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Solid core gameplay.

Huge world and huge quest.

Endless Lasting Appeal and amount of depth.

Unique plot and villians, for a Pokémon Game.

Improve online and wireless capabilities.

Graphics and soundtrack are improve.

• Core gameplay and goal remains the same as the previous.
• Graphics look outdated when you look up close in certain areas.
• Weaker roster, despite including 156 new Pokémon.

After more than 15 years of dominating the world, Gamefreaks has released the latest Pokémon game on the market; Black and White version.  Will Pokémon Black/White maintain the series legendary charm and appeal, or will it prepare itself from more trouble from the same old, same old?

 

PREPARE FOR MORE TROUBLE?

 

 

Pokémon’s plot was well known to be stale as the series advance; the Black/White brings a new plot that is new and unexpected.  The games antagonist is now called Team Plasma. And unlike Team Rocket, Team Magma/Aqua (from the previous games) whose goal is to capture Pokémon for their own use, Team Plasma goal is to liberate Pokémon from Human Oppression.  It’s fresh, and somewhat interesting for a Pokémon game that truly needs a story.

 

SAME OLD, SAME OLD

 

 

Like its predecessors, Pokémon Black/White sets in a new region called Unova, and introduce 156 new Pokémon.  This brings the total number of Pokémon to 649.  A lot of these Pokémon are designed differently, but the overall design is weaker and weirder when you first see your 3 staring Pokémon. You play as a young trainer from a small town, and your goal is to become the regions strongest Pokémon trainer, Pokémon Champion and off course: GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL.  Sounds familiar?  The gameplay and goal premise of Pokémon are the same since Red/Blue first released in 1995, but is still addicting ever since because of its huge depth for an adventure game.

 

WHAT’S NEW?

 

One of Pokémon’s strongest points is the amount of new and improved contents that’s different from its predecessor.  When starting the game, you might notice a huge improvement on the graphics. The games environments are now rendered in full 3D, using sweeping camera movements and changed perspectives.  During battles, the sprites of the Pokémon are fully animated, and the battle speed is faster than Diamond/Pearl. However the sprites on close up shots for the background and characters can be pixilated.

 

Black/White brings an interesting Field Mechanic that’s similar to Pokémon Gold/Silver.  Like the Day/Night cycle from Gold/Silver, the Season Cycle affects the games environment and certain Pokémon can be found during that particular season.

 

 

 

Battle Mechanics has been tweak for Black/White version, and introducing new mechanics. The new mechanics introduce are Triple Battle, and Rotation Battle. Triple battle allows both opposing teams to send out 3 Pokémon at once during battle. Rotation Battle focus on 1-on-1 battle using 3 Pokémon, where the Pokémon on front can be switched with either of the two other Pokémon sent out without using up a turn.  

 

The Pokémon Tech Gear on Black/White has improved to allow players to control wireless capabilities using the DS touch screen.  These include connecting to other players through infrared communication, ranging from battling, trading, friend codes, wireless communications with friends in the Xtranciever,  video chat etc, without going to the Pokémon Center.  It’s a welcoming feature that should have been introduced years ago.

 

 

In addition to the standard battling and Gym challenges, the player can compete in the amount of side activities, such as the Battle Subway (similar to Battle Tower) , Pokémon Musical (similar to Pokémon Contest) etc.

 

FINAL THROUGHTS

 

Black and White are a massive step up from Diamond and Pearl in almost respect. The interface is vastly improved, and it feels like a far more modern game, whereas most of the past Pokémon games have felt like they were stuck in the past in many regards. There is a slightly bigger emphasis on story this time, as well as much better characterization for your friends and rivals, who you see much more often. 

 

 

Despite having the same problems, from game play and goals as the previous games along with a weaker roster; Black and White have managed to recaptures the sense of discovery and wonderment that originally made Pokémon great. And it continues to do so, 15 years and counting.

 

By LucasLau. Indonesian Translation by RonW.