Pokémon Y

So we're back! Like a faithful puppy wagging its tail with its ball in its mouth, Pokémon has come back to play once again.

Back in my retrospective of the series last September, I mentioned that I was nervous about this particular title. Mostly because of the shift from a two dimensional to a THREE dimensional perspective. I said that the journey to 3D was possible, but perilous, saying that it had been the death of many series.

What I DIDN'T mention was that there is a safe route.

I.E. Don't change the GAMEPLAY at all, just render everything in polygons.

That's the route that Pokémon X/Y took, and that's fine. If it ain't broke, right? It looks like Pokémon Stadium (an N64 game I didn't mention in my retrospective because it isn't part of the main series), and that's what I've been wanting. So, I can't complain that it's not recognizable as a Pokémon game.

I'm not going to re-explain Pokémon to you guys. If you need a refresher course take a look at my retrospective

What's happening this time around? Well, welcome to the Kalos Reigon.

You have just moved here, and you are contacted by your neighbors. Serena (Calem, if you play as a girl), and Shauna. They tell you that Professor Augustine Sycamore (his character is as fey as his name) wants to give you your very first Pokémon.

This is, in fact, my SIXTH "very first Pokémon," if you don't count extra playthroughs.

You, of course, accept and go off to collect badges, complete the Pokédex, blady blah. It follows the formula pretty closely, not CHANGING much.....

But ADDING a big dose of, for lack of a better term, French.

The Kalos Region seems very European in style, specifically referencing France in a few places. The biggest city is called "Luminose" (get it? City of Lights?), and has a massive Eiffel Tower that doubles as the Pokémon gym. A lot of people wear berets. We were introduced to "Furfrou" the poodle Pokémon.

And the villain has a plan so inescapably dumb you could only see it in a Cinema Verité.

I can't decide if Lysandre and Team Flare are the best or very WORST villains this series has ever seen. The plan they've come up with is nuttier than a PayDay bar, and Lysandre has the third most ridiculous hair I've ever seen in an anime game.

And THAT is saying something!

Okay. So Lysandre wants to remove all suffering in the world. How is he planning to this?

If you guys playing at home said "By killing everyone," congratulations! You win the MCC Award for playing too many video games!

Yeah he wants to kill everyone using a giant crystal thingy that he found in the desert. It was originally built by a cosmic hobo who wanted to raise his Pokémon from the dead.

This game may be a bit silly.

However, you can survive the inevitable Armageddon by joining Team Flare! You do that by ponying up $1,000,000.

Wow! That's a SPECIAL kind of crazy.

And that's exactly why.... I really like Lysandre. He may be my second favorite villain of the series. (No one is going to top Giovanni.)

His plan is psychotic but he honestly believes that this is the right thing to do. Which makes him kind of terrifying.

He doesn't gibber. He doesn't froth at the mouth. He comes off as very refined. That gives this really good feeling of "Oh wait a minute, you're not.... OKAY, are you?" when you do find out what this plan is.

As for gameplay, only one new thing of note. Mega-Evolution.

I've talked about Pokémon evolution. When a Pokémon gets to a certain level of strength it changes into an even stronger Pokémon.

Mega-Evolution takes a fully evolved Pokémon and, with the help of a special item, transforms it for the duration of the battle into a suped up version, upping all of its stats. It's actually really cool to look at, and pretty useful.

This game could've killed the entire series, I'm glad to say that didn't happen. It's a must buy for any fan of the series.

I love these games, and for reasons I've explained they always remind me of my grandfather. And thinking of him makes me think of his vocation.

My grandfather was a litigator

NEXT POST: PHOENIX WRIGHT ACE ATTORNEY: JUSTICE FOR ALL

See you next time.