Pokemon X and Y

And so another iteration of the pokemon series arrives. It has been a long time coming but X & Y are finally out, but how do they stack up against previous pokemon games and do they improve enough to be considered worthy sequels? Let’s find out.

To those who don’t know (and how couldn’t you?) the pokemon series is about capturing small creatures simply known as ‘Pokemon’ and battling them. A simple formula, and yet an incredibly deep and addicting one. The newest in the series is pokemon X and Y (there’s not a real notable difference in each version apart from certain pokemon are only available in each version).

The story follows you, a young trainer, being sent out from home with your first pokemon and going with your new friends on a wild adventure! The story this time takes a traditional route which many may call childish and simple, but I call just simply standard pokemon story. There’s no real big risks taken with the story like in Black and White however this game is a lot darker than previous games, the hints are subtle, but they are there.

Off on our adventure!

The first thing people will notice however is the graphics, which are greatly improved by moving into full 3D. While the pokemon games have always retained their retro charm by staying in fitting sprite art, the transition to 3D has been a miraculous change as pokemon are fully animated and look very good when compared to their sprites. The overworld itself also looks great, with the camera moving about frequently to change up the regular formula and various vistas around the region of Kalos looking particularly amazing.

The greatest change however for pokemon X and Y is actually the gameplay changes. The pace has been dramatically increased with being able to access features such as super training (professional training mini-game for training pokemon’s stats) and changes to various items such as experience sharing and so on. Typical RPG mechanics that have been greatly improved upon in this game and mean that there is a lot less grinding, and a lot more playing. The bond between your pokemon and you can also be improved via a new feature known as Pokemon Amie. This is basically a small game in which you play, feed and interact with your pokemon directly. It allows you to feel closer to your pokemon and helps to make the little critters seem more important to you. Mega evolution is also introduced, a new mechanic that allows certain pokemon to temporarily evolve again into an extremely powerful form. This is a welcome shake up to the normal formula that allows certain fan favourites like charizard and mewtwo to regain more spotlight and other pokemon previously thought to be not useful at all become powerful thanks to their mega evolution. The final addition and perhaps the best is the constant online features. On your bottom screen can be an online system which can detect various other trainers from around the world and from there you can battle, trade or show off a short pokemon video that you made. Along with this you can also randomly battle, trade and chat with people that are not on your list by using various other features too. This constantly online feeling makes it seem like you are playing an MMO like feature that allows players to gain access to pokemon they previously had never heard of and battle at any point to see how their team matches up against others, a welcome addition.

The soundtrack to this game is spectacular with a wide variety of tracks that play, mostly played on a heavier track with some techno mixed in. It helps to make the game more enjoyable as I was frequently dancing away to the music on offer, a good sign for a game. The new pokemon themselves are all well designed and while there might not be many new ones added this is more than made up by the extreme variety of pokemon on offer in this game. More pokemon that ever before are available to capture from previous generations and as a result it allows you to change up the variety of pokemon on your team. The amount of throwbacks to previous generations and comical value also gave off a few laughs, making the game suitable for younger players and those who have been with the series all of its life.

And now to the negatives. As said before the pace being increased is a welcome change however if you know what you are doing the game can quickly become incredibly easy. In my entire playthrough I never lost a single battle. I would much rather have this increased pace to compensate for this negative however but it is a point I have to address. The other problem is the lack of depth in the story. While this was probably to allow younger gamers to enjoy it Game Freak have taken risks with the story before by adding layers of complexity (see black and white) and yet they still decided to stick to their original formula. The story does develop further on however as soon as it seems that the game is becoming complex with what it is trying to tell you another joke turns up or another absurd comment appears and the idea of a mature and complex pokemon game goes out the window. Finally there is a lack of post-story content compared to previous generations. There are a few missions and side activities to do however after that there isn’t much else to do. This will probably be remedied by simply training up your team and battling online instead. The sad thing is the lack of features was probably to compensate for the improved graphics as there is significant slowdown on more intense scenes and battles. There is only so much room on a single cartridge.

So all in all, a significant improvement on previous pokemon games, and my favourite pokemon game to date. There are of course negatives in every game however the plethora of additions and gameplay tweaks make this game feel more like a proper sequel rather than simply another addition into the series. And for all those wondering, I bought Y.