Pokémon The 5 Best Things About Kalos & 5 That Needed Improvement
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Pokémon The 5 Best Things About Kalos & 5 That Needed Improvement
Kalos is the Pokémon region for generation VI. Here are the best parts of Kalos, and some of the things that could have been improved. Like every region in the Pokémon series, Kalos has many amazing features, but also a few flaws. , but they have gained new improvements over the years. However, they also face new flaws as time goes on, especially as expanding technological capabilities are experimented with. Kalos, the setting from the Generation VI games X & Y, is based on France. As a result, it has many picturesque qualities and is full of culture. However, there are some parts of Kalos that could have used some more work. Here are the best parts of Kalos, and some of the things that could have been improved. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY Needed Improvement Lack of Exploration
The Kalos region is huge, with a ton of towns, routes, caves, and other areas to adventure through on your way to Pokémon League glory. Each route and town has its own character, design aesthetic, and vibe. However, there isn't a lot of room for sheer exploration. Much of the region has direct town-to-town connections in straight lines, and few areas allow for any diversion from the beaten path. Many players would have loved to have seen more room for self-guided adventure, rathershowing the way every few minutes. Pretty Great New Overworld Features
What the overworld lacked in exploration, it made up for in new overworld features and mechanics. Due to the sheer size of the main hub, Lumiose City, the player was provided new options for making their way around town. Gogoat's could be hired, and so could taxis. This was the first time that this type of mechanic would be used. The player can also take advantage of a local photographer, who will take pictures of the player in front of landmarks and other . These are just some of the new mechanics that were introduced in X & Y. Needed Improvement Unused Content
Often, the "sequel" games in a series will add new content, update the region, and move some things around. For example, Black 2 & White 2 slightly changed some of the geography of Unova, while Unfortunately, X & Y have yet to receive sequels or remakes, so they haven't had this treatment. As such, there are some areas that people theorize were reserved for events or sequels that never happened, such as , among others. Pretty Great Named Streets
An interesting thing that seems pointless but adds some weight to Kalos' "real" feeling is the fact that many of the routes are named, much like streets would be in real life. Route 2 is known as Avance Trail, Route 8 is known as Muraille Coast, and so on. This fits in perfectly with how real people actually treat roads, naming them officially or unofficially rather than calling them by numbers in many cities around the world. Needed Improvement Linearity
The region that came before Kalos, Unova, was heavily criticized for the fact that it's just a circle with very few detours off of its shape. Kalos could have been the opportunity but unfortunately, it wasn't. Kalos isn't quite the circle that Unova was, but it is still a geometric round shape that leads the player in what is basically a straight line throughout. Like many modern Pokémon games, the player is shepherded through the region by the game's characters and story, and there isn't much in terms of an open-world. Pretty Great Area Diversity
One of the great things about the Kalos region is that its home to a very wide variety of biomes, climates, and living creatures. There are mountainous cliffs overlooking the coast, crystal-filled caves, arid deserts, snowy mountains, and much, much more. Part of what makes many Pokémon games great is the ability to catch different types of Pokémon, and having a diverse region filled with different climates is the exact way to accomplish that. Needed Improvement Weird Biomes
The only problem with Kalos and its ability to provide a ton of different wildlife is that sometimes it doesn't make much sense. The arid desert and snowy routes are only a short distance from each other, and it seems like they tried to take a bunch of different biomes and put them all next to each other to make up the region. Realistic maps of the region show strange shapes, like the perfectly circular desert in the middle of a bunch of green, and the strange tentacle branch of snow that comes down just to include Snowbelle City. Kalos looks like a children's fantasy map drawing. Pretty Great Lumiose City
Castelia City in the Unova region showed how cool a large, sprawling metropolis could work in a 3D space in a Pokémon game. Shortly after, Lumiose City took that idea and sent it into the stratosphere. , filled with cafés, restaurants, skyscrapers, alleyways, and urban parks. Lumiose is clearly based on the downtown sections of Paris, and it exceeds the expectations of how that could operate. The taxis and tree-lined boulevards make it feel like a real city, and the amount of stuff to find and do is immeasurable. Needed Improvement Towns Are Forgettable
There's no doubt that Lumiose City is amazing, but compared to it, a few other towns can pale in comparison. There's no shortage of forgettable towns in every Pokémon game, but many of the ones in Kalos are definitely not memorable. There are a few spots that will spark nice memories for people, like Couriway, Anistar, or Laverre, but the rest are oft-forgotten by many. This is unfortunate because most of these towns are well-designed and very attractive. Pretty Great Picturesque
Despite some limitations, Kalos is a beautiful, gorgeous region that was fantastic to see on such a small cartridge at the time. It's a picturesque place with so many stunning landmarks, including the Parfum Palace , the Anistar Sundial, and much, much more. All around the Kalos region, one can stop and just admire the sights and sounds. Even simple things like grassy routes look fantastic, and there's no end to beauty in the area.