Pokémon X and Y

By: Robert Murphy

Hey everybody, I’ve got to tell you all since my departure from the handheld world and the Pokémon games of my youth, I have missed battling against trainers, leveling my favorite Pokémon and being able to travel around at age 14 to fight evil corporations. So I joined a few friends, went out and bought a Nintendo 3DS and bought the latest foray into the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon X and boy I have to tell you I just about let out a tear at how much I loved the game from the moment I turned it on. The game comes to life right from the get go, whether you are using the 3D function or not, you can’t help but get lost in the amazing new frontier of the Kalos Region. The new region comes with all new gym leaders, new Pokémon to catch and train, new challenges and so much to see and do you won’t want to put it down, I know I didn’t.

The core concept of the game is obviously the same but  we receive it in a whole new way, you still have to go through the opening sequence that you have been doing for the past fifteen years but luckily it is sped up and much more enjoyable. This is also good to keep though because of new players coming into the world of Pokémon as well as the fact that the game is supposed to appeal to a young audience but hey we were here first kids. Players now though go through choosing their character in a new way that includes character customization, you can now choose from various types of boy and girl models but it doesn’t end there, you can also cut and change your hair style and clothing in various spots in the game too. And so almost immediately the game breaks the mold from older Pokémon titles and brings out something new.

Pokémon X and Y are the first fully 3D Pokémon game to come out to the market and has pulled no punches in that regard whether we are talking about the amazing battles or the breathe taking scenery, you feel that the full use of the 3D mechanic is used to great detail. Your Pokémon truly come to life right on the screen as flying Pokémon will slightly hover on the screen, Pokémon that use tail attacks will actually turn and use their tails and there are even special moves that act out a brief but highly enjoyable cut scene (Brave Bird one of my favorites.) There are also vast and amazing structures spread throughout Kalos Region, giant castles with grass mazes in the back, unique and puzzle driven gyms that are designed based off of what kind of gym leader you are facing up against and many more structures to see and explore. Also little details impressed me quite a bit such as Pokémon centers having a screen above them showing your Pokémon that you’re healing and also the doing away of having a separate Poke-Mart to travel to for supplies, it’s now all in one building for greater convenience.

Moving on to the new features in the game though we are introduced to new forms of evolution in the game that allows you to take your Pokémon to an even higher level than before. That’s right, let’s take for instance Charizard who is a Pokémon that is fully evolved and can go through no further evolutions, well now he can. Through the use of in game items that you will gain during your play through you can evolve Charizard and various other specific Pokémon to a new form, altering his appearance, stats and abilities. Although this can only be done on select Pokémon as I said, it is still an incredible new function to Pokémon battles and how they’re played out. Your Pokemon will turn back though once a battle has ended and it returns to its former look and stats and can be activated again once you enter another battle, luckily this doesn’t take up a battle phase or it wouldn’t be as enjoyable to use.

The games also take advantage of the 3DS’s online capabilities where you can play, share, and communicate with your friends or meet new people who are playing and training hard just like you. Naturally you can enter into quick battles with people as well as trade Pokémon through the Player Search System that once connected to the internet shows a vast amount of other players from around the world. Some new features include sharing your own personal videos that show of the Pokémon you have gained along the way and traits about yourself. Another feature is the ability to share O-powers with other players which are items that can be used to boost stats of a Pokémon much like X-Accuracy and other items from the game.

As I said before I took a step away from hand held games and hadn’t picked up a Pokémon for some time and I was glad to come back when I did for Pokémon X and Y. The game is absolutely fantastic in every regard for me, not only are the environments visual stunning but the Pokémon and all their traits are as well. We are not only introduced to a whole new generation of Pokémon but the game also includes many of the other Pokémon that we have come to know throughout the years and it’s amazing to see the transition from all those years ago when I first started on Pokémon Blue.

Good:

-New character customization

-New Mega Evolutions that add a twist on some of the Pokémon we knew

-Enjoyable online interaction

-Visual stunning world that carries over to the Pokémon

Bad:

- What will come from the next Pokémon?

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10