Pokemon Y (and its companion game, Pokemon X) are the best installments in the series. The introduction is swift and lacks the length and cumbersome hand-holding of previous entries. Players are quickly immersed into the world and sent out to catch Pokemon within minutes. As for the cast of cutesy creatures, many of the series' most recognizable Pokemon are featured right from the beginning alongside new and ever more exotic monsters. The new Mega-Evolution mechanic brings new things to learn and see from long standing fan favourite Pokemon, appealing to new players and longtime fans alike. Visually, it's a fantastic art style with a new anime stylized focus that sets it apart from past entries. Lastly, the title makes good use of Internet features in a way that doesn't seem overly intrusive to gameplay. You can trade Pokemon online, either with friends or strangers. Unfortunately, there are a few negatives. For example, the 3d effect isn't available all the time and is instead relegated to mostly the combat portions of the game. Thus, the frequent swaps could be jarring. Also, the game is designed to be accessible for a wide variety of ages, so the writing is simplistic and the difficulty isn't very high, so don't expect much of a challenge. This game is nearly identical to its sister title Pokemon X, but there are a few Pokemon exclusive to this title that aren't available in the other. If you're looking to catch them all, you'll need to team up with a friend who has the other game, or trade on the Internet powered global trading system.

The 6th generation of Pokemon has relatively few additions to the number of new Pokemon, but it makes up for it in its streamlined gameplay and its enhanced visuals. It has a healthy dose of nostalgia for returning players, an easier learning curve for new players, and mega evolutions for the experts. All in all, a great addition to the franchise that has a little something for everyone.

NOTE: when Pokémon X & Y shipped there was a bug that could break your save game. That has been fixed in an update, so before you play you should run the update. It's really easy to do and the 3DS will walk you through each step--you turn on the network, launch the game, say yes to the prompt to update it, and walk through the prompts to get the update applied. Pokemon X and Y are a fantastic progression of the Pokemon series, and just like with 'Black' I & II and 'White' I & II, my daughter and I each chose one of the two games--this time around she's playing 'X' and I'm playing 'Y'. It's amazing to see how much more we get in the terms of content, graphics, music, and of course general things to do. However, before I say more I think you should be aware that there is a savegame bug in the out-of-the-box new product that could kill your savegame. I'll post a link to an article about it in the comments, so update your game using your 3DS to get the fix before you get to Lumiose City! If you're new to Pokemon, the shortest way I could explain it is that you are a young person in a land where many different kinds of creatures exist in the wild called 'Pokemon'. These creatures can be captured and cared for, and for many children this is a kind of rite of passage: you learn how to capture and train Pokemon, travel the land on your own, and have adventures. You use your Pokemon to have battles, against other trainers and against wild Pokemon. If it sounds a bit cruel, keep in mind that this is a game for young people and as such Game Freak goes out of their way to make the story a positive lesson: you have to take care of your Pokemon, they grow to like you, and no one ever dies--they just 'faint' and can be revived. Some creatures can 'evolve' into different forms, and with X and Y we now get 'Mega-Evolution' that adds to our options and makes the possibilities even more diverse. If you're contemplating buying a Pokémon game for a child in your family, there is educational value to be had here: I'm amazed at the huge and creative variety of creatures, and my daughter has coached me on strategies: type matching and analysis are important skills that require memorization, reasoning, and a bit of basic math. You have to manage money to buy things and plan your inventory before taking a trip out of town. And sometimes your character is asked questions to make them think. Pokemon X and Y are the latest entries in the series, and they take the new ground that was broken in Pokemon Black and Pokemon White (both of which had sequels, I & II) several steps further. Perhaps the biggest change in X and Y is that you interact closely with your Pokemon: - play with them: there are fun minigames that you play together - feed them: you get "Pokemon puffs" that look like little pastries that you can hand-feed them using the stylus - interact with them: petting them makes them happy, and when they're in a particularly good mood they'll play a game with you in which you get to make faces with them: the 3DS camera will show your Pokemon your smiling, winking, or making a 'kissyface'. Your Pokemon delight in your antics. - train them: you can play other minigames that boost their stats, allowing you to really bump up their skills! Have a Pokemon that's slow? Do lots of Speed training and they'll get faster. It's been huge amounts of fun watching my favorite Pokemon's stats raise and they really do perform better in battles. All of this revolves around a central story line, with good guys and bad guys, and the difference between X and Y seems to be that the storyline in 'Y' appears to go into a little bit darker territory than 'X', though both have the same overall story. You are encouraged to use the wireless aspects of 3DS to trade, battle, and 'see' each other's Pokemon when you're with someone else who is playing X or Y. You also get "O-Powers", which can be used to bump up stats as well. And early on in the game you have a chance to choose one of the three first-gen 'Starter' Pokemon and add them to your party, which is a really nice nod to the earlier games. There is a lot more to X and Y in that your character can now change clothes and mix and match different outfits. You can buy clothes in various boutiques throughout the land, and my daughter loves coming up with her own fashion ideas. Your character can shoot 'promo videos' of themselves, though this bit is kind of weird and a bit lame, like the 'movies' that you could make in Pokemon Black and Pokemon White...not very clear how it works, not sure exactly what the purpose is. There are huge benefits this time around too: most of the game is animated, and it all has a very nice cel-shaded look (think Sly Cooper or recent Zelda games). Camera angles are fairly dynamic, especially during battles, when the camera pans around or does split-screen effects, etc. Battle is a lot more animated, with more visual effects. The music sounds really great, as if it's been orchestrated this time around. The region you are in resembles a European village, complete with a lot of French-sounding names and places. As a very long-time player of JRPGs, I really didn't mind the look of the prior games at all--but I really LOVE the new look & feel of Pokemon X & Y! But the biggest boosts to the gameplay are: - Experience Share isn't specific to one Pokemon: it's in your pocket and causes bonus XP to be shared with every member of your party - It used to be that if you captured a Pokemon, no experience was handed out for the battle: now, you still get XP. - It also used to be that if a Pokemon fainted during a battle and wasn't revived before the battle was over, they didn't get XP. They do now! I even had a Pokemon faint and level up while fainted. This was a pleasant surprise that makes level-grinding easier to do. If you're new to the Pokemon games and this is your first one, X and Y are a great place to begin--you'll be a bit spoiled! If you're a fan of the original games, picture this as another step forward, with a whole new look. I've really enjoyed the additions and changes, as most of them seem aimed at making the entire experience of a Pokemon game more enjoyable.

As someone who has played all but one generation of Pokémon, I can definitely say that this generation is my favorite of all of them in many ways. From the get-go, two things stand out. The first is that, obviously, this is the first main series game to be fully in 3D, and by that I don't even necessarily mean the type of 3D that the 3DS deals in. I mean that this is the first time that the full game world, all the characters, and even the Pokémon themselves during battle are three-dimensional rather than just flat, 2D sprites. So, even if you're the type of person who keeps that 3D slider off at all times, this generation visually far exceeds it predecessors. The second is that you have more freedom with your character design this time around. In addition to being able to play as a boy or a girl, you have three skin tone and hair color combinations to choose from. However, that's just at the start of your game. As you progress, you will come across a number of boutiques selling clothes with which you can customize your character's look, and one city offers a salon for changing hair color and style. A particular NPC (non-player character) even offers you a set of colored contact lenses at one point, so you really do get a lot of options. Then, there's the gameplay, which has added numerous mechanics. Some are more subtle, such as the facts that your Pokémon now get experience even when you capture a Pokémon and that each Pokémon that participates in a battle receives the full amount of experience (rather than that amount divided by the number of your Pokémon who participated). Others are more obvious and make raising a good team more accessible. Super Training allows you to see and to train up specific base stats for each Pokémon, such as Speed, HP (Hit Points), and Attack. This is done via minigames and can be done to whatever extent you choose. Otherwise, those stats can be raised through battle as with previous generations (though this is a much more precise and hidden process that requires a guide if you're seeking to train specific traits). There's also Pokémon-Amie, which allows you to interact directly with your Pokémon, petting, feeding, and playing with it. This raises its affection, which, when sufficiently high, allows it to survive battle-ending hits or to ignore status effects out of sheer love for its trainer. Of course, it would be remiss not to mention important changes to battling. For the first time since the second generation (think Gold, Silver, and Crystal), there's a new type. This type is Fairy, and, as with the last introduction of new types, it changes a number of matchups. There are a number of places where you can find the updated type-matchup charts online, but there are other changes as well. Steel is no longer resistant to Dark or Ghost; Electric-types cannot get the Paralyzed status; Grass-types are not affected by powder moves; and Ghost-types are not affected by trapping moves or abilities. These all add extra nuances to the already strategy-heavy battle scene. Trading and online capabilities got a boost as well. As with the last generation, there are powers (called O-Powers rather than Pass Powers this time around) that can be utilized on yourself or on others to benefit the user in some way, and these can be leveled up. Battles and trading can be done online. Trading in particular has a couple of new options, Global Trade Station and Wonder Trade. Global Trade Station allows you to put a Pokémon up for trade under certain conditions. Uploaded Pokémon can be searched by anyone, and if they are willing to meet the conditions of the uploader, they can orchestrate the trade. This doesn't require you to stay connected to the Station, so you can upload a Pokémon and then come back later to see if you've gotten your requested trade. Wonder Trade, on the other hand, is simply random trading over the Internet. Trade wisely, but the idea is that you offer a Pokémon for trade and receive a Pokémon from some random other person using Wonder Trade. It can be a decent way to acquire Pokémon you don't have without needing to have people you know who play the game or needing to deal with the particulars of the Global Trade Station. Just remember that there will be both people trading great Pokémon and common, easily-acquired ones. There's also the concept of Mega Evolutions, which were part of the ad campaign for these games. I won't go into this, since it forms part of the plot, but it's a very effective and interesting mechanic, especially if such an evolution exists for any of your favorites. For fans of starter Pokémon, you get one of the starters from the first generation (Squirtle, Charmander, or Bulbasaur) early in the game. No matter how you look at it, this game brings a lot of new stuff to the table. My one gripe is that, compared to the last generation, where your rivals felt more developed and various characters (particularly gym leaders) were more involved with the plot, the story in this one feels less developed. However, the shorter post-game story is engaging, and the high stakes and occasionally somewhat-dark subject matter that are part of the plot with the antagonistic team help to alleviate this issue. Just be sure to talk to everyone and to experience all of what each city and building offers to get the most out of it.

Just got back into the Pokemon games after getting a 3ds for xmas. The last one I played was Silver and Gold and a little bit of original Ruby and Sapphire. The game is fun, with new pokemon and good graphics. Bought them for my partner and I to trade pokemon to help fill the pokedexs.