>>38444156You hit the nail on the head, anon. XD isn't a bad game at all, but it's definitely the weaker of the two.
I can deal with the Snag Machine being turned into lab gear, I can deal with the processes of shutting hearts/purifying being done with computer programs because technology in the Pokemon world is crazy, but Michael just isn't as good of a protagonist as Wes is.
Wes, while never straight up stated to have committed crimes, is part of Team Snagem, a criminal gang known around the region, is said to have a father-son dynamic with their leader, and there's also the chick in Pyrite Town, a town known for being shady and filled with people who commit petty crimes, saying Wes would fit right in. He was fine with whatever Snagem was into before, but it's implied he defects because he isn't OK with them stealing Pokemon, and not only steal the Snag Machine before hiding out on his sick motorcycle, but also blows up their base. Even if some of it is implied or in his past, he's got a story and progression. Michael is just a kid. It's cool that he's not some chosen one like the protagonists in later Pokemon games, but there's nothing to him.
Characters aside, there's little things XD did that take away from the world. The Under is gone, and although it's stated that they caved it in because of everything with Cypher, the Cipher Lab which is right near Realgam Tower, is still there? Even the Snagem Hideout, which the TVs in Colosseum say police were alerted to because of the explosion Wes caused, is still there and being used. Pyrite Cave is also sealed off because why not. Hyper Mode, where your Shadow Pokemon would sometimes not listen AND attack you, was changed to "Reverse Mode" for no reason.
Again, not a bad game, and better mechanically than Colosseum, but the weaker of the two games overall.
