New updates have continued to trickle in for Pokémon Legends: Arceus in the form of short trailers, and a new teaser released by Nintendo includes the confirmation of Pokémon ruins in the Hisui region. Since its announcement just under a year ago, Pokémon Legends: Arceus has kept a large portion of potential gameplay a secret from fans of the series. However, this has changed in the past few weeks, with trailers dropping every few days between the Japanese and English Nintendo YouTube accounts.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus has the potential to reshape what fans have come to expect from the 25-year-old franchise, introducing an open-world-inspired map set in the historic Sinnoh, or Hisui, region. Players will help build the first Pokédex, travel vast landscapes in search of rare Pokémon species, and craft tools like Poké Balls using forageable items. A good number of Pokémon have been shown in the trailers, including Hisuian Forms of Pokémon both from the Sinnoh region, and from other locations like Unova.
In a recent trailer uploaded to Nintendo's YouTube channel, a few more secrets hidden within the new game have been teased. This includes mysterious crackling light in the sky shortly after the video starts and a clear shot of a newly revealed location for players to explore. The Pokémon ruins are shown in a short clip as the player is running into a clearing littered with broken columns. While the ruins appear to be protected by a wall of stone mountains from behind, the sky is in clear view. Despite this, there are no hints as to what the ruins may be for, or if they have anything to do with Mythical Arceus.
See the trailer on YouTube here.
The change to open-world exploration isn't a surprise, as a similar style of gameplay was tested in Pokémon Sword and Shield's Wild Area, as well as the DLC maps added by The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. These areas allow players to roam freely, encounter Pokémon in the overworld, and find items as sparkling, respawning objects around maps. The Crown Tundra even utilizes Pokémon ruins in the exploration narrative players embark on while helping Peony explore hints about Legendary Pokémon. However, the inclusion of these areas in Pokémon Legends: Arceus could serve a very different purpose than Sword and Shield, acting as a rare spawn location for certain forageable items, or as a place to rest and restore Pokémon partners, instead of using a Pokémon Center.
With Pokémon Legends: Arceus' release date just around the corner, January 28, 2022, players will likely continue to see new tidbits of information appearing in trailers in the coming weeks. Hopefully, these trailers will help shed light on what the overarching plot for the game will be, and how players will access and explore the vast open spaces throughout the Hisui region. If done right, Pokémon Legends: Arceus could shape the future of upcoming games in the series, changing how trainers experience new regions.
Source: Nintendo/YouTube