>>37114635SM has objectively better graphics but the european aesthetics in XY are much more interesting to look at for me personally, and the way they brought Lumiose City to life is the peak of Pokemon game design. Kalos really deserves to be revisited in future titles.
Also, the jump from 2D to 3D brought back feelings from the mid 90s, when Mario and Zelda were released on the N64. It‘s sad to think that gen 8 will probably not have such a WOW effect for us, even though it will surely be their most ambiguous project to date.
XY‘s chibi Models weren‘t really good, but the (few) in battle animations let us get a glimpse at how the characters are meant to look. And they looked cool, mature, detailed.. and while SM did away with chibi aesthetics, the protagonists seemed more like kids than ever before. It‘s funny but XY was more immersive for me because of that.
Mega Evolution > Z-Moves.
I like both mechanics, a lot of potential. I hope GF will refine instead of bury them in the future.
Pokemon designs were equally OK. I felt like gen 7 had a lot more gimmick mons. Overall, I think the smaller number helped both generations in terms of quality. But I am not opposed to the idea of another gen 5 like experience, with 150 or more new Pokemon, as long as they are quality designs.
And what can I say, I‘m a sucker for novelty so it‘s hard for me to return to older games. So for me, USUM is my current go-to Pokemon game. But I wish XY and SM changed places, because the former has the more solid foundation imho. XY with SM graphics, gridless overworld, non-chibi characters, enhanced lumiose city... but with XY’s performance (it’s FAST and a lot less laggy than any Pokemon game after it on the 3ds) and PSS.
I‘d much rather play that game instead of USUM right now.
