There is something rather off about it. Character model looks skiny-chibi and the textures could be way better
I'd agree that some of the overworld textures seem to look like late-stage DS titles, a little choppy and bland, but in general I think the look is pretty great. In screenshots like the one above, the camera angling is just right for me- I like that since they're using models for the characters, there's a real concept of presence in the world now. I mean I like that the maps are going to be pretty much proportionate to the size of the characters, which will be interesting to see. (I know that was the case before but since the characters are much bigger now, it'll be cooler). I saw a pretty interesting analysis of the trailer where someone considered the new region to be based on Europe/a European country. Pikachu's little introduction shows that he's standing on the Eiffel Tower, and in the clip where the male protagonist is skating, you can see a structure resemblant of the Eiffel Tower in the background. Mightn't be much to go on, but since Unova was basically based on New York City, we could well be getting what is essentially Pokemon: Europe Version. OH AND ALSO. Note that the titles are "Pokémon X and Pokémon Y", not "Pokémon X Version" and so on. They don't seem to be using the word 'version'. Which isn't significant anyway, but it's a change.
I'm hoping it's based on Europe but the explanation that Pikachu was standing on a well-known international symbol could also just be meant to represent the synchronized worldwide release. But I like the idea of the games being based in different areas worldwide so I'm sticking with the based-in-France theory. :P
Europe could be a really good base for a region. Lots of variety, history, and scenery. As long as the Gen 6 region is better than Unova...I found Unova to be dark, drab, and boring.
It was alright. I'd prefer a region that covers more area, though. Knowing the entirety of Unova was just NYC and its surrounding 'burbs was kind of boring. They fit in too many caves and stuff but the terrain felt really same-y and none of the cities really stood out as interesting except Castelia. The only reason that stood out was because they tried so freaking hard to make a big deal out of it. I don't think I remember a single city name aside from that, though. I liked the other regions for having a lot of really interesting places. Even in Hoenn, which I hate, I remember Pacifidlog Town, that treehouse place, the area with the volcanic ash, the place you had to dive to get to, and so on. The locales were interesting and getting from Point A to Point B was at the very least an adventure. When everything is so close together and the only way they can stretch a route out is to put a cave in it... it just gets boring. So I do hope this means Europe and not just Paris, haha.
My main complaint about Hoenn was the amount of water and the fact the entire northwestern part of the map was a bunch of nothing that you basically had to traverse in a circle as part of the main story. The towns were the most creative in the series though - Fortree, Pacifidlog, Sootopolis, Mossdeep, Dewford, and Lavaridge all stuck out as being fairly unique settings, and the routes between them were memorable. Unova was just really boring and everything felt samey.
Yeah, I like the ideas used in Hoenn a lot but the execution fell flat for me. Though if it ever gets a remake, maybe I won't mind the horrid water routes as much if I'm going through them with a super-effective Cherrim. :P But really, I feel almost anything will be an improvement over Unova's general setup so I'm not scared of the direction they'll take or anything.
Another thing to possibly back up the Europe-based theory is the legendaries, Xerneas and Yveltal. This is really based on hearsay so I guess I could afford to look into it myself- I read somewhere that Xerneas (blue-stag on X) could be based on some Nordic mythological creature, a deer with hooves of brass (and I'm pretty sure there was something about the antlers, too). Since Xerneas basically has sword-feet, I think that'd be a pretty strong basis. But again, I need to look this stuff up myself. I agree that if it's Europe based, it's ACTUALLY Europe-based rather than Paris based, as Cherrim raised. While it was cool to have a region based on somewhere other than Japan- but it was a bit boring, really. Just a little. I do believe that B/W/B2/W2 were probably the best in the series despite that, though. I bit the bullet and ordered a 3DS online today- I just want these games so badly I don't want to have to buy both the console AND game upon release :3
I found what you were talking about on Wikipedia: "In Greek mythology, the Ceryneian Hind (Greek: ἡ Κερυνῖτις ἔλaφος), also called Cerynitis, was an enormous hind (deer), who lived in Keryneia, Greece. It was sacred to Artemis, the chaste goddess of the hunt, animals and unmarried women. It had golden antlers like a stag and hooves of bronze or brass, and it was said that it could outrun an arrow in flight. The capture of the hind was one of the labors of Heracles (Hercules)." Cool. Definitely not Parisian though so Gen 6 may be based on Europe after all.
I think there's a lot of potential if Europe is indeed the setting. French, German, Italian/Roman, Grecian, Spanish, Russian...there's so much variety in cultures and scenery that they could just run with. I think we could see some seriously creative cities and towns if they really explore and attempt to recreate the spectrum of different European locations.
