Pokemon X Review

“I want to be the very best, like no one ever was…”

If you have ever been a Pokemon trainer in your mind or at recess, you know what these words mean.  You lived by these words! Now, those kids running around at recess having fake battles, attaching energies to their cards, and trading these little critters with their friends on the sidewalk by attaching their new Gameboy Colors with a link cable…an ACTUAL cable, have grown up to be in their 20’s and 30’s adults.  We denied that deep down, we still wanted to be like our never aging hero, Ash Ketchum, but with the power of the Internet and geekdom becoming popular, us original Pokemon trainers can express our nerd that we have hidden for so long at full force and we have new games and Pokemon to enjoy this new infusing power within us now. I am proud to say I am one of these Pokenerds!

So, when Nintendo announced the release of a 3D Pokemon game…the cheer was so loud, it could be heard from the Moon and the world rejoiced together, weeping as one body from joy.  As more information became ours to own for Pokemon X and Y (I had to laugh at the title because I thought of chromosomes and thought one game was for boys and one for girls! HA! I suppose they ran out of colors and gemstones or precious metals…), fans new and old, ages seven to fifty, bounced in their computer chairs.  I bet the only reason many people got 3Ds’ were FOR this game; I did for Kingdom Hearts DDD, but after I heard about generation 6, I knew I made the right choice!

The release date in October was massive and stores were selling out like mad!  Youtubers were posting their walkthroughs only a few hours after the release! My husband pre-ordered it and beat it in about 5 days!  I decided to wait until my birthday, which was 3 weeks away…LONGEST. WAIT. OF. MY. LIFE!  0.o  As I wanted him play and saw those breathtaking graphics, I knew I had to get it!  I also wanted to beat Platinum, but after struggling with it a few weeks after my birthday on the Elite Four, I gave up and decided to do something I had not done since the 7^th grade…start a new Pokemon game without finishing the one I was on!

So, without further delay, here is my review for Pokemon X (my hubby got Y because he liked the bird better…).  Remember, these are just my opinions; no need to get offended.  Also, all images you see on here are from a Google image search on Pokemon X and Y and I give all credit to their respectable owners.

 

Story Rating: 8 out of 10 stars: The story was good overall, but I found it a tad childish; it did not have the mystery of the first generation with Giovanni and revolutions of Gold/Silver and Black/White.  My friends were okay.  I like how I had 4 to choose from, but I really did not have a rival, which was odd. The pig-tailed girl bugged me a tad too; too much talking. The legends were decent as well, but not as epic as the Ruby and Sapphire ones.  The pacing of it was a little off; too much downtime from the first gym to the second, but then BAM! Lots of stuff happened at the end!  Again, I like the story, but it was not my favorite. The main thing that bugged me and my husband was how SHORT the story was; I played several of the special extras, took my time looking for Pokemon, and battled all the trainers I could find (even went shopping) and it only took me 28.50 hours to finish!  0.o  Most Pokemon games, even the older ones, took me almost 2 full days to complete, 44 hours plus!  That’s with story arches taking up most of the time.  We thought maybe with all the graphics, it took up too much space on the 3Ds to make the story longer… They also could have implemented several of their cool locations more in the story.  I would have LOVED to explore the Pokeball factory and had a non-Team Flare area there or even a normal arch after I kicked their butts!  That would have been epic!

Graphics and Angles: 10 out of 10: I can’t complain about anything here. The world, the battles, the colors, the shadings…it’s all too stunning for me to express properly. They did an amazing job with the details and graphics!  The BEST thing for me in this category is I COULD SIT DOWN!!! 0.o  You guys have NO IDEA how amazing that was to see! I’ve dreamed of that since Yellow! I also loved how I would look up or down depending on height difference.  I would talk to kids and little Pokémon all the time just so I had to bend down and look adorable while I talked to them!

Special Features to the Game: 9 out of 10:  I will break this down into a few sub parts, but overall, I really liked all of them:

Riding Pokemon: Oh My Google! That was SO much fun! I loved riding all the Pokemon and I hope they keep that in ALL the games! It was one of my favorite parts of Pokemon Ranger 3, so I got to relive that!  ^_^ Love this! I want to ride more, especially a Ponyta! Make it happen NOW Nintendo!

HaloCaster: The HaloCaster was cool, although it freaked me out when I got my first call.  I screamed and told my husband, “There’s a see-through man on my screen! Why?”  I wasn’t expecting it.  I thought it was a cool twist you could change the angle of the conversation by how you moved your 3Ds.

Roller Skates: Cool. It took a little while to get used to, but cool.  Didn’t use my bike as much because I kept clicking them though and I like the bike.

Changing Clothes: My FAVORITE part! =D I just wish they were not so expensive and had a few more choices, but I had so much fun buying clothes and accessories and trying on different outfits! I looked so fabulous.  I loved how my avatar would change with it too!

O Powers: I had trouble with my Internet, so although I talked to Mr. Bond to GET the O Powers, I didn’t get to use them until around gym 7.  I like the concept of collecting them and the perks they give you; I just wished they lasted a tad longer.

Super Training: Super Training was okay.  The games were fun, but a tad too easy.  I wish I could have really hit a real Geodude with soccer balls instead of the balloon! That’s not too violent for 7+, right?  😉 By the time I played it though, only one of my Pokemon could be leveled up period.  It did seem to work and was a unique, fun way to do it.  I see high hopes for this in the future.

Mini-Games: I like being able to feed and pet my Pokemon like something off of Pokemon Channel in my GameCube days! *dreamy sigh, remembering…* Anyway!  I liked all the games, but the Tile one.  Again, I see high hopes for this and since this increases love, it should help with friendship, which could help with evolution with some Pokemon, a nightmare for trainers!

Wonder Trade: Admittedly, this was the last thing I did.  I kept hearing that all you got in Wonder Trade was Caterpie, so I was leery.  My husband did it right before me and I watched in happiness as he got an awesome Charmander with Charizard attacks on his first trade! 0.o  I picked 5 Pokemon I knew I was never going to use to trade the next day and 4 of the 5 trades I got were pretty neat! I was squealing when I got an adorable Vulpix!  ^.^  It’s fun to trade and meet people this way around the world. I hope they keep this feature for I love it!

And finally…Mega evolution: Okay, this one part right here is why the extras got a 9 and not a 10.  NANI?! You may ask me…Well, I didn’t hate Mega evolution by any means; it looks cool, makes your Pokemon stronger, and has a great cut sequence. It also adds to the story arch.  However, when I finally had mega evolution…I was not impressed with anything other than the graphics and strength.  It was presented as some golden elixir to life with how everyone was bragging about.  I think the problem was it was so talked about, so overhyped, that I had unrealistic expectations and it did not meet them.  I really did not like how my Mega Pokemon could not hold another item. I think they should be able to hold two, especially since I can only use Mega Evolution once per battle. I hope they do add more of them for final stages of Pokemon in the future (I want to see the designs), but again, overall, it was only so/so for me.

Gym Leaders and Gyms: 8 out of 10: I really like the challenge and look of all the gyms! A+ there! Especially the one for the psychic badge! The gym leaders were decent.  I liked how they all had their own little nitch beyond their gyms, like Grant and bike racing.  None of them made an amazing impression of me as characters, but I did like them.  My biggest issue was the Elite Four. I liked how I could choose my room and the look of the members and their ‘chambers’, but they were not nearly challenging enough.  Only one made me sweat for a moment.  The Elite Four is supposed to really test you and I did not feel that way.  The champion did better, but still not grade A material.  For the Elite Four and not overly noticeable characters, I gave this part an eight.

Towns and Cities: 7 out of 10 Okay…I only have one problem here because the rest of this section was near flawless: The thing my husband and I hate with a fiery passion! The main city! GRRRR! It’s WAY TOO big and I got lost so many times.  Took a taxi twice and spent about $6,000 on the trips! And the first person angle! It’s so hard to see anything! You have no idea how many times I walked into a store on the side by mistake by trying to turn my head! I can see what they were trying to do by making a giant of a city, but Godzilla even had a limit on size!  I HATE THAT CITY! Okay…Soap box is done. *takes deep breathes*

Region Design: 7 out of 10: It was so/so, a tad too loopy for my liking. The LONG gap between gym one and two, almost TWO hours of random game play drove me nuts! The mansion was cool, but not that cool and I HATED chasing the fluffy poodle dog Pokemon! And I had to keep going back to that BLASTED city!  The routes were awesome though; I loved how unique they all were!

Bad Guys:  6 out of 10: Team Flare…yeah…I couldn’t have thought of a lamer team.  At least the other teams, no matter how bad the outfits, were sometimes challenging.  I did like Lysander and was SO upset he was the bad guy! His plan was downright evil and you could tell he had something happen in his past, so I give them props for that. That whole I pick the right lever to save the world and the mad scientist pulls the other one anyway…So unfair! Team Flare fizzled out for me and even their fashion sense could not be ‘made to work’ to paraphrase my fashion hero, Tim Gunn.

Pokemon of Generation VI: 11 out of 15: There were a few Pokemon I did like…but not many.  I’ll make a list with my issues: many of the Pokemon just looked like blobs! Anyone else notice that?  The Pokedex entries are INSANE on so many levels and some make little sense.  This is common with Pokemon, but…yeah, just read a few…Wasn’t fond of the three different Pokedexs either BTW; just give me the National!  Was disappointed in the fairy types. They had some okay moves, but the new fairy Pokemon were not too my liking.  I was hoping this would prove to the world how cool fairies were…guess not…And, there were only 70 Pokemon! That’s at least 30 less than normal! What the heck Game Freak? Everyone makes fun of Generation 5, but I think Generation 6 beat them; at least the Gen. V Pokemon HAD shapes!!! I did, however, LOVE how they had so many Pokemon from other generations from the start! They need to do that all the time! I DID LOVE MY STARTER! I mean, my two favorite types ever, Fire and Psychic, in ONE POKEMON! EPIC!

Battles: 14 out of 15: The battles were so beautifully animated.  I actually felt bad when I fainted a Pokemon because it gave me such a sad look.  🙁  The trainers REALLY looked like their spites, which made my mind calm down.  There was a good variety of trainers too and plenty, but not an insane amount like some games.  The backgrounds changed too along with the time of day of battle.  The sky battles were challenging, but I really liked the idea.  The only thing I was not found of was the herds.  I got a few cute Pokemon out of them, but they took so long.  I wish I could have two Pokemon out for those.  Team or Double battles were great too. THANK JIGGLYPUFF ROTATION BATTLES AND 3 WAY BATTLES WERE NOT A REQUIRMENT! Those things can burn by Ninetails’ fire as we make S’mores for all I care!

I did have lots of On-line trouble with my game, I think like many people did and I know all the updates have been annoying and a tad creepy they can track me like that! 0.o  But, there were some other things I really enjoyed:

The SUPER, SONIC THE HEDEHOG fast speed it took to save! That was a breath of fresh air each time!!!

The references to other regions in past games.  It was like “Guess Who” with no pictures for us long time or true fans!

I really did enjoy the EX share and how it could be used for all the Pokemon at once in your party, but it made me too strong sometimes and sort of took the hard work and fun out of training.  I think if they would take the rate of change and add half of that number to it then it would be still very beneficial, but a tad more challenging like we are used to, especially since Gen 4 and Gen 5 were much harder in my opinion.  I can see going back to a more basic form to not make fans flustered, but making it age 5 level after an age 16 is a big difference! Derrick and I thought the game was too easy.  Again, just a slight increase would be good.

I did like how I could use TMs again and how my backpack was organized, my Pokemon on the side. Such a time saver!

To make things better, I would LOVE to have three things: a REAL Safari Zone, SECRET BASES BACK (like in Ruby and Sapphire, not Diamond and Pearl’s), and having my Pokémon follow behind me like in Heart Gold and Soul Silver! I LOVE THAT!!!

Overall, I give Pokemon X total of 80/100 score, a B-grade.  It’s lower than I first thought, but points are points.  I still really loved this game and so look forward to Pokemon Z (?).  Maybe Nintendo will read this and take some of my advice! HA!  =D

Thanks for reading! Comment if you agree, what you liked or didn’t like about the game, or add my friend code: Maybe we can Wonder Trade! 3411-1610-1899

Pokeout! *power fist*

 

Morgan S. Comnick

 

 

Below is my team X only team and my ranking of X/Y to the other main games:

Dream Generation VI only team: Fennekin to Braixen to Delphox, Fletching to Flectchinder to Talonflame, Vivillon, Litelo to Pyroar, Amaura to Aurorus, Pancham to Pangoro

Only others I may consider: Skiddo, Florges series, Furfrou, Helioptile, Sylveon, Dedenne, and Dragalge

 

 

 

Top Games of main series:

Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald

Black and White, Black and White 2

Gold and Silver (and Crystal)

Yellow AND X and Y (tied)

Diamond, Pearl, Platinum