I've talked about Pokémon on here quite a bit, and it's gotten to the point where I believe I need to share with my audience just how I have felt about Pokémon these past four-ish years.

I'm not very happy, honestly.

I've reviewed "Sun" and "Moon" and given a follow-up with "Ultra Sun" and "Ultra Moon," and believe me when I say that they were above average and for the most part, worth playing, especially the Ultra Duo. They added another layer of complexity to the franchise with Z-moves, Ultra Beasts, and Alolan Forms, which I honestly hope we get more "regional" formes for different games in the future.

You're probably saying to yourself, "Gee, Seth, you see really hostile to the last few generations of Pokémon, why is that? Also, when did it all start?"

When did it all start is a great question. It all started with Generation Six, also known as "Pokémon X" and "Pokémon Y."

"Pokémon X" and "Y" were released in October of 2013 to an awaiting audience that was trembling with excitement. Gamefreak had just announced they were doing a worldwide release of a game for the first time ever, and that they had been wanting to do that for almost a decade. It was an amazing time because we had just gotten off the hype train of Generation Five, which was "Black" and "White," along with "Black 2" and "White 2," one of the most polarizing and controversial generations in Pokémon. "Black 2" and "White 2" were some of the most highly reviewed and praised Pokémon games in a long time, and as such, we figured that if Gamefreak could make such amazing games once, they could do it all again, especially in 3D!

Then, the games came out. We played them, and it's safe to say that a lot of people were very disappointed. That isn't to say that they're atrocious games that you should burn, but because of the fact that they really, really shot below our expectations.

Gameplay:

"Pokémon X" and "Y" didn't gravitate too much from the basic formula of catch and train the Pokémon that you want and go on your quest to collect eight badges and become the champion, blah, blah, blah. Nonetheless, the games committed a number of "new Pokémon generation" sins (in my opinion) that were impossible to overlook. As I was playing the game, I found that the number of new Pokémon was vastly drowned out by the number of old Pokémon from previous generations. Believe me when I say that when I play a new Pokémon game, I want there to be a lot of new Pokémon, at least a hundred at minimum, but "X" and "Y" only introduced 72 new Pokémon, a huge drop off from Black and White's 156. A lot of the designs were really cool, but there were a lot of Pokémon like Chesnaught, Meowstic, and Clawitzer that were cool designs, but really bad in usability.

As for new mechanics, Mega Evolution proved to be amazing, giving old Pokémon like the Kanto starters, Kangaskhan, Mawile, and others a new form to use in battle that made them much better. Outside of battle, the breeding mechanics were vastly improved on, making it much easier to create and breed your competitive team.

The online was downright amazing in this generation. The PSS was the single most streamlined online experience in any Pokémon game ever, and the Wi-fi Plaza of the Sun and Moon games wishes it was as good. While the online is no longer supported, it was absolutely amazing.

Next, the story of the game was very disappointing. While in previous games you have a rival character that is at best aggressive but nice and at worst abusive and pushes you around, "X" and "Y" had four insipid "friends" that followed you around and dragged you into stupid plot bits that I would've been perfectly content to explore on my own, thank you. I don't need my hand held, please. The resentment for the story was further deepened by my distaste for Team Flare, the tackiest, hardest-on-the-eyes "evil team" in Pokémon history, the gym leaders being piss-easy and not memorable, and the Elite Four and Champion being lame and way too easy.

Finally, the biggest reason this game fails its precious mission is because it's way too easy. I know, I know, "Pokémon is for kids, that means its easy"...you would be wrong. Pokémon is definitely always easy if you level up enough, but try going against foes much stronger than you, or just going with the flow and not grinding? "Black" and "White" and their kin were great difficulty levels because they allowed you to grind, but the foes had great teams and move sets, as well as strong synergy. A friend of mine told me something regarding video games once that I'll never forget: "Players will always choose the road of most convenience." That holds true with these games, especially.

Graphics:

I don't have much to say about this other than they look great! Well, the battle sprites look great. Every Pokémon has a unique cycle of animation they go through, and as such it's cool to see certain attacks and animations get changed to be more realistic. The little "chibi" models for human characters are kind of lame, particularly the scene where Lysandre "cries" was laughable at best, given how poorly executed it was with the models. Great, but nothing that can save this game from its quagmire of mediocrity.

Music:

I don't have much to say here either, because the music department is one area where Pokémon games never fail, honestly. Junichi Masuda is an excellent composer, and he's on my good side when he isn't directing games instead (like this one!). Distributing blame aside, they really caught the French and European vibe in this game, and Masuda really did his homework for creating the Kalos region, as he put up pictures from his extended stay in France on his Twitter account. The towns are cozy and feel like they've come right out of a Grimm fairy tale, particularly Laverre City and Camphrier Town, which are supported by the former's foresty vibe and the latter's castle. Very good stuff!

Lasting Value:

"X" and "Y," like all Pokémon games, have some level of re-playability, but some people may have a hard time going through them again if they know that they're going to be a breeze and not a challenge, or even at least enough difficulty to be fun. Even without the Experience Share, "Pokémon X" and "Y" are a literal cakewalk for veterans, and really not that bad for newer players. The Lasting Value of these games really gets smacked hard nowadays, as the Online Features for these games are no longer supported by Nintendo as I said before, as Generation Seven is the newest thing now. Since I have reviewed this game four years late, I won't hold this against them at all. I'm a just critic, after all.

Final Verdict:

+ Great new Pokémon designs, despite the few that are there

+ Kalos region is variable and diverse in its areas, much like Hoenn

+ Wi-fi features were amazing when they were active

+ Breeding was simplified and made much easier

- Story is contrived and boring, friend characters are lame and childish

- Team Flare is lame and boring, despite Lysandre being very interesting

- Game is WAY too easy and it holds your hand the entire time

- Cool new Pokémon is lost in a sea of others; 450 is way too many!

- Stuff to do after the main story is virtually non-existent

Final Rating: 6/10