The Pokemon games have certainly had a good run; Ever since the original Red and Blue were released in 1998, the series has been a JRPG juggernaut. Played by both young and old alike, each new game sells millions of copies, despite their simple, top down 2D presentation and presence on handheld systems. On top of that, the gameplay hasn’t changed much since their original incarnations. Sure, there have been additions like Abilities and Natures, multi battles and contests, but the core of the game, the Pokemon battling, has remained in the past.
Pokemon Y (and X) are, in a way, a celebration of the series. It retains many of the elements that longtime fans love about the series, while adding some more features and implementing fully 3D graphics, which is a huge first for the main series. It’s not just the 3D, though; almost every element of this game is a reminder of what’s come before, and that there’s still more to come.
The game begins exactly like other games. You choose a character gender and name, and, before long, you find yourself in a small town in the region of Kalos. You receive your first Pokemon shortly thereafter, although, this time around, it’s given to you by one of your four friends in place of the resident Pokemon professor. From there, you set out to become the strongest trainer around by defeating all eight of the region’s gyms, as well as the Elite Four.
This is the same story that we’ve been getting since the original games. There are some notable differences, though. For one, you have four friends that accompany you on your journey, with one serving as the main rival you fight repeatedly. There’s also yet another evil team of criminals in this game, here known as Team Flare. They start out rather generic, but as the story moves on, and you learn more about their motives, they actually take on a bit of a personality. I won’t say too much here about the details here. I will say that it actually creates a pretty neat mythology for the region that extends beyond the typical “legendary Pokemon that created the world” stories that have been in the past few games. The main villain is also a neat character, as is one that comes out of left field. It doesn’t quite reach the same heights as the Black and White story, but it is still one of the better stories in the series.
While the games have always had so- so stories, the sound has always been top notch. That continues here; the environmental music and ambience in towns sound great. The battle music isn’t quite as good as other games, but it’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination. The biggest feature, though, is that the Pokemon sounds have been redone. Or, rather, their quality has shot way up. Their cries are still similar to the old ones, but it no longer sounds like something that would game from an original Gameboy speaker (although Pikachu now sounds like the anime, for better or worse). This is certainly a welcome change; the old sounds were, well, really outdated.
But one would be remiss to review this game and not talk about the graphics. This is the first time that the main games have ever been in full 3D; the fifth generation foreshadowed this by utilizing an effective mix of both dimensions. The sixth generation has finally delivered the real deal. Every character model, every environment and, most importantly, every Pokemon has been rendered in 3D. This move definitely pays off; being able to see your character clearly gives them life that wasn’t in previous protagonists. Battling with Pokemon is more fun than ever thanks to the new level of detail given to them. Each model is carefully animated, with small details giving them a lot of personality. Little things like the way Lucario stares ahead, waiting to attack, or how Spinda stumbles about breathes life into all the Pokemon, both new and old. The only real downside is that some of the NPC models are rather simplistic, and that the 3D effect of the system is disappointing. It’s only available to use in battles and certain caves, but it never really adds much depth to the look of the game.
The 3D also helps bolster the world that Nintendo has created. The games have always created some great, atmospheric worlds, and that tradition continues. There’s lots of little touches, like the leaves blowing in the wind or the heavy rainfall during a storm, that really give the world some personality. These have been in games in the series before, but they’ve never looked better than they do now. But the world goes deeper than looks; Lumiose city, the place at the center of Kalos, is the single largest location in any Pokemon game. There are numerous shops, side activities and places to go, and it feels like a true city. It also gives the rest of the region context; the smaller towns exist outside this one large city that acts as the hub of the world. While it’s still somewhat similar to the other regions, it manages to distinguish itself thanks to the little details Nintendo worked in. For instance, one already infamous incident in an abandoned office building gives the air of mystery to the city; it makes it seem like there are many secrets to uncover. While the world isn’t quite the main focus, it’s still very strong, and one of the best in the series.
Pokemon has always been about the gameplay and the monsters. And this game certainly delivers; the Kalos region is home to about 450 Pokemon, spanning all five of the previous generations in addition to the new bunch of critters. Because of this high amount, the Pokedex is split up into three different regions, although this ultimately proves to be inconsequential. This amount of available Pokemon to catch is unprecedented for the series. Choosing six from this pool of Pokemon is no easy task. I personally found myself catching a ton of monsters.
Battling with these monsters is more or less the same as it’s ever been. You engage in turn based combat, exploiting elemental weakness to land super effective hits in order to end battles swiftly. The ideal team has six different types of Pokemon, allowing for weakness coverage across the board.
There is a new wrinkle in the battle system though: Mega Evolutions. After a certain point in the game, you will be able to Mega Evolve certain Pokemon, assuming you have found the proper item. This new mechanic essentially raises a Pokemon’s stats beyond the norm. The catch is that you can only Mega Evolve once a battle, and if you switch out a mega Pokemon, it reverts back to its normal form. This adds another layer of depth in the typical battle system that we’ve grown accustomed to. Not only that, but it helps aid Pokemon who have essentially been forgotten; without spoiling anything more than the game leaks have already done, there are several Pokemon that have generally been considered useless that have been given mega evolutions, letting us know that Nintendo hasn’t doomed them forever. It’s a really neat new feature, especially when you find a mega evolution stone for a particular species; I would always get excited when I found one, and I was eager to see what their new designs look like.
Outside of battle, there are some more noteworthy features that have been added. For instance, there’s Pokemon Amie, which is not unlike pet simulators like Nintendogs. Granted, it’s not quite as in depth, but messing around with it will yield some good results; the more you play with a Pokemon in Amie, the more positive effects will appear in battle. For instance, a Pokemon might avoid attacks more often or land more critical hits. There’s also Super Training, which helps with determining the IVs of Pokemon and can help EV train. These new features certainly aren’t game changers, but they are welcome additions.
The overall UI has also been improved. The touch screen now holds all of the basic functions; you can open your bag, save, look at your Pokemon and more just by tapping the touch screen. It helps speed the game along a lot, and should have been in every game since Heartgold and Soulsilver. Really, the entire game has been sped up; in the beginning of the game, you get roller skates, which you use with the circle pad. These allow you to move much faster than simply running, and can be used in most areas. It isn’t much long after that that you get the bike, either, which is given a new level of control thanks to the circle pad. Saving is also sped up; I’ve never encountered a save that took any longer than two seconds.
One of the biggest ways the game has been changed, though, is with the new EXP share. In past games, you could raise two Pokemon at a time; the one doing the battling and the one with the EXP share, and they both split experience. In this game, EXP share is a key item, one that spreads to the entire party. And Pokemon no longer split it; every Pokemon whose battling gets the same amount of EXP, and the rest gets half that. So, say you have a Rattata and Zubat. You send Zubat out first, withdraw him, then send in Rattata. You defeat a Pokemon that gives out 500 EXP. Both Zubat and Rattata would get 500, and the rest of your party would get 250. This makes building a basic, non-competitive team much easier than in previous installments, and keeps grinding to a minimum. I personally liked this new feature; it allowed me to make an Elite Four team quite easily. Obviously, if you’re making a serious competitive team, you will need to turn it off, but that’s how it’s been in every game.
The new type, Fairy, introduced also mixes things up a bit. It has quite a few strengths, including one against the massively powerful Dragon type, and some strange weaknesses like steel. For the most part, the new type is welcome. It gives people more choices to consider when making a team and forces players to consider new strategies. Nintendo has also changed the typing of many old Pokemon, like Jigglypuff, to Fairy, once again managing to breathe new life into
As stated above, there are 450 Pokemon to catch in the Kalos region. And this certainly gives collectors a lot to do. The issue I have with it is that the vast majority of the Pokemon are old ones. There are 68 new Pokemon in total, which is the fewest new Pokemon ever seen. This is rather disappointing; Black and White rejuvenated the traditional gameplay by making it so every Pokemon you encountered was brand new. With this game, you’re likely to see more old ones than new even ten hours in. Granted, the new designs are, for the most part, some of the best in the series; from the adorably pugilistic Pancham to the truly intimidating Tyrantrum, gen VI has an overall strong set of monsters. My only wish is that there was more of them.
While team customization is high, Nintendo has given the players the opportunity to customize themselves, as well. For the first time ever, you can fully choose what your character looks like. There are various botiques around the world that offer different types of clothing to choose from. While it doesn’t alter gameplay very much, I found myself totally addicted to collecting clothing and trying various different outfits. There’s also a salon that you can change your hairstyle at, choosing both length and coloring. This chance to choose what your character looks like gives you a unique online personality. Using the touch screen, you can make trades, do battle and more with other players, assuming you are connected to Wi- Fi. Sadly, I couldn’t really see too much of this new feature, since my dorm doesn’t allow gaming devices to be connected to the Wi- Fi.
All in all, the sixth generation of Pokemon is off to a strong start. With Mega Evolutions, 3D graphics, full character customization, strong new designs, various refined or streamlined features and more Pokemon to catch than ever, Nintendo has written both a love letter to longtime fans and an invitation to new players. The only real issue is that it sometimes feels redundant; if you’re like me, you have at least one game from every set since generation three. With such a focus on older Pokemon, it seems to make all the time you put into those older games obsolete. Despite that, Pokemon X and Y breathes new life into the sometimes stale series, thanks to various new changes or additions. It’s a nostalgic reminder of the adventures that came before, and an assurance that there are many more to come.