It has been almost 16 years since the first Nintendo Pokemon game, Red and Blue, came to North America. From GameBoy to GameCube to Nintendo DS, not much has changed with the story and formula. The goal will almost always be to travel around the region and catch creatures to become the best trainer. However, with the sixth generation, 2D has now become 3D in Pokemon X and Pokemon Y for Nintendo 3DS.

After its’ worldwide release on Oct. 12, the game sold more than 4 million copies in just two days. Before it came out, only a few bits of information had been leaked, causing many to wonder what it contained. It was not a disappointment.

Whereas most of the earlier games were based in Japan, except for generation five, the new Kalos Region is actually based in Europe with scenes involving the Eiffel Tower and a town having some resemblance of the Stonehenge. Players start in Vaniville Town where the mom is a Ryhorn racer and three new friends, which soon become rivals, join in. Two of them give gamers the choice of a starter Pokemon (Fire, Water and Grass). Then it is off to defeat the eight gym leaders while encountering the game’s main enemy, Team Flare.

While traveling, fans will encounter many wild characters, common or uncommon, and battle challenging trainers. Instead of only having grass to walk into, there are now colorful flowers, which contain random Pokemon. However, there is a new feature as there are now sky battles in which characters battle in the air with flying Pokemon and Hordes. This may be annoying as they all gang up together. The fastest way is to run away without an attack is to attack all of them at once.

In battles, there is a new evolution that takes place called Mega Evolution. This allows specific Pokemon like Absol, Charizard and Blaziken to evolve further. The only way to do this is by giving the characters specific stones, which boosts their stats, give them new abilities and mixes their types. Some are given to you during the game or after. There is also a new type that has been revealed along with a new Eevee type, Sylveon. It is the Fairy Type which levels out the Dragon types who were dominant before. Other than Sylveon, older Pokemon like Gardevoir, have Fairy mixed within them.

Items have also returned with new or improved ones. Besides the return of the running shoes and bicycle, there are now roller skates. Though difficult to control at first, they are quite fun to stroll down the paths with. The hardest part is trying to talk to people and get into doors as the skates are so fast. The Experience Share has changed greatly and is received early in the game. Instead of equipping it to one Pokemon, you just have to turn it on and it affects all of them. This makes it a bit faster to level up, but the downside is that it makes it easier to defeat the Gym Leaders. What’s the fun in defeating the enemy without all the challenges?

Also included in the game are a couple of mini-games. One is similar to Nintendogs as it allows gamers to interact with a creature and play games with it, like Berry Picker, and is called Pokemon-Aime. This allows one to bond, which in battle helps a character dodge attacks and break out of trances quickly. There is also a training system, which boosts stats by defeating Balloon Pokemon and tackling punching bags.

Passing by friend and strangers? The Player Search System lets you easily keep track of them and trade as well as battle. Wonder trade is a neat feature, which allows you to blind trade with anyone in the world and helps complete your Pokedex.

Keeping up with modern times, the 3D looks awesome. The camera pans in and out in certain areas making it seem as gamers are really involved and see the world in different perspectives. During the battles, the focus changes frequently for close ups with your Pokemon or the enemy and the attacks are clearly different with a little quick animation (Pikachu even says its name when it comes out or uses Growl). The 3D effect, if turned on, can bother fans eyes a bit.

For 16 years, the franchise has been growing up and changing. From 2D pixels to 3D graphics, the game has greatly improved with new animated battles, different scenes and online improvements without changing the game’s story or main formula. It’s battle, defeat, win and become the best within a new 3D world. Fans grew up, and so did Pokemon with X and Y.