Pokemon X and Pokemon Y review:
A faulty step in the rightest of directions.
Disclaimer: this review is written under the assumption the reader has some basic knowledge of both the Pokemon universe and the monster raising RPG Pokemon games. However, it is in my best interest to review it in a way that compels to the taste of both newcomers and veterans to the franchise.
Pokemon X and Pokemon Y are the latest twin entries to the Pokemon monster raising game series. This specific couple was a long awaited one for a few reasons: it is the first entry of the franchise to be released globally on the same date, it makes a huge change in its almost iconic aesthetics of 2D pixelated sprites, it introduces 2 complex or relevant new mechanics called Pokemon-Amie and mega evolutions and it also brilliantly takes full advantage of the 3DS's capabilities.
Summary: the Pokemon monster raising series are the main product of The Pokemon Company in conjunction with game developers Gamefreak and Nintendo. They consist of monster collection and training, engaging in turn-based battles against other Pokemon trainers and gym leaders. This is all done in order to raise the best Pokemon team and conquer the Pokemon league of a determined geographic region. There are other types of Pokemon games like the Pokemon rangers and Pokemon mystery dungeon franchises but this article is about the main series. (e.g: Blue, Red, Sapphire, Ruby, Pearl, Diamond, etc)
Summary: the Pokemon monster raising series are the main product of The Pokemon Company in conjunction with game developers Gamefreak and Nintendo. They consist of monster collection and training, engaging in turn-based battles against other Pokemon trainers and gym leaders. This is all done in order to raise the best Pokemon team and conquer the Pokemon league of a determined geographic region. There are other types of Pokemon games like the Pokemon rangers and Pokemon mystery dungeon franchises but this article is about the main series. (e.g: Blue, Red, Sapphire, Ruby, Pearl, Diamond, etc)
After you catch one, you register it on your Samsung Galaxy S4 as shown.
This time around, your journey takes place in the Kalos region. You are just moving in to the town you're going to start your travels from and you have no troubles making friends that will accompany you throughout the majority of your adventure. You must explore this beautiful France-inspired land, learn of its culture, its people, its touristic landmarks but most importantly its Pokemon and its legends.
Oui Oui! Le France Reference! (I know nothing about french I`m so sorry)
If you've ever gotten your hands on a Pokemon game you already know you usually pick out one of three starting Pokemon to help you make the foundation of a soon to be EliteFour-beating team. This time around the possible choices you can make are raising either Chespin (grass type), Froakie (water type) or Fennekin (fire type). But soon after you`ll be able to pick another starter! Beloved Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander are back from generation one and you get to choose one of them to raise it and have it help you become a Pokemon master.
Top row: New Generation Pokemon Bottom Row: 1st Generation Pokemon
(See? not all my image captions are going to be brimming with brilliant jokes)
The main change to the franchise in this entry as mentioned before are its visuals. The game got a full makeover with 3D models, 1st or 3rd person landscape influenced views and just an amazing upgrade to its graphical aspect overall.
To avoid giving out an excessive amount of data. (not because I`m lazy but because I do not wish accidentally spoil the game for anyone, obviously) Here`s a couple of things you should know right from the get-go:
-There are new Pokemon included, but not as many as what usually come along on a new generation.
-There are new Legendary Pokemon, but just a few, like mentioned before, not as many as you would normally expect to be included with a new generation. But it's important to know some old ones are there for you to catch and some even get a mega evolution this time around!
-These games are the most accessible and user friendly Pokemon games to date. Almost everything from story progression to competitive breeding is a lot easier and less time consuming.
-Even though mega evolutions are of course more powerful forms of already very powerful Pokemon, they are well balanced as far as I know. All the competitive aspects of the series is still there and working.*
-There is a new type of Pokemon: Fairy-type, it is super effective against Dragon-Type Pokemon for example. Some old Pokemon were either turned into fairy types or received it as an extra type, but some of the more interesting ones are from this generation.
-The Pokemon-Amie feature is a friendly tamagotchi-y or nintendogs-like feature that enables you to pet, feed, mimic through the 3DS`s camera or play mini games with your Pokemon. It is not necessary for story progression whatsoever but it does reward the player in certain ways for using it. Making it an excellent addition since it doesn't force you to make use of it if you dislike it. (Any Pokemon is compatible with the Pokemon-Amie)
Every Pokemon is compatible! Like this intimidating fellow who might just bite your hand off any time now.
And now, sadly, it`s time to talk about the immense flaw this game has going against it. Don't get me wrong, please, this doesn't make the game terribly bad or boring, but it does take away from the experience as it eliminates one of the things that made past Pokemon so fun to play for both newbies and pros, it's difficulty.
The game is incredibly easy, and its not because I have played the other ones in the series, its irrefutable badly measured. It amazes me how this could go by unnoticed on a game with such a long development period, an amazingly talented developer and a formula over a decade old that never had this problem before. After about 25% of the story, you start to widen a level gap between your Pokemon and those you encounter in the wild, the ones Pokemon trainer have and even the gym leaders`s parties. So at this point in the game, the difference in your weakest Pokemon and the gym leader`s strongest is clear. Yours is about 1 or 2 levels higher, YOUR WEAKEST. By the end of the game your weakest Pokemon will most likely be about 7-9 levels above the leaders`s toughest. For anyone new to the series: THIS IS CRAZY, IT HAS NEVER BEEN LIKE THIS, YOU USUALLY GRIND TO GET ON PAR WITH THOSE GUYS NOT OVERLEVEL THEM ACCIDENTALLY.
Don't tell me this creature doesn't look overpowered and devastatingly strong to you.
So to kind of wrap things up, the games are not bad, at all. It's just something that in my opinion takes away so much from the experience, to kind of go through the motions because things come out so easily and Pokemon battles are almost never a challenge. I'm striving to make an honest critic out of myself and I have to say this game is worth it's tag price. But! if it wasn't for such a huge upgrade aesthetically and all the cool features and tools added to the game. In addition to these entries getting the closest to perfection we've ever been to the ultimate Pokemon formula, this game would be a bad one. No one wants to play a game that offers no challenge whatsoever, and even though one eventually rises in Pokemon X and Pokemon Y it is on rare occasions. Without further a due, here is the scoring for the latest animals in this already beastly franchise:
Visuals: the game looks amazing! this is the best looking Pokemon game up to date and one of the best looking games for the 3DS and that's no exaggeration. There is one tiny little detail, the 3D feature drops the frame rate at times and it's not enabled for all the zones and events in the game. But the game received such a beautiful upgrade and change to its graphical design without altering its functionality that it is truly something to praise Gamefreak for. 9.5/10
Gameplay: everything control-wise is as tight and flawless as ever. Like I said before, most mechanics have been made easier and less time consuming which is great, but since the challenge is almost completely removed from the game and just because it was truly staple of the series it does negatively affect the experience. 6.5/10
Story: this is neither the worst or the best story in a Pokemon game, we've definitely seen better and we've most definitely seen worse. It is an okay plot with an O.K ending but the game does deserve its praise when it comes to the setting and the huge amount of cultural reference and homage it pays to the country it is inspired by. 7.5/10
Music: the music is very nice, it is as you'd expect from a Pokemon game and even if you've never heard any of it before, you'll be humming some of the tunes in no time. Some pieces were beautiful, trendy and just really fun to hear but most were great, nothing more than that. 8/10
Final Verdict:
Pokemon X and Pokemon Y are great games, it is a shame something like its iconic decent-to-hard difficulty was lost somewhere in the process of development. Despite this evident mishap, Pokemon X and Pokemon Y have so many cool new features like mega evolutions, Pokemon-Amie, wonder trade and game chat that make them a truly wonderful experience, a flawed one, but also worth playing.
7.9/10
*I am not a competitive player, I do not know if the competitive aspects of the game have been heavily affected or not "hands-on" but I did my research so that veteran competitive players could actually get an idea from this review, from everything I read and investigated: this game did not damage the competitive play.
