Pokemon X and Y Review

It has been 15 years since Pokemon left it’s first mark on video games and on culture as a whole. The video games come from humble beginnings, but have quickly evolved to bigger and better things over time. No pun Intended, Pokemon X/Y is a evolution to the standards you have come to expect from the Pokemon series. It turns up the quality and content to 11 while bringing in new innovations that will change the game in positive ways forever forward.

Ambition would be the key word to use when talking about Pokemon X/Y. The sheer amount of improvements and innovations to the Pokemon formula are seemingly endless. The 3D visuals in the game are simply stunning and the game is easily one of the best looking on the 3DS console. Animation breathes life into the game, the towns feel alive, the soundtrack has never been better, and the overall art direction captures the Pokemon feeling perfectly. The series has never been a graphical power house, but the art direction and look of Pokemon X/Y have significantly improved the atmosphere of the game.

The game continues to improve as it adds even more impressive features such as Pokemon Aime and Super Training; but the small changes should not be unnoticed as they have provided the biggest improvement to the series. Starting off from the beginning, the game’s pacing is improved as players are swiftly yet efficiently thrown into the action. No more long dulled out conversation that bore new and old players alike. Conversation are shorter, yet better written at the same time. Players receive their starters and the resources to catch more Pokemon nearly right outside the gate. Even in the literal sense of speed, players begin with running shoes and are given roller blades shortly after. This makes the game works better as a whole as it find a nice blend between the pacing of the old games and the new. The game is able to keep the classic open and fast gameplay of the old with the mechanical improvement and depth of the new.

Players can now customize their characters!

The larger features improve this even further allowing better play overall. Super Training allows players to gain EVs (EVs give stat bonuses to Pokemon) through mini games and greatly reduces the hassle that came with the traditional way of EV training. The mini games don’t necessarily get rid of all the tedium from EV training, but it is a major improvement to the flawed system in prior games. In addition, the EXP Share has been changed so it equally gives benched Pokemon 1/3 of the exp that the active battling Pokemon receives. This helps building teams greatly as it allows players to exchange their team members without the issue of grinding new weaker Pokemon. These systems work great with one another and allows for a bigger change in strategy due to the ease of access.

In addition to this, the series has added a new form of evolution called Mega Evolution. Mega Evolution give Pokemon a special evolution that they can only transform into during battle, with the use of a mega stone. The new Mega Evolutions improve stats and also give new or specific abilities. Although this doesn’t make a huge difference in game, these Mega Evolution are huge competitively. Mega Evolution aren’t the only change when it comes to Pokemon themselves though. A new Fairy type has been added and it is actually a big game changer. It’s a very defensive type against the commonly abused offensive type. This allows a better playing field as types feel a lot more balance then in previous iterations. All of these changes add more depth to the gameplay and make the game feel more addictive overall. This is important because the online system works wonderfully and players will want to partake in it due to the addictive nature of the game.

Pokemon has always had a nearly endless lifespan and these changes improve that even more. This is clearly the biggest Pokemon game to ever be released providing more content then any other game (including Pokemon Silver/Gold.) The pokedex has over 450 Pokemon which are scattered across the absolutely massive region of Kalos. Pokemon X /Y is a fantastic game that provides a plethora amount of content and will be regarded as one of the best in the series.

Gamefreak was very ambitious when they were making Pokemon X/Y, and they managed to reach those ambitions. The game is beautiful and made one of the best transitions to 3D in gaming history. The gameplay has been improved greatly and the endless amount of content will keep players interested until the next iteration and beyond. Pokemon X/Y will be marked as one of the best games that the series has released, if not the best.