Pokemon has arguably been the same game for several of its six generations, and the last time the franchise has had any kind of overhaul was the 2nd generation of games when Gold/Silver/Crystal introduced new element types and “baby” pokemon. After that the changes have primarily been cosmetic, with maybe an ineffectual new distraction here or some pointless mechanic there, with some new pokemon thrown in, but nothing having any kind of bearing on the core formula. Essentially you knew what you were getting into with Pokemon every single time, and while this never made them bad games (I certainly had fun with Diamond and Black) there was always this feeling of “Same Pikachu Different Day.”
Pokemon X/Y feels like the first generation in a long while that seeks to actually improve and change the experience. Is it a completely groundbreaking title? Eh, not really, is it the Pokemon that’s going to change how all Pokemon is played? In some cases yes, but for the most part you’re still traveling the region, winning battles, collecting badges, fighting evil mobster cults, while still finding time to fully embarrass your rivals. I did however find the game to be much more streamlined with design decisions that were so good I didn’t even know I wanted them.
Unfortunately the glasses are not a reward for beating them… Wait, are they?
This is the first title in the series made for the 3DS, and graphically Game Freak has done their damndest to create a fresh experience. Each pokemon is terrifically animated with a “dynamic” camera that will fly around the battlefield while pokemon idle and choose moves. While a few battle animations still feel stilted and have that “stop motion” effect, other moves such as “Play Nice” are flat out fun to watch. It’s also a nice touch since the 3D forces all brand new assets, as opposed to a few pokemon sprites and attacks being reused from one generation tot he next.
You’ll find yourself moving around in eight directions rather than a full 3D plane, which at first is a little distracting due to the fact the analog stick isn’t suitable to aiding your character in moving around, rather you’re better off using the D-Pad. I found this was remedied by the addition of the Roller Skates, which allow you to use the analog stick to zip your character around the map… Not full 3D but it feels much “better” and the roller blades serve a similar purpose to the classic bicycle, allowing you to get places fast without also requiring you to navigate several menus or assign a special button to get to it. In short the roller skates streamline movement, allowing you to move faster, and you get them early without too much effort on your part.
So why make a big deal of the roller skates? Simple, streamlining, getting things done quick, is what Pokemon X/Y is all about. By now you probably know Pokemon’s formula, new kid in town, go on a journey without adult supervision etc., and the game gets you started at a relatively fast clip. You’re given a starter and allowed to go without too much fanfare or traveling through tall grass, in the first forest you’re accompanied by a healer who spares you a trek back to town just for the sake of healing your pokemon. Even early pokemon you encounter seem to be for the sole purpose of trouncing the first half of the game. For example, I chose Froakie the water type as my starter, as I traveled through Santalune forest I caught myself Pansear and Pansage, the fire type and water type monkey pokemon, I was able to trade off a relatively common Bunnelby for an experience boosted Farfetch’d that came with several useful pre-learned moves, and if that weren’t enough finally meeting the glorious Professor Sycamore for the first time rewarded me with a 1st gen starter type complete with megaevolution stone.
And I need an adult.
All of this spoke to me as “Yeah, you’re meant to stomp the early stuff and see the cool stuff.” There was indeed cool stuff to see, your character is somewhat customizable in this one, to the point characters will comment on your look and fashion sense… Makes sense, seeing as how the Kalos region is roughly based off one of the nerve centers of the fashion world, France. You start the game choosing whether you’re, indeed, a boy or a girl, but then you get a choice in skintone and as you progress through the game you can buy new clothing items as well as manipulate your hairstyle. One minorish gripe is while you can preview clothing in a dressing room, you can’t preview hairstyles and hooboy are they expensive, but this is nothing a quick save before getting your new ‘do can’t fix.
In most Pokemon games unless there’s some kind of tangible reward to make my little dudes and dudettes better in battle I find the distractions not worth while. Not so in this game, you can take your avatar and one of your pokemon and create little PR Videos… I found myself wasting a good half hour doing just this, filming a few videos attempting to capture just how much of a magnificent bastard my trainer was.
Pose for the camera, show the world how wonderful you are.
Anyone familiar with the competition aspect of Pokemon is also likely familiar with the stat min/maxing that comes with it, for me this used to be a tad annoying, keeping careful track of my Pokemon’s core stats on a separate piece of paper as I made sure it fought the right pokemon and had the right training. Game Freak took a mechanic that used to be a chore and turned it flat out fun, you can now see the core stats, and raise them via a minigame called Super Training.
In Super Training you have to dodge and deflect soccer balls while firing your own off at targets, sort of a simple soccer game meets bullet hell. Successfully completing a training session further rewards you with a punching bag that will often let that pokemon train up the one stat even more. It’s effective, fun as hell, and even a little necessary as more game balancing means you’ll have to train to keep competitive instead of simply steam rolling everything with type. While on the subject of competing and balancing, Pokemon X/Y sees the introduction of a new type, the Fairy Type, to intentionally provide a counter to the often dominating Dragon type. That’s right, Jigglypuff can now take your Garchomp, what of it?
Kalos region rules state to be a trainer you must be glorious at all times.
Pokemon affections can be won with further minigames, you can pose for photographs like the damn tourist you are, even your friends and rivals make the experience more interesting. Four kids now travel with you, and I mean actually travel with you rather than just magically appearing where convenient, each with something that can be regarded as an actual personality, from your core rival (Serena or Callum, the opposite sex of whichever trainer you chose) the prodigy child of pokemon battling geniuses, to Tierno the adorable big boned kid with a love of dance. In fact the entire world feels alive as NPCs would talk amongst themselves and wander in and out of stores in bigger cities. Even the soundtrack is fun to listen to.
First you steal ze diamonds, then you get ze pokemons…
2013 seems to be the year of taking franchises and improving upon them, from Grand Theft Auto V to Tomb Raider and Bioshock Infinite (that’s right, come at me, send that hatemail), and Pokemon X/Y got on that same boat. While a few minor annoyances have come with the game’s 3D overhaul, the good in this sequel far outweighs the bad, and I can easily recommend it to anyone from the Pokemon newbie to the veteran that thinks they’ve seen it all after Ruby and Sapphire.
The Pokemons are back in town.
And for the record, it is a different Pikachu, gone is that synthesized electric sound and in its place are real Pikachu sounds. What does a “real” Pikachu sound like?
You’re not going to make me say it.
(Pikachu!)
