On October 12th, Nintendo fans of North America heralded the release of the newest additions to the Pokémon franchise.
Much like in previous games in the series, Pokémon X and Y begins with the player receiving their first Pokémon, thereby making them a Pokémon trainer.
Despite not majorly changing the core gameplay of Pokémon, X and Y have many positive new additions which makes the experience of playing feel fresh to veteran players, and exciting to new players.
The core gameplay of Pokémon hasn’t changed much in the past 16 years, centering around a turn based style of battle. Pokémon come in seventeen different types, and each type has various strengths and weaknesses to other types.
The goal of each battle is to damage an opponent’s Pokémon to the point of fainting before all of the player’s Pokémon faint. Battles play out in turns, where the player selects a move to be performed, and their opponent does the same. Moves are used to weaken Pokémon to the point of fainting, and as Pokémon level up, their moves and ability to defend against moves improve in strength.
The only changes X and Y bring to the core concept of the Pokémon franchise is the addition of a new type–fairy–and the addition of mega evolution. Mega evolution allows for Pokémon to evolve past their final form during a battle, which is useful for particularly tough battles as further evolution makes Pokémon stronger. However, mega evolution is used sparingly, and isn’t even possible until a third of the way through the game.
Additionally, X and Y have added immensely to Pokémon’s online connectivity, personalization, and connection with Pokémon. Online features present in previous Pokémon games remain in X and Y, along with a few new additions. Previously, to battle with human opponents, players would have to register each other’s friend-codes, and so human to human battles were nearly impossible. Two new additions, named “battle spot” and “wonder trade”, allow trainers worldwide to battle and trade instantaneously. Registering friend codes is no longer necessary for online play.
It is also possible for trainers to quickly increase their friendship level with their Pokémon though the use of the new Pokémon Amie, a Nintendogs-like mode which allows trainers to play games with and pet their Pokémon. However, this feature feels to be more of a diversion than a positive addition, and does not add a greater draw to the game.
X and Y have taken a huge leap in graphic quality. No longer are Pokémon character models pixilated in battle, but rather presented in smooth 3D models. The game controls in three dimensions with the use of the joystick-like circle pad, unlike the restricted movement in previous installments with the use of a d-pad. As such, settings within the game have been modeled to allow a greater range of movement.
While navigating caves within the game, the perspective shifts so that the player can only see the twisting paths in front of them, unlike the bird’s eye view present in previous games. Cities and towns are no longer modeled with clearly defined paths, but rather intersecting boulevards and back roads, adding immensely to the game’s immersion by making the world seem more realistic. Much like within battles, building models within cities are smooth, and occasionally textured.
Unfortunately, despite graphical improvements, there is occasionally a drop in frame rate and delay between selecting a move and having it performed whenever the 3D feature is enabled.
Immersive plots are not a staple of the Pokémon series, and X and Y are not exceptions. The main portion of the story consists of stopping an evil team from carrying out ambiguously bad schemes, which apparently only a fifteen year old trainer can do, and uncovering the secret behind mega evolution.
Despite an uninteresting story, Pokémon X and Y are incredibly immersive games, rather simple in difficulty, and easy to pick up and play. The games are certainly worth playing for players interested in turn-based strategy, or connectivity with other players.
