[B/W] Help Me Love Black and White!

[Quixote]

I'm in a predicament guys. For a Pokemon game, I absolutely did not like Black and White. I'm pretty sure it was because of all the new Pokemon but it saddens me, because it seems everyone else is enjoying game and it makes me feel like I am missing something. What made you guys like Black and White? Do you find the games disappointing now, looking back on them or not?

[Turn-it]

I'm honestly having the same problem. I ran through this gen pretty fast. There really just isn't much to do in this gen. 16 gyms in 4th gen HG/SS. Platinum added a lot from diamond and pearl. I think it might have been the pokemon in the 5th gen that didn't do it for me. Maybe B/W 2 will have more to offer.

[RunnerGuyTim]

I was sort of bored at first with the game, but then I realized a lot was simply from my own pre-biased opinion on 5th gen pokemon. First: Use the the Pokemon global link to get older gen pokemon for your team. (My team at the moment is Luxray, Misdreavous, Rhyhorn, Dewott, Sigilyph and Darumaka.) I have beat the game once, but I started over so I can verify that the pokemon work AND evolve before national dex unlike if you cheated in older generation games. Try dream world, if that doesn't work, I may have other tips.

[Joshawott]

What I'm about to tell you doesn't just apply to Black and White, but rather every other Pokémon RPG out there:

Challenge yourself! There are tons of different ways to play through the games than simply using a standard team of Pokémon. There's even a forum for that, check it out!

Aside from that, try to mix things up a little bit; train Pokémon you've never used before, explore places you haven't already. There is a ton of stuff to do in Black and White, though sadly not as much as with HeartGold and SoulSilver. May I suggest you try the Battle Subway?

As for me, I'll just be upfront with you and say the defining reason I liked Black and White was merely because I'm a die-hard Pokémon fanatic, though the games did have a considerable amount to offer me as such. I was especially impressed with how much Game Freak managed to change the formula while more or less keeping the gameplay the same. I've been playing Pokémon since the days of Red and Blue and after thirteen years, Black and White were the games that finally managed to give me a unique and refreshing experience.

[BlaqJester]

I've been playing since RBY the fact that this becomes a whole new experience for trainers is one reason why i like this game. I also agree with Joshawott with play the game in a certain way

[brightbus]

I'm with you Quixote, I felt Black/White just wasn't as fun as previous generations. I hate the fact that you can't replay gym leaders (who made that awesome decision) esp, after you could replay all 16 in hg/ss. It's also dumb that you can't replay trainers (with the exception of the royal unova daily, the stadiums, and your rivlas/elite four.) I do like some of the changes, like tm's not expiring, also I liked the graphical updates, and the fact that the pokemon sprites actually move now. I felt the pokemon designs were lackluster. And I know it's suppose to be like a new beginning, but not being able to get the older pokemon until after you beat the game seemed like big middle finger to previous fans. I don't think B/W are horrible by any means, but the previous gen was much more fun in my opinion.

[BRS]

I miss hoaen(i think i spelled it wrong) Q_Q well for me i enjoy catching pokemons and trainer them, and i do wifi battles with people on skype.

p.s you can add me if you want. just pm me if you added me already and if you want to join this pokemon skype group. We're looking for more people.

[shinysweety]

It's Hoenn, lol.

And the thing that made me like B/W better than the other games is the character's are waaaaaaay better. The new pkmn are awesome, the detail and everything was also better than the other Gen games. The side stories were fun 2, I just hate how u have to walk so slow xD;

[Turn-it]

With this generation, the gameplay was.....really easy for me. Once I was done with the E4 there really wasn't much else I could do in the game. Even this gen of pokemon weren't too impressive to me. I'm the type who like sp.atk over anything but I also adore speed and where there was sp. atk the pokemon was slow and vice versa. High speed but low sp. atk. I'm not bashing this gen just wondering if my opinion is being thrown out there too early. I know Diamond and pearl offered some and then platinum came out with more. So should I wait for B2 and W2 to drop before I criticize?

[Kenshin5]

Originally Posted by Turn-it

I'm honestly having the same problem. I ran through this gen pretty fast. There really just isn't much to do in this gen. 16 gyms in 4th gen HG/SS. Platinum added a lot from diamond and pearl. I think it might have been the pokemon in the 5th gen that didn't do it for me. Maybe B/W 2 will have more to offer.

Although I do agree the Unova journey did go by pretty quick there is still plenty and that it seemed even quicker cause it was so linear which is opposite of Sinnoh were you seem to go back and fourth. One thing you need to keep in mind is that Black and White is essentially an incomplete story since BW2 are a sequel to BW so more then likely they will add on to the previous game stories with these new third game additions and by add I mean a substantial amount more then all the rest of the previous third installments.

Originally Posted by brightbus

I'm with you Quixote, I felt Black/White just wasn't as fun as previous generations. I hate the fact that you can't replay gym leaders (who made that awesome decision) esp, after you could replay all 16 in hg/ss. It's also dumb that you can't replay trainers (with the exception of the royal unova daily, the stadiums, and your rivlas/elite four.) I do like some of the changes, like tm's not expiring, also I liked the graphical updates, and the fact that the pokemon sprites actually move now. I felt the pokemon designs were lackluster. And I know it's suppose to be like a new beginning, but not being able to get the older pokemon until after you beat the game seemed like big middle finger to previous fans. I don't think B/W are horrible by any means, but the previous gen was much more fun in my opinion.

You can't replay gym leaders in DP (I believe Battleground in Survival Area was only available on Platinum) and RS which I believe doesn't allow rematches until Emerald. I agree with that at least in prior generations they had Vs. Seeker, Trainers Eye, Phone System they could have at least implemented something here. Designs can be seen lackluster in any generation tbh... How is it a middle finger to previous fans? If it was a middle finger the only way you would be able to access them is through either events or PokeShifter. At least they have previous pokemon in East Unova. Obviously they are setting a precedence with having a new beginning by now having all the old people in play. They had plenty of generations to occupy trainers, now a region without all of them gives even more pokemon time to shine or fail depending on your perception of them.

[Forever]

Originally Posted by Turn-it

With this generation, the gameplay was.....really easy for me. Once I was done with the E4 there really wasn't much else I could do in the game. Even this gen of pokemon weren't too impressive to me. I'm the type who like sp.atk over anything but I also adore speed and where there was sp. atk the pokemon was slow and vice versa. High speed but low sp. atk. I'm not bashing this gen just wondering if my opinion is being thrown out there too early. I know Diamond and pearl offered some and then platinum came out with more. So should I wait for B2 and W2 to drop before I criticize?

Kay so both threads sorta are the same, and rather have two, I added a bit more to the first post to make up for your thread & merged this here so people are free to reply to the bottom part of your post, or your opinions etc. Hopefully discussion will be fine if all you offer advice to the user based on your own experiences, or agree that the games disappoint you, or just discuss in general. :3

[Hikari10]

Originally Posted by Quixote

I'm in a predicament guys. For a Pokemon game, I absolutely did not like Black and White. I'm pretty sure it was because of all the new Pokemon but it saddens me, because it seems everyone else is enjoying game and it makes me feel like I am missing something. What made you guys like Black and White? Do you find the games disappointing now, looking back on them or not?

I liked Black & White cos going to new locations was more linear compared to D/P where you had to go back and forth a lot.

B/W's seasons feature was a neat change, making gameplay different. Training only new Pokemon until beating the game made this more of a challenge, especially to older Pokefans. The lack of rematches outside of the Royal Unova, Nimbasa Stadiums, Elite Four, Morimoto and Cheren/Bianca was probably due to the Audino, which give you a lot of EXP.

B/W was pretty short, I finished Black in 13 days.

I loved the new Pokemon (well, most of them) and the reusable TMs feature. Even though we lost some popular TMs and in their place went lackluster 5th Gen moves, it was still neat. The Battle Subway is also a challenge you should try, if you don't have someone to team up with you'll get partnered with a CPU-controlled Trainer (Hilbert or Hilda, depending on your gender) who uses some tough Pokemon.

Also, B/W had very interesting characters. I loved Bianca, Cheren and N the most. The graphics are pretty amazing, I loved this game despite the lack of rematches.

Black & White are definitely worth playing if you can agree with me.

[AWsquared]

For me one of the big reasons I love Black and White are the new Wi-Fi features. With new things such GTS Trade Negoatiations , I've become a trader. It's a lot easier to trade since you can actually offer up to three Pokemon and you can choose what you'll get in return. It's alot better than browsing through a bunch of offers on GTS cause you can actually get fair trades. It's usually nothing lousy such as "a lvl 9 Bidoof for a lvl 100 Arceus".

Another reason is cause the graphics and battle system have immproved alot. Plus the story line and characters are very well developed and alot better than previous Pokemon games.

[Zaldin]

DreamWorld is pretty neat. If you go there now and type "ARCEUSVOTE" into the Arceus Event in the GTS promotion window you'll get a free lvl 100 Arceus. That's pretty neat.

[Turn-it]

Originally Posted by Zaldin

DreamWorld is pretty neat. If you go there now and type "ARCEUSVOTE" into the Arceus Event in the GTS promotion window you'll get a free lvl 100 Arceus. That's pretty neat.

Now I didn't know that! I might have to to that today!

[Zaldin]

Lol, I have Black and White and I now have 2 Arceuss!!! Mwahaha, anyway, the great thing about Black and White WOULD be the PvP and Trading if you found a decent community that actually maintained regular tournaments and whatnot. Lol, like Smogon does.

Competetive Pokemon is fun if you like that sort of thing, I'm too lazy to do the Subway for Choice Specs and Scarf though, waaaay too long IMO. But, if anyone hacks items see if they can trade one to ya.

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

I too don't understand the widespread appeal of these games. Admittedly after seeing Hilda's design I wasn't exactly sold on it, but I did give White the 'ol college try. And it was a classic case of the little things adding up to make it frustrating. The poor menu design, the difficulty of gaining levels due to the revised Exp system and relative lack of good rematches, and though some of the new Pokemon were interesting, I really didn't find any that made their way into my list of favorites. Post-game was lacking as well, as well as the lack of an "enemy base stuffed with dozens of grunts and admins to battle".

And don't even talk to me about Boldore and the revamped "Sturdy" ability. Man, I hated going up against those things in caves.

Not bad games, but definitely not up to the standards that I expecteted from Pokemon games. I still have hope for B2/W2, pending more information about them, and hopefully at least some problems with B/W will be addressed.

[Hikari10]

I also have to agree with Elite Overlord LeSabre, especially on the overhauled EXP gain system and the upgraded Sturdy.

Boldore are such a pain cos you have to knock them out in at least 2 hits unless if you have Mold Breaker or a multi-strike attack.

The new EXP system is to ensure you train a full team and to not focus on 1 or 2 Pokemon cos HMs are now even less required. So yeah, in Unova we don't need HM Slaves.

[649]

Hmm....

Nah, can't help with that.

BW was a nice game, but the region just flew by too fast.

I can't help but feel that it's just too small.

Hopefully B2W2 will expand it a bit.

[brightbus]

Originally Posted by Kenshin5

You can't replay gym leaders in DP (I believe Battleground in Survival Area was only available on Platinum) and RS which I believe doesn't allow rematches until Emerald. I agree with that at least in prior generations they had Vs. Seeker, Trainers Eye, Phone System they could have at least implemented something here. Designs can be seen lackluster in any generation tbh... How is it a middle finger to previous fans? If it was a middle finger the only way you would be able to access them is through either events or PokeShifter. At least they have previous pokemon in East Unova. Obviously they are setting a precedence with having a new beginning by now having all the old people in play. They had plenty of generations to occupy trainers, now a region without all of them gives even more pokemon time to shine or fail depending on your perception of them.

Yeah I never played diamond or pearl, in gen iv, just platinum, hg/ss. I still wish they had left gym leader rematches in, it would be cool to play them with stronger pokemon and a set of six...perhaps black and white 2 will correct that. I guess I just prefer the older ones. Usually the only gen 5 ill have on my team now will be Serperior, but I like a few from gen 5 other than that, like bisharp.

[Cake]

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;

[Totodile42]

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.

[Fangking Omega]

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.

[Mentalii]

I didn't really like those games... Maybe because I so much loved the previous game that all seems to be bad compared to them.
And, like you, the new Pokémons disappointed me a lot, that can be a reason of why I don't like those games that much.
But, however, just look at the graphisms. They are awesome. Just because of that, discovering each new town, each new place was a real delight for me.
And the soundtrack is wonderful too, a pleasing to the ears.
If you don't like the new Pokémons, try to appreciate the other sides of the games, because BW offer a lot of things, despite their 156 horrible Pokémon

[Comerion]

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.