Gotta Catch This One: A Review of Pokemon X & Y

It’s time to “catch ‘em all” once again! This time in all new adventure.

Introducing the newest installment of the Pokemon series, Pokemon X & Y. The new setting of the game is called the Kalos region, and so far the landscape is far more advanced than any previous version. With all new Pokemon to catch, new gyms to battle, and a new threat to the Pokemon world, Pokemon X & Y has to be the best Pokemon game in the history of the series .

You start off the game like any other Pokemon game, creating you own character, then from there you pick one of the three starter type Pokemon … the grass type Chespin, the fire type Fennekin, and the water type Froakie. It is here you meet your friend circle and go off on an adventure in the new Kalos region, along with some new Pokemon to catch and train. I will start off by saying that X & Y breaks the mold that all previous Pokemon games had. This game gives the player more options to venture into this world that, in my opinion, was lacking in the previous games.

The character you create is unique due to the customization options available to you through the boutiques, a first in the series. But not only are trainer options new, but for the first time since Generation 2, we have a new Pokemon type. Fairy type Pokemon was revealed, and including some old Pokemon those now classified as fairy type Pokemon include Jigglypuff, Gardevoir, and Marill, the all new “eeveelution,” Slyveon. Fairy type Pokemon are Super Effective against dragon type Pokemon, but weak to poison and steel types.

With the addition of fairy types in this game, it changes gameplay in a way that makes everything feel balanced. It doesn’t feel like one type is strongest, while others suffer. Also another new feature called Pokemon-Amie was revealed. This feature will allow you to get closer with your Pokemon. This makes evolving certain pokemon easier, as well as make them perform better in battle.

Speaking of Pokemon battles — we finally have 3-D models of each Pokemon in this game. This makes the battles look much better, and when you run into hoards — which are a group of 5 Pokemon that will approach you in the wild — it makes for some awesome Pokemon battles.

Something else that should be mentioned is how impressive the graphics are in this game, and how well this game uses the 3Ds 3-D feature. You really noticed this as you step into the gyms, and especially the Elite 4.

Story wise, in my opinion, the game basically hands the player too much. The difficulty in this game seems catered to the new Pokemon trainer. This is very noticeable in many points of the game, but due to them being story-related I won’t post about them. However this game comes with a lot of content. My favorite feature has been the friend safari. By exchanging codes with people you can expand your friend safari allowing you to catch rare Pokemon based off a random type you receive from a person. Also with the addition of online play, you can battle against and trade with people across the world.

Pokemon X & Y is a more than welcome change to the Pokemon world, and with new content in the works for the game, it will definitely only make the Pokemon world even bigger! Pokemon X & Y gets a 4 out of 5.