X & Y Reviews and Pokémon Bank Info

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The first reviews for Pokémon X&Y are being put online. We’ll be updating this post throughout the day to keep track of the games and what new reviews there are for you to read. Let’s get started!

Reviews

  • Mashable: “‘Pokémon X’ and ‘Y’ Are Polished But Play It Too Safe”
    • The much-anticipated 3DS addition to the Pokémon series will not disappoint fans of the franchise. 3D has been a long time coming, and I’m glad it turned out so well. While the battles are as fun as ever, I wish developers would had taken more risks with its structure and story. Still, whether you just want to casually battle friends or enter tournaments, Pokémon X and Y will give you enough to chew on for many, many hours of fun.
  • IGN: “Pokemon X and Y Review: A Mega Evolution” (9/10)
    • “Every so often, evolution takes a significant leap. Pokemon X and Y is smarter, better, and faster than its predecessors, but it’s the impressive online social features and fantastic new 3D look that make the latest game in the 15-year-old RPG series amazing. As long as you’re within the range of Wi-Fi, you’re never alone in Pokemon X and Y, and we finally have the tools to express ourselves over the course of this 35-hour adventure.”
  • GameInformer: “Seeing Pokemon From a New Angle” (8.75/10)
    • “Pokémon hasn’t made a concerted effort to step outside of its comfort zone ever since it first released in Japan in 1996 – and for good reason. It found its hook nearly 20 years ago and has held on firm for better and worse. In this way, changing things in Pokémon presents a certain degree of uncomfortable risk. X & Y offer no significant changes in direction to the Pokémon series, but this is the most drastic step the series has ever taken. “
  • Digital Spy: “‘Pokemon X’ review (3DS): As engaging and addictive as ever”
    • “Pokemon X and accompanying game Pokemon Y represent what is perhaps the biggest evolution of the Pokemon series since it debuted to a huge following in the mid-nineties.
      Receiving a graphical overhaul, new ways to connect, customisation options and Mega Evolutions, not to mention a wealth of new Pokemon to catch, the games are packed with first-time features and fresh new ideas.At its core, however, Pokemon X doesn’t stray too far from the original ‘gotta catch ’em all’ concept that has made the series so addictive and engaging.”

Still waiting on the outright negative review!

Pokemon Bank

In other news, it has been confirmed that Pokemon Bank will be released in the US  on December 27th, 2013 with a yearly fee of $4.99 ! You do get one free month of the service, however, and only need to start paying past the 30 day trial. It has also been shown that items do not transfer with the Pokemon.

<3 PJ

Featured Thread: Canada’s Largest Pokémon Gathering by Freeduck

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6,127 thoughts on “X & Y Reviews and Pokémon Bank Info”

  2. Since its getting a bit quiet on the leaks front…is anyone playing through any of the older games before XY launch?
    Im playing a game from each region starting with Isshu back to Kanto…currently on Platinum. Decided to use the starter ive used least from each gen and pokemon i have never or very rarely used before.
    Current Team is Prinplup and Ponyta and looking for a female combee.

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    • Well, I’m still doing some breeding in Black 2 if that counts. I also have a Diamond I should be playing as well, it was a runtrhough using a lot of Pokemon I never really used before, including my weird well liked Lumineon.

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      • Yeah i used Lumineon in my last Diamond playthrough…that being the first time i had used it. It takes a while to figure out how best to use it and avoid it getting taken out swiftly by a powerhouse.

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        • I’ve never used on personally before, but it was alwasy something, regardless that it is inferior to most water types out there, I’ve had kind of a soft spot for it. Rest of my team are quite a few things I’ve never gotten around to really using, or at least, never kept them in my party for the entire run. Have my starter, Yggdrasil the Torterra, and then Elysium the Luxray. After that, I’ve never kept Drifblim in my party, who is named Hel, and then I’ve never used a skuntank or medicham before, who are Mr. Tuxedo and Talia respectively, and lastly Neon the Lumineon.

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          • Loving Mr Tuxedo lol but yeah i too have a soft spot for Lumineon (being the water type lover i am) but i think i always liked it after seeing it in an episode of the anime in a cave while ash was at that summer school program…it just looked so mysterious and beautiful 😀

    • Pokemon Yellow on Monday for me, then Pokemon Gold on Tuesday, then Pokemon Sapphire on Wednesday, then Pokemon Pearl on Thursday and Pokemon Black on Friday. Then Pokemon X on Saturday! 6 Days! 6 Generations!

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  6. Designate a Kalos Pokemon for each contest category you think it best embodies.
    Cool, Cute, Beauty, Tough, and Smart.

    Cool: Pyroar
    Cute: Goomy/Sliggoo
    Beauty: Delphox
    Tough: Tyrantrum
    Smart: Meowstic

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  7. I’m doing a pokemon marathon of the first 5 generations in the spirit of X and Y 😀 I’m going to miss you my old handheld friends :,)

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  8. So I’ve got one big unanswered question that I’ve not seen mentioned elsewhere. Remember back when Diamond and Pearl launched, you’d unlock some extra stuff ingame if you played with one of the GBA games in the slot? And remember how Dream Radar let you catch the respective box legendary from D/P/Pt/HG/SS if you had the DS cart in the slot?

    Well, I wanna know if buying X/Y from the eShop and playing with one of the DS games in the slot lets you unlock anything. I’ll be buying it digitally anyway (it’s going to be more or less glued into my 3DS anyway, I may as well skip a step), but I’m curious to know if it’ll get me any fun stuff.

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    • Lol. Buttraped by Nintendo. To be fair these stores totally pulled down their pants, turned around and bent over. WHY WOULD YOU BREAK STREET DATE ON A COMPANY THIS SCARY.

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    • I think that’s a bit overboard. Personally, i think the stores were in the right, letting the games out. I think it was intentional too. I believe we NEEDED these leaks (Though gods forbid if someone posts leader lineups and plot details) because Nintendo wouldn’t give us anything. I may be alone on this, but i prefer to know what my starter’s final form looks like. Because if i didn’t, and I got Chesnaught, I’d flip out and start over. I actually like to know everything, so that i can plan out my team and such. Even if they didn’t give us everything, at least they could give us Orooto and the final evos of the starters.

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        • I actually agree with this. While I too like to know what the starters are going to evolve into, i believe no one has a right to let these games out before the actual release date. It is disrespectful to the game producers and pretty much causes them to lose trust with the stores.

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        • Now that is overboard. Banning them from future releases? If the releases were intentional, then i could understand the fine, but banning them from future releases? That’s ridiculous. especially if it was an accident, though I still don’t know how it would be.

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          • Honestly, no sympathy from me. Imagine being in Nintendo’s spot, creating all this hype, wanting a worldwide release for the first time, and then some stores decide to sell it early, everything gets spoiled.

          • I agree with you. I’m not Nintendo’s biggest fan and I think they’re complete bullies, but on this occasion I understand completely if they take those stores for everything they’ve got. How on earth did they think they’d get away with this? o.O

      • They broke a legal contract and you’re saying they were in the right? This isn’t Batman where we need vigilante justice- companies are never in the right for betraying GF/Nintendo and releasing their games without their permission. Yeah, it’s nice that we saw the Pokemon early, but you cannot say that it was right.

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        • Sure I can. I think they did the right thing, because they saw fans were being driven insane by the lack of info. I for one lost interest in the games months ago because of it. And that hurt. I’ve been a rabid Pokemon fan for years, and each gen was better than the previous one (Minus gen 2 and the ever overrated gen 3, which i dislike only because it’s so overrated) and now, an amazing 3d world, with extremely amazing legends, and a supposed norse theme, which struck home because of my religion, and they give us nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. A few pokemon here, maybe one there. Mega evo here, and that’s it. It took them till SEPTEMBER to release the second forms of the starters. That is absurd. And then the bomb of NO KALOS Mega Evos, and that did it. I was gone, and stopped caring for a while. Then, the leaks start flowing, and I get as hype as I was for Gen 5, which is quite hype. so, it is personal opinion. I don’t think the leaks would have mattered as much if gamefreak and nintendo and creatures and whoever else just gave us more. even a little more.

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          • So your complaint is that they didn’t want to reveal everything about their brand new game that they wanted to be a surprise to everyone in the world, so they were in the wrong. How dare Nintendo not give us all the information about everything! People who truly believe this are just impatient for not being able to wait two weeks to see new Pokemon and say that it’s Nintendo’s fault for not giving them all to us in January. There’s something called hype, and revealing bits and pieces along the way generates it. Hype generates sales, and Nintendo is a company that is trying to make money. There’s nothing wrong with getting a game without a hand-holding guide book.

          • I’m not asking for a hand holding guidebook. Again, I am stating my personal opinion. And as it has been stated before, opinions can not be wrong, or right. I believe the store was in the right, and nintendo was going overboard. You may believe otherwise, that is fine. I have no issue with that. I’m not impatient, just less than happy with the lack of info. I dislike surprises, and prefer to know everything, before i spend the large amount of money to buy these games. You may have the money to buy these games on a whim, or you may like surprises. that is fine, I’m okay with that. But don’t go flipping out over the fact that i stated my opinion.

          • You’re being selfish. How is a store that broke a contract “in the right”? If you don’t like surprises, fine, don’t buy the game on release day and wait a week for all the info to be on the Internet. But there is no way at all the stores were right in releasing the games early.

          • What part of my opinion did you not read. I’m not being selfish, i know plenty of people who want to know everything, or at lease most of it before the games come out. It’s part of planning teams and having a good time to us people who want everything first. And besides, why on earth would i buy the game on release day? I’ve never done that in my life. I just feel that bakrupting a store for a few copies of a game, and hunting down the people with the games and threatening legal action against them, even though they can’t, is overboard. Fine the store, but leave the people who legally came in and bought a game that was released alone. was it illegal because the games weren’t supposed to be released? depends on who you ask. A few people I know say that nintendo can’t touch them, while others say that they should have done more to prevent the leaks. It’s my opinion, you don’t have to agree

          • That’s absurd. As fans it isn’t up to us to ‘demand’ info about the games whenever the hell we want. There’s a set release date for a reason. What you also have to remember is that this time around of course we’re a week from our release day and don’t know everything about the games, but THIS IS WHAT JAPAN HAS HAD TO DEAL WITH FOREVER. They never had the luxury of watching another country get the games a year in advance and learning everything about them online, allowing them to plan their teams ahead of time. They’ve gone in blind practically for every release, and you don’t hear them complaining about it!

            As fans of course we’re happy about the leaks, but no matter how much fun it’s been for us the simple fact is that those stores were in the wrong, and given Nintendo’s track record of siccing their lawyers on everyone and everything they must’ve known they were going to get punished, which makes it even more colossally stupid.

          • You do what you feel is right, no matter the consequences. Yes, i understand that they shouldn’t have broken a legal binding contract, but they did. And, how can be happy that the information is leaking, but against the fact that the games were leaked early? That sounds a little hypocritical to me.

          • Pretty simple: as a fan I’ve enjoyed the leaks, but as a rational human being I am aware that it was illegal and utterly dimwitted of the stores to break release date. Who I feel sorry for is all the people who paid for their copy and are apparently now being made to give them back. It’s not their fault the stores chose to sell them early – why should they give them back?

          • I agree with that. I don’t think it was dimwitted of the stores, maybe they never corrected a previous mistake? I went into my local game store this month and looked at their upcoming releases. they STILL had X and Y listed as NOVEMBER 1st, so a typo or lazy staff member may be to blame. Not the entire store. And surely not the poor people who bought the game, and had every legal right to.

          • for me this is bullshit, this doesn’t matter, if games leaks early this doesn’t matter, if we will know everything early, they generate moneys, so it will depend only from quality of serie, if ppl see that pkmns have crap quality, then, they will not buy games. Did you saw how much difference DPP made to BW/BW2 in sales? DPP was literally crap, so even, if they hidding XY until release, ppl will show them what worth that game is.

          • So you’re one of those people who dislikes something because lots of other people like it? Is it just me that doesn’t see the logic behind that?
            I’ve always been under the impression that liking or disliking something was based on one’s own opinion and has nothing to do with other people’s opinions
            Or am i just completely off track…?

          • No it’s just that when everyone is screaming GEN 3 REMAKES, GE 3 CONFIRMED, Hoenn/HUrrn CUNFURMED, and the ever famous facebook comment ‘I don’t care as long as we get Gen 3 Remakes.” Gen3 this and that, and then bashing poor gen 5, it gets to you, you know? I can’t read one post on facebook or most of the time even here where someone doesn’t try to have everything involve gen 3. Don’t get me wrong, i like gen 3, but it’s almost as overrated as Red is. I would honestly prefer gen 1 remakes first, as the kanto starters are being featured a lot. And besides, nintendo should go back to it’s roots, and show new fans where they started, not HOENN CUNFURMED SO NO ONE CARES ABOUT X AND Y!! I’ve seen that so much, I’ve grown to slightly resent the region. Not hate it, just wishing that fans would get off the gen 3 remake hype train.

          • It’s pretty much how i feel about all the new Pokemon getting bashed as soon as they are revealed. I’ve just learned to accept it as something that will always happen, and tend to just not pay attention to these people. I understand that it’s annoying but in a way, it’s just something you have to accept and move. Personally i would love a Gen 3 remake as Hoenn is my favourite region containing some of my favourite Pokemon.

          • I’m perfectly comfortable with that. And i’m okay with how you came across. Calm and rational. I dislike when people scream incessantly for what they want, and trash everything else new. Gen 3 had some of my personal favorites like Blaziken and Gardevoir, but then you have people who want gen 3 remakes, but slam gamefreak for mega evolving blaziken. I swear, the Pokemon fandom makes no sense sometimes.

          • I remember searching endlessly in the route right by Petalburg City for the 5% chance to get me that Ralts. And then grinding up the levels as it was weak to start out with. Then just sweeping stuff with Calm Mind/Psychic/Thunderbolt Gardevoir….ahhh…memories.

          • Yep. One of the odd things i loved was that wally’s Gardevoir was male. Don’t know why, but I’ve always used Male Gardevoir. If they do remake gen 3, I hope Gardevoir can be male, odd as it may sound.

      • Yeah. Reason why to just wait? Because thats the right thing to do. Its the most idiotic to think doing something you are not suppose to is the right thing. Reason why gamefeak didn’t give us much is cause they wanted us to WAIT AND SEE FOR OURSELVES.

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        • I prefer not to. I’ve talked to people about it before, and they agree with me. What happens if you are low on money and have no pokeballs? You want to avoid grass right? Well now you have to go through it to move on. Guess what? You run into a shiny Dragon Fairy pokemon while you are in a slump, and you don’t want to kill it or run, and you can’t catch it. I prefer to know everything so that i know which pokemon are on which routes, so i know whether or not to stock up on pokeballs. I normally don’t spend my money in game, as I always beat the game with two pokemon. But say someone wants to literally catch them all. Well, if you don’t know where the pokemon to catch are, you can’t really do that.

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      • I don’t work in retail so maybe someone knows better than me, but should they have shipped them to retailers So far in advance. Seems like a poor choice.

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        • I think its just a precaution to do it so early in advance, to make sure the retailers have them by the release date. All sorts of things can go wrong causing the games to take ages to reach the designated stores across the globe. Better to be safe than sorry.

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  17. So, Mega: Gengar, Charizard X, Aerodactyl, Gyarados Abomasnow. Thoughts?
    Which ones do you prefer?

    1. Gyarados
    2. Aerodactyl (close second)
    3. Charizard X
    4. Abomasnow
    5. Gengar. (the only one I am not fond of. Odd crobat body with a gauche third eye)

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  24. Just finished watching IGN’s review! They did a amazing job! Also, showed some new footage! 😀 This is one of there best reviews! 9/10! Really respectable score! IGN has been known for downvoting some Nintendo games! Yet, they did a really good job on X & Y’s review! 🙂

    Reply

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