There's a ritual to starting a new Pokémon game, a formula of events which the force of nostalgia has set into stone. Leaving your childhood home, you pick your first Pokémon and battle your childhood rival, heading down Route 1 and into your first patch of long grass with an empty Pokédex but a pocket full of Pokéballs.
Sun and Moon do more to refresh this ritual than any other pair of Pokémon games before them, all without ever disrupting the warm feeling of familiarity which the series - 20 years on - still manages to stir. The Hawaiian setting of Alola not only provides a sun-soaked step-change more different than any other game in the series, it also serves as a timely opportunity to reinvigorate Pokémon's well-worn gameplay and story.
The opening two hours of Sun and Moon evoke memories of games past, but also of Saturday mornings spent watching the Pokémon anime. Nowhere is this more evident than in the games' extended introduction sequence which is by far the most visual I've seen in the series to date. Without spoiling the story, I'll just say it involves a certain character who it has already become clear will play a big part of the game's overall plot. (Yes, Pokémon has a proper plot now.) It also kicks Sun and Moon's narrative into gear long before you choose your Starter Pokémon, while also setting out the games' stall for how accomplished the series now looks on Nintendo's handheld.
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