Last Saturday, Pokémon X and Y were released worldwide. So far, they have received critical acclaim (though Y has a higher score for some reason) and sold 5.5 million units in one day. I have heard several people, mostly my classmates in high school, say that Pokémon is for kids. Sure, it is featured in Happy Meal toys and has a terrible TV show, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy it as a college student. In fact, I would argue that Pokémon is better as a college student than as a kid.

Deeper Understanding

When I first started playing Pokémon, I had no idea what I was doing. I think I learned how to catch Pokémon after getting my second badge. It wasn’t until high school when I truly hit my Pokémon stride with Pearl version, nearly catching every Pokémon. I think I logged over 300 hours into that game.

While I love Blue version and have fond memories of all of the awesome music from that game, I would say I had the most fun with Pearl version since I was old enough to understand all of its intricacies. Even then, I didn’t understand everything. Pokémon can get pretty complex if you delve into it. I doubt many kids are reading up on Effort Values or Individual Values in order to maximize their team’s damage output. X and Y has new systems that allow for different ways to train your Pokémon, including minigames and new items. If you’re looking for depth in a game, Pokémon X/Y is deeper than previous entries and is deeper than many RPGs on the market.

Community of Players

The new Pokémon capitalizes on the 3DS’s improved social features, such as the Street Pass. You can meet nearby players in the game simply by being in a close proximity to them. You can also meet people over the internet. This feature seems perfect for a college campus. You can both see if your friends are nearby or meet new people. It’s like the playground in the 6th grade on a whole new level. Plus, there’s no teachers that will take away your 3DS like they would my Gameboy Advance.

Timekiller

Let’s assume that you have an hour long break between two of your classes. What do you do? Do you do your reading for your next class? Probably not, since you’re the responsible student that did the reading the night before. Read the Collegian? Of course! However, it usually doesn’t take an entire hour to read it. You could sit on your phone and constantly refresh Facebook. That sounds exciting. Way more exciting than battling dragons against each other.

Pokémon X/Y is perfect for wasting time between classes because you can stop whenever you want to. Simply close your 3DS and you can pick up where you left off after class. If you don’t already have a 3DS, it might seem like a steep investment for one game, especially as a college student who’s strapped for cash. Nintendo thought of that and, the same day Pokémon came out, they released the 2DS, which  is a 3DS that cannot display in 3D and is $40 cheaper than the regular 3DS.

Even though I haven’t played Pokémon X/Y enough to say if it’s the best Pokémon game to date, I can say that it’s extremely fun and is perfect for college gamers who either want a deep RPG that allows for various play styles or want a fun portable game that has social features for the player on the go. Both versions are $40 and can only be played on the 3DS or 2DS.