Random Thoughts #3: Pokemon X & Y, my experiences with Pokemon

Hey everybody, hope you guys are having a good week. Well just yesterday (Tuesday to be exact), I bought guess what, yes I got Pokemon X for the 3DS! Although my exams are in 4 weeks, I just couldn't resist the temptation. But I am limiting myself to a maximum of 2 hours a day (is that a lot?) to play the game, and as of now, I am still taking my time with the game.

Pokemon X- Isn't the deer legendary just amazing looking?

Now, the main reason I bought this game was just because I felt that since I followed the Pokemon franchise from the Ruby/Sapphire days back in 2003 (Although I did play Red version and Gold version later), I figured- why not pick up a copy of Pokemon X? I didn't really do much research into it, so I kind of went into the game not knowing anything about the new Pokemon etc. and I'll come to my first impressions of it later. But why did I choose Pokemon X instead of Pokemon Y? I think it was the cover Legendary Pokemon that sold it for me. A deer with rainbow antlers or a weird Y shaped wyvern-thing? Give me the rainbow deer anytime. Well, before I proceed, I would like to warn all those who have not played the game that I may reveal some spoilers about the game (although as of now I have only reached the first gym and completed that), so I guess the spoilers in terms of plot won't be so significant, and I might do a full-on review once I get to finishing the main storyline and side-quests.

First Impressions:

Now, Pokemon X and Y are set in a new region, the Kalos region. The beginning is pretty much the same, although the way in which you get your starter Pokemon is not directly from some Professor-named-after-a-tree, but from your new 'friends' (how kind). I cant say too much about the battling system, its' reminiscent of the Diamond/Pearl and Black/White type of touchscreen interface, albeit more polished and with some slight differences (not really significant). But the thing that sold it for me so far would be the graphics, a notch up from the previous Black/White and other generations preceding it, although I was happy they did keep the L-button = A-button option, that is really convenient for single-handed play (although I don't know why anyone would do that). Another thing that struck me would be the ability to see 'passers-by' online, it really made the world of Pokemon seem much larger and I realized that Pokemon has such a wide reach and has impacted many, like myself. But one thing that was slightly off for me was that the picking up of items took a while with the new animation they implemented, as well as the battles seem to be slightly slower paced, (not that I am rushing through the game or anything) with all the animations and what-not, even after I disabled the battle animations (hey I just don't like to see the battle animations, don't ask me why, just personal preferences, haha)

Some of the Pokemon games that I played, couldn't find them all (pun intended)

Now although I have played close to all the main Pokemon games from Sapphire being my very first experience with Pokemon, Emerald (I think I clocked more than 300 hours on that game alone), FireRed & LeafGreen (yes I played both), Diamond, Platinum (I even have the Japanese version of it), SoulSilver and finally most recently Black (I didn't get Black 2, mainly because I felt the differences were too minor to warrant me getting it, and personally I didn't really like the 5th Generation Pokemon), I was blown away by the huge leap in graphics by GameFreak this time to utilize the 3D function (although in some cases may seem underwhelming and gimmicky), but still the way the game was worked (I am still getting used to using the Circle-pad on my 3DS), and the overall graphic changes were such that although it made the game look more appealing, it did not detract from the overall nostalgia that I had when I chose my first Pokemon, and the background music so far is just...fantastic.

That being said, I am no pro at Pokemon, although I do know about effort values, Natures, breeding and all those mechanics behind Pokemon, I personally do not care for them, with the exception of once I tried to create a Attack & Speed variant of Gallade (my favourite Pokemon, besides Blaziken), I have never bothered to EV train my Pokemon, or breed them for 'special' egg moves, so you can say that I am a Poke-noob. But who cares, its' the fun from playing Pokemon that makes the experience all the more unique to every player, instead of mechanically training and breeding the 'super-Pokemon', although I am not in any way discouraging you from doing so (but it is really boring and taxing).

Back to Pokemon X. Hmm for now, with the limited time that I have played on my 3DS for this game, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has played Pokemon before and are looking for the game to jump back into the Pokemon world, this is the game for you. For those who have never played Pokemon before (where were you the last 18 years), this fresh take on Pokemon does not disappoint (for now) and although revolutionary in graphics, Pokemon stays true to what it knows best, soothing background music and the simple gameplay makes it really a game for all ages, for both beginners and old players alike. This is speaking from a player who has played almost all the versions of Pokemon, although in recent years has become less hardcore. But I think the money paid for Pokemon X is worth very single cent. It is likely I will do a final review and score it once I have finished the main story, so do look out for that post (won't be anytime soon though).

On a side note (but still related to this in some way), do you guys think I should continue to post sections on 'Random Thoughts' in between every Cardfight Vanguard article? I will create a poll to see how the response is like, if for some reason you guys like the current posting format I will continue to do so, so do vote on whether I should continue to post these types of articles, and feel free to comment on how I can improve/ what I can include in future posts in the Comments Section below. But thats' it from me for now, thanks for reading and until next time,

EndBlade