Games You SHOULDN'T Buy #3 - Pokémon X and Y

[Sterling]

How exactly? What's fun about playing a game where enemies go down in one or two hits? I'd say wanting more Pokemon in X/Y is "akin to crying in the rain" since even though doesn't have as many new Pokemon the older ones make up for it, not overleveling. Playing a game that's too easy isn't fun to play.
While I'll agree with you that the Pokemon games have never been the hardest games that doesn't mean they've been easy.
All the Pokemon games have provided a moderate challenge, X/Y sadly does not provide that.

You and I must have been played different pokemon games in the past decade. Nothing but wild mobs ever went down in two hits, and if a leader's monster did, it was either due to good planning and strategy, or I overleveled. Kalos is no different.

No matter how you look at it this is just unacceptable. The series has been improving on it's post end-game content since Generation Three (If you do not count Kanto from G/S/C/HG/SS. So what if we got Mewtwo? One Pokemon does not make up the possible hours that a player could have added if Game Freak didn't lazily think "WELP LET'S RELY ON NOSTALGIA! THAT'LL SURELY MAKE UP FOR IT!"

When the game switched gens the first time, all of G/S/C content was shoved out of the way. R/S/E had arguably about the same amount of endgame content as X and Y did, and Platinum was the one with the MOST content because of how much better they were able to use their resources. I'm not arguing it wasn't rush, but what's there is polished like a bronzong mirror. Simplifying it to Mewtwo is over simplifying it, I merely mentioned him because it was a nod to older players. Plus, keep in mind that the games are getting huge. They're still trying to get the hang of the hardware.

Going to have to disagree here. I'm a long term player but X/Y did nothing to me but doubt my faith in the franchise. It's a very bland game that has to have been rushed. There's no possible way a game this boring was meant to be the final product.
Especially the map design which were really simple and straight forward except for Lumiose City

If Pokemon X/Y did something right it was to show what the 3DS is capable of doing from a hardware perspective when it comes to future Pokemon games.

If all it takes is one game to doubt an entire franchise, games like Gears of War and Elder Scrolls would have died out after it's long-time fans moved away. Don't just straight up lie to me. If you didn't truly enjoy the game, you wouldn't have played until the end no one tortures themselves willingly like that. Rush and bland are two very different things, and X and Y is rich in both world and features. Could it have been better with a few more months of development? Probably not. Maybe six more, but I have a feeling it wouldn't add as much content as you're expecting and with the amount of polish they already had, it makes me doubt even further.


And as a person who's played from gen one, I'll have to disagree with your disagreement. X and Y has not only pushed revolutionary mechanics (adding a new type and online integration), but it also simplified aggravating and toilsome mechanics. Map design was by far the best of the games. The 3D transfer actually made things like route 8 and victory road come to life like never before. I'm super excited for both of the remakes because Hoenn was my absolute favorite region.

As for Lumiose City... I guess you've noticed why simple and straightforward design is better. That city is a pain in the ass to navigate, even when you're familiar with it. That's one of my biggest complaints. It's always city this, city that. Why can't they be unique like Sootopolis, or Goldenrod? Instead, these cities act as like a giant hub to other parts of the region. It's really annoying to have to keep going back.

 

[Ulieq]

Is it ok to say here that Pokemon sucks and Pokemon players are equated to nothing more than heroin addicts.

 

[Sterling]

Is it ok to say here that Pokemon sucks and Pokemon players are equated to nothing more than heroin addicts.

No, because blanket statements of this caliber is why we can't have nice things.

 

[RodrigoDavy]

Pokemon X and Y were noticeably rushed, although it wouldn't be fair saying Game Freak didn't work hard in this game. But the main problem is that the series need to review its basic concepts otherwise it'll always be in the same category as New Super Mario Bros. and Call of Duty. The reasons I believe X and Y sold so well are graphics and nostalgy.

I sold my Pokemon X game about a month ago, I have no regrets.

 

[osaka35]

So not really "games you shouldn't buy" but really "games that have some flaws that make me not like them too terribly much". A bit weak with the follow through, wouldn't you say?

 

[GameSystem]

Maybe we shouldn't buy this game because in a few months, X2/Y2/Z or w/e will come out and it'll be the same thing pretty much but with some added content and a nod to these games. So don't buy X/Y because the sequel will be better.

 

[Mikesahhh]

I thoroughly enjoyed playing through Pokemon X and my activity log said I spent 84 hours of my life on it, maybe because I hadnt played a pokemon game since gold came out on the GBC is one of the reasons I liked it so much , but I agree the biggest let down for me was definitely the difficulty (think the only times I remember dying was when I accidently started a sky battle with just like 1 low level piece of crap flying pokemon in my party lol)
Its a shame these pokemon games dont have a difficulty setting at the start of the game.

The online features of this game was awesome having a friends online list active on the bottom screen and being able to duel and trade and chat with them at anypoint and the global trade station (people were lovingg my haunters, even got a few legendarys trading those bad boys) and just being challenged by random players to duel were all features I was loving and when this game was launched I had like 3 other real life friends of mine who were all playing it at the same time so trying to get better pokemon to beat them in duels and for boast'y rights got a lot of extra hours and enjoyment then I would have if I was just playing this alone and offline all the time

But yeah think its a bit harsh putting this game in the Shouldn't buy catergory lol

 

[vayanui8]

While I do think this article has some excellent points, many of which I agree with, I don't think that these are reasons not to buy the game. My biggest gripes was the lack of the post game content and new pokemon. However, I felt like the quality of the pokemon this gen made up for the lack in quantity. I mean, who remembers the likes of lumineon or basculin? These games may have added less pokemon, but most of them are memorable, and gamefreak even went out of the way to make the early game pokemon viable party members with their hidden abilities. The lack of post game content is inexcusable however. In regards to the difficulty, I don't think it was too easy compared to the previous games. The entire franchise is extremely easy, so these weren't very far off previous entries in that regard. I do have to agree that the smaller parties were a letdown though. Similarly, the games have always had a terrible story so the weak plot was far from a surprise. The new "friends" were rather irritating, but they didn't appear too much thank God. The framerate drops are a problem, but they will hopefully be fixed in later iterations.
Pros:
improved breeding and training makes multiplayer much more competitive, and reduces grinding
mega evolutions make old favorites more viable in competitive battle, and breath new life into some forgotten ones as well
improved social features make training and battling even more convenient and enjoyable
hidden abilities have been used to make early pokemon viable where their predecessors were garbage while still making them balanced early in the game
Impressive new graphics for the series

Cons:
lack of postgame content
less pokemon, but there are still plenty of great additions
framerate drops
annoying "friend" characters
gym leaders and elite 4 have smaller parties

Overall I feel that saying you shouldn't say these are games you shouldn't buy. Sure they have their flaws, but they have excellent new ideas in them too. One thing I don't think I'll ever understand is why they don't add a hard mode though, as the difficulty has been a complaint for quite a while. And the unlockable in black and white 2 for it doesn't count because it hardly changed anything and foced you to beat the game first or borrow a friends copy to access it. Hardly changed anything either

 

[Ryukouki]

I kinda like this "Dissenting Ideas" column that someone mentioned earlier. I don't recall right this second who it was, but THANK YOU! I will definitely consider that. The only problem is now I have to sort games accordingly.

 

[TrapperKeeperX]

Being a huge Pokémon fan I'm not offended by this post. Everyone has their own opinion. I'll still buy Pokémon main series games regardless I do have X & Y and I do spend alot of time with my Pokémon games even I go to a Pokémon League and people do come up with great teams without the need of Legendary Pokémon it is a great game. I think Omega Ruby & Aqua Sapphire can potentially be the next Heart Gold & Soul Silver if they put Emerald features in Omega Ruby & Aqua Sapphire. They should Heart Gold & Soul Silver it I really want Pokémon Contests back in Omega Ruby & Aqua Sapphire and make the moves in 3D to make it look amazing on the 3DS. I know I'm going off topic but people will still buy Pokémon X & Y it's just an opinion if you love Pokémon buy this game it's literally the only Pokémon games you can play online on the 3DS. Well there is Pokémon Showdown which is fun and it helps you play competitively but that's on your computer.

 

[Pedeadstrian]

I've played every Gen (although I only know for a fact that I've beaten four of them), and after playing Gen 3, I told myself I'd stop. Then Gen 4 came. And I decided to try it. Then I said I'd stop. Then 5 came. Then I said I'd stop. Pokemon X/Y was no exception to this trend. I beat it, but with a "So what?" feeling at the end. Pokemon Aime was interesting at first, but then it became more of a chore. Online trading was nice but most of the time I got an error when I tried to trade, so that put me off. I couldn't really care less about the reduced number of new Pokemon, but the lack of post-game is what made me only put in 30 or so hours. And, like everyone said, it was easy. Too easy. I traded it in for $25 to put towards Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, though, so for $20 (including tax), it wasn't a horrible experience. However, if I could go back in time and stop myself from playing, I would (after telling myself winning lottery numbers, that is).

 

[Ryukouki]

I've played every Gen (although I only know for a fact that I've beaten four of them), and after playing Gen 3, I told myself I'd stop. Then Gen 4 came. And I decided to try it. Then I said I'd stop. Then 5 came. Then I said I'd stop. Pokemon X/Y was no exception to this trend. I beat it, but with a "So what?" feeling at the end. Pokemon Aime was interesting at first, but then it became more of a chore. Online trading was nice but most of the time I got an error when I tried to trade, so that put me off. I couldn't really care less about the reduced number of new Pokemon, but the lack of post-game is what made me only put in 30 or so hours. And, like everyone said, it was easy. Too easy. I traded it in for $25 to put towards Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, though, so for $20 (including tax), it wasn't a horrible experience. However, if I could go back in time and stop myself from playing, I would (after telling myself winning lottery numbers, that is).

But you're going to pick up Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and then stop, right?

 

[Taleweaver]

I've never played any pokemon-game, so I won't comment on much, but I still have to ask a question I'm scratching my head over pretty much every poké-release:


why two games?


This may be pretty straightforward, but with Zelda Oracle of seasons/time, the quests, dungeon, story and the world were totally different. Their gameplay and (to a degree) art was the same, but it's in no way similar. And reviewers treated it as such. But on pokémon, it's like nobody even bothers telling anyone they are different in the first place. Different monsters, I guess. But even there I'm just going by the box art. And it's not like nintendo is making it any easier (X and Y? WTF...is one game having all female characters and the other one all male characters or something?).

Yeah, yeah...I get it. I shouldn't be reading, let alone posting it. But I can imagine it's something that boggles parents as well...

 

[vayanui8]

I've never played any pokemon-game, so I won't comment on much, but I still have to ask a question I'm scratching my head over pretty much every poké-release:


why two games?


This may be pretty straightforward, but with Zelda Oracle of seasons/time, the quests, dungeon, story and the world were totally different. Their gameplay and (to a degree) art was the same, but it's in no way similar. And reviewers treated it as such. But on pokémon, it's like nobody even bothers telling anyone they are different in the first place. Different monsters, I guess. But even there I'm just going by the box art. And it's not like nintendo is making it any easier (X and Y? WTF...is one game having all female characters and the other one all male characters or something?).

Yeah, yeah...I get it. I shouldn't be reading, let alone posting it. But I can imagine it's something that boggles parents as well...

Because then they can sell it twice. The differences are extremely small. There are just a few exclusive pokemon to each one, which are typically pretty easy to get over trade

 

[CathyRina]

I was expecting more negative feedback here to be honest.
I too found X and Y disappointing and lacking in content since Black 2 and White 2 had simply like the triple content of X and Y.
Black 2 and white 2 had both way more to do in the singleplayer campain and went for a more serious theme in the story. The story of X and Y on the other hand wasn't even told in a good way.
And the differences between Black 2 and white 2 were huge compared to what X and Y did.
Not to mention the GTS is still stupid to use but at least this time you can type the Pokemon name you want to trade instead of hoping to see the Pokemon outside of online and multiplayer battles to be able to search for it.
And the new engine can't handle 3D in battles at all. Doesn't matter which attack you choose, the framerate will always drop (sometimes even without 3D).
All things I hope to be fixed in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire but since in the reveal trailer you can see the "partially 3D" text I don't think they gonna tweak it enough.
But hey, the only thing that makes this game get away with its flaws is that Diamond and Pearl weren't that great either when they came out.
So games that use new engines always gonna be kinda bad. Which is partially to blame game freak for making COD out of Pokemon and releasing it on yearly basis.

But to say something positive I loved the credits. Possibly best credits in a japanese videogame ever.
For the first time a japanese videogame ferlt like it was made for the entire world and not just Japan.
It's a rather small gesture but a lovely one.

 

[liamash3]

I generally enjoyed playing X and Y. I liked the group of friends and the different methods they portrayed (Like pokemon for non-battle reasons? That's OK! Like collecting them? OK! Like them for battling? OK!) for playing and how each one is perfectly acceptable. I never noticed framerate issues, but I never use the 3D part of the 3DS either, so that could be just me.

My personal gripe was the exp.share boost made accidentally over-leveling too easy, and the fact the Gym Leaders, Villain Bosses and E4 of the game didn't live up to their full potential in terms of Pokemon you battle (as mentioned earlier, the E4 - the "toughest in the region", used only 4 pokemon each - I remember GenIII used 5-6 per member). The GTS is also a bit annoying to use, but at least they added removing pokemon you didn't have from the search, as well as typing the name (this really should have been there from the start, frankly).

Pro's:
*message regarding how you play - any way is fine
*The ending - you finally get a reward for taking down the bad guys
*The 3D effects were rather nice, I felt. I particularly liked the hub city's appearance (yeah, it's a pain to explore. But I compare that to a real city, which is roughly the same, but bigger)
*Improvements to the GTS system (search by name; remove trades you can't do from the results, scrolling results...)
*Customisation of the MC (this is a crowning feature, I feel, and hope it continues to any Pokemon main game after these ones)

Con's:
*EXP.Share tweak made overleveling easier (this one's minor, really. It's easy to overlevel in any pokemon game)
*Trainer's didn't live up to their potential, and used too few pokemon for their position (I could see the first gym using 3 pokemon, but not the 3rd onwards - that'd have increasing numbers per badge till the max of 6)
*Lack of Customisation (I know, this seems contradictory. It's actually in how the implemented it - guys had limited clothing choices compared to girls - I swear the fMC gets something like x2 the amount of pants options, for example - as well as hairstyle and clothing restrictions in general. I'd like the option to change clothing or hairstyle to whatever is available, regardless of gender. For example, if My male MC wants to wear a dress and have a long-haired style, he can't)

As people have said, this is the first 3D entry, and on a new system to boot. It'll likely take time to do things better, and the Ruby and Sapphire remakes will probably be improved in most ways compared to these ones, due to the developers getting more experienced with the system. Compare Diamond and Pearl to Black and White 2 - a lot's been improved as the developers get more familiar with the system.

EDIT:
Added some more + and -

 

[Arshes91]

sincerly i don't care if they lack about missing other pokemon or they possibility doing something different in the past, im enjoying pokemon x and y i respect by opinions gived by here i feel post game and sectrets events are huge disapoint me im buy this game for play online and competitive and they made only for that, don't they just create a new spin off game that was based on only competitive online battle with only five gen pokemons so they made x and y instead.

I can't wait to see how the situation change in ORAS i don't care if they made more worse.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

The game is better than RSE and BW but that's not saying a lot.

It was still really disappointing and felt super lackluster. The new Pokemon designs are boring, the engine is fine and everything but it's skimp on content and "competitive Pokemon" is still a bad joke in my book.

EDIT: Half the game felt like it was trying to be "Pokemon's Greatest Hits" or "MUH NOSTALGIA" by just having a random mismash of Pokemon. Bringing back old Pokemon is fine but when your game feels like entirely old Pokemon then what's the point. The only new Pokemon I had on my team was my starter. And that's because I felt obligated to keep him. Like every wild encounter was just "Well, another top tier Pokemon, wonder who I'll drop from my party now." It felt like a fan hack.

 

[GameWinner]

The game is better than RSE and BW but that's not saying a lot.

It was still really disappointing and felt super lackluster. The new Pokemon designs are boring, the engine is fine and everything but it's skimp on content and "competitive Pokemon" is still a bad joke in my book.

EDIT: Half the game felt like it was trying to be "Pokemon's Greatest Hits" or "MUH NOSTALGIA" by just having a random mismash of Pokemon. Bringing back old Pokemon is fine but when your game feels like entirely old Pokemon then what's the point. The only new Pokemon I had on my team was my starter. And that's because I felt obligated to keep him. Like every wild encounter was just "Well, another top tier Pokemon, wonder who I'll drop from my party now." It felt like a fan hack.

Yup, it did feel like it was catering a lot to nostalgia fans. Compare Santalune Forest to Viridian Forest from gen I. There's also the remixed gen I battle theme and catchable Mewtwo and three legendary birds. It's also pretty funny that the game has almost all of the Kanto region's Pokemon. I just wished that they focused more on the newer Pokemon.

 

[Deleted User]

Do people actually prefer pearl and diamond over B/W? I see a lot of "well at least its not black and white hahahhahahah" but no , "well at least it isn't the shitstorm pearl and diamond was".