>>51866635First, let's definite optional area. Usually in these games it comes down to a new nameplate and/or a loading screen, although if we're going by
>>51866532 saying "optional nooks and crannies" we can assume they meant just shit behind cut trees. We should probably also define major, I'd consider that at least one map with a design idea. For two examples on the difference, Altering Cave in Gen 3 I wouldn't call major since it's gimmick doesn't work, and while RSE Scorched Slab is a Japanese cultural reference it's basically a room with an item while in ORAS it has a lot more going on. If you want to be more broad to include all nameplated areas as major, that's definitely a choice but it's not what I'm going with. With these definitions in mind, these are the major optional areas in XY, provided with commentary.
>Azure Bay (the end cockblocks you until postgame)>Lost Hotel (very nice, no complaints)>Route 16 (it's fine)>Terminus Cave (the end cockblocks you until postgame)>Battle Chateau (which does contain pure gameplay but mostly serves to get you extra EXP in a game that gives you a lot of that already)>Berry Fields (I genuinely forgot you could only do berries in this one spot, I'll give you that I forgot about it, my bad)And that's about it until postgame, which adds everything in Killoude and turns 3 single empty rooms into 3 single rooms with a singular thing in them. So if you want to be really generous, that barely can't be counted on your hands. It's like a dozen. If we be that generous with the other games, then even that shitpost image of Route 9 those discord fags always post has 4 entrances, 2 mandatory ones, 1 main game one in Shopping Mall 9, and 1 postgame one. I dunno how generous I am to consider Shopping Mall 9 to be major optional content, but the more generous we are the more damning everything about XY becomes.
