I'm a little late to the party, but I recently bought a new 3DS to replace the one I broke some time back, and finally got myself a copy of Pokémon Moon.
Here are some initial thoughts, I haven't finished the game yet. I may make a full review later on, once I've beaten the Elite 4 and gotten through the post game shenanigans.
First off, I enjoy the Hawaii setting, it sets the world apart from previous titles, though it does bear a modicum of resemblance with Hoenn from the 3rd Generation. It's still different enough to stand out and feel fresh.
They've gone all out with the Hawaii theme, and even the Professor of region is a laid back and cool surfer kinda guy who speaks with a funny accent.
The biggest change, however, is the fact that for the first time in the franchise's history they actually were bold enough to change the format.
You no longer beat 8 gym leaders to collect badges, and then face the Elite 4 and become champion.
This time around, you need to travel across the region beating what are called Island Challenges. You still need to beat the best trainers across all four islands that make up the region, but it's a fresh change of pace. I haven't gotten through the game yet, so I can't comment whether it's a good thing, or a bad thing, but it's different enough to make me want to play. So, in that sense, it's a good thing.
The game is sort of like Black and White were in the sense that it's very story driven.
This can be a good thing, if you're into that, or if you're younger, but if you're like me and you're an older, very experienced Pokémon gamer, it can be a bad thing, since the story doesn't really interest me that much. I'd just like to get into the battle mechanics and skip the dialogue, to be honest. But the dialogue is important in order for you to know where to go and what to do.
I've complained in the past about the fact that sometimes the newer Pokémon games take fooooreevver to get get started, and the problem is at its absolute worst here.
It can take even an hour or two before the game truly starts after all the tutorial and initial story stuff is done.
I honestly almost gave up after tons of story dialogue they still insisted on showing me how to catch a Pokémon in a non-skippable tutorial.
In future games, what I'd really want is an option at the beginning that could let you choose whehter you're a new player, or an experienced one. The experienced option would let you skip all the tutorial stuff and just get right into it.
A new gimmick in Pokémon Sun and Moon are the new Alolan forms for the old, 1st generation Pokémon.
The Alolan forms give old familiar Pokémon new typings and a new look, and is very much welcomed. This allows for the game to use the old familiar Pokémon we all know and love, but in a new way that keeps stuff exciting.
For instance, Alolan Rattata is now Normal and Dark, which, for instance, gives Bite the Same Type Attack Bonus, and since Rattata learns Bite very early one, it becomes a much different Pokémon. I haven't come across all the Alolan forms, but I know there is an Ice/Fairy Vulpix and Ninetales, as well as a Fire/Ghost Cubone and Marowak.
The Alolan forms might be my favorite addition to the game.
Unfortunately, I've had some performance issues since I bought the older version of 3DS, and the game clearly has not been optimized very well for it. The game looks really good, it goes without saying that it's the best looking game in the series yet, but I do have some lag issues after battles, for instance. Nothing major, but enough to take you out of the game at times.
The battles are also slower, which is a drag. They were going in the right direction with Black and White when the animations were quick and smooth, and it wasn't an annoyance watching the battle animations. Now it feels like they've taken a step in the dreaded Diamond and Pearl days, which is a huge step backwards. It's nowhere near as bad as Diamond and Pearl, but still a step back that wasn't needed.
The move selection screen in battle now shows moves that are effective against the foe, which no doubt helps out newer players, as well as people who are just not as insane as me to have all that stuff memorized.
The new Pokémon in Alola seem fun, though I haven't come across all of them yet. I know everybody hates Popplio, but I do like all the starter Pokémon, including Popplio. However I went with Litten, since I always pick the fire starter when I start a new generation for the first time.
I think the designs have gotten a lot better since the Black and White days, with X and Y delivering stellar designs, as well. I was never a fan of the 5th Generation selection of Pokémon, and never will be. And it's not because I'm a Genwunner, I just honest to God did not like them.
But I'm happy to see that the 5th Gen was just a slight misstep, from which the team has since recovered.
All in all, I've had fun with the game, and do recommend it to Pokémon fans, maybe even non-Pokémon gamers who are into this specific brand of RPGs, but the experience hasn't been without its flaws. The slowed down battles, the performance issues and the fact that the story can take a lot of time can take away from the experience. Though some people have also liked the story.
It's hard to recapture the feeling of playing Pokémon as a kid, but Sun and Moon do offer new things to the, honestly, tired formula that makes it worth playing.