I've never been a big fan of the Pokemon games. I always saw them as kiddie RPGs, sort of a gateway drug to more grownup titles in the genre. And you'd be hard pressed to find a series that recycles itself more than Pokemon.
Arceus immediately got bonus points in my book for daring to shake the holding pattern of one of Nintendo's most successful franchises. Now it plays like Monster Hunter, albeit with the complexity and difficulty cranked way down so kids can enjoy it.
The game takes place in a fully explorable 3D world where Pokemon roam on their own accord. Instead of hitting you with random encounters every three steps, you actually CHOOSE to engage the Pokemon. You can take the stealthy approach and try to hit them from behind with a PokeBall for an easy capture, or you can throw out a Pokemon of your own to battle them. The minute two Pokemon clash, it turns back into classic Pokemon turn based combat. I wish they could have found a way to make the combat real time, like the rest of the gameplay, but since it works I can't complain too much.
So, as a guy who usually couldn't give a rat's behind for the Pokemon series, I'm enjoying Pokemon Legends Arceus a lot!