Pokemon X & Y Confirmed to Have 2D Overworld

Well, shoot.

In an interview with Pokémon X & Y Director Junichi Masuda, it has been confirmed that the overworld in the games will be 2D only. Speaking with Digital Spy, Masuda said,

“We really wanted to make the overworld – the field – as beautiful as possible. We could put in a lot of grass and flowers, and try to make them as pretty as possible. When you don’t use the 3D effect you are able to render quite a bit more on the 3DS. That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to leave it off in the overworld, because it gives us more power to show off more beautiful graphics.”

This is rather disappointing since the games have been hyped up so much. If the battles can be in 3D, why can’t the team take their time and utilize a 3D overworld? Sure, the 2D overworld may look great on the 3DS, but then again, the overworld of most of the Pokémon games have looked great. The art direction and style of each one has been phenomenal. The thing is though; a lot of us were looking forward to seeing what a stereoscopic 3D landscape would look like in a Pokémon game. Now that we know it won’t be, I’m not so sure I’m as excited at this point.

What do you think?

Does this news affect your decision to purchase Pokémon X & Y? Comment below!