Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another Belated Review. Pokemon has been a franchise that I've spoken in-depth on the Blog. I've talked about how stagnated and unoriginal aspects of the franchise are irritating as balls! and I've even defended Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity from harsh and unfair criticism. And because these things work in threes it's time I did my review. But not just any review! A Belated Review.. for those unfamiliar with the structure it'll work like thus;
I'll be looking at key areas within the game...
Looky Looky - how does the game look, sound etc?
Clicky Clicky - how does the game play? is it accessible to new users?
Fluffy Fluffy! - what's the story, characters, setting etc. like?
YAY or Nay! - Did I have fun with it, was it entertaining
And then finally I'd pose the question of whether I think it's still a good purchase. This is possibly the most unbelated Belated review I've ever done; as the game only came out last month... But still.. without further ado...Pokemon X & Y
(as Always- SPOILERS!!)
Chapter 1 - Looky Looky
The biggest change for 6th generation Pokemon is the transition to fully 3D. Finally your character can move diagonally and in a full circle. The result of this is a vibrant and genuinely stunning world. The tech of the 3DS is shown in full force. The sound assets are incredible and the music for this one is the best yet. Lumious city's music brought a single tear to my eyes with childish nostalgia (as the sound is still distinctly Pokemon) And there's even a remix of the original battle theme when battling a certain cave dwelling Pokemon. Battles have received a considerable new lick of paint as well. Borrowing from the style of Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon now fight on a three dimensional plain. Animations have received a boost from previous gens, all Pokemon are now rendered in 3D and there are even destructible environments here and there. The game as well as it's formula has been tuned up considerably and it shows.
The main issues however is, yet again, with the 3DS 3D functionality. It's virtually unusable. It's turned off in the over-world as during beta testing the frame rate made walking around almost unplayable. This means the 3D is only used in battles. Now this wouldn't be too bad... if the same problem wasn't here as well. With small early game, not too flashy battles the 3D works fantastically, However you'll start to find that when the game progresses and your moves and Pokemon become more and more flashy.. You'll find yourself counting individual frames as the game is brought to a crawl... Yet again people, I would recommend turning the 3D off for this one. Which is a shame, because the 3D looks actually alright here... when it doesn't effect the frame rate.
Before we move onto Gameplay, I would mention one thing; - Pokemon cries, the sound a Pokemon makes as you encounter it in battle or otherwise. Pikachu, the franchise mascot actually has the cry associated with it in the anime; the classic "pika Pika Chuuuuuu" Bull shit needy teenage girls try to imitate in order to seem more cute. My only problem with it is that it's only Pikachu that makes this detailed sound... Really Game freak? You had the chance to innovate the sound of Pokemon to make them more realistic (as realistic as a plasma firing key chain can be) ... Come on, maybe next gen? Please?
Conclusion - Best looking and sounding Pokemon game to date.
Chapter 2 - Clicky Clicky
OH BOY THERE'S A LOT TO TALK ABOUT. Because I don't really fancy old age I'm going to bullet point as much as I can.. because otherwise this chapter may go on for a bit.
Chapter 3 - Fluffy Fluffy -
This is actually my favourite Pokemon story to date. It actually has characters you actually WANT to meet other than your rival. Now while there's a rather awkward semi-romance"?" scene at one point which made me super awkward (mainly because I'm almost old enough to be her father!) apart from this the story is actually well thought with SOME (though no many) deeper themes, such as war, national barriers and social equality .. as well as some aspects of penis envy... maybe that's just my interpretation of the rival character.......
The major feel I get from this game is that's constantly shouting at you "FEEL NOSTALGIC!" And when I mean constantly I mean every other fucking route! A Gen one starter is just given to you almost off the bat, which, while making me a little emotional seeing the first ever Pokemon I ever experienced (Charmander) I still ended up saying to myself "I wish I was experiencing this fresh. This is highlighted by the lack of new Pokemon.. New ideas are thrown to the side in favour of what fans know and love.. it's like they collected the majority of fan favourites and jammed them together.
As is the curse with a franchise that has been going on for as long as Pokemon has been going... Yes, I feel nostalgic.. Yes, seeing a pidgey on the first route did bring back memories of catching 5 pidgeys in a row because I had no idea that the Pokemon would get cooler later on... And there were many old memories brought back, like the first time I ever caught a legendary (Zapdos) But at times the game felt as if just this way okay for a section.. It isn't... I didn't buy the next gen Pokemon game just so I could have it with a fresh lick of paint... I wanted more improvements... not parallel ones. it's like buying a new bed.. If you want to improve the experience you may for from a Single bed to a Double bed... Or maybe you might throw the idea out the window and just get a new mattress, You don't buy the exact Bed you've got just so you can experience the "new-bed" feeling if you want something new... and that's the general feeling I got from this game.
The back story, if you can be arsed/have enough time to search for it is quite interesting. And while it does mix up the Pokemon formula in a conceptual sense I would have been cool to actually play through it rather than just hear it as a history lesson... I won't spoil it for people who haven't played through the game.. but its like dangling a piece of cheese in front of us and then telling us we could have had it last week... but you can't have it any more.
Conclusion - While nostalgic at times I would have liked it to take more original choices.. the story, while still being my favourite so far, is still just a Pokemon story... which aren't known for their emotional involvement with me.
Yay or Nay?
I've had a lot of fun with this latest Pokemon game. I've been playing it a lot. It's great fun and while it doesn't change much of the formula of other Pokemon games, it's still a joy to play and experience. Its pumped full of nostalgia and while it may feel like the same-game-again, it's the definitely best I've played in a long time.
However if you're new to Pokemon and/or don't like JRPG's or didn't like previous Pokemon games, this will do NOTHING to draw you in. You can tell this game was made for the fans rather than trying to attract new audiences.
With this in mind... While I would recommend this game to anyone, I'm a fair believer that experiences and appreciations may vary from person to person, more so then other Pokemon games. It's end game is so lacking I may not return to it until the Pokemon Bank comes out, allowing for more Pokemon to be added.. and with new Online functionality my hopes for DLC are quite high as there's some potential for some amazing add ons. But of course we're talking about Nintendo, the company who thinks charging £4 for a SNES game is a good idea.
With this in mind... go out and try it.. there's a demo on the Nintendo 3DS store page. This game definitely gives you your moneys worth and is good fun for what it is...
Thank you so much for reading.. Please feel free to leave your comments below or on Facebook if you hail from there... But Until next time... My names's Thespianhunter (and the master of the universe) Can we just give up on catching them all yet? But I'll catch you next time...
And then finally I'd pose the question of whether I think it's still a good purchase. This is possibly the most unbelated Belated review I've ever done; as the game only came out last month... But still.. without further ado...Pokemon X & Y
(as Always- SPOILERS!!)
Chapter 1 - Looky Looky
The biggest change for 6th generation Pokemon is the transition to fully 3D. Finally your character can move diagonally and in a full circle. The result of this is a vibrant and genuinely stunning world. The tech of the 3DS is shown in full force. The sound assets are incredible and the music for this one is the best yet. Lumious city's music brought a single tear to my eyes with childish nostalgia (as the sound is still distinctly Pokemon) And there's even a remix of the original battle theme when battling a certain cave dwelling Pokemon. Battles have received a considerable new lick of paint as well. Borrowing from the style of Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon now fight on a three dimensional plain. Animations have received a boost from previous gens, all Pokemon are now rendered in 3D and there are even destructible environments here and there. The game as well as it's formula has been tuned up considerably and it shows.
The main issues however is, yet again, with the 3DS 3D functionality. It's virtually unusable. It's turned off in the over-world as during beta testing the frame rate made walking around almost unplayable. This means the 3D is only used in battles. Now this wouldn't be too bad... if the same problem wasn't here as well. With small early game, not too flashy battles the 3D works fantastically, However you'll start to find that when the game progresses and your moves and Pokemon become more and more flashy.. You'll find yourself counting individual frames as the game is brought to a crawl... Yet again people, I would recommend turning the 3D off for this one. Which is a shame, because the 3D looks actually alright here... when it doesn't effect the frame rate.
Before we move onto Gameplay, I would mention one thing; - Pokemon cries, the sound a Pokemon makes as you encounter it in battle or otherwise. Pikachu, the franchise mascot actually has the cry associated with it in the anime; the classic "pika Pika Chuuuuuu" Bull shit needy teenage girls try to imitate in order to seem more cute. My only problem with it is that it's only Pikachu that makes this detailed sound... Really Game freak? You had the chance to innovate the sound of Pokemon to make them more realistic (as realistic as a plasma firing key chain can be) ... Come on, maybe next gen? Please?
Conclusion - Best looking and sounding Pokemon game to date.
Chapter 2 - Clicky Clicky
OH BOY THERE'S A LOT TO TALK ABOUT. Because I don't really fancy old age I'm going to bullet point as much as I can.. because otherwise this chapter may go on for a bit.
- A circle pad, linked to a pair of roller skates, faster than walking (using the D-Pad) and running but not as fast as a Bike. You can even teach your player little tips and tricks like 360 spins. This makes getting around for the first quarter of the game much faster.
- Super training. Via playing a small mini-game, the player can boost effort values (EV's) out of combat much faster than otherwise in other games. Different Pokemon behave differently in this game and have their own strengths and weaknesses (Horsea fires quickly but loses a lot of points if hit while Gastly is a slow shooter, but gets more points for powerful shots and loses less points if hit.)
- 454 Pokemon in total (the most in any game to date) without trading from other generations (coming soon) A relatively small array of new Pokemon, which doesn't matter too much. (will build on this in next chapter)
- A new type (fairy type) changes the competitive scene around somewhat and keeps battles fresh and interesting, annoying for old players at first as you'll learn the hard way how badly they can fuck you one of your dragons.
- Much better trade integration with mystery trade (trade a Pokemon with a random trainer) Sometimes you get something good, for example of I got a version exclusive from Y and a full set of the different starters within two days and then other times I got Pokemon you can get from the first piece of grass... experiences may vary.
- With the added and improved online functionality, online play flows much more fluidly. There's an odd bug where closing the 3DS XL system with the game still playing causes you to lose connectivity, But I'm sure if that's an issue for other people. Apart from this, it's a breeze to connect to the internet, battle with your friends and harass a stranger because he thinks Grass types are the best...
- Pokemon Amie or as I like to call it "Pokemon-Nintendogs" Is okay. The immersion factor with your Pokemon is very much appreciated but it has limited appeal. There's only so many times you can make faces at a Gengar before you start to get bored.
- Late game is pretty poor, with the exception of Battle Mansion,Online play and a mini-side quest. There's no PWT which I was looking forward to seeing. But oh well. Little to know re-playability other than to try out a different way of building your team... I couldn't really recommend playing the game a second time unless you get another version. It's just too much of a slog fest.
- Mega-evolutions are surprisingly balanced and are a fun addition to the already collectable nature of the game. It's also fun to quote He-man as your Pokemon do their best imitation of the transformation sequence... (the amount of times I found my self saying to myself; "I have the power" got rather comical
- The game is too god dam easy! Laughably so. In the entire game I lost one match because I forgot to heal my Pokemon after a relatively somewhat difficult fight. The EXP-share now gives XP to ALL Pokemon in your party. This means that most of the time you'll be several levels over the enemies Pokemon. They do level this out to a degree however come the Elite Four (who all had 4 level 60-odd Pokemon) I was at times 10 levels above them, which made the fights considerably more easy.) While on the subject of the Elite Four, they're the worst yet. They're too easy, a boring/poor selection of Pokemon, they're not hard enough, lack proper AI to make them that extra level of challenge like in the other Pokemon games and they lack that X-Factor which makes the Elite Four battles such exciting battles. I beat the Each of the trainers without evening bringing out 2 of my Pokemon in my 6 Pokemon team...
- Whoever thought Klefki was a good idea is an idiot. Now, while I've warmed up slightly to Vanillite and it's evolutionary lines (yes that is an intended pun) When the suit of armoured Elite Four member, instead of throwing something that could actually challenge you or fit his character, the throws his keys at you; You know that someone is an idiot when they think a key chain is a dangerous weapon... so they added the fact it can FIRE PLASMA!
- No game corner (Pokemon's version of a Casino) and No full safari, there's the friend safari at the end of the game, But when you're like me and have no friends it's pretty useless. This would have helped the end game some what, and it's a missed addition, and an over sight in my opinion.
- Battles still follow the standard formula, while there are sky battles every so often, they're no different from normal battles other than the fact you can only use Pokemon that fly... A little disappointing.
- Hoard battles are too annoying. You have to watch each Pokemon's fight animation and move animation, it takes the frame rate even with 3D turned off and while it may seem cool the first 10 times it gets old REALLY fast.
- While riding Pokemon is an advertised feature, you'll find yourself doing it a grand total of 3 times, with 1 (that I know of) secret/optional. It's SUPER tagged on at the end and doesn't really serve much purpose other than to slow you down and gawk at the scenery every so often. (The Game REALLY wants you to look around. It will pause the progress constantly to try and make you appreciate your surroundings. While they are pretty, I like doing it without being told to. It's like clapping someone who's asked for a clap... it takes all the real out of it... you're doing it because your forced to not because you want to, which is bad game design.
Chapter 3 - Fluffy Fluffy -
This is actually my favourite Pokemon story to date. It actually has characters you actually WANT to meet other than your rival. Now while there's a rather awkward semi-romance"?" scene at one point which made me super awkward (mainly because I'm almost old enough to be her father!) apart from this the story is actually well thought with SOME (though no many) deeper themes, such as war, national barriers and social equality .. as well as some aspects of penis envy... maybe that's just my interpretation of the rival character.......
The major feel I get from this game is that's constantly shouting at you "FEEL NOSTALGIC!" And when I mean constantly I mean every other fucking route! A Gen one starter is just given to you almost off the bat, which, while making me a little emotional seeing the first ever Pokemon I ever experienced (Charmander) I still ended up saying to myself "I wish I was experiencing this fresh. This is highlighted by the lack of new Pokemon.. New ideas are thrown to the side in favour of what fans know and love.. it's like they collected the majority of fan favourites and jammed them together.
As is the curse with a franchise that has been going on for as long as Pokemon has been going... Yes, I feel nostalgic.. Yes, seeing a pidgey on the first route did bring back memories of catching 5 pidgeys in a row because I had no idea that the Pokemon would get cooler later on... And there were many old memories brought back, like the first time I ever caught a legendary (Zapdos) But at times the game felt as if just this way okay for a section.. It isn't... I didn't buy the next gen Pokemon game just so I could have it with a fresh lick of paint... I wanted more improvements... not parallel ones. it's like buying a new bed.. If you want to improve the experience you may for from a Single bed to a Double bed... Or maybe you might throw the idea out the window and just get a new mattress, You don't buy the exact Bed you've got just so you can experience the "new-bed" feeling if you want something new... and that's the general feeling I got from this game.
The back story, if you can be arsed/have enough time to search for it is quite interesting. And while it does mix up the Pokemon formula in a conceptual sense I would have been cool to actually play through it rather than just hear it as a history lesson... I won't spoil it for people who haven't played through the game.. but its like dangling a piece of cheese in front of us and then telling us we could have had it last week... but you can't have it any more.
Conclusion - While nostalgic at times I would have liked it to take more original choices.. the story, while still being my favourite so far, is still just a Pokemon story... which aren't known for their emotional involvement with me.
Yay or Nay?
I've had a lot of fun with this latest Pokemon game. I've been playing it a lot. It's great fun and while it doesn't change much of the formula of other Pokemon games, it's still a joy to play and experience. Its pumped full of nostalgia and while it may feel like the same-game-again, it's the definitely best I've played in a long time.
However if you're new to Pokemon and/or don't like JRPG's or didn't like previous Pokemon games, this will do NOTHING to draw you in. You can tell this game was made for the fans rather than trying to attract new audiences.
With this in mind... While I would recommend this game to anyone, I'm a fair believer that experiences and appreciations may vary from person to person, more so then other Pokemon games. It's end game is so lacking I may not return to it until the Pokemon Bank comes out, allowing for more Pokemon to be added.. and with new Online functionality my hopes for DLC are quite high as there's some potential for some amazing add ons. But of course we're talking about Nintendo, the company who thinks charging £4 for a SNES game is a good idea.
With this in mind... go out and try it.. there's a demo on the Nintendo 3DS store page. This game definitely gives you your moneys worth and is good fun for what it is...
Thank you so much for reading.. Please feel free to leave your comments below or on Facebook if you hail from there... But Until next time... My names's Thespianhunter (and the master of the universe) Can we just give up on catching them all yet? But I'll catch you next time...
