Pokémon X and Y: To Buy Or Not To Buy? (A Rant)

The internet is going to be buzzing in the next few weeks as Pokémon X and Y is released. I'm pretty sure a few of my buddies who own Nintendo 3DS's already have a copy of one of the versions. But it is a sad day for me. For the first time in my life I feel sceptical. Why do I feel sceptical about something I have loved for so many years? Perhaps I am growing up... Probably not, but sadly I must admit, Pearl and Diamond versions sucked the big one, Black and White versions were slightly better but still didn't do much for me, and I still haven't got past the first gym on White 2 because the game bored me to tears. They did nothing for my Pokémon loving soul. Pokémon hacks like Pokémon Brown, Pokémon Prism or Pokémon Glazed do more for me, as they are building on what made the first generation up to the third generation so good. Sure, I am slightly intrigued by a 3D handheld Pokémon game, but at the same time I just want to grab Game Freak and shake them. You don't need super duper 3D graphics to make Pokémon magical, the simplicity of the graphics, gameplay and music in the first generation games was incredible to me and still is. I found myself lost in the worlds of Kanto, Johto and Hoenn for hours without even batting an eyelid at the fact the graphics weren't in 3D. That's something that ruined the fourth and fifth generations, they were trying to make the graphics look advanced and all 3D but the DS couldn't handle it. But this time the graphics do look good. It kind of appealed to me, the new starters and their evolutions looked pretty awesome. I love the idea of customising how your trainer looks, as well as the whole friendship group thing, it kind of reminds me of Persona 4 (as in having a group of friends that you hang out with in the game). Then came more new Pokémon that all looked pretty terrible, then came mega evolutions. Everyone thought that mega evolutions were the shit but I thought that they were just plain stupid. What's the point?!? Only certain Pokémon mega evolve anyway, they can only mega evolve in battle and Charizard gets two mega evolutions while the other Kanto starters don't?!? What were they thinking?!? Mega Absol and Mega Mawile are cool enough to be normal evolutions, why introduce this stupid new mechanic at all? Trying to mix it up I guess. I'm not one of those dicks who constantly screams how there should have only been 150 Pokémon, not at all, I love the first, second, third and fifth generations of Pokémon, but Game Freak have really scraped the bottom of the ideas barrel for these new Pokémon. Also what annoys me is, I bet anyone a shit tonne of money that the after game will suck. Game Freak haven't learnt that everyone wants a return to Kanto or something similar like in Gold, Silver and Crystal. If you could fit all that onto a tiny Game Boy cartridge, then you can put it on to a snazzy 3DS, no trouble at all.

 

Sure the new Pokémon look like utter shit and Mega evolutions make me want to vomit, but perhaps the gameplay will draw me in. I guess I will have to play the game to find out (I'm going to be turning that stupid-ass gimmicky 3D off straight away), but right now I am still feeling sceptical, also I don't know if I want to buy a 3DS just to play this game. I'll leave you with this image someone made of some Black and White Pokémon (and a few from other generations) adapted into Red and Blue style graphics. As simple as they may look, there is still something amazing about those old school graphics. Perhaps I am being a stubborn victim of nostalgia, but personally I believe that nothing can beat the Game Boy era of Pokémon, and in my heart, that's where it will always be for myself and many others.