5th Gen Help Me Love Black and White!

I really, really adored the newest generation. It was pretty refreshing to play through because GF sort of ''revamped'' the series, what with the new battle system, completely new Pokemon, DW, etc. I especially loved the new Pokemon, though they took some time to grow on me.

However, I didn't think it was that short. Then again, I'm one of those peeps that always plays through with a walkthrough nearby, so I don't miss anything. I constantly comb the routes for Pokemon I haven't captured and try to defeat all the trainers and get all the items. q; There were some things I wish the story expanded on more but I hope that the sequels will continue and add on from where we left off.

I find that people usually have to find something to do after they complete the games, otherwise there's nothing in it for them. That's what really makes or breaks a game. For me, I like to complete the dex, RNG and trade. I'm a die-hard though so I'll probably just eat up any main Pokemon game as long as they continue to produce them. q;

I think Black and White didn't do it for me was because it was almost as if the series had been restarted. I wanted to go into a cave only to be overrun by Zubats and Geodudes, not Woobats. One of the key aspects of a Pokemon game these days is nostalgia; why do you think Red/Green and Gold/Silver were remade? It's refreshing to know you're playing a new game, but see old features that just make you stop and think 'oh, I remember that!'. And that's where I think they went wrong. The gameplay is too linear, it's just from one town to another, no backtracking like Diamond and Pearl, where you had to revisit areas such as Veilstone to defeat Team Galactic. What the series needs is new features. New features mixed in with older, successful ideas.

What worked for me about Black/White was how it actually felt fresh for the first time in years. That was mostly helped by only seeing Gen V Pokémon until the game was beaten, so every creature you encountered was new - something I'd not experienced since the original games. I had reservations about some of the designs to begin with, but I soon warmed to pretty much all of them when a) I saw how much personality the animations gave them and b) when I remembered that the Gen I designs were pretty similar really and it's just nostalgia for me that made them seem so much better! Every generation has its charms.

Black and White was a lot faster paced too, which I liked, although it made the game far more linear. I was pleased with the revamped EXP system since it meant I didn't have to grind too much to progress, and the battle mechanics were very fluid. Going back to that linear point, though, there wasn't much exploration to do during the main story. It just moved from city to city, event to event. Which was different and fine in its own way.

I'll second the comments about the lousy menu and must admit I've barely used the C Gear. The bag ended up waaaaay too cluttered, what were they thinking?! I'll forgive them on that.

No, the real problem with Black and White for me was, after the story reached its epic finale with epic music... there was nothing to do. The post-game experience is incredibly disappointing. The Battle Subway doesn't feel interesting. The fact that only the E4 are worth rechallenging reminds me of the old old days when that was the only way of levelling up that we had. The extra towns aren't all that interesting except for how creepy the stories about Kyurem are! Black City/White Forest? Boring. Yeah, it felt like after that final confrontation that... the game just ended. Left open. For a sequel...

HGSS had the best post-game experience by far and even Platinum had plenty to discover. Black and White offered very little... but I'm sure that the B2/W2 will remedy that.

I feel the pokemon and how quick it is was the problem for me. There is something different about them, they're like, not as fun to use or something. Especially the starters, thats for sure. It was really quick too, there weren't that many cities and the map was kinda dull. The way they have changed everything up was ok, however they BETTER make a remake of R/S/E. The nostalgia that HG/SS was good, it would be good for the same thing to happen to R/S/E.

However Gen 5 is not nearly over yet. Look forward to B/W 2. I am interested to see what it has in store for us, it seems different from B/W thats for sure, which is good.