Pokémon X and Y: Where Nostalgia Ends | Retrospective

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Pokémon X and Y are a pair of video games released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, following 2012's Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 for the Nintendo DS. These games were the start of a new era for the series - fully 3D on a handheld, a new battle gimmick in the form of Mega Evolution, and overall incredibly divisive. Some people see these games as the high point of the series, and some see them as the start of a variety of issues that continue to plague new Pokémon games to this day.

As for Jamie, well, it's complicated.

Today on Stuff We Play, come along for this 48-minute-long video essay retrospective on the good and bad of Pokémon X and Y, the state of Pokémon ten-ish years ago, and on how experiencing video games change as we get older, and where feelings of childhood nostalgia seem to end.

Time Stamps:

Intro: 00:00
What was the first 3D Pokémon RPG?: 01:54
Did something fundamentally change with Pokémon?: 02:48
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 Quick Recap: 03:31
The Launch of Pokémon X and Y: 04:51
Why is this where nostalgia ends for me?: 07:18
Game Deep Dive Part 1: 09:25
Meet your Many Rivals: 11:19
Early Game Woes: 12:56
The Gen 1 Reference Count: 14:12
Game Deep Dive Part 2: 16:27
Unused Train Stations, Unenterable Labs, and Underwhelming Post-Game: 18:57
Game Deep Dive Part 3: 21:17
Jamie's Unofficial Really Fast X and Y Egg Hatching Guide: 25:37
Game Deep Dive Part 4: 27:13
Pokédex Size vs Early Game Pokémon Variety: 29:48
X and Y Did Some, At the Time, Unique Things: 30:37
You Can Get a Useable Party Without Much (or any) Pokémon Catching: 31:24
Sky Battles Suck: 33:20
Game Deep Dive Part 5 (ft. Fairy Types): 34:29
I found the plot!: 37:07
Game Deep Dive Part 6: Endgame: 39:00
The Ending is a Mixed Bag: 41:14
Does Kalos Stand Out?: 42:37
Growing Pains: 43:33
Conclusion: 47:04

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Music from Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon Black and White, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Pokémon X and Y, Final Fantasy 7, and Chrono Cross.

Additional Music from:

Mewmore
"Battle! Gym Leader (Pokémon X & Y Remix)"

JXC
"Battle Tower ~ Pokémon D/P/Pt Remix"

Jamphibious (via OCRemix)
"Forest Fire"

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#pokemon #pokemonxy #videoessay

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Thank you for watching!
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Pokemon X and Y's biggest issue is that they were never able to conclude their story, and have been perpetually left hanging.
There were no follow-ups to them so now they've kind of become a lingering memory lingering memory for everybody and that incomplete feeling that some have about these games have for many blood into other games after this

desdar
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Personally I felt like they had a lot of missed potential.
The Kalos region aestheticly is one of my favorites. It has a lot of personality imo with the skating, pokemon riding, the overall city design and oh my god the fashion.
Character customisation in XY is still my favorite since the clothes you can pick from feel more mature compared to the latter generation

ebering.
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Its fun that X and Y is where nostalgia starts for me.

santiagoaristizabal
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Pokémon X & Y will actually be one of my favorites as it was one of my very first main line games I physically owned. But I can agree that X & Y had quite the flaws & I’m not afraid to admit that. If we ever do get a Pokémon Z one day that does deal with the many flaws of these games, I would be one of the most happiest people alive.

So yeah… They may have not been the best games, but they were the stepping stone for the next few main line 3D games and I will forever be thankful for that.

emeralddragonz.
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Fun fact: I'm now living in Germany, thanks to what I do for work! This video was recorded and edited while travelling around and settling into my new (and potentially permanent) place!

Another fun fact: Before my flight, I traded a few Switch games in and had a choice of a Scarlet/Violet preorder, or picking up Legends: Arceus and one of the Hyrule Warriors games. With everything I've heard about glitches and stability issues, I think I made the right choice by taking the latter option.

Update on that: Legends Arceus was good but perhaps a bit overhyped. Hyrule Warriors is a blast! As of April 2023 I still haven't tried S/V. Unless they really patch those glitches, I think they'll end up being a permanent pass from me.

Third and final fun fact: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are called Pokémon Karmesin and Purpur in Germany. I was really surprised by that the first time I walked into a Mediamarkt!

StuffWePlay
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Gen 6 was what got me back into Pokemon. I grew up playing Gens 1-3 as a kid back in 99-and early 2000’s. Stopped for whatever reason. 2014-2015 came i turned 21 and Bought pokemon Y and fell in love with the Pokemon games all over again.

joemonteirosportsshorts
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Pokémon X & Y definitely don’t deserve the hate they receive… Sword & Shield are truly a game that deserves to be hated lol

jasonphillips
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As a gen 1 baby, I loved XYORAS. The game was so great for breeding, EV training, team building and WiFi battles which is my favourite part of pokémon. I felt the post game was good enough to accommodate this, plus the megas are the best gimmick added since physical special split. I loved the character customisation, it made the whole game feel personal. Plus the great wild pokémon placement, having access to puedo legends early on in grass and caves, speed boost torchic, and talon flame was a great spin on the franchise that usually locks the best team members behind post game.

ORAS is also a great remake of the best nostalgic generation too. I haven't had so much fun with pokémon, and haven't ever since. Especially with the shiny hunt-a-thon spin off Legends Arceus. I had absolutely nothing to do in that game. All the aspects I enjoy of pokémon were left out entirely.

-grey
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X and Y are so nostalgic for me!! I remember getting my copy of X with my older brother. Seeing this world in 3D while also having a new type to use and Megas to see was SO awesome. Walking into lumiose for the very first time and having the camera pan behind your shoulder was amazing. Everything felt so large and I felt so grown up, like I was on my own adventure. There is something so charming about that first time…

Keychamp
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tHIS IS THE FIRST GAME I GOT really into competitive battling, trading and maasuda methoding dittos to get 6 IV mons, and generally ever spent the most time in, studying, loving, and just being enthralled in. Been playing since Blue version (born 1990). These games may have lacked story depth, but this was the first time i felt competitive pokemon especially took off. Especially due to Mega's as well. Great times.

sonsofliberty
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Last pokemon I thoroughly enjoyed. The online features were amazing, being able to fight random people and become friends. Even had mic chat capabities with friends on your list

sammariofan
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This is probably the first video of yours in which I agree with almost nothing you said, haha. I love that we can have such different experiences with the same game. For me, X was my first official entry into the Pokemon series (I was too poor to own a handheld before then). Even though I was in my 20s by then, it felt so special. I went to play previous games after finishing X, but a lot of what I loved about X's accessibility was not there: the easier breeding, the competitive meta, wonder-trading, etc. And the worlds fell smaller in a lot of cases, the stories and characters less engaging. I know I'm not in the majority, but I find X/Y much more compelling than most.

MarcosCodas
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I was about 8 or 9 when i played Y.
I grew up with an older brother who played previous generations, I always wanted to have a better relationship with him. I was a very lonely kid and Y felt like a new and exciting adventure, the rivals felt like friends and i loved the characters. I have since played previous generations and i can agree that they are better.
I loved the world, it was so pretty but aspects of it felt sad and empty even to me at the time. I havent really played any of the more recent generations, i couldnt afford a switch when sword and shield came out. When i could afford them they looked dull and nothing like the pokemon i remember.
Nostalgia is weird...

charcoal
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X & Y were 100% the beginning of the end for me. It’s where the quality of the mainline games immediately began to dip, and I could tell from my first playthrough in 2013 that I wouldn’t be remembering these games nearly as fondly as the ones before. UltraSun/ UltraMoon brought back a brief bump in quality/memorability, which then immediately & continuously fell with every new title after that (except Legends Arceus, which was a wonderful breath of fresh air).

randomRyze
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As a kid, I got Pokemon Blue the month it came out & ended up buying every new gen up to Diamond & Pearl.

But even though I was still buying them, I had pretty much been burnt out since Emerald, and even then I wasn't super thrilled.

X & Y changed that though. We were finally getting 3D Pokemon & 3D environments. You gotta remember, 3D had become standard back in the N64 era, so we had been waiting a long time for Pokemon to finally get to that point.

Pokemon was always formulaic, with everything from your starters to the 2 opposing teams, to the elite 4, to the gym badges, etc etc etc, and it was also incredibly easy. It felt like the series would never evolve (pun intended), and that we'd be stuck with the same setup forever.

Then X & Y gave us an exciting new presentation, more animated Pokemon, and Mega evolutions. Old favorites finally got that mythical "4th evolution" we kids used to fantasize about on the playground. The stories of Pokemon games were never GOOD, just good for Pokemon, so that didn't matter. Customization of your characters, the online stuff, and finally getting a new type (a broken type, but still cool) was so memorable.

I don't care if other games had better stories or were more complete, X & Y helped reinvigorate my love of the series & get me to care again! Well, at least until Sword & Shield botched things, and Scarlet & Violet finished it off... 😅

corey
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I got the hot take. Mega evolutions weren't good or fun. They also started the tradition of battle gimmicks that only last 1 generation and are quickly forgotten the next.

danielgloyd
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X and y hold a lot of nostalgia for me personally. I was pretty young when I got them, and being 10 with a new Pokemon game was exciting. The ability to play with other people, as my brother had stopped playing and I had no Pokemon friends.
I was obsessed with wonder trade. The surprise, the chance to get something cool. I have more traded to me Mon in that game then ones I caught myself. They were the first games I got a shiny in, first ones I beat. The environments were fun as well

Though, I like the games I can see the points about gen 1 pandering and wanting to go to areas the games won't allow. I wanted to see the race track when I was a kid, cause I could see the ends but not get to it.

wandom
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My guy, the idea of Mewthree goes back WAYYY further than that Chaos Black ROM hack. Mewthree was from early into pokémons life back in Gen 1 as kids from all over would make stuff up and spread the ideas across playgrounds and classrooms like wildfire. Mewthree, like Pikablu, were just some of these rumors.

harlock
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Seeing this is funny to me cause XY were my first games, so it *is* my nostalgia.

justadude
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the P.S.S. is still the best communication system any pokemon game ever had

marcwazowski