mZuzek

User Score
9.3

Presentation - 9.0
Gameplay - 9.0
Value - 9.0

There is no better word to describe Pokémon X & Y. It's a wholly joyful adventure from start to finish, and a rather lengthy one at that. It's a game that doesn't relish in grand ambitions of amazing storytelling or highly competitive gameplay - no, it knows exactly what it wants to be and that's just to be damn fun. It had been over 4 years since I last played this title, and over time I maybe lost a bit of my appreciation for it (especially with the internet's rather negative reception after the initial hype), but... no. I'm sorry if you came here expecting to see any criticism, because this review won't be much short of an extended gushing session.

So, where to begin...

*THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS*

See, although X & Y were the first fully 3D Pokémon games (which sounds like a smaller deal now than it really was back then), they were Junichi Masuda's last mainline games as director - he really wanted to go out with a bang here, and it shows. It's hard to assess where and how exactly Masuda's direction influenced the game, other than the focus on the theme of beauty, but there were three major things he was quite openly credited with:

The World. The Kalos region is, simply put, stunning. It is far and away the largest Pokémon region to date, and it adds meaning to that massive size with a huge variety of interesting locations and things to do, as well as a fantastic selection of over 450 Pokémon, of which 72 are new to this generation (and it's a rather great roster, with several fan-favorites such as Greninja, Talonflame, Meowstic, Tyrantrum, the two main legendaries, and more). Furthermore, it's a highly cohesive region, with the "hub" city, Lumiose, actually functioning as a hub you'll visit several times within the game as it connects to several different areas from both the early and late game. Lumiose is the core and heart of the Kalos region, being the most well-developed city we've seen in Pokémon, but at the region's furthermost areas, there's no shortage of interesting places, with the peaceful grassy fields of Santalune City, the canyonside beach of Cyllage City, the mysterious stonehenge-like Geosenge Town, the snow-filled Dendemille Town... mostly everywhere you explore in the game is just gorgeous and exudes personality, from the humble town of Vaniville all the way to the monumental castle of the Pokémon League.

The Story. Although it could be considered a step back from the 5th generation games in a number of areas, it's the simple and childlike nature of X & Y's story that makes it so powerful. Having a whole cast of 5 people going on an adventure from the start of the game already makes it a more exciting time, as it's fun to see how the children's clashing personalities lead them in different ways over the course of their journey, especially when pushed all the way by the apocalyptic Team Flare. For as "purely evil" (and consequently unrelatable) as their ambitions sound, it's hard to deny Lysandre's points about overpopulation destroying the planet's resources, as it's something we are experiencing in real life as well. Furthermore, it's refreshing to see a Pokémon villain that's not just wholly evil - from his very introduction early on in the game you can see his good intentions, and he has been involved in several good things, as well as being Prof. Sycamore's friend. It all just combines to make the character that much more interesting, and by the end you can't help but feel for him even if his goals were rather insane. However, the story continues even after you defeat him and Team Flare, leading up to a beautiful and empowering ending that's hard not to shed a tear for.

The Music. X & Y's soundtrack is a wonder to behold, with its rich wealth of fantastic music far outmatching that of any other game in its series. Throughout its beautiful city themes, adventurous route themes, intense battle themes, and even more, the game's music exudes a strong nostalgic value to it, tying memorable tunes to just about every bit of your adventure through Kalos. Junichi Masuda wasn't the sole composer for the soundtrack, of course, but he was credited specifically with the battle themes, all of which are great. There was truly no misstep anywhere here, and even if I'm going to remain the only person out there saying it, I will say that it does go down in history as one of gaming's finest ever soundtracks. As an extra personal note, my absolute favorites here were the energetic Friend Battle theme, the epic Legendary Battle theme, the nostalgic Route 18-21 theme, the grand Pokémon League theme, the intimidating Elite Four Battle theme, and of course, Kiseki. (No, I wasn't kidding when I said I was going to gush!)

Add all of that up to a game that already features some of the best gameplay the franchise's seen (with a number of key changes making the whole experience far more streamlined and enjoyable), and has the best online/multiplayer component of the series, and has a lot of great side content to enjoy, and you get a game that is, quite frankly, head and shoulders above anything to ever come out of the Pokémon franchise. It's not without its flaws, no - X & Y do have two rather major issues regarding its handling of HMs and its minimal post-game content -, but the positives outweigh the negatives so heavily that the latter are barely worth even talking about, even if they do bring down the overall experience a little bit.

Ultimately, while X & Y are at their best when you take your time to fully explore its world and appreciate everything it has to offer, I was still able to have a wholly enjoyable, lengthy, and even somewhat difficult experience despite skipping most of the optional content and non-mandatory trainer battles. It's a truly unforgettable adventure that is still unmatched amidst Pokémon games.

 - UPDATE -
Over the past day or so, the game's themes have continued to resonate strongly with me, and I can barely stop thinking about it. Beyond the theme of beauty, what this game most stands for is unity - the story revolves entirely around it, with most of the conflict stemming from the regrets of war. It's truly beautiful seeing how Masuda built the whole game around this idea, starting with the large cast at the start with each character very much representing a different walk of life, to the whole idea of Mega Evolution being related to the bonds we share with our Pokémon (which were made ever closer by the addition of Pokémon-Amie), and then how this unity is challenged by an "evil" team whose entire goal stems from a lack of trust in each other. It then continues onto that memorable bridge scene on Route 19, where all the friends gather together other than Calem/Serena, and they talk about how everyone can be together even if they're not in the same place. It all builds up to that beautiful ending, where everyone celebrates together, and when of course, AZ is finally reunited with the Pokémon he had shattered bonds with. The theme is so strong, it even unites the game itself, with the same Fletchling that wakes you up when you boot the game up for the first time flying off towards the screen at the end.

Quite frankly, Pokémon X & Y aren't much short of a masterpiece, and they deserve far more recognition than they get. See you all next time.

(converted to 9.3 out of 10)

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