5th Gen Why 2 games? Why 2 Kyurems?

[Nah]

Got the idea for this from something I was talking with Howmander about in another thread. As y'all know, Gen V deviated from the standard "initial pair release followed by 3rd version" formula by creating the sequels to Black and White, Black 2 and White 2, instead of the Gray Version that most people were expecting. The box legendaries were 2 new alternate forms of Kyurem, Black Kyurem and White Kyurem.

As you also probably know, Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem were once a single Pokemon of immense power. So the question here is, why did they make 2 games and have Kyurem fuse with only one of the other dragons? Why not just do the usual 3rd version thing and have Kyurem fuse with both Zekrom and Reshiram, instead of fusing with just one and still being "incomplete"?

I suppose that Gen V was kinda about deviating from the formula, but there's gotta be more to it than that, right (and it's not like the Gen V games were a massive deviation either)?

 

[ActualRealJamz]

I feel that it's partially so that they were able to reference the previous versions in the manner that they did (being a sequel, contingency is kind of important - and they likely assumed that people would obtain the follow-on from their original generation five game).
As for the multiple Kyurems? Probably to avoid people being disappointed by this 'immense power' if it somehow got screwed up, and to provide a differentiation between the two games - which I feel would be to compensate for the lack of a third game this generation - so BW2 was split across two games to ensure that as many Pokémon were availiable as possible without having to do things like make certain species ridiculously rare or sticking Goldeen in Desert Resort, for example.

Of course, I can't say for certain - but that'd be my best guess.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

I think it had something to do with the DS being a dying device and GF wanting to do something to get people interested in one last Pokemon game(s) on that device. A sequel was a good way to get people hyped up.

 

[Pendraflare]

My guess is that two extra games were made because since Black and White on their own were about Zekrom and Reshiram dueling against each other in the finale of the story, they wanted to be able to tie up the loose ends of the story for both of them.

But as for why there are two Kyurems, aside from wanting to give that a buff, I think they might not have found it suitable that if one cover legendary was going to get to use Kyurem to benefit itself, the other one wouldn't.

 

[Evening]

There were mysteries in Black and White, and the sequels just had to solve them.
There are two Kyurems, because if they were to be one, they'd fuck everything up like Mega Rayquaza did.

 

[Thoriére]

There were some loose ends that needed to be tied up, definitely, but I definitely think that a big part of it was marketing.

Rhetorical question coming up: what's going to net you more profit? Two versions, with version-exclusive Pokémon (with the coveted legendaries in their ranks), or a single version with every Pokémon in the Unova Dex? Marketing and profit are the primary reasons for alternate versions to be released side-by-side. While HGSS each had the ability to obtain the other legendary, they still had their respective exclusive Pokémon.

But what do I know, honestly? I'm just a paranoid being living in the vice of capitalism (which, though not necessarily bad, can be stressful).

 

[Dedenne1]

Idk but it was pretty ugly either way! Lol
Ok so we got kyurem and we have Zekrom and we have Reshiram now idk why they didnt fuse them all and maybe it would have actually looked partially good but in my mind the only reason they would keep this from us and say in the game they all fuse together that just means SEQUAL hopefully theres a sequel or else this will go nuts with fans and i wonder how powerful it will be?m

 

[SaniOKh]

From what I've read on Iwata Asks, GF chose sequels over a third version because they wanted to integrate a gameplay mechanic that worked better with two games (my guess is: keys... or the new Entralink) .

Besides (and from this point on, these are strictly my thoughts :) ), there were a few differences in B&W both in terms of presentation and story that couldn't be reconciled for a "true, canonical" version like Emerald or Platinum without making either the Black or the White version look closer to the official canon and discrediting the other one. The whole story revolves around N catching one of Reshiram/Zekrom, and the player catching the other. If N or the player gets both Reshiram & Zekrom and the other gets Kyurem, then the whole "black vs white" motif is thrown out of the window.

And besides, what will become of Opelucid City (futuristic in Black, old-timey in White) or Black City/White Forest? Especially in Entralink; IIRC, both Black and White had data for both versions of each place specifically for Entralink compatibility, and a third version with yet another versions of these locations would not work with it. What I get is that in Black 1 & White 1, the fact that there are only two versions is hardcoded in the multiplayer features. Now Black 2 & White 2, depending on the multiplayer feature used, either don't connect with the first two games at all, or behave as if they were respectively Black 1 & White 1.

 

[Nah]

From what I've read on Iwata Asks, GF chose sequels over a third version because they wanted to integrate a gameplay mechanic that worked better with two games (my guess is: keys... or the new Entralink) .

Besides (and from this point on, these are strictly my thoughts :) ), there were a few differences in B&W both in terms of presentation and story that couldn't be reconciled for a "true, canonical" version like Emerald or Platinum without making either the Black or the White version look closer to the official canon and discrediting the other one. The whole story revolves around N catching one of Reshiram/Zekrom, and the player catching the other. If N or the player gets both Reshiram & Zekrom and the other gets Kyurem, then the whole "black vs white" motif is thrown out of the window.

And besides, what will become of Opelucid City (futuristic in Black, old-timey in White) or Black City/White Forest? Especially in Entralink; IIRC, both Black and White had data for both versions of each place specifically for Entralink compatibility, and a third version with yet another versions of these locations would not work with it. What I get is that in Black 1 & White 1, the fact that there are only two versions is hardcoded in the multiplayer features. Now Black 2 & White 2, depending on the multiplayer feature used, either don't connect with the first two games at all, or behave as if they were respectively Black 1 & White 1.

Oh yeah I never thought of all that....

 

[Hiatus]

I suppose they wanted to take a different route with fifth generation games here; instead of releasing a single third-installment, they had went with two. Due to this, they needed two mascots, leading to birth of Black- and White-Kyurem.

To be honest, I'm sort of fond of what they had done here; even though I'm not such a huge fan of the plot BW2 has got, I like how they had given us more options in terms of main legendaries and whatnot. Usually, we tend to have three, but in generation five games… well, there are five, haha.

I would have liked it if they were to introduce Gray-Kyurem (combination of all three dragons), but for now, the ship seemed to have sailed—it's too late. If they wish, I believe they could always introduce it in their remakes, whenever they may step foot.

 

[Alfieri]

Oh yeah I never thought of all that....

I guess your all your questions were solved lol.

I was gonna just gonna write that the reason we had sequels was because of N's farewell.

 

[Hikamaru]

My guess is that two extra games were made because since Black and White on their own were about Zekrom and Reshiram dueling against each other in the finale of the story, they wanted to be able to tie up the loose ends of the story for both of them.

But as for why there are two Kyurems, aside from wanting to give that a buff, I think they might not have found it suitable that if one cover legendary was going to get to use Kyurem to benefit itself, the other one wouldn't.

I think you could be onto something here, the original Black & White were very separate in terms of story so it would be fitting to release a paired sequel and tie up the loose ends of both Reshiram and Zekrom's stories. Also, I think the new Kyurem forms were a nice new way to showcase a new form-changing mechanic, Absofusion which involves Kyurem inheriting the powers of Reshiram or Zekrom.

Rhetorical question coming up: what's going to net you more profit? Two versions, with version-exclusive Pokémon (with the coveted legendaries in their ranks), or a single version with every Pokémon in the Unova Dex? Marketing and profit are the primary reasons for alternate versions to be released side-by-side. While HGSS each had the ability to obtain the other legendary, they still had their respective exclusive Pokémon.

Your theory is very interesting as well, given how paired versions tend to sell more as opposed to a stand-alone third version, so they decided to do two games and therefore two different Kyurem forms for marketing and also due to paired versions being profitable.

 

[Bellsprout]

I don't want to break any Pokemon hearts, but I'm 99.99% sure it was for the money honey.

 

[sirboulevard]

I'm sure out of universe, making a shit ton of money was a major motivating factor. And BW2 did sell better than most third versions as a result.

But also as many have already pointed out: the black and white motif made it impossible to reconcile the differences. And we did benefit from it. Those who picked their colour appropriate sequel game (getting white 2 after white for instance) were able to acquire the other version exclusives, which was a real departure for Game Freak.

 

[Nakasu]

I think they made 2 games to see how they'd handle having a Pokemon Sequel, which they have not done before. I'm sure it was also to tie up any unanswered questions that were not answered in BW. Like the where abouts of N or Ghetists or what happened to Team Plasma after they found out they wee being fooled by their leader. It seems like a good reason to make a Sequel. As for why there are 2 games and not just a third version is because it's a sequel. Every other Pokemon Third version was just the same as the first 2 with just a deeper story involving another Legendary Pokemon from that region. Since they were straying away from their common formulas and going with a sequel, I can see why they made 2 games to correspond with their new formula idea.