Anyone who knows even the slightest bit about handheld games knows the name Pokemon. The Pokemon games have been around for generations and its simple core design, adorable art, and its focus on collection have really helped it capture a huge audience. And when I say huge, I mean that it is literally the largest game franchise out there right now. (okay, maybe Mario still has the biggest but Pokemon is right there with that mustached money maker Check It Here!)
For people who have never played the games and only admired the adorable critters from a far the game can be summarized fairly easily. Start on an adventure, collect critters, raise them as your own, do cool stuff with them.
Now I know that seems a bit reductionist of me but even without the goofy storyline (save the world of Pokemon from organized villains) and even without the traditional battle system the Pokemon games remain the same. They are about collecting and raising adorable animals that do cool stuff. That being said those little extras are what makes the Pokemon series so lovable and so addicting.
Moving on to the actual review, I'm having trouble deciding on a starting place. These games have been around so long I feel like it will be a bit too easy to slip into a review of the entire series. I guess I can start big and work my way down to the little details that make the current generation stand out.
As a whole the Pokemon games are very well designed. Their pacing is always excellent, giving the player clear goals throughout the game but still giving a lot of freedom to explore the world around them as they wander through. The battle system is reminiscent of early RPG games and is definitely starting to show signs of age but each new game does its best to keep it fresh. The art style of the games is fairly childish focusing on mixing a real world feel of the places you go with the fantastic elements of the creatures you find along the way. The Pokemon gyms in the game are a great way to drive the player from place to place without feeling too limiting. In the first few games there was even some freedom in what order the player defeated each gym (though there was clearly an order the game makers had originally planned). As the series went on the multiplayer aspect of the games has become more and more prominent. Trading and battling has always been important but it has progressed drastically from game to game. Finally the design of the creatures themselves and the unique way they grow and act has always been a fascinating part of the games.
Given that little summary I can go into a bit more detail about this particular generation of Pokemon.
Lets start with the creatures themselves. This is always a hot topic from generation to generation and the introduction of new creatures is always highly anticipated. Proponents of the first couple generations will sneer at some of the new Pokemon and their names (Search Trubbish) but in all honesty I think they are mostly great additions. You have your cute and cuddly ones, your beautiful ones, your funny looking ones, and your plain badass ones. Yessss you do run into the occasional stinker or uncreative name but it was like that even in the first game (think Ekans... or as some people spell it, snake). I will say this generations starting choices are a little lack luster for me but I will say Lillipup is a FAR more interesting early encounter than Ratatta.
This is Trubbish (credits to Bulbapedia, a great resource for PokeInfo)
The evolution methods are mostly the same with a couple cool new ones. The addition of the seasons in this game also give some visual interest to a couple Pokemon. Speaking of the seasons, it is sort of a throw back mechanic to the old Gold Silver days, which is nice for us long time players and is a clever way of getting players to come back to the game in new months and keep them playing.
Overall, this new generation of Pokemon has captured my interest and I think merges will with the existing sets we know and love.
Moving on.
The pacing in this game is much stronger than the previous ones but also lacks a bit of the freedom that made the others interesting. This little blemish on the game has some upside though. It lends itself to a stronger story element (which I will go into more detail later) and after the story is over it gives the player a LOT more content to explore on their own, as long as they are driven. There is one glaring issue in the pacing that takes place near the end of the storyline but a curious audience will make it through just fine, it doesn't break the experience. The leveling is very very easy compared to previous games (which is very very welcome) the puzzle are easy but then again they are designed for a much younger audience than me and I have played these puzzles in every previous generation. Lastly, one of the coolest things about this game is that as you beat the game there is still more stuff for higher level Pokemon besides just the multiplayer.
Alright, speaking of multiplayer. The connectivity of this game is just plain better than the others. No question. Your really need to experience it for yourself but to give you a glimpse. The multiplayer makes it phenomenally easy to connect and stay connected. It even mixes in a lot of elements from social networking, such as simple polling of friends and feeds of their activity. Trading and battling is now world wide as the drop of a hat, there is even some basic ranking systems in place to mark your improvement. It is simply wonderful to see it grow so much and the end game content for many ends up being more important than the actual play through itself. I know I have a competitive team planned out to battle it out online!
Aaaaannddddd segue into taking about the battle system. What can I say. It feels old but they add a lot of small subtlety to give highly strategic players something to number crunch. If you are really into the competitive scene, there are an array of new moves and abilities that make this generation very interesting. The addition of dreamworld abilities makes some old favorite Pokemon far more interesting in competitive play. The system itself is old school RPG but adds a TON of strategy. It a little too much for most people to dive into but for the average player it provides a lot of opportunity to give your team its own special something. The big addition to this game in my opinion is triple battles. They definitely add an interesting new element to teams and all together the battle system is still getting by despite its comparatively ancient roots.
People looking for more info on the competitive scene should check out both Smogon and Serebii. Both great resources for number crunching and competitive guides.
Lastly I can talk a little about the art of this game. The style still fits the world of Pokemon perfectly. It gives the player a real world setting and fill in all the gaps with Pokemon whimsy and wonder. TV stations are simply Pokemon TV stations. Artists are PokeArtists. Actors are PokeActors. And so on. This particular generation focused a bit more on 3D models in the game which gives a lot of depth to the world. (haha... depth... 3rd dimension...) No, in all seriousness it does. It gives cities a much better scale compared to towns, opens up spaces to show the vastness of in game landmarks and so on.
While talking about art I'd also like to briefly address the storyline of the game. Its not exactly ground breaking but within the context of Pokemon this generation has a far better story than any of the other games while still keeping the traditional villainous organization theme. They address the idea that Pokemon is an extension of slavery which in and of itself is interesting.
As for the game design in regards to games as art, I would put this in the same artistic realm as any sequel of a sequel of a sequel. Okay, I know that sounds harsh but hear me out. It is beautiful, impressive in its pacing and the game systems within, it has a clear focus and good intentions but in the end it is a cash cow. I still appreciate it though because they are still trying to innovate within the games and not just pumping out sludge to make money but it doesn't have a lot of originality or artistic merit without looking at the series as a whole (but that is another post all its own.)
So overall for fans of the series this is a well made continuation. For people new to the series this is as good a place as any to start playing. It is easier than the previous games (not that they were a challenge) so you get to the cooler content sooner. The connectivity is by far the most impressive and enjoyable part of the game so if I had to make a recommendation for Pokemon Black and White it would be simply to play it with friends!
Next week I will be doing my first Retro Review! Right now I am leaning towards "The World Ends With You" but tell me what you think! Comment and question, if you have anything you think I missed or you'd like me to explain more in detail lemme know! And once again, thanks for reading!
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