| |
|---|---|
 North American box art forPokémon Sun andPokémon Moon, depicting thelegendary PokémonSolgaleo andLunala respectively | |
| Developer(s) | Game Freak |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Shigeru Ohmori |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | Shigeru Ohmori |
| Programmer(s) | Sosuke Tamada |
| Artist(s) | Takao Unno |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Composer(s) |
|
| Series | Pokémon |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
Pokémon Sun[a] andPokémon Moon[b] are 2016role-playing video games developed byGame Freak and published byThe Pokémon Company andNintendo for theNintendo 3DS. They are the first installments in the seventh generation of thePokémon video game series. First announced in February 2016,Sun andMoon were released worldwide on 18 November 2016, commemoratingthe franchise's 20th anniversary. A pair of enhanced versions,Pokémon Ultra Sun andPokémon Ultra Moon, were released for the same consoles on 17 November 2017.
The titles began development following completion ofPokémon Omega Ruby andAlpha Sapphire, with increased emphasis on Pokémon interactions, and relationships. They follow a young Pokémon Trainer's journey around the Alola region—based onHawaii—with the objective of the games being to complete the island challenge and prevent the schemes of Team Skull, and later the Aether Foundation, all while attempting to challenge various Pokémon Trainers of gradually increasing difficulty.Sun andMoon introduced81 new Pokémon species, and new features such as Alolan forms of previous generation Pokémon, powerful moves known as Z-Moves, alien creatures known as Ultra Beasts, updated battle and training mechanics, and improvedpolygonal 3D graphics. While largely independent of one another, the two games follow a similar plot, and while each can be played separately, trading Pokémon between the two games is necessary to complete the Pokédex. Pokémon may also be traded in from other games just like in previous installments.
The games received generally positive reviews from critics, who welcomed the change from the formula used by priorPokémon games and praised the gameplay and story ofSun andMoon,[1][2] while criticizing the lack of content beyond the primary plot. Upon release, the games became some of the fastest-selling games in Nintendo's history at that point. As of September 30, 2024,Sun andMoon have sold 16.33 million copies worldwide, making them the third-best-selling Nintendo 3DS titles, afterMario Kart 7 and their predecessors,Pokémon X andY.[3]
Pokémon Sun andMoon arerole-playing video games withadventure elements, set in the fictional Alola region (loosely based on Hawaii),[4] presented in athird-person,overhead perspective.[5] The player controls a young trainer who goes on a quest to catch and train creatures known as Pokémon, and win battles against other trainers.[4] By defeating opposing Pokémon in turn-based battles, the player's Pokémon gainsexperience, allowing them to level up and increase their battle statistics, learn new battle techniques, and in some cases, evolve into more powerful Pokémon. Players can capture wild Pokémon, found duringrandom encounters, by weakening them in battle and catching them with Poké Balls, allowing them to be added to theirparty. Players are also able to battle and trade Pokémon with other human players using the Nintendo 3DS' connectivity features. As with previous games in the series, certain Pokémon are only obtainable in eitherSun orMoon, with players encouraged to trade with others in order to obtain all Pokémon from both versions.[6][7]
Pokémon Sun andMoon are presented in fullythree dimensional (3D)polygonal graphics, like their predecessors, allowing for more interactivity with the overworld and more dynamic action during battles. However, the character models inSun andMoon possess more realistic proportions compared tochibi-styled models used inPokémon X andY orPokémon Omega Ruby andAlpha Sapphire.[8] Players are also able to customize their Pokémon trainer's appearance, choosing gender, skin tone and hair color at the start of the game and can later acquire outfits and accessories to change their character's appearance. Joining the previous generations of Pokémon are all new species, such as the new starter Pokémon;Rowlet,Litten andPopplio and the Pokémon that are, within the fictional Pokémon world, described as legendary, namelySolgaleo andLunala.[9][10]
Pokémon Sun andMoon are the first entries in the series to be available in Chinese, bothSimplified andTraditional, along with English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese and Korean, for a total of nine available languages.[11] The games introduce variants of Pokémon introduced in older games with new typings and appearances, known as Alolan Forms. Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales, which are Fire types in other regions, are respectively Ice and dual Ice and Fairy types. Alolan Sandshrew and Sandslash, which are Ground types in other regions, are Ice and Steel types. Alolan Meowth and Persian, which are Normal types in other regions, are Dark types. Some Pokémon evolutions have gained dual typings as well, such as Alolan Marowak which is now a Fire and Ghost type and Alolan Raichu, an Electric and Psychic type.[12][13] Throughout the game, players utilize aRotom-possessed Pokédex on the bottomtouchscreen, which displays a mini-map containing markers for story objectives.[14]
Pokémon Sun andMoon introduce a powerful new type of move known as Z-Moves which can only be used once per battle.[15] Hidden moves, which were used to navigate terrain in past games, have been replaced by specialized Pokémon that can be summoned at will.[16] The "Poké Finder" is a function of the Rotom Pokédex which allows players to take photos of Pokémon in the wild, similar toPokémon Snap.[17][18] In addition, the two games' clocks are set 12 hours apart from each other, withSun operating on the 3DS' time andMoon operating 12 hours ahead.[19] Character customization as previously seen inX andY returns inSun andMoon. A new "Pokémon Refresh" feature enables players to care for and feed their Pokémon.[20] Mega Evolution, a game mechanic first introduced inX andY, returns inSun andMoon.[21] TheBattle Tree is a location which allows players to battle or team up with Pokémon trainers, including Kanto region trainers Red and Blue.[22] Players can trade or battle with other players online.[23] From a location called the Festival Plaza, players can participate in "Global Missions", where people from across the world work towards a set target — such as catching 100 million Pokémon collectively.[24]
Pokémon caught or obtained inPokémon X,Y,Omega Ruby andAlpha Sapphire can be transferred toSun andMoon.[25] The games are also compatible withPokémon Bank, an online Pokémon storage system introduced during the previous generation ofPokémon games.[26] In a special Pokémon Direct on 26 February 2016, Tsunekazu Ishihara from The Pokémon Company announced that Pokémon caught in theVirtual Console versions ofRed,Blue, andYellow are transferable toSun andMoon viaPokémon Bank. Compatibility withPokémon Bank was initially planned to be available at the games' launch but was delayed and later became available on 24 January 2017.[20][27]Tomy also released a peripheral interactive toy resembling a Z-Ring, which synchronizes with the use of Z-Moves in the games.[28]
The games take place on a tropical archipelago, a group of islands known as the Alola region. Joe Skrebels ofIGN describes it as "Pokémon's take onHawaii".[29] During an interview atE3 2016,Shigeru Ohmori noted that Game Freak staff took trips to Hawaii to conduct research forSun andMoon.[30]
The leading scientist in the Alola region is Professor Kukui, whose name comes from thekukui, also known as thecandlenut, the Hawaiian state tree, continuing the trend ofPokémon professors being named after trees. Team Skull is the name of the villainous group in Alola.[31][32] TheAether Foundation is an organization which studies Ultra Beasts, mysterious creatures from another dimension.[33] ThoughProfessor Samuel Oak does not appear inSun andMoon, his cousin Samson Oak takes his place.[34]
The player starts off moving from Kanto region to Melemele Island of Alola region with their mother. After meetingLillie and rescuing her special Pokémon she calls Nebby, the player obtains a starter Pokémon from local Professor Kukui and embarks on the island challenge, acoming-of-age custom spanning trials across Alola, along with local youngster Hau. Unlike in previous games, trials involve battles with powered-up Pokémon, followed by battles with each island's Kahuna upon completion of an island's trials. Throughout this, the player encounters Team Skull, a gang of people who quit the island trials whose members include their leader Guzma, and enforcer Gladion. The player also encounters the Aether Foundation, an organization aiming to shelter Pokémon from various threats.
During a visit to the Aether Foundation's base, Aether Paradise—avery large floating structure—a mysterious creature called an Ultra Beast emerges from a wormhole, but retreats before it can be defeated or captured. Later, after the player has defeated Team Skull at their base, Gladion reveals that Team Skull has been working for the Aether Foundation, kidnapping Nebby to use its powers in summoning Ultra Beasts. The player then proceeds to battle through Aether Paradise with Hau and Gladion's help, eventually defeating Aether President Lusamine, who is revealed to be Gladion and Lillie's mother. Despite this, Lusamine and Guzma manage to open an Ultra Wormhole, with the former overclocking Nebby's powers, transporting them to Ultra Space, the Ultra Beasts' dimension. This causes Nebby to evolve into a cocoon-like form while Ultra Beasts are unleashed onto Alola's islands, forcing the island Kahunas andguardian deities to fight them.
Proceeding to the final island, the player and Lillie perform a ritual to evolve Nebby into its final form — Solgaleo or Lunala depending on the version — at the island's Altar.[c] With Nebby's newfound power, the player and Lillie travel to Ultra Space and find Lusamine who, not wanting to be rescued, allows herself to be taken over by the Ultra Beast they encountered earlier, forcing the player to battle her in self-defense. After defeating the crazed Lusamine, the player returns to Alola and ascends Mount Lanakila to challenge the newly formed Alola League and defeating the Elite Four members. In the last match, they defeated Kukui to become the first-ever Alola League Champion. In the credits, the player battles Melemele's guardian deityTapu Koko after a celebration, with Lillie and Lusamine departing Alola region for Kanto region the following day.
After becoming the first Alola League Champion, the player is contacted by two members of the International Police: Anabel, who was head of the Battle Tower inPokémon Emerald, and Looker, a recurring detective sincePokémon Platinum. The player assists the two with handling the wild Ultra Beasts that Lusamine let loose into Alola in a series of quests.[d] Following the final quest, Looker reveals that he saw another Ultra Beast, although Anabel dismisses this. If the player then travels to Ten Carat Hill, they will encounterNecrozma.
Game directorShigeru Ohmori stated that the choice ofSun andMoon as title was inspired by the two celestial bodies’ metaphorical representation of human relationships.[35] Hawaii was chosen as the basis for the game's region following the title's determination, due to its clear nights and plentiful sunshine.[36] Development started immediately afterPokémon Omega Ruby andAlpha Sapphire was completed and Ohmori kept his game director position. Since the games were to be released on the franchise's 20th anniversary,Sun andMoon were developed comparatively from scratch with the application of more radical changes than its predecessor.[35] Separately, he also mentioned that the games' intended to place more emphasis on the Pokémon and the nature of the games, in addition to the player's interactions with them.[37]
The first Pokémon of the seventh generation to be designed wasJangmo-o. Regarding the various other designs of the generation, Ohmori mentioned that "For the 20th anniversary, we wanted to have a lot of special surprises… we wanted a funny element".[38] Pokémon fromRed andBlue were the only ones to receive Alolan forms—according to Ohmori, this was as a special surprise for long-time players and simply due to the older Pokémon being more recognizable.[39] Following the trend between newer generations of the main series, the designers ofSun andMoon focused on the motions on the full 3D models fromX andY in order to create livelier creatures.[36]
Despite the successes ofPokémon Go, the developers stated that it did not affect the development ofSun andMoon, although it did improve public awareness of the franchise in general and that they were working to develop interactivity between the app and the main series.[39] Ohmori added that during the development ofSun andMoon they "completely redesigned the system, and actually ended up pushing the 3DS even further to what [they] thought was the most [they] could draw out of it."[40] With a team of around 120, the games took about three years to develop, which is comparable with other new-generation games.[41] Later on, Kazumasa Iwao, who was responsible for the battle systems inSun andMoon, was recruited as director forUltra Sun andUltra Moon.[42]
According to composerJunichi Masuda, who co-produced the game, the soundtracks used inSun andMoon were based ontraditional Hawaiian music styles. However, while it utilizes their core rhythms, Alola's music employs "completely different" melodies while still invoking a tropical island feel.[35] On 30 November 2016 theNintendo 3DS Pokémon Sun and Moon Super Music Complete[e], a four-disk soundtrack containing 169 songs, 160 from the games and 9 special tracks, was released in Japan. The international release, known asPokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon: Super Music Collection, was released oniTunes on the same date.[43][44]
On 25 February 2016, the existence of the two games was leaked when Nintendo's trademarks for them were found on the website of theEuropean Union Intellectual Property Office.[45]IGN pointed towards the recent introduction of a new Pokémon,Magearna, as indication the two games would be revealed.[46] The games were officially announced the following day in aNintendo Direct presentation that also commemorated the franchise's 20th anniversary.[47] The games launched with support for nine languages.[25] On 10 May, more information on the games was released through a new trailer, including new Pokémon, box art, and release dates.Pokémon Sun andMoon released in Japan, North America, and Australia on 18 November 2016, and in Europe on 23 November 2016.[48] A comic based onPokémon Sun andMoon launched alongside an edition ofCoroCoro Comic on 15 September 2016.[49] Early purchasers of the games received a specialMunchlax holding Snorlium Z, enabling it to use an exclusive Z-Move unique toSnorlax, Munchlax's evolution, via a wireless distribution event.[50] A Japanese trailer was unveiled on 8 September 2016.[51] APokémon Sun andMoon-themedNew Nintendo 3DS XL was released on 28 October 2016.[52]
Similar toPokémon Omega Ruby andAlpha Sapphire, a special demo was released on 18 October 2016.[21] On 27 October 2016 during Nintendo's Financial Briefing, they stated the demo had been downloaded more than 3.5 million times, being the most popular and fastest "selling" demo in 3DS history.[53]Pokémon Sun andMoon were the most pre-ordered games in Nintendo's history.[54] The games were also the most anticipated 3DS releases in 2016, according toNielsen Game Rank.[55]
Days before their release, the games' files were leaked on to the Internet, givingsoftware pirates access to the full game, including online functions, before their release. Nintendo took action against those who used the Internet features, banning users involved from not only using the online features of the games — even if later playing the official release — but also from accessing other 3DS online services, such as theNintendo eShop andMiiverse.[56]
Pokémon Ultra Sun[f] andPokémon Ultra Moon[g] are enhanced versions ofPokémon Sun andMoon developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. They were announced on 6 June 2017 during aPokémon-themed Nintendo Direct presentation[57] and were released worldwide on 17 November 2017.[58] They feature an alternate storyline set inSun andMoon's world, and include Pokémon and locations not available in the original games.[59]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 87/100[60][61] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 9/10[62] |
| Famitsu | 38/40[63] |
| Game Informer | 8.5/10 (Moon)[64] |
| GameSpot | 8/10[65] |
| GameZone | 9.5/10[66] |
| IGN | 9/10[67] |
| Nintendo Life |  [68] |
| Nintendo World Report | 8/10 (Moon)[69] |
| Polygon | 8.5/10[70] |
| USgamer | 4.5/5[71] |
Pokémon Sun andMoon received a score of 87/100 onMetacritic based on 84 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[60][61] This placedSun andMoon as the 5th and 6th highest-rated 3DS games in 2016, and the 19th and 20th on the console of all time.[72][73] The move from the gym system received widespread praise from critics, some of whom saw the change as a major step towards future developments of the franchise.[62][69]
Japanese magazineFamitsu gave the pair a 38/40 rating.[63] Writing for video game review siteIGN, Kallie Plagge gave the games a 9/10, and said that they "switch up the formula to create an engaging adventure that improves on its predecessors", in addition to praising the streamlined battle interface and other mechanics.[67] Many critics praised the story as one of the best in the franchise. Alex Donaldson ofVG247 remarked that the story drew him in deeper, saying "I remain more engaged in this story than in any otherPokémon tale yet".[74] Alex Olney ofNintendo Life said that "the plot in Sun & Moon is the deepest and most ambitious Game Freak has dared attempt", he also called them the bestPokémon games ever produced, commenting that Alola's design felt natural and organic, praising Game Freak for successfully balancing additional mechanics without alienating existing fans.[68] Chris Tapsell ofEurogamer said the games were "the best generation in more than a decade". They earned an "essential" ranking from the site.[75]
On the other hand, Tapsell also remarked that the first few hours of the games included too many tutorials and protected gameplay.[75] Jeremy Parish ofUSGamer assessed that "Z-Moves feel underwhelming" taking "way too long" despite being the most engaging campaign the series has offered in a long time,[71] whilePolygon's Allegra Frank criticized their linear gameplay and lack of content beyond the primary storyline although the games had "the most memorablePokémon journey in years".[70]
According to Nintendo of America,Sun andMoon were the fastest-selling titles in Nintendo's history at the time.[76] As of 31 March 2023[update],Sun andMoon have sold 16.30 million copies, ranking them as thethird-best-selling Nintendo 3DS titles behind bothMario Kart 7 andPokémon X andY.[77] During aGameStop Q3 earnings conference call,Pokémon Sun andMoon were said to have had the most pre-orders for any video game in the last five years.[78] It is GameStop's best-selling game of 2016, outsellingCall of Duty: Infinite Warfare.[79] On its first day of release,Pokémon Sun andMoon shipped 10 million units worldwide.[80] The games sold over 1.9 million copies in Japan in its first three days on the market and are Nintendo's biggest game launch of all time in Europe, with theUnited Kingdom andFrance launches selling 368,000 and 450,000 copies respectively within a week out of the continent's 1.5 million sales.[81][82][83] The European sales rose past the 2 million mark within the following week.[84] In North America, the games sold over 3.7 million units in less than two weeks after initial release,[85] climbing to 4.5 million by mid-January.[86][87]
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Golden Joystick Awards | Handheld/Mobile Game of the Year | Won |
| 20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Handheld Game of the Year | Won[88] | |
| British Academy Game Awards | Mobile | Nominated | |
| British Academy Children's Awards | Game | Nominated |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
