Nintendo and Game Freak have finally released the newest pair of games in their long running series, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. These two games start off the 7^th generation of Pokémon games and are the 26^th and 27^th games in the main series. Nintendo also gave this game a little Hawaiian flair this time around.

What makes this generation of Pokémon special to locals of Hawaii is that the new region these games take place in are based on the Hawaiian Islands and their culture. This new region is called the “Alola” region, and while it might only feature 4 main islands instead of Hawaii’s 8, each island is jam packed with all kinds of new Pokémon and adventure.

This is also the first game in the main series that heavily changes the structure of progression. Instead of the player having to fight and defeat 8 gym leaders like in every other game, they now have to complete trials based on the properties of each Island. Each island is also lead by a “Leader Kahuna” and a “Tapu” Pokémon that personally selected each of the Kahuna.

Sun and Moons graphics are currently the best of any main series Pokémon game so far. The series has come long way since 1996, from 2D 8-bit graphics to stunned 3D. While Pokémon X and Pokémon Y were the first games to make the switch to 3D back in 2013, Sun and Moon have definitely kicked it up a notch by putting much more time into the finer details of the character models and environments. Players can now see all of there favorite Pokémon in much greater detail.

The ability to play directly with your Pokémon also makes a return. Simply called “Pokémon Refresh,” players can pet their Pokémon using the 3DS’s stylus or feed them treats to raise their affinity with them. You can also clean and groom them after they battle since Pokémon can get rather dirty after a tough fight. Increasing a Pokémon’s affinity will strengthen their bond with the player and in return they will fight harder and gain special abilities.

Online play and social media integration are one of the new focuses in these games. Small online areas, almost like social hubs, have been created for players to be able to gather and battle each other. Online battling isn’t anything new for Pokémon players, but being able to make what the game calls “battle videos” and share them online for other players to see is definitely new.

This year also marks the 20^th anniversary of Pokemon’s creation. Nintendo has been celebrating this all year by creating special anniversary versions of products like trading cards that focus on the first generation of Pokémon, and 3DS’s with special Pokémon based designs on them. They’ve also been giving players in-game prizes as well. Each month since January players could go to their local GameStop and get a code that gives them some of the most powerful and difficult to acquire Pokémon from every generation.

This year has been quite the jam-packed one for Pokémon. With the 20^th anniversary going on and the release of Pokémon Go during the summer, Pokémon Sun and Moon are the perfect games to finish off the year. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned Pokémon trainer, or just starting off, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon’s easy going play style helps ease players into it. This is a must get for anyone that owns a 3DS and if you don’t own a 3DS, this is a great reason to get one.