It's hilarious that the Java edition is limited to PCs when the programming language Java is meant to enable a cross platform programming environment and the bedrock edition is written in C++ which requires platform specific compilation.

I call the Java Edition "Mojang's Minecraft" and Bedrock Edition "Microsoft's Minecraft".

I grew up on bedrock and was always under the impression that java was unanimously understood as the superior version

We can all agree the Bedrock Wither is an absolute menace.

I really hate that they say "We are working in parity between versions", and then 20 minutes later they add another feature exclusive for one of the two editions. That's what i really hate about the game right now

Mojang is serious about not diverging the games further as anything new introduced since 1.15 that is different across both versions is considered a high priority bug. But Mojang really needs to make a dedicated update to solve the parity problems created in the past due to lack of coordination before 1.15

As a fan of both versions, I am proud to announce that I prefer the Legacy version.

The fact that the Legacy Console Edition and Java Edition have similar features such as Redstone and customizable superflat worlds are my two favourite versions of the game

The Bedrock vs Java debate is only a taste of what it is like being from the Balkans.

Putting “Java Edition” under the name of the Java Edition and removing “Bedrock Edition” under the name of the Bedrock Edition is what really sent me over the edge. (Edit): for the people who keep saying "well actually Bedrock isn't a knockoff of Java": I know that. Stop trying to tell me that. I'm just saying it feels and looks like a knockoff.

I always played on Java, because that's what I started playing on and I like to use mods. I recently started playing Bedrock so I can play with my niece and I was surprised by how different it is. I LOATHE that I can't carry a crossbow in my off-hand.

I've been playing bedrock since it came out and I think I talk for a lot of people when I say many of us bedrock players, hate our own version because we can't have mods. Also, many good farms are only functional in java. The thing is that, in those aspects (among many others) we're just screwed. And however, we can't just buy a pc and buy java edition. It's not that easy.

Personally me and almost everyone I know IRL (we're in our late teens) plays Java edition, simply because that's the version we all played when we were little kids - back when there was no Bedrock edition. I suspect there's probably a considerable difference in the average age of Java players vs Bedrock players for this reason.

At the end of the day both versions can agree and say, "Hey, at least we don't play education edition."

As a Bedrock player I had that same "uncanny valley" feeling when I tried playing on Java. I wanted to play in Java because of the TNT duping and all the cool stuff I could do with it, but the gap of differences was too wide to cross and I returned to the version I was comfortable with. To be completely honest, I always thought that the Java edition was seen as the main version and not the other way around. Whenever I'd search something, I'd always specify it was for the Bedrock edition, which I believed to be "secondary".

one of the things i hate most about the java/bedrock divide is mojang removed features from java when they were attempting to convert everyone, so they would see java getting worse and jump ship

What I hate is that these two editions are obviously meant to be different and yet they are still trying to convince us that they strive for full parity.

10:36 You can tell that the difference list starts getting more intense at this point. "Villagers sell different things..."

I love how easy it is to play with friends in bedrock

If Java could just be as fast as Bedrock and push furnaces, chests, etc...and if Bedrock could get Java's Redstone a lot of people would be happy

Retro, you're the best. Also, do a "RAGE SWITCH: The Glow Squid Debate" video.

I like this a lot. As someone who was a kid when Minecraft came out and wasn’t to impressed, and now as someone who plays bedrock on my switch… I really feel the emotional connection to your worlds and builds. I appreciate it now that I’m older, but really feel sad that I can’t play with any of my friends on Java. Just to show them what I’ve done, seen and made.

I really dont care what version people play, you're having fun and not harming people, good continue to do that

Community wise, this is clear cut: Google a mob Farm for anything, search up a Minecraft questions, google a Tutorial or watch a building video, you'll always notice the same thing: They're always first about java, and then, after a lot of java videos, there are some Bedrock videos. On the wiki, everything is explained for java with annotations for bedrock. This is just because today, the actual active and vocal Minecraft community are mostly java users. I wouldn't say that Bedrock is necessarily the one with a smaller player base, but the player base is by far younger and less active in the community.

I really like the way you did this video. So many others have tried to do videos on this subject but they always but a lot of their own bias into it. Its refreshing to see someone just state the facts instead of just saying "BeDrOcK iS BaD!11!!1" or "JAvA sUcKs aNd HeREs WhY"

I really appreciate how Bedrock edition is able to connect so many different platforms together for a single Minecraft experience, and I think that's really great. When it comes to personal preference, somehow Java just feels better to play. I've heard it before and I have to agree, there's just something different about the two versions, and I can very quickly tell which version is being played when I see videos of it. I don't know what it is, but Java is my go to. It's what I grew up with, and it's what feels the best for me.

finishing a video from this channel feels so satisfying

Honestly they should just make a parity update that solves a LOT of the parity issues. Seriously, at this rate it should be top of their priority list.

"There hasn't been a true commitment to parity" I'm glad that Mojang started to prove the other way around with seed parity

I’m gonna die if next April fools, they switch the names of the editions.

As a guy who played bedrock all his life and finally switched to Java just the other day I can say it does feel uncanny

This video is really well made!

When I was younger I would wake up, get on my laptop and play Java. Later in the day I would go to my friends house and we would play split screen on their xbox. At night I would play pocket edition on my ipad so I didn’t get caught awake. So because of this years later I still like all versions, I’m not completely loyal to one or the other I enjoy playing both regularly

I started on Pocket Edition, and played on it for YEARS, before getting Java. I had it because it was cheaper, and I didn't have access to my own computer, just a tablet. I now only play on Java, and favourite it SO much more to Bedrock (even tho I have both, just so I can play with friends). I understand why both versions exist, but I wish that Java worked similarly to Bedrock when it came to multiplayer, because I'd rather play just that version, than have to switch between both when I want to play with different people, on different servers.

It really is odd how people will attack somebody for playing a certain edition of minecraft. I was called some names including "Poor", "Peasant", and a "Worthless Guttersnipe" because I played Bedrock and said I could afford a computer for Java. Until that point I didn't know there was classism in the minecraft community

Microsoft will NEVER catch me buying a realm or paying to host a server. Java supremacy

I feel like there is very poor communication between the Java and Bedrock dev teams. This would explain some of the reason even brand new features aren't the same between versions.

Can you please do a video on the wandering trader? It trades you things like gunpowder and nautilus shells but it can't fight mobs. It trades you glowstone but it can't go to the Nether. So how did the wandering trader get these items?

the arguement he puts at 14:33 makes sense. Literally all my friends play bedrock (including me) despite us all having pc's.

It’s the equivalent of Minecraft Java=steam Minecraft Bedrock=epic games store

It's amazing how many times modders on both sides of the fence have come together to try to add cross play to both versions, but it seems that whenever we get close, both versions update leaving the project at square one. The fact that you can't easily change versions on most Bedrock platforms makes the endeavor very difficult.

For me it's mainly the microtransactions that makes be hate the bedrock version, it really feels like a big middle finger to the self expression and creativity that the game stands for. Especially because you can pixel by pixel make your own skin on the Java version. No issues with people who play the other version though, I do own both. My other main issue is with Microsoft's censorship on the bedrock version where they straight up admitted they can monitor your conversations on any server and ban you from the multiplayer entirely if you say the wrong things.

I remember back in the day before there was buckets in survival mode in MCPE, i added aquaducts into my finite world finding a water source near the top of a mountain and used that to make a mob grinder. so much nostalgia thinking about that world

I think it’s all up to preference. I’ve always played Java edition from the early days of Minecraft, so it’s what I’ll always prefer. I don’t like that it’s slower, but I understand the mechanics and like the more open source feel for the modding, but everything is up to preference.

how Microsoft sees bedrock edition is like how parents see the youngest sibling

To me, I never considered BedEd inferior to JavEd, just a different experience. This video made an amazing explanation on just how different these 2 versions of our favourite game are. Great stuff man, keep it up

It's comparing "ball of code being held in shape by duct tape" to "ball of code intended to replace the one being held in shape by duct tape but ended up being held in shape by duct tape itself"

I think it's crucial to stay civil and collected during these debates. That's how I try to go about them. They just get too heated sometimes. I also think it's important to have an unbiased viewpoints, but it's the internet. Next to nobody is unbiased. My personal opinion? I think both versions have pros and cons. Bedrock has easy multiplayer and a bunch of great QoL, but the microtransactions are pretty scummy (especially considering the cut Microsoft takes) and the experience doesn't feel as smooth as Java in my opinion. Java feels smoother (again, in my opinion) and has easier mods as well as abundant things to do (farms, machines, etc.) that Bedrock may not have simply due to the codebases processing things differently but multiplayer is either LAN or servers so it isn't as easy and lacks some nice-to-haves from Bedrock. These pro-con lists are extensive, and for me Java's pros outweigh the cons more than Bedrock's pros do their cons. But I'm perfectly fine playing both versions. I grew up on Legacy Console Edition- when we got our first PS4 the first thing my big brother did was show me how to play Minecraft (I absolutely love him). I then spent about 3 years maining various forms of Bedrock (PS4, pocket, Windows 10, and Windows 11) and then got Java for the first time in 2020 when Mojang was still rolling out minor updates to 1.16.

Me who has both editions: I’m playing both sides, so that i always come out on top.

I started playing Minecraft when it first came out on the X-box 360, however I was watching Java content on KZfaq before then, it was always really frustrating to see cool custom maps, mods, or even just vanilla farms that simply didn't work with the X-box 360 version, but then they added minigames to the console versions, and I loved that, and while spleef and survival games were on Java far before, I had never seen any Java server do the Glide minigame before, and that was also my favorite of the minigames, *and then they removed them in bedrock* and the minigames on those servers just weren't the same as they were on legacy editions, but I still played Bedrock, mostly because it was the only one I could play, but then I got my new laptop (actually the one I'm writing this comment on lol) and started playing the Java version of Minecraft, and I much prefer it to Bedrock, even playing Bedrock on this laptop, I still prefer Java, not only are mods wonderful, and easy tutorials, and *free* server hosting and custom maps awesome, I just simply prefer the feel of Java, I don't really know how to describe it, I guess Bedrock just feels like a mobile game still, so even though I grew up with Legacy editions that later merged with Bedrock, I still "jumped ship" and now prefer Java.

I play on PC, and when I tried Java, it didn’t work, so I had to start out with Bedrock. When I eventually did find a way to get Java to work, I could confirm that “uncanny” feeling. It felt so different, and I went right back to Bedrock. But as I’m seeing all these amazing Minecraft videos, I’m honestly considering leaving my comfort zone and giving Java another try.

best thing to do before locking version: 1 if your new try one version for about 3 - 5 days and go to the other and try for 3 - 5 days and whichever you like more play that one. hope this helps newer players :D !

For me, there's only one difference that makes me favor java over bedrock: Microtransactions. I refuse to pay for stuff on bedrock version when i can get that same content for free on java. The situation is similar to Fallout, why would anyone pay for mods through creation club when modders have been offering those same mods for free through nexus forever now? It makes no sense at all.

I do genuinely think that the name change is the big problem here. By doing this, they are presenting the mobile port of Minecraft, a fundamentally different game, as the "real" Minecraft. And while people who played before this change might disagree, think about it... if you knew nothing about the game, and saw "Minecraft" and "Minecraft: Java Edition" on the game... wouldn't you think that the one without the subtitle was the main game, and the other one was a weird special version? Tons of kids and parents definitely think that now. Also, the renaming situation DIRECTLY pits Bedrock against Java, because before the name change, everyone (including Bedrock players) just accepted that Bedrock was a console and mobile port, and so there was no reason to compare the two versions. With the rename, now Bedrock is "THE" Minecraft, so comparisons are inherently invited, if not encouraged. And thus, thanks to Mojang slacking on the parity problems over the last few years, the games being fundamentally different and incompatible cause conflict. TL;DR they should've either left Bedrock with a subtitle and Java without, or given both a subtitle. Either would've avoided this debate.

i think the minecraft team needs to take 1 major update to fix some of these inconsistencies. an example of this would be implementing a redstone update system where all blocks are updated at a fixed interval to help fix the inconsistencies of bedrock

Well said sir!

ive been looking forward to this for a while

Having grown up watching java and playing bedrock, I know that me and my friends liked how bedrock was cross platform, but we all wanted Java because of more freedom with mods and custom servers and the more, I guess competitive minigames on Java. Now being on java with most of my friends, I still see why there's no truly better option. Java is better for a number of reasons, but bedrock has some other benefits, but it can't take the Java benefits usually because of hardware limitations of the intended devices. The more I think the harder it gets for me to think of a good way to make one unified version as I see there being drawbacks. I can't even think of a good way to have both versions, other than to just own both versions, as there's just some feature in one version that I like more that I can very much see someone else from the other version not liking, or something, like the modding freedom of Java, that would make Microsoft less money.

I started playing Minecraft before microsoft so I grew up with Java. Just recently tried out the BR Edition and holy. The difference is huge. For me many differences just felt incredibly stupid as you also described it in this video. It’s like the teams behind the versions aren’t allowed to talk to each other at all…

Like a lot of the differences are so minor its incredible,how hard is it to add hardcore mode to bedrock, it cant be more than a few lines of code for it to stop being playable after 1 death

I feel like a huge part of why particularly Java players are so fierce when it comes to this is the decentralized approach to moderation in Java. Minecraft BE is very "modernized" in how everything works. Its more locked down by design. Java eddition on the other hand is far more open.

I hope that they do an Update just focusing on parity. The "1.20 Parity update." Bedrock edition would be renamed, a TON of features get imported to each version and Mojang adds servers with cross-version multiplayer to both versions. Its already possible in some servers for players of either version to play together. I even tested it. It just needs to be accepted by mojang and coded into the game. Also, with so much parity Mojang could focus more on new features and release updates more frequently.

Beautifully Video

I have 100s and 100s of memories of bedrock and I love both Java and bedrock but I grew up on bedrock and like what you said we stay in are camps for each version personally I don’t see myself switching fully but playing often will be good but for everyone in this community aka the Minecraft community it doesn’t matter witch is better or worse it’s that we enjoy the game in general because this is a game that 85% of people grew up with and enjoyed for decades it’s sad to see the community like this but I can see in a the far future that this will get better for all players of this game that we call Minecraft

Are we not gonna talk about how the bedrock edition completely replaced the legacy console editions of minecraft after years of hard work from 4J studios and all the memories that came with it. No one can say bedrock is better than the console edition.

Bedrock featuring microtransactions and having virtually no mod support is its biggest downfalls for me. And can you have homemade servers for bedrock? Crossplay support is such a great thing though that it almost makes up for it to me.

me and my friend are server runners so we had to deal with running Bedrock and Java servers separately, up until we found a way to combine the versions, by god did that save a lot of headaches and player division.

got super excited when I saw the dallasmed65 footage

Im still so upset they got rid of the "console edition" (now called "editions" on the console main menu). it wasnt buggy and the user interface was amazing! it was my entire childhood and I played it with my family a lot. once it changed to bedrock none of my family would play including me. I switched over to java and enjoyed that much more.

I started on the old Pocket Edition and I grew up with it. Sure, I've lost worlds yet I still play and create. All my friends play on Bedrock yet I'd be happy to play on Java (mainly for mods). I really couldn't care what edition it is, Minecraft is Minecraft

What grated me the most on bedrock before I had a proper compu to play java : microtransactions offering cool stuff that was isolated to a single map, not actual mods, at least that would have been interesting. Different redstone irked me badly, I do however miss how easy it was to play between friends on a world

The edition parity is coming boiiisss

Right now the biggest thing putting me of Bedrock is the offhand. I've gotten so used to digging with one click and placing torches with the other that not being able to even hold torches feels awful. If they ever add full offhand support, and a way to port Java worlds to Bedrock, I'd probably actually swap. I wanna have easy to bonemeal flowers and potion filled cauldrons! I'm just not willing to sacrifice half of my building and combat tricks to do it.

12:44 Holy shit I was talking to my sister about why I dislike Bedrock Edition and I literally said it was like an uncanny valley feeling. You hit the nail on the head there!

I remember playing the first alpha of Pocket Edition for hours when I would get baby sitted by my neighbor, she had a nephew that I would play the game with all the time. We would make giant statues, cars, Walmart, things we thought was cool. Ahh... Good times 😢

As a person whos played old versions for years (mostly old modpacks) I never knew this was a debate because the versions I play on are from well before the name change was made. As long as mods are still made and updated and im allowed to play old versions I'm fine

I first played bedrock years ago, and the biggest advantage of Java was the modding, redstone and farming guides and support. The Java edition had, and still has the bigger presence and more content. Now that I have a decent PC I play Java edition with shaders and mods and it feels more liberating compared to bedrock.

Alright, so here's my perspective, I've played both versions. I mostly play bedrock because all of my friends have bedrock, but I prefer Java for many reasons. The biggest two would be mods/mod packs and redstone. Now does this mean I don't build redstone on bedrock? No, I still build contraptions because they make life easier, minus the subtle differences in timings and such. Now I could complain about every different feature, but I'm not going to. At the end of the day minecraft offers a mix of artistic freedom and engineering that I can enjoy with friends. Do I wish the versions were more 1 to 1? Absolutely, but I understand that the differences in programming languages cause some of these differences, so I can't hold them too accountable on it.

Been playing Minecraft for over 12 years now. Honestly love both versions, but I am still unhappy about the 1.9 combat update. I know I know get over it, but those first like 5-6 years of playing Minecraft formed my core Minecraft memories and it was a big shift for me. Of course I played Java Minecraft online with my friends for years after that on servers and the like, but as someone who really loves combining the nostalgia of early Minecraft with all the cool new updates I lean towards Bedrock Minecraft. It has that classic less complicated combat and simpler feel that combines the old and new quite well in my mind. My goal is not to open up the old old debate of pre 1.8 combat versus 1.9+ combat that has been hashed out far too much, simply to just share my perspective and advocate for civil and respectful debating.

My first version of Minecraft was Pocket Edition back when it was still a creative-only world. I remember building a tiny house out of bricks, and when survival mode came out, I surrounded myself with a square of torches thinking it would do something to stop the mobs. Then, a friend asked if I wanted to play Minecraft with her. This was around the time of 1.2.4. I wanted to but didn't have Java. She let me use her sister's account while we played. Then I just kept using it for years and she didn't mind. I remember making pyramids of Antimatter Relays and Energy Collectors in Tekkit to duplicate diamonds. I remember playing the Survival Island seed of "ihatenotch" in 1.2.5. I remember recording Agrarian Skies with my friend. I remember playing Vech's "Sea of Flames" while watching SilentMystification playing the same map. Eventually, another friend bought me Java for my birthday, so I didn't have to share accounts. By then, it'd been years since I opened Pocket Edition. I joined a friend's Java realm and it was fantastic. We created new worlds for every version from 1.12 to about 1.18. Then she stopped paying for it, and another friend invited me to their realm several months after. But it was on Bedrock. Apparently, at some point, I somehow got Bedrock (something about the Mojang accounts, I think)? I've been playing on it for almost a year now, switching between Java and Bedrock depending on who I'm playing with. But Bedrock was such a jarring difference. Whether it was the safe bridging, the Wither fight, how PVP worked, how maps worked... Every time I saw a difference, I'd freak out. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes bad-usually bad. At the tail end of 1.19, I tried to make a banner to put on my shield. I had a cool design in mind and I knew I could do it in Java. I got so bummed out when it didn't work, but so excited when I found out it would be implemented two weeks later in Bedrock. Overall, I'm still a much bigger Java fan than Bedrock, but I'm lucky to have been able to experience both of them. I can respect the concerns that both sides have, and I wonder if part of my preference is, as you said, the fact I grew up with it, or if I genuinely enjoy it more with the features it has.

I've been playing minecraft since 2011, so java edition is all I've ever known. I have bedrock edition for Windows 10 only because I was eligible to a free copy of it. My little brother, who just turned 10, has only ever played it on PS4... the other day I was showing him my latest builds with RTX shaders and texture packs, and he said he had to beg his mom to *buy* a texture or shader pack.......what a nightmare

Two of my friends were introduced to Minecraft through Bedrock, simply because it could be played on our school computers, but they later switched to Java and never looked back.

This is eye opening, had no idea. I didn't get into Minecraft until I bought an Xbox 7 years ago that had it and only bought the Xbox for the Blu-ray player. I quickly fell in love and learn to play on the windows edition. It eventually left a bad taste in my mouth though after creating a castle anr town in survival mode and when the game had a major update, it updated my map and converted it to creative mode, I can no longer earn the achievements. I formed a lot of neither world just to build buld giant elevator. Eventually I preferred Java edition because I was able to set up my own private server for me and my wife to play. I recently tried out the windows 10 edition again because I love the fantasy texture pack that came with my Xbox and I really enjoyed the seed I found in the 1.20 release. I found a town close by and a ship full of iron. When I put that same seed number into Java, the sunken ship was gone and so was the town but everything else was laid out the same. With all the free customizations and Java and the ability to run my own server I will stick to Java.

7:30 So true!!! Youre speaking out of my soul!

I think it's funny how everyone defending Bedrock often uses the argument "It's because Java is terrible when it comes to mobile and console"... But then we get plugins like Geyser and Floodgate that literally allow for Bedrock and Java players to play on the same server. In other words, it's definitely possible to solve this issue, Microsoft simply doesn't want to because they if start monetizing Java, people will riot, and Java isn't bringing in as much easy cash as Bedrock, so trying to solve the issue would actually cost more money and resources than it's worth.

after spending so much time on one of the versions, playing the other just feels like a minecraft clone, wether you started on java or bedrock

Geyser-Spigot: Hold up just a minute

There is something called geysermc in server as a plugin which allows bedrock players to join java edition servers without an issue my friend who used to play on a mobile phone wanted to play and i kinda knew how to add plugins or mods to my server after that it was eazy as joining my own server from java and eazy as joining a bedrock server on my friends device which kinda just makes it cool also to note the snowy leafs works on bedrock but i cant see and every other version exclusive things didnt make the server worse just favorite game playing without an issue it was cool and i even gathered some of my friends to do that and it was cool

10:14 one of the main reasons it behaves different is because a lot of the redstone "features" on java are actually just bugs that the devs thought were too cool to patch out (similar to terraria hoiks) an example would be quasi connectivity although the bedrcok devs could easily implement it as an intended feature since modders have done it

the reason I (personally) get so emotional and aggresive over the Java vs Bedrock debate is because I am very unstable and I have a lot of built up anger

I grew up on 360 version, always feeling limited by playing on console. My brother was an early day Java man, he downloaded the offline version on the family pc that I would play and occasionally update it. I loved my memories on console but man I really enjoyed the aether and texture packs on pc. Now that I'm a bedrocker on series x we have found some loopholes to get shaders and some other pc content on console with some file exploring apps. I feel like the bedrock community is definitely more restricted and controlled compared to java

And then we all got capes

Some of us may play Java, and others may play bedrock, but we can all be friends because we dont play education edition.

Personally bedrocks store is what upsets me. I remember being excited for the console release as a kid only to see that mods, texture packs, and skins were being sold while java had them for free. I just stayed playing java at 10fps until I was able to get a better pc. Only recently did I check out the bedrock store only to see it's full of knock offs and stolen content.

I find it frustrating as an avid Java player to find mild inconsistencies such as the wonky hand movement when "view bobbing" is enabled, or that the inventory character pivots from the center of the character instead of from the base. Also at it's core... Bedrock edition was entirely meant to be for phones, instead of PCs and consoles. And Pocket Edition (Bedrock) was never meant to compete with Java, it was simply just a "Minecraft on the go!" kind of game. I mean look at Pocket Edition's trailer... it never took itself seriously, and that's what made it really good. A huge part of my childhood was playing on my uncle's smartphone or tablet and I had a lot of fun with it! The first console releases (PS3 and Xbox 360) really resembled Java with it's world generation, animations, and overall gameplay. Same for the later console releases (PS4 and Xbox One). After Bedrock got fully released, they announced that they were cancelling development for the original console releases in favor for Bedrock. This left a brutally sour taste in my mouth as I preferred the console releases and didn't like the overall look of Bedrock. And the day that those console releases stopped receiving updates... I stopped playing Minecraft for a very *very* long time. That was up until I finally got Java, where I discovered my long lost love for Minecraft Alpha and Beta. (I used to play those versions back in 2014 as I didn't own Java Edition for years. And it wouldn't let me play anything after r1.2.5 as anything later would shove a timer in my face that would reset everything.)

i didn’t even know there was a debate. that’s just stupid

There is an angle that plays a big role in my head. I feel like, at one point, they will discontinue Java. With the in-game shop and all of the flashy monetization options, Bedrock will most likely be more profitable and leave Java behind. I feel like they keep taking steps in this direction, since (non-monetized) third party mod-content is already being portrayed as something very bad and dangerous. (Hence all of the warnings and exclamation marks) I'm just scared that Microsoft will get rid of Java.

I love how there were so many ports that could've become bedrock edition, and they picked the one that worked the worst (pocket edition) Like xbox 360 edition had working redstone! And the shaders looked the same as Java! I have no idea why they chose pocket edition to be *the main game* instead of the much better console ports that already existed.

i started playing roughly when beta 1.8 came out (pirated of course) and after 2 years or so i stopped playing minecraft until the 2020 repercussions of the china incident, i initially hopped on the pocket edition cuz it seemed pretty similar to what i played back in the day but it really did feel off so i ended up buying the java version and that's what i still play today, never even knew there was a pocket version for pc lol

The differences in the PVP systems actually makes sense: when you're playing with a keyboard and mouse, you have way more control and can have complex PVP mechanics, but for instance, if you're playing on a phone you have limited movement, so having a simpler PVP system helps balance that out.