Hello there fellow readers and those who have stumbled upon this blog. I mentioned in my introduction post that I'd be talking about all sorts of topics from music to the Goth subculture and even video games. Today, I decided to go ahead and give some attention and mini review to one of the recent games I've been playing, Pokemon X & Y.
I have been into Pokemon since I was a kid in the 90s when the craze exploded. I watched the anime and played most of the games (excluding Black & White and it's sequels) and at 22, I'm still a big fan of the series. I truly believe that you can never be too old for Pokemon but that's for another topic. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the recent Pokemon game.
Honestly, my last Pokemon game I played was Pokemon Diamond back around 2009-2010 and for the most part, it was good but I found myself falling behind with Pokemon as I got caught up with other things. I never got around to playing Pokemon Black & White or their sequels and I missed out on HeartGold & Soul Silver (which is a shame because I love the 2nd Generation...) So naturally, I was pretty out of the loop with the series. I wasn't sure if I was going to buy this game but after watching some gameplay and seeing more of the new Pokemon, I decided to go out and buy a nice black 3DS and Pokemon Y three days after Christmas of 2013.
What do I think of this game? I honestly... LOVED IT! Like I mentioned above, it has been a long while since I played a Pokemon game and I was very hesitant with this one but it turned out to be one of the best purchases I ever made in 2013 and buying the 3DS was very worth it. I'll admit though, seeing the new graphic overhaul of how the game ran and the added character customization were big aspects that prompted me to get it.
Pokemon Illustration (All rights reserved)
The 6th Gen Pokemon while very few compared to the previous gen, had a lot of visually impressive designs. Pokemon aesthetics come down to personal taste of course but I really liked a lot of them this time around. The new starters Fennekin (Fire), Chespin (Grass), and Froakie (Water) looked very nice and it was hard to choose which one I wanted to start with. I really wanted to go with Froakie but I ended up going with Fennekin (it's funny because in all the games, I've always went with the fire type lol). The new introduced Fairy Type Pokemon are rather interesting and provided some strategic match ups (I'm looking at you Slurpuff). Some of my favorite newer Pokemon include Noibat & Noivern, Litleo & Pyroar, Pumpkaboo, and Phantump. Yeah, there aren't 150 this time around but the 87 (including Mega Evolutions) held up pretty good. Speaking of Mega Evolutions, I actually like the concept though admittedly, I don't have many Mega Evolutions except for Lucario. With that said, they still are a rather neat new feature though some of the designs could have been better. I wasn't a big fan of Mega Heracross, Mega Pinsir, & Mega Scizor, they looked a bit too Transformers mecha for my taste haha.
The newly introduced region of Kalos was spectacular. Seriously, the GameFreak development team did an impressive job detailing the landscapes from the glossy textures on the water and grass to the modeling of the buildings and trees. It really is captivating and it felt like I was on a real Pokemon journey as silly as it sounds. What really stuck out to me was just how different each town you visited felt and looked. Each had it's own atmosphere that helped differentiate each other like for example, the snow filled town of Snowbelle city to the comfy small town of Aquacorde. Of course, Pokemon has always improved with their level designing but since this is 3D, the experience of traveling through a town/forest/etc. is definitely enhanced. Also worth mentioning, the gym layouts while simple, were very creative. I heard that they started going a more intricate route in Black & White but alas, I never played them. My favorite gym design is between the Laverre City gym or Courmaline gym (woohoo for vine swinging!)
Pokemon Trainer Customization Intro (Pokemon X & Y)
The Trainer customization was a much welcome feature in my opinion. I'm a big character creation fan and I've been wanting to see one in Pokemon for the longest time since Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. The customization isn't that diverse but it's understandable as this was the first time they were using this feature for a handheld. As far as clothing, there were lots to choose from for female players but the same can't be said for the male players. Again, I'm not too bummed as I said, it's their first time and I'm sure they will add a lot more stuff for the next game (I hope anyway lol). But seriously, if you are a fan of Pokemon and like character creation, I recommend trying this game.
While I'm not going to give any spoilers with the story, I actually rather enjoyed it this time around. It seemed a lot more darker than the previous ones and was pretty well-written. I especially like how they included little cut-scenes during important parts of the game and I also enjoyed how they made your player seem more human as he/she got to socialize & socialize with the rivals/friends and even antagonists in the game. I didn't really care too much for the villains of the game (Team Flare) but I will give them props in the event that they tried with all their might to stop you from completing your objective in their final mission. You gotta give them that much you know? The music arrangement was very nice as well (but then again, I love a lot of the Pokemon soundtracks from the games).
In conclusion, I enjoyed the heck out of this game and I am jubilant that I made the purchase. It really did feel like a breath of fresh air and even helped re-ignite my love for the series again. I am definitely looking forward to the next game. Nevertheless, I'd give this game a 10/10. Fresh new world, fun missions, cool new Pokemon, engaging story, what more can you ask? Whether you are an old school Pokemon fan or perhaps, a newer one, there is something for everyone and I highly recommend giving this game a try.
With that said, I hope you enjoyed my little game spotlight segment. I'll be doing some more game spotlights in the future. Thank you reading everyone! Have you played the game yet? Did you like it? What did you think of the game? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section and stay tuned for the next blog!
Currently listening to: "Tired" - Stone Sour
Currently watching; King of the Hill
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