Pokémon X & Y - Review

 The start of the 3D era.

Console: Nintendo 3DS

Pokémon X & Y are some of my favourite video games. Period. The first 3D Pokémon titles (not counting spin-offs) pulled me back into gaming. I bought a 3DS for it, the gold 'A Link Between Worlds' special edition, an act that eventually led me to this blog. I´ve forgotten how much time I put into Pokémon Diamond back in the day but I´m fairly certain that it´s my most-played Pokémon game. I played my copy of Pokémon Y grey back in the day, using Pokémon Bank to store my team in the cloud before restarting my savefile over and over again. I liked it that much. 

Now that these games are 10 years old I wanted to play through them again for another, more critical, look. See how they hold up and if they have what it takes to become truly iconic entries. 

Let's dive in. 

As always, you´re a kid setting out on your Pokémon journey to catch them all and become the very best there ever was. This time around you´re the child of a famous Ryhdon rider in the Kalos region. You befriend you´re new neighbour and their friend group and all of you are given a starter Pokémon by Professor Sycamore to learn more about the mysterious 'Mega Evolution' phenomenon found in the Kalos region, aside from the usual. Along your journey, you also encounter the nefarious Team Flare who are up to no good. 

You and your friend group/rivals. 

The story of X & Y is the weakest part here. It's very bland, very cookie-cutter Pokémon. You go from one gym to the next with not that much happening in between other than occasional stuff like fighting Team Flare. We also do get some fun lore bits in regards to Mega Evolution and some interesting small story bits with your friends but those aren't enough to make up for the rather predictable and dare I say boring main story. The entire 'beauty aspect' fits the region of Kalos but just isn't interesting or deep enough to be a captivating theme. 

The characters are well-designed but lack presence and personality. The Gym Leaders are mostly obstacles for you to overcome and nothing more. They, and, NPC's do have those fun blurb texts though that you can giggle at. 

On the flip side, you can now give yourself some personality thanks to trainer customisation. You can choose from a variety of skin, hair and eye colours and can buy a variety of clothes. Neat. 

On to the Kalos region itself. Based on France it's a region that, thanks to the 3D, is one of the most beautiful and well-realized regions. It´s a very diverse region, a looker, with quite a few hidden paths and secrets which makes running around and exploring it loads of fun. Traversing the region is a rather linear affair, you travel across it in a circle and the game really pushes you in a certain direction but with the 3D graphics, the world is more detailed and dynamic than before. 

The general area themes of Kalos are basic, dessert, snowy area etc., but they do pop thanks to the 3D. 

We have an overworld filled with twisty routes, strong inclines, towns that are built in cliff faces and haunting, swampy forests. With large buildings with distinct European architecture and some very nice looking works of art like the Anistar City sundial I dig the atmosphere it, and the music, achieve.

An example of the visuals and more dynamic camera work. 

In terms of movement, you're now on an 8-sided grid instead of a 4-sided one. The movement this gives you is fluid, and fast and the rollerskates are in my opinion still the best character movement in any Pokémon game. Bit annoying that the rollerskates don't work in the tall grass.  

With this move to the 3rd dimension, Game Freak waved the Pokémon sprites old goodbye for 3D models. They are well made, finally giving many of these Pokémon a living, breathing appearance in which you can look at them from all angles and see them move fluidly. They are not perfect though. They are a bit muted in the colour department and there are definitely some Pokémon who have lost some of their personality in the transition, but they look good still. 

Beneath all of this 3D, we have the tried-and-true Pokémon gameplay that I don't think I have to really explain. Even so, that old system though has gotten some meaningful changes. We now have an 18th Pokémon type, the Fairy type, designed to balance out the overpowered Dragon types of yesteryear. 

While the idea of 'fairies beating dragons' was a bit ridiculed, the addition of the type proved to be the right move. The new type chart results in a much more balanced gameplay experience and reinvigorates some older Pokémon that got the type added to them or are now strong against this new breed of Pokémon. 

We also have the introduction of the first (and still most popular) generational battle gimmicks: Mega Evolution. 

Mega Evolution is a temporary power. By giving one of 28 Pokémon their respective Mega Stone as their held item they can evolve beyond evolution. They become more powerful, often gain a new ability and sometimes even a new typing and a (mostly) cool makeover. It's not just fun seeing these new looks for old Pokémon but these Megas can really reinvigorate old Pokémon. 

One of my favourites Mega Pokémon, is Mega Mawile. With the extra points in its stats, the Huge Power ability that boosts its attack and its new Steel/Fairy typing, Mega Mawile is a sturdy powerhouse. 

The problem with Mega Evolution is that they are unbalanced. Overpowered. Due to those 100 extra points and other tricks like the Huge Power ability on Mega Mawile, they are a lot more powerful than your standard Pokémon and can easily wipe the floor with (NPC's) teams. It makes the game too easy if you don't handicap yourself, which you aren't really meant to do. 

Since there are only 30 Mega Evolutions and it would be self-sabotage to not run at least one Mega on your team you will see this handful of Pokémon pop up on players teams quite often online (RIP 3DS online). In the single-player, you only get access to half a dozen Mega Stones before the post-game rolls around which hinders the replay value in that sense. 

All kinds of different Mega Pokémon introduced in this game. 

Now that we have touched on difficulty, X & Y introduced some stuff that helps make these games, if not easier, more approachable. 

Catching Pokémon now gives you experience (because why shouldn't it?) and the Exp. Share has been reworked so that it's now a key item that gives experience to all Pokémon in your party if you turn it on. Both help alleviate the practice of grinding and if the game is too easy with this 'exp. shower' on, then you just turn it off. I really miss that simple switch in the current crop of games.

The super training mini-game makes effort value (the stat bonuses Pokémon get from defeating Pokémon) somewhat more visible and more easily obtained. Pokémon Amie isn't just one more way for the kids to engage with their Pokémon in a 'groom your pet' type of way but the bonuses you get from making your Pokémon more affectionate. This can cause small bonuses like your Pokémon self-curing their status conditions to occur. A bit annoying for a veteran player like me who wants a challenge but oh well. It's easy to stay away from it if you don't want to evolve your Eevee into a Sylveon. 

The updated online features, the "Player Search System" or "PSS" make (well, made) interacting with friends and strangers for battles and trades a breeze. It's just a click away. The new Wonder Trade feature is a standout here. You get paired up with another random trainer to blindly trade Pokémon. You never know what you get and that's more fun than I describe! 

Pokémon X & Y, even with its lacklustre story, is in my humble opinion one of the best and easiest games to replay. The game de-emphasized HM, meaning you can travel across the region without really needing to any of them bar a few exceptions. Even if the experience is very linear, the good pacing means that you can adventure, catch and battle without much stopping and going, so to speak. 

Most importantly: the Kalos Pokédex is huge with well over 450 Pokémon. This large Pokédex gives rise to a lot of variety in team-building options for both you and the NPCs. No endlessly fighting the same crop of Pokémon and no two teams will be alike. On the flipside, the amount of new Pokémon is low. Only 71 new Pocket Monsters can be found in Kalos, the smallest generation ever introduced. A consequence of the design work needed for all those 30 Mega forms. 

Thankfully, the designs were received well and I think it's because there are a lot more animal/nature-inspired designs while the designs that are not are really cool. Cool ninja frog Greninja, haunted tree Trevenant and living sword Aegislash are just Pokémon that have become rather popular this last decade. Not all designs hit, of course, Aromatisse and Swirlix aren't talked about much, but Gen VI's Pokémon is a successful case of quality over quantity. 

Conclusion

Pokémon X & Y marked the start of the 3D era for the franchise, introducing players to a visually stunning world that showcased 3DS's potential. These games hold a special place in my heart, rekindling an interest in gaming and leading to countless hours of good memories. While the story is lacking, the Kalos region, with its beautiful landscapes, provides an immersive and very replayable experience. The addition of Mega Evolution, despite its balance issues, brought new life to familiar Pokémon and many new features made these games more approachable and interactive than ever before. 

This game brings a lot to the table that has stayed with the series ever since. Mega Evolution was the first battle gimmick, Wonder Trading, the Exp. Share change and so on. However, it lacks that 'one more thing' to bring the game home. No return to Kanto as with Gold & Silver or a strong story like with Black & White. Because of this, while I think it'll go down in history as a beloved title, I don't ever see it become an iconic entry in the Pokémon series.