Fushigidane-Chan
Registered User
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- Age 29
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- Seen Jun 9, 2015
Introduction
Pokémon Black and Pokémon White are the latest iterations of the popular Nintendo franchise based around the concept of collecting, trading, and battling monsters which can fit into your pocket. Black and White introduce over 150 new Pokémon to acquire and battle with, and feature a new region to explore, a new criminal syndicate to conquer, and several new wireless and online features to play with.
Plot and Setting
Black and White are set in Unova, a new region based off of the New York City area of the United States. Unova is a beautiful region, and is home to many interesting and unique cities and landmarks. At the same time, Unova is small and linear. The cities, towns, and routes are larger for the most part, but in exchange, there aren't nearly quite as many, and while many of these cities and landmarks are very enjoyable to explore initially, the majority of them become useless as you progress from them, and that's quite a shame.
Black and White feature the same basic, familiar plot as its predecessors, albeit with a few much-appreciated twists and modifications. Two rivals are incorporated into the story, in contrast with previous games which had only featured one, and both rivals mature and develop as characters and as trainers throughout the story. Black and White also feature a new criminal syndicate, Team Plasma, an organization led by a young man determined to separate Pokémon and humans, who considers the latter as beings who abuse Pokémon, especially by forcing them to battle against each other. It's an interesting goal, and it's a shame the concept isn't explored further, but rather only lightly touched upon. Still, it's a great chance of pace and a definite improvement to the criminal organizations of the past.
Graphics and Audio
As mentioned previously, Unova is a beautiful region. Black and White are amazing aesthetically, and the game's graphics are what stand out the most. GameFreak also came to the wonderful conclusion that bridges are a great way to display their graphics through a variety of different camera angles, and indeed, the five different bridges scattered throughout Unova look absolutely amazing. In addition, Pokémon now animate fluidly throughout the battle, and GameFreak have finally ditched the awful two-frame distortion animations that plagued the 4th Generation games.
Audio-wise, the game is not as great. Black and White do feature some great music--some particularly great tracks include the Wild Pokémon theme, the Team Plasma theme, the Elite Four theme, the Route 10 theme, the Driftveil City theme, and the Rival Battle theme. However, a good portion of the tracks are either boring or don't contribute to the atmosphere of their respective locations. Cries are another big problem--while the new Pokémon cries are just fine, GameFreak have continued to recycle the horrible, static cries of the older Pokémon. Not only are they inconsistent with the new cries, but they sound outdated and horrible, and there's no excuse for re-using the same cries for over 15 years.
Gameplay
Needless to say, the most important factor in any game is the gameplay, and overall, the gameplay is exactly what you'd expect it'd be, for better or worse. The battle mechanics for single and double battles have received no upgrades, modifications or refinements. Presentation has improved, fortunately, as a constantly-moving camera and the aforementioned animated sprites makes battle more exciting and fun to watch. And, as with previous generations, new attacks, abilities and Pokémon help shake things up a bit, particular when it comes to the adventure--indeed, Black and White is at its best when you're exploring Unova and discovering, catching and training the brand new Pokémon for the very first time. Even players that have been there since the beginning will enjoy the adventure, and the decision to exclude older Pokémon from the storyline was a great one.
Unfortunately, the adventure doesn't last for long, and virtually unchanged, the battle mechanics are the same as they have been since 2006, with the last refinement to the battle mechanics occurring with Diamond and Pearl and their physical/special attack changes. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" no longer applies when battles begin to feel boring, repetitive, and outdated. Triple Battles and Rotational Battles have been introduced, and while there is a fair amount of strategy involved in both (the latter being considerably more strategical), neither are quite as enjoyable as single battles. And the biggest issue of all, balance continues to be an issue, with the type-chart remaining very unbalanced (c'mon, GameFreak, Grass-types do not merit 7 weaknesses), and many older Pokémon simply not being viable in battles at all, with notable factors including poor stats, lackluster movepools, or competition from newer, stronger Pokémon.
Luckily, GameFreak was a bit more innovative when it comes to the multiplayer options, and GameFreak does deliver in that regard. While the Underground and Secret Bases unfortunately do not return, we do receive a similar feature--the Pokémon Dream World. By connecting to the Internet, players can upload their Black or White save file online, and through the Pokemon Dream World/Global Link website, players can not only customize their own online houses for their Pokémon, but they can play a variety of mini-games, and by winning these mini-games, players are awarded Pokémon with special alternate abilities they cannot otherwise receive.
Outside the Global Link website, there are multiple other new Wireless features. The Entralink is feature where players can actually visit other player's Unovas (only through Wireless, not Wi-Fi, unfortunately), where they can interact with the other player, or accept missions, which in return give you special "powers", such as the ability to increase the amount of experience or money gained in battles, or to cut the prices of items sold in shops in half. There are also new Wi-Fi features, such as the ability to negotiate trades online through the GTS, or the new random battle feature, where players can randomly battle other players from around the world without the need for friend codes.
Bottom Line
Black and White excel in some areas, and stagger in others. They don't innovate where they needed to the most, but the wonderful additions, particular to the game's graphics and story, outweigh the shortcomings and the result is one hell of an entertaining--if a bit familiar--Pokémon game. They're worth the purchase, and while I hope GameFreak will innovate and modify the slowly aging battle mechanics with future installments, Black and White offer enough to entertain players until that day.
Pokémon Black and Pokémon White are the latest iterations of the popular Nintendo franchise based around the concept of collecting, trading, and battling monsters which can fit into your pocket. Black and White introduce over 150 new Pokémon to acquire and battle with, and feature a new region to explore, a new criminal syndicate to conquer, and several new wireless and online features to play with.
Plot and Setting
Black and White are set in Unova, a new region based off of the New York City area of the United States. Unova is a beautiful region, and is home to many interesting and unique cities and landmarks. At the same time, Unova is small and linear. The cities, towns, and routes are larger for the most part, but in exchange, there aren't nearly quite as many, and while many of these cities and landmarks are very enjoyable to explore initially, the majority of them become useless as you progress from them, and that's quite a shame.
Black and White feature the same basic, familiar plot as its predecessors, albeit with a few much-appreciated twists and modifications. Two rivals are incorporated into the story, in contrast with previous games which had only featured one, and both rivals mature and develop as characters and as trainers throughout the story. Black and White also feature a new criminal syndicate, Team Plasma, an organization led by a young man determined to separate Pokémon and humans, who considers the latter as beings who abuse Pokémon, especially by forcing them to battle against each other. It's an interesting goal, and it's a shame the concept isn't explored further, but rather only lightly touched upon. Still, it's a great chance of pace and a definite improvement to the criminal organizations of the past.
Graphics and Audio
As mentioned previously, Unova is a beautiful region. Black and White are amazing aesthetically, and the game's graphics are what stand out the most. GameFreak also came to the wonderful conclusion that bridges are a great way to display their graphics through a variety of different camera angles, and indeed, the five different bridges scattered throughout Unova look absolutely amazing. In addition, Pokémon now animate fluidly throughout the battle, and GameFreak have finally ditched the awful two-frame distortion animations that plagued the 4th Generation games.
Audio-wise, the game is not as great. Black and White do feature some great music--some particularly great tracks include the Wild Pokémon theme, the Team Plasma theme, the Elite Four theme, the Route 10 theme, the Driftveil City theme, and the Rival Battle theme. However, a good portion of the tracks are either boring or don't contribute to the atmosphere of their respective locations. Cries are another big problem--while the new Pokémon cries are just fine, GameFreak have continued to recycle the horrible, static cries of the older Pokémon. Not only are they inconsistent with the new cries, but they sound outdated and horrible, and there's no excuse for re-using the same cries for over 15 years.
Gameplay
Needless to say, the most important factor in any game is the gameplay, and overall, the gameplay is exactly what you'd expect it'd be, for better or worse. The battle mechanics for single and double battles have received no upgrades, modifications or refinements. Presentation has improved, fortunately, as a constantly-moving camera and the aforementioned animated sprites makes battle more exciting and fun to watch. And, as with previous generations, new attacks, abilities and Pokémon help shake things up a bit, particular when it comes to the adventure--indeed, Black and White is at its best when you're exploring Unova and discovering, catching and training the brand new Pokémon for the very first time. Even players that have been there since the beginning will enjoy the adventure, and the decision to exclude older Pokémon from the storyline was a great one.
Unfortunately, the adventure doesn't last for long, and virtually unchanged, the battle mechanics are the same as they have been since 2006, with the last refinement to the battle mechanics occurring with Diamond and Pearl and their physical/special attack changes. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" no longer applies when battles begin to feel boring, repetitive, and outdated. Triple Battles and Rotational Battles have been introduced, and while there is a fair amount of strategy involved in both (the latter being considerably more strategical), neither are quite as enjoyable as single battles. And the biggest issue of all, balance continues to be an issue, with the type-chart remaining very unbalanced (c'mon, GameFreak, Grass-types do not merit 7 weaknesses), and many older Pokémon simply not being viable in battles at all, with notable factors including poor stats, lackluster movepools, or competition from newer, stronger Pokémon.
Luckily, GameFreak was a bit more innovative when it comes to the multiplayer options, and GameFreak does deliver in that regard. While the Underground and Secret Bases unfortunately do not return, we do receive a similar feature--the Pokémon Dream World. By connecting to the Internet, players can upload their Black or White save file online, and through the Pokemon Dream World/Global Link website, players can not only customize their own online houses for their Pokémon, but they can play a variety of mini-games, and by winning these mini-games, players are awarded Pokémon with special alternate abilities they cannot otherwise receive.
Outside the Global Link website, there are multiple other new Wireless features. The Entralink is feature where players can actually visit other player's Unovas (only through Wireless, not Wi-Fi, unfortunately), where they can interact with the other player, or accept missions, which in return give you special "powers", such as the ability to increase the amount of experience or money gained in battles, or to cut the prices of items sold in shops in half. There are also new Wi-Fi features, such as the ability to negotiate trades online through the GTS, or the new random battle feature, where players can randomly battle other players from around the world without the need for friend codes.
Bottom Line
Black and White excel in some areas, and stagger in others. They don't innovate where they needed to the most, but the wonderful additions, particular to the game's graphics and story, outweigh the shortcomings and the result is one hell of an entertaining--if a bit familiar--Pokémon game. They're worth the purchase, and while I hope GameFreak will innovate and modify the slowly aging battle mechanics with future installments, Black and White offer enough to entertain players until that day.
