Pokémon X and Y (and Another Pokémon Poll)

Balladeer wrote:

Are they any good?  I remember loving the original, but I was in single figures at the time.

The ones from my childhood are all excellent.
But in all seriousness, they're alright. I enjoy watching the series, but most of the time its not what you'd call "good". Its 99% filler.
The films, apart from a couple, are much more exciting and stick to the good bits. Foir example, this one has a really odd, creepy, dreamlike feel.

Balladeer wrote:

Are they any good?  I remember loving the original, but I was in single figures at the time.

The Pokemon movies are kind of mixed bag. The first one *is* very good...if you ignore the forced and really stupid "FIGHTING IS BAD" moral 4Kids tries to insert via the dub (Brother, my brooootther~). Mewtwo is a pretty awesome character in both versions. If you *do* watch movie 1 again, I very much recommend watching "The Birth of Mewtwo"

This short is actually the original opening to the Movie in the Japanese version, 4Kids cut it because "Kids don't need to know why Mewtwo exists or why he's kind of hacked off with everything from the get go - just get right to dat action!"



Personally my faves are Movie 1, Movie 3 (Entei), Movie 4 (Celebi~) and Movie 13 (Zorua and Zoroark)

Outside the first movie and third, most are fairly light affairs where the purpose is mostly just to make some awesome looking Pokemon battles that the anime can't usually do on it's budget, and give that Generations "Legendaries" special starring roles.

Also the Pikachu shorts that come with almost every movie are always awesome

Back with a bang, I see!  Funny thing is, it's precisely that fight scene with the silly song that I remember making me cry when I was a child (TWICE), and which I therefore have fond memories of.  I guess I can watch the short when I have some free time, and then possibly watch some of the others if I like it.  Does Ash/Satoshi have a less annoying voice in Japanese?

And Mewtwo is always a brilliant character.

"Shooo ... thish ish my power."

Balladeer wrote:

Back with a bang, I see!  Funny thing is, it's precisely that fight scene with the silly song that I remember making me cry when I was a child (TWICE), and which I therefore have fond memories of.  I guess I can watch the short when I have some free time, and then possibly watch some of the others if I like it.  Does Ash/Satoshi have a less annoying voice in Japanese?

And Mewtwo is always a brilliant character.

Satoshi basically sounds like your standard shonen hero, So lots of excited chatter. As Iris regularly notes in Black and White, Satoshi and Ash are both like constantly excited kids. Satoshi is maybe a bit less dense than Ash can be though.

That fight scene is great, but the song and the moral of the dub kind of messes with the intent. The dub is trying to make the moral be "Fighting is bad" - whereas the theme of the Japanese film is actually about the clones having as much right to exist as the real Pokemon, the way they were created shouldn't change that. Japanese Mewtwo doesn't consider himself superior - he's constantly questioning himself because he is uncertain to his purpose, why he exists, and what his goals should be. Generally it's own answer initially is to wonder if it's created to be superior to Mew and to humans (because Giovanni tells Mewtwo that Humans trump Pokemon, kind of in the way we assume we are superior to animals) - so he invites all those trainers and their Pokemon to see if that theory is true.

(also fun note: Mew in the Japanese version isn't fighting just to stop Mewtwo "taking over the world" - Mew actually believes Mewtwo and his clones are abominations that don't deserve to exist alongside the originals)

That's why that Pikachu scene is so powerful, it's not refusing to fight as a pacifist - it refuses to fight clone Pikachu because it believes in it's right to exist. Which frustrates Clone Pikachu because it feels it NEEDS to defeat Pikachu in fair combat to validate it's reason for living. Essentially, while Pikachu is trying to say "It's okay, we don't need to do this!", Clone Pikachu is like "You idiot! if I cannot defeat you fairly, how can I say I *deserve* to exist. Why would you deny me the answers I desire so badly, just fight me!" so Pikachu keeps taking those slaps because it means THAT much to his clone.

Then Satoshi crosses the beams and gets turned to stone in his bid to try and stop the fighting, everyone gets upset because the kid didn't deserve it, there was no reason to it. Satoshi wasn't fighting a clone or trying to prove his worth, he just wanted to ensure no pokemon - clone or original, had to die, and without thinking threw himself into it selflessly. From that act, Mewtwo (and Mew) finally realizes the circumstances in which anyone is born, or brought into being, should not determine your right to live. It's how you choose to live that matters.

Anime localisation dumbs down messages for kids.  Further reports at eleven.

So... when do people think it is appropriate for me to start getting worried that ShopTo haven't sent me confirmation of delivery? I am kinda hoping that since the release date is a Saturday, the game will reach me on the Friday so I have something nice to come home to, but if I don't get the e-mail by tomorrow I'm not sure how likely that is.

Sounds like the online stores in the UK are a heck of a lot better than the ones here.  I've had to order at a shop locally specifically because the online scene here is so lousy.  Last time I got something pre ordered through the mail it took almost a week to arrive because some bright spark thought sending items out only a day before release yet sending them through snail mail was acceptable and going to provide prompt service.  

I made a lame joke about the Pokémon release on Twitter this morning and it's been retweeted 28 times.

Is this what being famous is like?

OMG IT'S BEEMOH! Will you sign this copy of Hey You Pikachu?

Balladeer wrote:

So... when do people think it is appropriate for me to start getting worried that ShopTo haven't sent me confirmation of delivery?  I am kinda hoping that since the release date is a Saturday, the game will reach me on the Friday so I have something nice to come home to, but if I don't get the e-mail by tomorrow I'm not sure how likely that is.

I think after Nintendo got a bit shirty with Canada and France, retailers are gonna be really on the ball about not giving anyone a copy before Saturday. But maybe I'm giving someone too much or too little credit there.

Balladeer wrote:

Anime localisation dumbs down messages for kids.  Further reports at eleven.

So... when do people think it is appropriate for me to start getting worried that ShopTo haven't sent me confirmation of delivery?  I am kinda hoping that since the release date is a Saturday, the game will reach me on the Friday so I have something nice to come home to, but if I don't get the e-mail by tomorrow I'm not sure how likely that is.

The word I'm hearing is that everyone who isn't Tesco have their hands tied till Wednesday at the earliest. Tesco can get away with posting yesterday because they send games Second Class, while ShopTo and Game usually opt for first class. So theres every chance you may not even see your game get a posting confirmation till Thursday afternoon, making it on time for Friday.

Basically currently the release status for retailers looks like this

Tesco: You picked the lucky supplier who shipped early, don't bother now, because second class means it won't get to you now till Friday/Saturday anyway. Guess those quick balls had real world physical effects too!

ShopTo and Game (Physical) : Orders are all going into processing atm for posting on Wednesday or Thursday depending.

Game (Digital) : GAME said those codes would go live before Midnight Friday, so likely some point in the evening on Friday. Seeing as this is an official release, don't expect codes to go up any earlier than whatever Nintendo deems acceptable. Before midnight could mean 11pm to us UK types

Amazon: lol dunnoe

Not heard from anyone who preordered elsewhere, but that should help ease peoples minds, very few people will be lucky enough to have a copy from tomorrow.

I'll just leave this here.
New "Unprecedented" Pokemon game in the works, with a heavy focus on Pikachu... Hmmm....
Will be revealed October 28....

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=693829

Quote :

Hey You Pikachu 2: To The Streets.

I'd have gone for Hey You Pikachu 2: Electric Boogaloo, but that's only because I'm not very imaginative.

I'm not going to get excited because its obviously going to be Poképark or something.
Although it apparently changes Pikachu, so I foresee a gritty FPS starring Staff-Sergeant Pikachu Smith in the elite P.O.K.E.M.O.N unit.

Well I got ShopTo's order receipt last night, so I feel slightly comforted now. Thanks Jenny and Buska for your services!  

Look who's back...

Spoiler:

Yaaay it's THAT guy!!

Two days to go!  Anybody had any changes of heart over what starter they're going to pick since last time we said which we're picking?  I'm still going for Fennekin, but I might nab myself the grass fellow from my second trio choice.

Still going with Froakie.  Out of the trio, Chespin seems like the class clown, Froakie the quiet intelligentsia, and Fennekin the vain prissy diva/normal person's choice.

I'm not sure whether that makes Froakie Edgeworth and Fennekin Wright or the other way round, but Chespin is definitely Larry Butz.

As I'am no longer getting beyond two souls, so PS3 can go which is this weekend. I have a few (jim)bob to spend, so going to get both X&Y now, was tempted to even get a 2DS and play both at the same time (not going to if i was going to get another 3DS it would be a import). So starters I'm not sure as I'm

spolier's:

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Spoiler:

One thing I've been hearing about X and Y is how vibrant its world is. I've heard it makes previous Pokemons appear almost static by comparison.

Definitely getting Fennekin, cos I like its final evo.

Spoiler:

I'm still leaning towards Froakie because

Spoiler:

I still have no idea who I'm going to use really, as I am going to have Squirtle as my Kanto Starter and I will be using Torchic in one game as well so maybe Chespin until I find a Gogoat.

Spoiler: