Pokemon Black & White (DS Review) by Carl B.

Pokemon Black & White
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Game Freak
System: Nintendo DS
Release: March 6, 2011

March 6, 2011, by Carl B. - On September 28, 1998, Nintendo released Pokemon Red and Blue Versions in North America, unaware of the popularity the two games would receive. Game Freak, the developers of the games, didn't even think Red and Blue would do well outside of Japan, because JRPGs weren't as well received in North America then as they are now. Nevertheless, Red and Blue became instant hits, thus prompting Nintendo and Game Freak to make a sequel. Due to the long development time, a filler game was released, titled Pokemon Yellow, which gave players Pikachu as their starter Pokemon and allowed them to receive the original three starters at different points throughout the game. The sequels Gold and Silver eventually released, and since they were developed as the final Pokemon games players were able to travel back to the Kanto region, giving the game an insane amount of replay-ability. Since then, however, the regions of Pokemon games and their Pokemon have lowered in quality substantially, even though new gameplay mechanics have been introduced in each game. Do the newly released versions, Pokemon Black & White, continue this trend or do they feel like fresh experiences?

Pokemon has never been a story heavy series, with every game following a young boy or girl in a small rural town who gets a Pokemon and then decides to go on an adventure to become the Pokemon League Champion. Black & White follows this same pattern while throwing a few twists along the way. Instead of the typical rival who has a starter Pokemon of the opposite type from the player, there are two rivals that have a different starter Pokemon than the one players selected. They'll challenge the player to a battle at different points throughout the game, but never at the same time. Team Plasma, the new evil gang of Black & White, provide a slightly darker take to their evil deeds, and while they aren't as cool as Team Rocket, they are much better than the more recent bad guys in Pokemon games.

The first big difference with Black & White players are likely to notice is the revamped visual style for both the field and battles. While traversing the overworld the camera is no longer top-down; instead, it's moved to a diagonal angle, giving the game a more modern 3D look. The scope of the world has been expanded on considerably, as every city and town in the game looks modern. In past Pokemon games every city, no matter how technologically advanced the PokeCenters were, managed to look slightly rural. In Black & White most cities have tall skyscrapers, and there are even giant bridges that connect different parts of the region to one another. The visual style for battles has been completely revamped, too. Instead of seeing a lifeless sprite of a Pokemon, they now have realistic animations that change depending on how much HP they have left. The HUD on the top screen and the template for move selection on the bottom screen have also been reworked.

There are a total of 156 new Pokemon in Black & White Versions, making for a grand total of over 600 Pokemon. Only the 156 new Pokemon will be seen by players until the defeat the Pokemon League, and thankfully, the new designs look very cool. A lot of the names are questionable, but compared to the Pokemon of Ruby/Sapphire and Diamond/Pearl, this is a major improvement. The main adventure does feel fresh thanks to all the new Pokemon, and it's really nice being able to go through the entire game without seeing a Zubat every five seconds.

Pokemon's incredibly deep battle system is fully intact in Black & White. No new types have been added to the game, so all the previous type advantages and disadvantages remain the same. For the more hardcore players, Individual and Effort Values (IVs and EVs) are still present in the game, but Nintendo still hasn't included a formal way to check how many IVs and EVs a particular Pokemon has. Double Battles make a return in the two games, and there are certain patches of grass that initiate Double Battles with wild Pokemon. Two new battle types have been added to Black & White: Triple Battles and Rotation Battles. Triple Battles are just like Double Battles, only each player has three Pokemon out at once instead of two. Rotation Battles are actually really fun -- each player has three Pokemon out, but only one on each side can attack and be attacked. At any time throughout the battle players are able to rotate their Pokemon to either the right or left, thus creating more need for strategic thinking. For example, if the enemy as a Blastoise in front and the player has a Charizard, before the Blastoise is able to use Hydro Pump and KO the Charizard the player can rotate their Pokemon to their Venasaur and use Razor Leaf, thus taking minimal damage because Hydro Pump isn't effective against grass type Pokemon and at the same time dealing maximum damage to Blastoise, who is weak against grass type moves. Unfortunately, Rotation Battles are seldom used throughout the main game, but can be used in online matches.

Black & White also feature far more fleshed out online modes than any previous Pokemon game. The Global Trading Station introduced in Diamond and Pearl is back in Black & White, allowing players to trade Pokemon with anyone across the world. The standard free and ranked random online matches in the previous DS Pokemon titles are also back in Black & White in their lag-free entirety. There's an official list of banned Pokemon for both free and ranked matches, which includes most of the legendary Pokemon and, oddly enough, Chatot. Through the Pokemon Global Link, which will be officially available on March 30, players will be able to upload their save files to the PGL website to better track their stats, what Pokemon they use, and even download PokeDex skins. There will also be multiple online tournaments for players to engage in through the Battle Competition option on the main menu.

The C-Gear, which is obtained at the start of the game, allows players to be connected to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection at all times. The Entralink at the heart of Black & White's Unova region allows players who are connected online to pass by one another, challenge each other to battles, and take part in multiplayer exclusive side quests. This feature, while not as fleshed out as it could have been, gives hope to future Pokemon games that may embrace online connectivity even further.

My biggest complaint with Black & White Versions is the relative easiness of the game's main adventure. Pokemon has never been too difficult, but these new games go out of their way to make it easy for players. There are frequent rest homes and nurses along the game's various Routes that will heal the player's Pokemon fully, and worst of all, the player's Pokemon are healed right before the Champion battle the first time they take on the Pokemon League. Thankfully, after players complete the Pokemon League the first time, their levels are increased by 20 and there isn't a healing station before the Champion. The eastern half of the Unova region is also unlocked after the first completion of the Pokemon League, giving the main adventure some more replay-ability, but ultimately not as much as Gold and Silver did (and more recently, HeartGold and SoulSilver).

The Verdict

Sound
10/15 - Nothing spectacular from an audio standpoint, but there are some nice battle themes.

Graphics
18/20 - The new visual style for the overworld and battles makes the game feel fresh. Basic backgrounds for battles are still in the game, though.

Appeal
25/25 - Getting up to and beating the Pokemon League the first time takes around 23 hours to do. The real fun begins once players begin to put together their teams for online and competitive play.

Gameplay
37/40 - Black & White retains the deep battle system the series is known for. Feature-rich online modes take the two games to the next level. Easiness of the main adventure is unfortunate.

Overall
90/100 - Nintendo and Game Freak didn't revolutionize the series with Pokemon Black & White, but they did add enough new features, specifically in the online department, along with some pretty cool new Pokemon to make the games feel fresh. After two straight generations of disappointment (not counting the fantastic HeartGold and SoulSilver remakes) Nintendo finally has a winner.