Pokémon X/Y Could/Should Have Been So Much More

This is just going to be a randomly-cobbled-together list of observations about Pokémon Y that I’ll keep updating as I play more of the game. Most of these points are probably going to be complaints, unfortunately, as I find that at nearly every turn, the game makes me envision what could have been, rather than delivering a great experience.


Update: OK, I'm now finding more things to like about the game, and so, we're going to split this up into "Like" and "Dislike" sections.

What I dislike:

• The game doesn’t seem to have a visual style in particular, which is the #1 thing that hurts it, in my opinion. Looking back, perhaps the previous games didn’t really “need” an art style, because just being in 2D gave them a unique enough look. Now that we’ve transitioned to 3D, X/Y look bland. Too much like a cartoony version of the real world.

• Likewise, stereoscopic 3D, which could really have helped offset the bland style and help bring the world to life, isn’t present. It’s especially frustrating on the various routes, where there’s a lot of interesting flora all around, that would stand out in 3D.

• There’s a slight bit of loading when you try to enter/exit various menus, which is very, very annoying. It’s the kind of thing that becomes more and more noticeable over long periods of play, especially when you do so many battles in a row and need to heal up.

• The camera in Lumiose City is horrid. I’m not sure why it takes a second or two to catch up to your character, or why it swivels the way it does. God damn it, Game Freak, take a look at the competition out there and take notes! Other developers figured this stuff out 10 years ago.

• Night time in this game doesn’t even look like night, which is very disappointing, since the night would give the world a different feel in previous games, and adventuring at night felt more exciting. I’m not sure why day/night look the same?

• Pokémon seem expressionless during battle sometimes, which looks very out of place. This is another result of going 3D, but hey, there was no avoiding it.

• The framerate during battles is just infuriating.

• Horde battles are very annoying. They add nothing to the game, and they give you EXP a a little too slowly early on, unless you have an area-of-effect move (which you don’t).

• The options for interacting with other players online feel too limited. For starters, all you can do is battle or trade, and early on, there isn’t a lot of incentive to trade, since everyone has access the same Pokémon. Perhaps this issue could be addressed in future games by randomizing distribution each individual copy of the game. Randomization could be based on a number of factors like the model number of your 3DS and your trainer’s name. It wouldn’t be hard to do, and it would give each player a unique experience.

• (The downside to the point above, though, is an issue that is already prevalent in X/Y, which is that the distribution robs each route of its identity, instead of giving it its own unique feel. For example, instead of the first forest being filled with Bugs and grass types, you have Pikachu and the Pan-monkeys wandering around early on in the game, too. While that does give players access to a wider variety of Pokémon early on, it also makes each area less memorable.)

• There’s still no way to allow other trainers to enter your game and to go exploring together or have them influence things in your game, which is unfortunate.

• Pokémon X/Y have a “Shout Out!” feature, which is meant to be used when something exciting happens in your game and broadcast your excitement to other players. That said, it seems a little too pointless and limiting when you can’t even take a screenshot and share it with everyone else. How are people supposed to share in your excitement?

• The lack of a Pokégear or any other sort of field instrument is disappointing. In Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver, you could use Pokégear to custom select music in the game, listen to various radio stations, or make/receive phone calls from other trainers. It was a great touch that made the world feel more alive, and made you care more about the characters. Unfortunately, any such option for customization your journey is absent here, and makes X/Y feel like you’re just having the same experience as everyone else.

What I like:

• Blank facial expressions aside, the Pokémon look really nice modeled in 3D. It makes collecting more fun just in order to see more of your favourite Pokémon with 3D models and animations.

• The Type-combinations in X/Y are very diverse. Just as one example, the obligatory "Pidgey" equivalent that you find early on in the very first route is a Fire/Flying type. Up until now, that type combination was something reserved exclusively for Charizard (a starter) and Moltres (a legendary).

• The "Wonder Trade" feature is amazing. In short, you put up a Pokémon for trading, without knowing what you'll get in return. The game finds you a trading partner and you both exchange Pokémon, with no prior knowledge of what you'll get back. Sometimes you get sucky Pokémon, and sometimes you get amazing Pokémon. I once put a Doduo that I'd just caught up for trading, and got a Lvl. 32 Venusaur in return. I felt bad for the person who traded with me.

• In fact, I felt so bad for the person that traded with me, that I felt like I owed the Pokémon community some good karma, and so I'm going to level up a nice Pokémon just to give away to someone over Wonder Trade. This game makes you want to do nice things for other people. That's an incredibly powerful thing.

• Wonder Trading is about as addictive as gambling. You just want to keep doing it, several times a day, just to see what you get back.  

More to come...