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Gameplay: Few games stick to their guns like Pokemon, for better or for worse. The core gameplay of the series remained the same through sixteen games and X/Y doesn’t break the mold. You run all over the Kalos region, exploring roads, forests, and caves while searching for (and occasionally running from) wild Pokemon. You also encounter other Pokemon trainers who you take down for cash prizes and hefty experience. Just like in previous games, Gym Leaders, Team Flare, the Elite Four, and finally the Champion are the stepping stones of your character’s skill as you progress through the game. There are a few new additions to Pokemon’s traditional gameplay, but they are not all strictly improvements. Game Freak lessens the difficulty of the already-easy Pokemon series by adding EXP on capture, enhanced contribution EXP, and a revamped EXP Share item. Capture EXP is a welcome change. Considering just how many Pokemon there are to catch in X/Y (especially if you need multiples), it’s nice that there’s a benefit for the battling Pokemon while you’re catching them all. Enhanced contribution EXP means that every Pokemon who participates in battle gets 100% of the experience for defeating that enemy, even if they only were out for a single turn. Finally, the new and “improved” EXP Share means that every Pokemon in your party gets 50% of the battle’s EXP even if they didn’t make an appearance on the field. While this makes raising Pokemon much easier than ever before, it also means that your Pokemon will always outlevel those of your opponents. This seriously negates some of the easy game’s remaining challenge, so if you’re looking for an intense experience, I’d recommend shutting the EXP Share off.
Pokemon X/Y also tweaks the familiar battles of the franchise. Now you can encounter Pokemon Hordes, a group of five weak Pokemon of a different species than you would normally find in the area. Hordes are an opportunity to catch rare Pokemon (the ability to catch the last survivor of a group is an extremely welcome change), get extra experience, or try out area of effect attacks. Some Trainers in the Kalos region challenge you to new Sky Battles: fights in which only winged (not necessarily Flying) Pokemon can participate. It’s possible to avoid these entirely, which can be good if you only have one Pokemon that can take to the sky. Other than the flight requirement they’re identical to normal battles, but their inclusion provides a bit of interesting variety. Finally there are the two massive metagame updates: the Fairy type and Mega Evolutions. Though a new Type has not been added to Pokemon since the second generation, the Dragon-defeating Fairy Type is a welcome one. Much like the Psychic Types of the first generation, Dragon was the strongest type prior to X/Y and they needed to be properly balanced (though not nearly as much as the aforementioned Psychics did). Fairy fills that niche perfectly and provides a few other essential updates to the game’s Type dynamics, such as buffing Poison type. Mega Evolutions allow certain Pokemon to become upgraded versions of themselves by holding a special “Mega Stone”. These Evolutions, while temporary, turn their users into entirely different creatures, complete with altered abilities and stats. To balance out these incredible benefits, only one Mega Evolution can be used in a Trainer battle, making their utilization a complex strategic choice. While Mega Evolutions are absolutely overpowered in the single player game, they provide Pokemon’s multiplayer with another neat strategic aspect.
There are some fun new extras in the game outside of the standard travel-and-battle mechanics. First there’s Super Training, a dodgeball-like minigame that is available as soon as you receive your first Pokemon. Through Super Training, your Pokemon gain Effort Values (or EVs), a once-hidden set of values which inform how your Pokemon’s stats will grow and are essential to competitive Pokemon battling. Now, all of your Pokemon can quickly and easily EV train to become extremely powerful in specific areas. Furthermore, Super Training Pokemon with maxed out EVs nets you additional rewards, such as rare stat-boosting or evolution-causing items. As silly and monotonous as the minigame may sound, I never stopped enjoying it. There’s also Pokemon Amie, in which you interact one-on-one with a party Pokemon by playing minigames, giving it treats, or just petting it to see it react. The adorable feeding and petting ritual might sound silly to some, but it’s actually cute to watch and it provides your Pokemon with incredible benefits, including increased EXP gain, increased critical hits, and the occasional chance to just not die. The only drawback to these new ways to play Pokemon is that they too decrease the game’s difficulty, making it more of a challenge to find a challenge in Pokemon X/Y.
Presentation: The transition to 3D was not a graphical update for Pokemon; It was an spectacular transformation. The Pokemon world looks better and better in every generation, but the addition of the new dimension is absolutely stunning. It’s difficult to describe why this change is so amazing considering they’ve only really reached the graphical fidelity of the Gamecube (or so), but, as a longtime Pokemon fan, just seeing the world in such a new way is incredible. Sure, there are probably better looking games on the 3DS (some parts of Fire Emblem: Awakening come to mind), but Pokemon X/Y is still among the most charming, polished, and attractive to date. This beauty is most evident in the Pokemon battles themselves. Now, the Pokemon in combat actually look like they’re in combat because attacks appear more powerful and injuries more devastating. It’s so awesome to watch that it nearly makes you forget that Pokemon battles have been essentially the same since 1996. It’s that good. Your in-game avatar is no slouch either. For the first time in the series, players can customize their appearances rather that selecting from default templates. From hairstyle to clothing, the player has a lot of options during the game, which is good since you’re going to be staring at your little Trainer for hours before the game is over. Your fashion statements also differentiate you from other players, a necessity because of the game’s multiplayer aspects. The Kalos region is as large and charming as its predecessors, especially the central hub/confusing maze of Lumiose City. The game continues to have an enjoyable soundtrack, one filled with cute, dramatic, and relaxing ambient music. Pokemon noises got an extraordinary upgrade in X/Y as they are no longer indecipherable beeps but actually sound more like animal cries. This generation even marks the first time that Pikachu uses his trademark Pikkaaa! when he appears, though no other Pokemon sound their eponymous cries.
Single Player: Pokemon is not a series known for it’s narrative, a trend which X/Y continues. Unfortunately, X/Y also follows the fifth generation, which easily had the strongest story in the Pokemon universe to date. No one plays Pokemon for the story, so in the end it’s not really a big deal, but it’s sad that Game Freak didn’t further evolve their storytelling after Black/White’s enjoyable tale. The villanous Team Flare is just obnoxious until their “story arc” kicks in, and while their charismatic leader Lysandre and his enigmatic prisoner AZ are intriguing characters, you barely get the chance to interact with them. Their entrance occurs so late in the game and lasts for so short a time that it ends up as barely a hiccup on your path towards Pokemon mastery. Luckily there’s still a lot of fun to be had in the single player Pokemon experience. X/Y boasts the greatest variety of Pokemon that you can find in any of the games, so there’s plenty to catch and level even in your first patch of long grass. As a fan of collecting new Pokemon, this was easily worth the price of admission for me. The Gyms are weirdly paced in comparison to the rest of the series (there’s a huge gap between Gyms 1 and 2, for example), but there’s always fun stuff to discover in and around Kalos’ cities and the Gyms themselves are clever little puzzles. There’s plenty with which to amuse oneself after becoming the Champion of Kalos, such as Pokemon breeding, filling out the massive Pokedex (718 strong!), exploring previously unreachable dungeons and caves, trouncing nobility at the Battle Maison, and enjoying the restaurants, cafes, and other wonders of Lumiose City. One can spend hours playing with these various end-game activities, though there will inevitably be even more of them when Pokemon Z comes out. In general, the single player experience of X/Y is almost identical to that of all the other Pokemon games, but it comes with a few added bonuses due to the overall size of the game. My biggest complaint is that X/Y returns to narrative mediocrity despite the improvements made in the previous generation.
Multiplayer: While Pokemon’s single player sticks to its old school ways, its multiplayer components make a massive leap forward. Due to the limitations of older Nintendo handhelds, the multiplayer portions of Pokemon have been rather restricted, especially in the age of XBox Live and PSN. With the technology of the 3DS, Pokemon X/Y’s multiplayer aspect is more accessible and robust than any of its predecessors. Using the Player Search System (P.S.S.) and an internet connection, you can give your 3DS Friends, passersby, or even online strangers (don’t worry it’s safe) various in-game buffs called O-Powers. Giving and receiving these helpful buffs is surprisingly fun; it’s nice to power up fellow players from across the globe! Through the P.S.S. you can even ask for a battle, a system far easier than entering a special area in the Pokemon Center with a friend in the area. It’s wonderful that you can easily challenge fellow trainers in Pokemon X/Y, especially considering the corresponding ease of developing a competitive team introduced in this generation. Pokemon Amie also has a multiplayer component in which random players’ Pokemon will visit you in the Pokemon Amie “Overworld Lounge” (for lack of a better term), providing you with Pokemon food and furniture for the lounge itself. It’s cool to see other people’s companions drop by your game, even if they do very little other than bounce around on your screen. Pokemon X/Y also has a unique and social take on the Safari Zone of previous generations, which is now known as the Friend Safari. Only accessible at the end of the game, the Friend Safari is populated with different Pokemon depending on whom your 3DS Friends are. For each mutual friend you have there is a Safari that is populated with three Pokemon of a single type. Almost every person’s Safari is different and many Friend Safari Pokemon cannot be caught anywhere else. As such, players benefit from connecting with as many people as possible. It inspired me to use my friend codes for the first time ever. There’s even a subreddit for requesting specific Friend Safaris (hint: if you have a Ditto safari, you’ll be the most popular person in town for a long time). In Pokemon X/Y, you no longer feel like the only Trainer in a static and simple world. Now the existence of other spectacular Trainers is palpable, making Kalos the first Pokemon province that truly feels populated.
Fun Factor: In many ways (most of which I’ve mentioned in other posts), Pokemon X/Y is the game I’ve been waiting for since I was 8. Ever since I saw Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Snap, I’ve wanted a game where Pokemon and the world they lived in were vibrant and alive rather than static and flat. I’ve looked forward to a game where Pokemon could be caught in abundance instead of piecemeal on each road or in each forest. I’ve desired a game in which you could interact with your Pokemon with more than just a cursor. Pokemon X/Y provides those moments that I’ve looked forward to for years. If we’re being completely honest, this probably should’ve happened years ago, but it’s better late than never. I could get as cynical about Game Freak’s slow progress as I wanted, but I can’t help being gleeful when I actually get to RIDE a Lapras, Mamoswine, or Rhydon. That’s just awesome. After playing for many hours, Pokemon X/Y does become a bit rote. You do eventually remember that you’re playing a Pokemon game and that you’ve done so many times before. However, seeing your Pokemon strike your enemies in battle or nibble cakes out of your hand are experiences that I would not have missed for the world.
Final Verdict: In the end, the question of whether or not to buy Pokemon X/Y comes to this: are you a fan of Pokemon or not? If not, then Pokemon X/Y will be no massive revelation. You won’t find yourself converted by the accomplishments of this iteration because it is, in the end, a Pokemon game. However, if you are a Pokemon fan, Pokemon X/Y is sure to become one of your favorite installments due to its overhauled aesthetics, enticing new single and multiplayer options, and the addictive gameplay that makes the series a continual success. For those on the fence, Pokemon X/Y is a great place to start your Pokemon addiction. It gives you access to tons and tons of Pokemon, provides a modern look along with modern social connectivity, and is sure to provide more than its money’s worth of fun. Welcome to the third dimension Pokemon: we’re so, so, so, so, so, so glad you’re here.
You can read this post and a good deal more at the N3rd Dimension.
