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-   -   5th Gen If Black and White were released on the Game Boy... (https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=251718)

Ho-Oh May 8th, 2011 7:39 AM

If Black and White were released on the Game Boy...
 
This is a what if type thread, since I'm interested to see how you feel about this.

Imagine Black and White were the first Pokemon games to be released - they would have the same storyline, same region design, same Pokemon, but terrible graphics, 8bit music, and none of those features we "miss" in a certain thread - which includes current features such as Dream World, C Gear, Xtranciever, touch screen start menu, being able to register items and more! This also means no 3D, so the bridges would probably be really boring too, same with Castelia.

Would you still enjoy the games as much as you do now? If not, why? Are the Pokemon / Storyline not enough to make you enjoy the region? Do you think because of the advanced storyline early on the Pokemon franchise would be more popular now due to having high expectations for storylines that they have no choice to live up to Unova's standards?

It's an interesting question really, if by now we'd hate all the "new" Pokemon and love Unova's. Or maybe not, you may hate them as a whole! Either way share your thoughts and discuss with others about whether the Unova region which, for a part, prides itself on advanced technology, would be ruined if it lacked most of what it has now.

NOTE: The only Pokemon in the games would be the current generation 5 Pokemon - generation 1 Pokemon wouldn't exist yet!

rstevenson1976 May 8th, 2011 7:45 AM

yes, I think I would still enjoy them, I love gen 1 pokemon, I love not soft resetting for a specific nature, I love not breeding like mad for a specific nature, characteristic and ivs. just 5 stats and no genders everything is even and a pokemon like nidoking (no, not nidoking himself, a gen 5 pokemon that has similar typing and stats) can dominate the whole first half of the game

Zelda May 8th, 2011 7:53 AM

→ Would you still enjoy the games as much as you do now? If not, why?
Probably not, as I was never really into the older games until Generation III came in. Plus the graphics kill it for me. :( I didn't have any nostalgic feelings with the older games, so I doubt if Black and White were one of the firsts, I'd be any more interested.

→ Are the Pokemon / Storyline not enough to make you enjoy the region?
The storyline is really short, in my opinion. Especially towards the ending, everything felt rushed. Though its been better the rest of storyline plots we've had previously, so as one of the firsts, this would be a great start for the Pokémon franchise. I like many of the Gen V Pokémon, so that would probably keep me in some interest with the games as well.

→ Do you think because of the advanced storyline early on the Pokemon franchise would be more popular now due to having
high expectations for storylines that they have no choice to live up to Unova's standards?

Most likely. They improve with every generation in some way, so why would they continue the franchise without greater experience/advancements?

The 100 Mega Shock May 8th, 2011 7:57 AM

Such a game would be lauded for being an incredible storytelling achievement for the Game Boy, so it would probably turn Pokémon into a good and progressive series instead of a decent one with mediocre innovation.

But whatever, it's still the same Pokémon games that we've been playing for 15 years so it'd still become the megafad it was for a few years (maybe longer if the franchise kept innovating for longer) and it'd just be noted as the best Game Boy game ever developed instead of just a very good one.

Bloo May 8th, 2011 8:36 AM

I think I would still enjoy it because Unova is a great region.

To me, Unova is very different from previous regions in Pokémon games. I didn't really like Sinnoh, along with other people, but the mistakes were definitely fixed here, because Unova is a great region. It offers a new start, just look at the Route numbers and a lot of the graphics and camera angles. Though there are places like White Forest that couldn't really retain the beauty on an 8-bit system that is limited to a certain number of color shades, by the time we got to later generations, Unova would probably be remade. A lot is different from other Pokémon games while keeping within the same franchise.

The story is compelling and is more full than other Pokémon games. If it was on the Game Boy, that actually wouldn't be much of a problem to me, because I still enjoy playing games from past video game systems anyway. Pokémon Red and Blue were the best-selling games for the Game Boy; Pokémon Gold and Silver were best selling on the GBC, and Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald were the best selling games on the GBA. There's something about the older games that captivates people. The Nintendo DS' best selling game is not one of the Pokémon franchise. One thing that people who played older Pokémon games say is that with the lower quality graphics, they would be able to imagine more, and be more creative because everything was abstract to them.

To sum it all up, it would be a great Game Boy game, no matter how innovative it would be.

The 100 Mega Shock May 8th, 2011 8:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlooMilk C. (Post 6630512)
The Nintendo DS' best selling game is not one of the Pokémon franchise.

That is not surprising for a couple of reasons. The DS captured a market much more likely to buy a couple of the games that outsold D/P (Nintendogs, Brain Age) and possibly also more likely to buy a Mario over Pokémon, and it doesn't matter if Game Freak developed the bestest, most super-innovate Pokémon game ever, after 10 years and 3 sequels people are just gonna stop buying Pokémon over and over again.

Even still, D/P beat R/S and G/S in sales anyway.

Quote:

Pokémon Red and Blue were the best-selling games for the Game Boy;
http://images.wikia.com/vsrecommendedgames/images/e/ee/Tetris-nintendo-game-boy-25-ans.png

lol, no.

big NATE alpha May 8th, 2011 8:48 AM

I would still love it, and it would still be one of my favorite games.
I would NOT, however, love it as much; all the enhancements that come with being a late-developed DS game smooth out the experience extremely well. The story would set the bar for the series and (hopefully) the writers would continue to make better and better stories. It wouldn't change my perception of the Pokemon; in every generation I see good and bad. In short, I'd still buy it. It would still be amazing. And I would still be sold on Pokemon for the rest of my life.

Kea May 8th, 2011 12:07 PM

If BW came out for the GameBoy, it'd probably be the greatest GameBoy game ever made. Even without the touch screen features and whatnot, it's surprisingly deep. I never played any real GameBoy RPGs besides Pokemon, but I don't think I've heard of any GB RPGs with like... actual characters with a bit of development?

It'd probably, like mentioned before, set the bar high for other Pokemon games. Future games after that would probably expand on the story more instead of the game being focused solely on the catch Pokemon -> beat gyms -> beat Elite 4 formula.

I don't think I'd really miss any of the DS features if they just never existed... :'D

Seeds Horizon May 8th, 2011 12:53 PM

Not really sure...I think it would have been too confusing for me at that age, and would have given it up. Im not saying I wouldnt have been able to read or understand it, at that age I had the reading ability of a 5th grader, both in understanding and speed. But it would have gotten annoying and way too complex for a game in that age. Look at that one guys thing of tetris, that game is so simplistic yet it does have an underlying complexity. Exactly the same for R/B/Y and G/S/C, but for B/W and the age Pokemon was centered around, at that time it would be super complex.

Most of the DS features I dont even use, I havent even tried Dream World yet, and I would rather they would have kept the same interface from R/S/E. Or even from R/B/Y would have been better~.

As others have stated, the storyline would have set the bar high, but other than that I think its descendants would have sold more copies. Theres more than one reason the sale in the Pokemon franchise has been declining, though this is quite a heated debate based on opinions rather than solid facts. Yes, mostly its because the franchise has been dragged on for ages, but its also about the game play. This includes the storyline, the in game development, the Pokemon themselves, the battle systems, everything that made R/B/Y and G/S/C what they were had been changed after each game came out. Now, personally I think R/S/E had the best gameplay and everything overall, but that was probably because of the major change in graphics and Pokemon themselves as a whole.

So, if B/W were to come first, and then R/B/Y, I can guess that R/B/Y's sales would have been much higher. Though of course its all based on my opinions of the games after playing them for so long, I have n clue what myself nor other people would have thought about them. I can guess though it would have been a top selling game for quite a while, just not as much as its ancestors.

TheMysteryEgg May 8th, 2011 12:58 PM

If Black/White was the first, I wouldn't buy it. First, I hate all graphics before Gen 3 and second, the storyline is incredibly short. And the music would sound really... bad.

The 100 Mega Shock May 8th, 2011 1:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeds Horizon (Post 6631022)
Most of the DS features I dont even use, I havent even tried Dream World yet, and I would rather they would have kept the same interface from R/S/E. Or even from R/B/Y would have been better~.

Quote:

Originally Posted by That First Post Up There
, but terrible graphics, 8bit music, and none of those features we "miss" in a certain thread - which includes current features such as Dream World, C Gear, Xtranciever, touch screen start menu, being able to register items and more!

Everyone would hate RBY if it came after BW, because that'd be going from a decently enough executed story to having almost no in-game story presence at all

KomakaiNeko May 8th, 2011 3:41 PM

I still play and love Red version, so I would probably still like Generation 5 if it was made back then.

TheGr8 May 8th, 2011 5:29 PM

Since I started with Blue on the release of it, I think I would be able to handle it. The only downside is what I see as cool in B/W like the bridges and what not would be dull and boring. But I agree I miss not having to breed for natures,ivs, etc. Back in the day pokemon. lol

PlatinumDude May 9th, 2011 12:28 AM


Would you still enjoy the games as much as you do now? If not, why?:
No, I wouldn't because the graphics are one of the reasons why I enjoyed B/W.

Are the Pokemon / Storyline not enough to make you enjoy the region?:
They're enough.

(I don't have anything to say on the last part)

Kikaito plush May 9th, 2011 2:12 AM

I'd wouldn't enjoy it as much if B/W had been released for the gameboy. I tried a pokemon red rom and the music was annoying like anything

the pokemon and the story in B/W were okay, but for me at least never going to beat sapphire.

Sarcastic Prince May 9th, 2011 3:21 AM

Nope, I would hate it. I never liked PKMN games
until Gen III came out. Luckily, Game Freak was good enough to
make remakes so that we could enjoy PKMN games from the past
with better graphics.

vaporeon7 May 9th, 2011 4:31 AM

I'm sure that I'd still love the game if it was the first one in the Pokemon frachise. I mean I absolutely loved Pokemon Red and Blue and seeing as Pokemon Black and White would be their replacement, I'm sure I'd love it to. I happen to really like 8-bit music and the graphics of Pokemon Red and Blue (although some if not most of the Pokemon sprites look like absolute garbage).

I think the fact that there would not be the other Pokemon would be a major letdown. That would mean that there would be no Vaporeon or even Beedrill or Tangela. I guess my favourite Pokemon would have to be Lilligant or something. I think the storyline would be fine, even though it is quite short compared to other story-lines. At least the games would have more to do after you have finished the main story unlike the original games which just let you in a cave.

I think the Pokemon franchise would be just as popular or maybe just a bit more. I just wonder what the replacement for Pikachu would be. I don't feel as Emolga would cut it as the franchise mascot.

rstevenson1976 May 9th, 2011 11:41 AM

the mascot doesn't necessarily have to be electric, could be axew, or watch it be audino X)

Bluerang1 May 9th, 2011 11:42 AM

I wouldn't enjoy it. The awesome graphics all gone wouldn't give the same experience. I was amazed with what they did with it, so it being 2D wouldn't be as good. The storyline can't even save it >___>

IronTrapinch May 9th, 2011 5:25 PM

Hey guys, I just bought Pokemon Red and Blue Versions (the new games that came out last week) and what the freak is up with the new Pokemon? A rock with arms? A magnet that evolves into three magnets? A bird that grows a head when it evolves? A pile of sludge? A literal Pokeball with a face? What is Jynx supposed to be? And really GameFreak, a mime? Is that the best you can do? I remember when the Pokemon looked good in first gen Black and White. These suck! Bring back the old ones.

It would be this instead of that.

Rai May 9th, 2011 8:19 PM

I think the whole point of Black/White is that it is a new starting point for Pokemon. Because of this, I think Black and White on the Gameboy would have been excellent. The graphics and music wouldn't be anywhere near as good, but that is one of the things I love about the old games.

xDreaming May 9th, 2011 9:24 PM

I'm not sure If I would enjoy it as much. I like the human features more than the Digimon looking characters.

Legendary Silke May 10th, 2011 3:07 AM

Maybe I'll end up remembering them most fondly after all these years... I really like this generation. Even more than the past generation. Even Generation I.

On the other hand, the Pokémon graphics in the games... Well, I think I'm going to have a nightmare on this part if the R/G/B-era bad art also comes along!

As long as the gameplay is still like what it is now, I think I'm going to enjoy it. After all, it's Pokémon...

morrison May 10th, 2011 4:58 AM

I was already 14 years old when r/b/y came out :haha:
I still think I would play it I still lvoe rby I just bought a yellow version on ebay as I lost my old blue somewhere during the 10 years I had it (I bought it only when I was 15 though)

Lirael May 10th, 2011 10:29 AM

I'd like to think i would still enjoy them. I think with earlier games there wasn't much to do besides following the story and completing the pokedex, whereas in games now there's so much to do, if you don't enjoy one thing e.g breeding, you can do something else e.g GTS trades etc. Which I believe is why so much heat was on a good storyline originally.

Personally though, Pearl is my favourite game but it would need to retain its modern features. :)

Esper May 10th, 2011 11:18 AM

Ignoring all the things that make the DS better than the Gameboy, B&W would still be a lot better than the original Gen I games. They learned a lot over the years and fixed a lot of problems to make the games more balanced so that alone would mean that the pokemon franchise would get off to an even better start and probably keep getting better.

I know I'd play B&W if it were only Gameboy quality. I played the originals and recently brought out my old copy of Blue to play again so graphics and things like that don't matter as much to me as whether the game is fun or not. I wouldn't get that extra nostalgic vibe from seeing how similar these pokemon are to previous ones since there wouldn't be any previous ones, but I think I'd still be pleased with the designs and ideas.

Palkia May 10th, 2011 11:28 AM

I would absolutely love it to have been the first games on the game boy, for the pure fact that people wearing 'nolstalga googles' wouldn't moan about a trash and a ice cream pokemon.

daf May 10th, 2011 3:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeds Horizon (Post 6631022)
Not really sure...I think it would have been too confusing for me at that age, and would have given it up. Im not saying I wouldnt have been able to read or understand it, at that age I had the reading ability of a 5th grader, both in understanding and speed. But it would have gotten annoying and way too complex for a game in that age. Look at that one guys thing of tetris, that game is so simplistic yet it does have an underlying complexity. Exactly the same for R/B/Y and G/S/C, but for B/W and the age Pokemon was centered around, at that time it would be super complex.

QFT. I feel like many of us that were that age when RBY came out would not have sustained interest in the game, or the even the franchise in general. I think that the features and graphics and Pokemon, in addition to the game play, are not only the logical step in the series' evolution, but completely integral to the enjoyment of the title.

MetalMario May 10th, 2011 3:26 PM

I would enjoy them, if only for the fact that there'd be justification for how short they are.

rstevenson1976 May 10th, 2011 3:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lirael (Post 6634071)
I'd like to think i would still enjoy them. I think with earlier games there wasn't much to do besides following the story and completing the pokedex, whereas in games now there's so much to do, if you don't enjoy one thing e.g breeding, you can do something else e.g GTS trades etc. Which I believe is why so much heat was on a good storyline originally.

Personally though, Pearl is my favourite game but it would need to retain its modern features. :)

no gts on the gameboy, just one on one trades and battles with the game-link cable, maybe 2 on 2 with the adapter

Thougar May 10th, 2011 5:04 PM

Well, i started gen 2 with gold so :P

Ho-Oh May 10th, 2011 8:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetalMario (Post 6634612)
I would enjoy them, if only for the fact that there'd be justification for how short they are.

That actually makes a lot of sense, since the region itself seems limited in size compared to other ones, so it would logically be a great starting point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rai (Post 6633430)
I think the whole point of Black/White is that it is a new starting point for Pokemon. Because of this, I think Black and White on the Gameboy would have been excellent. The graphics and music wouldn't be anywhere near as good, but that is one of the things I love about the old games.

Oh yeah, how did I miss it's the starting point. XD One thing though, I don't know how it'd connect with future regions - in fact, the other regions may not exist until generation 6 and beyond actually, because randomly dropping Unova in the middle of nowhere and dropping Johto in Kanto just seems to not be logical. And if that were true, the other following regions would have had different native Pokemon too, so all our favourites still may not even exist!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaporeon7 (Post 6632134)
I think the Pokemon franchise would be just as popular or maybe just a bit more. I just wonder what the replacement for Pikachu would be. I don't feel as Emolga would cut it as the franchise mascot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rstevenson1976 (Post 6632633)
the mascot doesn't necessarily have to be electric, could be axew, or watch it be audino X)

I never actually considered what the new mascot would be. I'd assume it'd be one of the more known ones. I'd actually think it'd be Minccino - it was in the first group other than the starters when the games were announced, so I think it'd suit, and for B/W's "third game" it'd then be Minccino as the title Pokemon. XD
Quote:

Originally Posted by IronTrapinch (Post 6633210)
Hey guys, I just bought Pokemon Red and Blue Versions (the new games that came out last week) and what the freak is up with the new Pokemon? A rock with arms? A magnet that evolves into three magnets? A bird that grows a head when it evolves? A pile of sludge? A literal Pokeball with a face? What is Jynx supposed to be? And really GameFreak, a mime? Is that the best you can do? I remember when the Pokemon looked good in first gen Black and White. These suck! Bring back the old ones.

It would be this instead of that.

XD!

ElectricScyther May 11th, 2011 4:50 AM

Much rather stick with the way things are now. Really, a lot of the awesome of Unova was made possible by the DS's capabilities, and Game Boy level technology would make it not worth it.

Darthrai May 11th, 2011 7:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rstevenson1976 (Post 6632633)
the mascot doesn't necessarily have to be electric, could be axew, or watch it be audino X)

Yeah, if Gen 5 was the first gen created, Axew would probably be the mascot - like Pikachu, it's cute, plus it would appeal a bit more to boys because it's a dragon and its final evolution is much, much more badass than Raichu. (Honestly, Charmander would have been a much more tolerable mascot than Pikachu in the first place...)

Likewise, Samurott would probably take Charizard's place as the most popular/iconic starter, and Zekrom replacing Mewtwo as the most iconic legendary. Also, the franchise would have a bit less of a "kiddie" vibe overall due to the older player characters and more intricate plot.

Anyway, since I couldn't play video games back when R/B/Y and G/S/C came out, I wouldn't have enjoyed them, but I'd probably be introduced to the franchise through the anime (which would probably have been better made and would have followed the games more closely) and then, a few years later, enjoyed whatever White remake they'd have on the GBA, spazzing over my new Oshawott the same way I spazzed over my new Bulbasaur when I started LeafGreen (my first, late introduction to the Pokemon game series).

skyluigi2 May 12th, 2011 9:34 AM

I do think, that although the music and graphics wouldn't be the same, it'd still be cool :D

-totodile42

bwburke94 May 12th, 2011 11:10 AM

If the generations were released in reverse order (BW, DP, RS, GS, RB) with BW and DP remakes after RS and GS respectively, who knows what would happen? Obviously, RB would include Johto rather than GS including Kanto, and the Mt. Silver boss would be someone other than Red... if the series got that far.

Assuming that Pokémon would be introduced in the same region as their most recent evolution was introduced IRL, and the Regi trio would be introduced in DP due to Regigigas, DP would bring the total number of Pokémon well over the limit of 256 that the Game Boy Color would likely be able to handle. The increased number of Pokémon would result in different coding to handle this, which may have affected gameplay (though only having one region would cut the ROM size back to ~4MB.) RS would be done as normal, GS would introduce the GTS and draw complaints about Raichu being a better Pachirisu, and RB would be the equivalent of real-life BW (with Mew possibly being on Morimoto's team at Celadon Mansion if it was revealed pre-release, assuming Morimoto would still create Mew in this alternate universe.)

Osha_say_wott?! May 13th, 2011 2:36 AM

If Black and White were released on the Game Boy...
Then the color would be in Black and White. ^o^
No? Nothing? I'll show myself out. x3

I would still certainly find B&W quite enjoyable. The game graphics, or lack thereof, wouldn't bother me the slightest. It didn't bothered me when I played Red, so it wouldn't bothered me playing B/W. Aesthetics isn't as important than actual gameplay. You can have a game look really good, but if it sucks, then it will suck. But I game that looks bad is great, then you have yourself a great game. That's why I think I'd still enjoy B/W, even without the nice graphics. Same could be said with the features. DW and the rest are all nice features, but they're just extra additions to the game that enhance the gameplay. Subtracting them from the games wouldn't make the actual game itself any less enjoyable to play.^^

champagnepapi May 13th, 2011 6:10 PM

I think having these games would produce a number of events to follow. Firstly, I think having a city as large as Castelia, in such primitive games, would actually be quite cool. The tilework used for objects such as the gyms, the trains and the Pokemon league would probably also look exceptional for the time. This is all great, but the one negative effect of this, would be that fans would have higher expectations of future games, considering how grandiose B/W would have been for the time. The Unova Pokemon would have also looked great as the 156 and would probably be regarded as "classic" today, if B/W was actually released for the Game Boy.

OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire May 13th, 2011 6:30 PM

I would enjoy them, after all I still enjoy some of my old not so graphically good looking games, plus BW, DP, RS, GS, and RG/B would all interest me no matter what order they came out ^_^
I kind of what to see one make a hack version for the Game boy thanks to this thread just to see how it would look...

The Nightmare May 14th, 2011 12:01 AM

I would enjoy it but some of the cool stuff like customizing your game and having c-gear would kinda be a bit boring and the sound would be bad because the gameboy was made ages ago.

West the Hardcore Nerd May 14th, 2011 9:01 PM

There are 8-bit hacks of Mega Man 7 and 8 out there, so it might actually be completely possible (with a lot of work) to make old-school versions Black and White, complete with derpy, off-model sprites, insane balancing issues, and bland Routes.

PKFL_531 May 14th, 2011 9:35 PM

Yes because i mainly play the games because I love collecting things and i love battling. I also like the idea of an organized sequence of bosses, and i love the story in black and white. Plus, i love eight bit music. ;D

Niprop May 14th, 2011 10:41 PM

Assuming that all the Pokémon in White Forest are counted (Porygon is still an original in this time-line, yay!), Generation V would have 189 Pokémon in it, a single Poké off Generation I's original intent of 190. B/W would have been the most awesome thing since sliced bread at the time, and the only issue would be future generations living up to the standards it would set.

southharmon May 14th, 2011 10:50 PM

i would not have enjoyed the franchise as much. black and white feel like a fifth gen game and if they were invented any other time it would have ruined it. the story line is grand, almost to the point of hysterical unlike the old games relatively simple plots, the fifth gen pokemon are meh but i'll give them credit for making enough good pokemon so far into the series, and the villains have got dialogue and personas equally laughable and bad in fifth gen. so overall it would have been bad in my opinion if they had created the games earlier but they were fine for the year 2011

IngridNoir May 15th, 2011 6:17 AM

Personally I quite like the new graphics, I also don't think the games would have been as widely anticipated if they came out back then so personally I like that they came out now :D


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