On November 18th, Nintendo released its seventh main installment in the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. These two games are set in the Alola region, a brand new island region that features a litany of new Pokémon to find and catch and a wealth of new features. These games hit the shelves after an unprecedented marketing campaign by Nintendo. Bolstered by interest in the worldwide phenomenon Pokémon Go, Pokémon Sun, and Pokémon Moon are the most pre-ordered game in Nintendo history.

As early as last year, Nintendo began releasing new information about the game in small hype videos. Some of the videos would feature new Pokémon in the region, exciting new features and even variations on older Pokémon. The slow release of information was enough to carry excitement about the game all the way until its release date this past Friday. Over 10 million unites of this game have been shipped worldwide, making this not only the best-selling Pokémon game of all time, but the best-selling on the 3DS platform.

The Pokémon has often been criticized for its repetitiveness; each main entry only features a tweaks in graphics or creatures to find while keeping the formula for the rest of the game more or less the same. Though the game is primarily oriented towards children, there are many people who were introduced to the series 20 years ago and wish to continue that experience as adults. In order to keep the franchise fresh and interesting, the teams at Nintendo has implemented a vast amount of new features, while maintaining the core elements that make the Pokémon franchise so popular.

New players will be introduced the vibrant new world of Alola, an island region inspired by Hawaii. On this island are a variety of new creatures that can be caught and raised in order to challenge the powerful island leaders. Returning players will be familiar with the structure of battles and leveling, but will be treated to cool, new variations on their favorite Pokémon. New to all players is a new system for moves their Pokémon can use as well as stunning graphics.

Pokémon is a franchise that will always be near and dear to my heart. I'm glad to see that the game is breaking new ground and continually trying to innovate in order to maintain their current audience as well as draw in new players. I just purchased my copy of Pokémon Sun today and I can't wait to get started playing this new entry in a rich mythology.