Review: Pokemon Y

Hi all, sorry for the extreme gap for reviews, gotta hate it when life gets in the way. Anyway, here is my next item up for review, the long awaited Pokemon 3ds game Pokemon Y.

The story is quite simple, you go on a journey to collect as many pokemon as you can while battling evildoers, gym leaders, and your friends (both in game and in real life). The game introduces around 60 new pokemon (including evolutions) and has many of the old ones catchable so there are some old favorites to be had. The game is also the first pokemon to be 3d on a handheld, taking a giant step away from the 2d pokemon we know and love and also allows you to customize your characters appearance, another first for Pokemon. However, I do have my complaints about it. They put effort into you and your rival with the battling and the occasional opponent you face, but the majority, including gym leaders, remains as 2d sprites which makes battling them a bit awkward when you see your hand fly out throwing the ball and all you see is a flat opponent to congratulate you when you win. The pokemon and their moves however are beautifully done and their moves and movements are fluid. To try to add a bit more strategy to the game they added Mega Evolutions, which gives me mixed feelings. It's a good addition, but some of the mega evolutions look absolutely ridiculous, which might make some wonder if they should put their pokemon through the change to get more power. Some pokemon go through a type change, such as Charizard and its X evolution, which gives it the Dragon type, adding to the strategy. However, once your Mega pokemon goes down and you revive it you can't evolve it again for the remainder of the battle. It's cool enough though to make me wonder why they don't give 2 evolutions to the other starters, Charizard and Mewtwo have an X and Y evolution but Blastoise, Venusaur and the others only have 1.

Similar to Black and White you don't have to use HMs to get around, allowing exploration without using an HM slave or putting unwanted HMs on your team. There are also new places to battle along the way, such as the Battle Chateau, you can grow berries and even customize what your character wears that give plenty to do in between gyms. Once you beat the game there are even sidequests,
allowing you to extend your journey besides trying to catch more pokemon.  The game has memorable characters, namely the troupe you travel with, as opposed to traveling alone friends (npcs) travel with you making the journey a bit more lively, though it lacks challenge somewhat unless you impose restrictions on yourself to add challenge. Several times I found myself higher in level than the gym leader, a first compared to the other pokemon games I played moving at a similar pace.

The game has online like before, you can trade with friends or battle with them. Gamefreak also introduced a cooperative aspect of sorts, a set of powers you can use on yourself or on a friend to give them boosts, such as cheaper items to buy from the Pokestore. As you level them up they get stronger so they do have their uses. You can also gain acquaintances and can challenge random people if you connect online, so if you have an urge you don't have to go to the pokecenter, a nice change of pace from having to wait until getting to one.

Overall, the game is refreshing enough to warrant another round in the Pokemon world, and for newcomers it brings a lot to the table, however if you were hoping for drastic change, you will most likely still be waiting for the pokemon game to suit your tastes.

Overall I give Pokemon Y: 8/10

I didn't review Pokemon X as they are similar with the exception of small story sections, the legendary, and exclusive pokemon.