regions and one of the most iconic collections of legendaries. That, combined with its innovative approach to battle progression, has made it one of the best received Pokemon games since 2009.
According to Metacritic, Pokemon Legends: Arceus has an impressive 8.1/10 user rating score. This places it above the series’ other main line games, especially over Pokemon Sword/Shield and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl. Sword/Shield, which released in 2019, only achieved a user rating score of 4.6, while 2021’s BDSP has a score of 5.3. This makes Legends: Arceus the highest user-rated Pokemon game since Heart Gold/Soul Silver, which boasts a score of 9.1.
Previous Pokemon games have had the following user ratings on Metacritic:
- Legends: Arceus – 8.1
- Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl – 5.3
- Sword/Shield – 4.6
- Let’s Go Eevee!/Let’s Go Pikachu! – 6.3
- Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon – 7.7
- Sun/Moon – 7.6
- Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire – 7.5
- X/Y – 7.5
- Black/White Version 2 – 7.9
- Black/White – 7.7
- Heart Gold/Soul Silver – 9.2
It’s clear that fans are especially happy with Legends: Arceus and its gameplay, despite comments on the game’s graphics. In fact, the game is reaching massive financial success, particularly in Japan. With reportedly 1.42 million copies sold in just three days, Legends: Arceus is on its way to becoming the second-fastest selling game on Switch.
Whether the Pokemon franchise will continue with this refreshing approach to their main games is currently yet to be seen. Though, it’s apparent that Legends: Arceus and its style is a hit with fans.
To try the game out for yourself, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is out to play on Switch!
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