5th Gen So Unova...

[Quixote]

Did anyone just find Unova awkward or was it just me? Unlike the past four regions I kind of felt that they were all consistent with their designs but Unova didn't seem that way to me. All of the cities and towns felt way too tiny, they didn't have any interesting landmarks and it was just way too tiny in general.

Even Castelia City, which was technically the biggest city really was nothing more than a bunch of empty buildings. There was barely any exploration. I don't know, maybe it was me? Besides Pokemon, this was one of my main gripes with the game. It didn't really feel like you were free making your own choices and it felt more like you were being forced into the story, which may be the reason I didn't get into it.

The story was also in my opinion, one of those great ideas that was executed improperly. They didn't do much forshadowing which was really weak and I think they threw you into the story waaaaayyyyy to fast. Hell, compared to the other four generations, the dialog in this was game was craaazzzyyy. They would go on and on and on about the ideals and such and such that it got kind of annoying.

I dunno, Black and White 1 just didn't have the "travel far and wide" theme that was present in the other four games; possibly because they put so much into the story? The lack of things to explore is in my opinion, one of the largest contributing factors for why the game was so short.

The last thing I want to make a point of is the whole theme of the game. It was supposed to be a "new beginning" as I understand. Okay, understandable but as I started playing, I started thinking about how all of the new Pokemon were just standins for others which really killed it for me. Like, not seeing familiar faces is also what made it weird for me because it felt like I was forced to use the newer Pokemon, which was left a bitter taste in my mouth since I disliked so many of them.

What did everyone else think about the region and game as a whole. Try not to comment on the designs because we've had a good amount of discussions on those.

Anyways, I hope these are rthings that they fix in Black and White 2.

 

[InMooseWeTrust]

I have to agree with you on this stuff. Kanto and Johto both had a lot of things to do in a really compact space. Hoenn was big... and spaced out. It really felt like a big region, and it had plenty of things going on to keep you from being bored. Sinnoh was a hybrid between Hoenn and Kanto.

Going through Unova, nothing really stood out for me or appealed to me all that much. It's the only region where I'm way too bored to play through it. And you're right in saying that too many 5th gen Pokémon are just ripoffs of earlier gens. Other regions each had their own appeals that made them unique. Johto was just fun all around. Hoenn had Dive, berry growing, great stories, and many things to do. Sinnoh had diverse landscapes, history, culture, and depth unlike anything you saw previously in Pokémon. Not to mention Sinnoh was just the right size for what a Pokémon region ought to be.

Unova is... forced. Nintendo's trying to go back to basics but it really hasn't worked. What does Unova have?

-New abilities, aside from a few, are not that exciting.
-New moves, aside from a few, are mostly redundant.
-Do we really need Pokémon like Druddigon and Maractus? What about Alomomola, which is CLEARLY a Luvdisc evolution? Hey Nintendo, I want a KangasKid!
-Rustling grass is pointless.
-Who uses Pokémon Musical?
-Day/night is now pointless aside from graphics.
-Bottom screen C-gear sucks.


The caves, towers, etc. in Unova are not exciting. They're basically formulaic dungeons that are only meant to be completed to complete the game.

I could keep going but I just don't feel anything with this region.

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

So, this is just the 'Let's bash Unova thread'? OK then! The main complaint I'd have would be that the whole game is extremely front-loaded, and yet the exploration that occurs after the main game is so sparsely spaced out as to confound expectations.

 

[Sydian]

-Day/night is now pointless aside from graphics.

What day/night was to GSC is the seasons in BW. Day and night were huge innovations back in GSC and provided a lot of changes. Day and night became a staple thing in generation IV and wasn't really new and innovative then, so technically it's "pointless aside from graphics" in gen IV as well as V. Gen V was set apart by the introduction of seasons, which function as the new innovation in gen V, like how day/night did in GSC. Hopefully this makes sense.

I do agree the region was not much for explorers. I myself hate exploring, lol. So Sinnoh, being a huge exploration region, was my least favorite. But that doesn't make Unova my favorite because it lacked places to visit, no. It was really linear too, which is...not what I'd expect from a Pokemon game. In most games, you have at least one town you pass through and end up having to go back to at some point for a gym or to get to another part of the region. Unova is basically a big oval with a few little places on the side. I don't know if that was supposed to be the idea, but it's a bit sad.

The Pokemon didn't disappoint me too much though. I just didn't like that there were a few lines that seemed like blatant copies of gen I lines, but the same could be said for gen III. But something about a few gen V lines is just TOO similar to gen I, even up to evolution methods. And there are a few that look outlandish, but I think some people go too far in their complaints with this generation of Pokemon. The Pokemon I don't like are the Tympole line and Druddigon. Most people complain about Litwick and Vanillite being inanimate objects. Well, so are magnets and computers. And I'd rather have a pile of trash than purple goop. At least trash has substance. Goop is goop and nothing more.

Overall, I like Black and White. I liked the Pokemon. The region was sub-par, as was the post game, but that's what B2W2 are for, as any other 3rd game in past generations. They fix what was wrong with the first two games. So we can only hope for the best.

 

[Kurui]

I'm coming in as someone who has only played the originals (Green, Red, Blue), and I love Unova a ton more than Kanto so far. I just reached a part of the game where there's a HUGE bridge connected to a rather epic city and I squealed in excitement, because I am a very city-loving person. I never knew Pokemon could have cities like that ^^;;;; and from my memory I've never experienced a city like that in the original games. Maybe the versions in between just had more? I never played them so.

 

[Greenbeans]

I have nothing againsed the unova region, other then the fact that it was really cramped together it was a great map and i enjoyed all the places you could go to.

Unlike in other places i find that the Unova region had a lot of "Stuff" in it. (new places) there were lots more castles, forrests, ect.

 

[Quixote]

So, this is just the 'Let's bash Unova thread'? OK then! The main complaint I'd have would be that the whole game is extremely front-loaded, and yet the exploration that occurs after the main game is so sparsely spaced out as to confound expectations.

...What...?

But yeah, I just didn't like it. I think it was because they went so hard on the story that it didn't really draw me into it. I mean every time you turned around, you were doing something story related and not just taking it slow. I think the game had a lot less choice in it which upset me because I'm usually a free spirit at games like these. Plus, the lack of evolutions and pre-evolutions for some of our favorite Pokemon made me dislike it all the more because there were no familiar faces.