Refreshing, Spirited, Enticing and a Heck of a Lot of Fun.
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| Pokémon Y From Nintendo |
Pokémon X and Y are brilliant entries in the long running franchise, and they also mark the series debut on the Nintendo 3DS. Welcome to the world of Kalos-- beautiful sprays of warm, bright colors are mixed with small and large graphical touches that spruce up the familiar and introduce a sense of joy that I have not garnered from a Pokémon entry in years. Yes, Black and White and their sequels, Black 2 and White 2, were great games in their own right, but it is the leap forward in polish afforded by the 3DS and the simultaneous streamlining of the experience that pushes X and Y just beyond the reach of their predecessors, once removed from nostalgic goggles, that is.
You are a Pokémon trainer. You set off at a young age to challenge other trainers, capture Pokémon and become the champion of your regions Pokémon League. The game is expansive, sporting main city hubs and routes to explore--with Lumiose City being quite distinguished and familiar, not unlike the very grand and splayed Nimbasa City of Black and White. X and Y introduce Horde battles, which pit your Pokémon against a select group of congregated wild Pokémon of up-to five VS one. Then there is the fact that you are now given two starter Pokémon, yes, two. This sense of reward continues as these main entries are the first to introduce mega stones; These unique items offer in-battle evolutions that grant specific Pokémon, wielding specific stones, incredible new evolutions with new typing/new abilities and boosted stats that set them way apart from their peers. Mega stones can feel overpowered to an extent, but they never felt too out of step with a felicity permeating the game. New Pokémon--over 60, Sky Battles, cafe battles, berry field breeding and more. The dazzling, unraveling thread of splendor is at a constant high-octane throughout the experience of the game.
Speaking of the experience, it is clear that Game Freak, Inc.--developers of the main-entry Pokémon games (such as X and Y or Heart Gold and Soul Silver )-- and the long-time series director, Junichi Masuda, have taken the best of the series and refined it into a substance that is more palatable. How? you may ask. Well, from the very beginning the game gets you straight into the experience with little barriers. The player starts the game by picking their gender as usual, but, also, in a very welcome change to the formula--however slight--you can now select from up-to three character skin tones. This new wrinkle, if you will, to the customization formula is coupled with the ability to dress your avatar in a number of bite-sized fashion ensembles and articles of choice. The meat of the experience, the game that many fans have come to enjoy, is as it always has been--a rock-paper-scissors, turn-based, strategic collect-a-thon. What's more engaging, enjoyable, and inviting about the meat of the matter is the quicker pacing to the turn-based battles; the absolutely exquisitely rendered Pokémon character models (Yes, they are that good-- eye-candy that endures the entire journey and continuously brings a smile to my face whenever I revisit the game) and the additional immersive factor that is Pokémon-Amie. In Pokémon-Amie, the player is allowed to pet and play with their party of Pocket Monsters, raising their affection levels--which can lead to unexpected effects, among other things--and increasing the bond between Pokémon and trainer; this bond actually has in-game benefits, with enough care you can make your Pokémon fight more effectively in battle--they withstand blows that would normally knock them out, and they have an increased chance of making critical hits, just as a few examples.
