Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo DS
EU Release: March 4, 2011
New Region. New criminal organization. New season cycles. New Pokemon. With the new 5th generation of Pokemon the new Unova region is a land filled with both the old and the new. With the region being so far away from the likes of Johto and Hoen, other generations of Pokemon aren't seen until the Elite four is beaten the first time around. The Gamefreak role playing game will have you reminiscing about your childhood, while at the same time bringing you an updated game in terms of story and looks, and there's not a hint of Ash Ketchum anywhere, thank god.
The game will have you starting off like the rest, being welcomed by the new professor (Juniper) and being introduced to not only the Pokemon that you will set off with on your journey to becoming a Pokemon master, but also your two rivals, Bianca and Cherin. The starter Pokemon follow the same trend as the previous games. There are three, one fire type, one water type and one grass type. This time round though, I already had my choice picked out waay before the games release. Going for the strategy of "always picking the coolest because it will be the strongest" is just great logic, right? And from this bunch of starters I had myself saying, Mijumaru (Japanese Name) I choose you! well, not outloud at least, I'd get weird stares. Gone are the days of Team Rocket in the game and in this outing we are faced with a new antagonist, Team Plazma and N. Its the same ol' song and dance, catching a legendary Pokemon to bring about a new world, with everything happening in a linear pre determined series of events. This all includes defeating the 8 gym leaders, stop Team Plazma, defeating the Pokemon League and attempting to catch many of the over 600 Pokemon that can be seen, to throw numerous Pokeballs at and accompany you on your journey.
With the limited but simple button layout of the DS, any Pokemon newbie can instantly pick up the game and not find it too taxing to grasp the controls. D-pad movement is responsive and fluid, not too many jarring motions that seemed to plague early DS games, which is always good. Pokemon games for me, personally, have always had that fun factor. One of my best earliest memory's is having Pokemon Yellow for my green gameboy colour and never being off it. At that young age, you could go an adventure with companions that grow as you grow through playing the game, that evolve as you get older day by day. I found great satisfaction in building my team and beating gym leaders and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Even now, I still get a little jolt of excitement when a Pokemon evolves, or it flattens an opponent. It's the game of my childhood, its bound too.
Heart Gold and Soul Silver lead to a new revamp of the Pokemon series with the introduction of 3D. Black and White continued with this trend and I can say I am extremely happy with the results. Each town and city that you go to has its own charm and distinct style that make it memorable, which must have been the design team's thought process. With bridges, skyscrapers, forests and caves, there is an abundance of well designed locations, that shows the steps that Gamefreak are taking to enhance the experience of the journey they take you on. Bright, well designed locations make this game a stand out among the older games in the series, with not too much changing graphics wise from the Johto remakes.
Pokemon games would be lost without their area changing soundtrack. The score created by Junichi Masuda, gets stuck in your head, and doesn't want to leave. After hours of gameplay, you will find yourself unexpectedly humming to jaunty tunes that are featured throughout. Along with the ever present "dundundudnudnundundundund" as you find a battle in a patch of grass, or the strange unique noises every different Pokemon makes, the sound adds to the charm of the game, and would be surely missed if they weren't present. It's a game you don't mute!!
As commonplace in the series, there are version differences in black and white, in the form of legendaries, other Pokemon and locations. Those of you who want to master Pokemon Black will have access to Black City post Pokemon league, and those of you who choose White will gain White forest. Both areas are completely diffent with white forest containing Pokemon and Pick up items, with Black Forest housing a heap of trainers and a shop where items can be bought. All Pokemon games follow the same pattern, so endings can be pretty much figured out. Good prevails over evil, remember that kids! Along with a revamped battle animation, new battle types in the form of triple and rotaion battles, Black and white is a well made game and will have fans purchasing it no matter what. That being said, if you are new to the series and want a DS title, I would go for the Johto remakes, Heart gold and Soul Silver instead. I found myself completing Black and White quickly, so much so that I found myself asking, is that it? The Johto games boast more playtime and features such as the pokewalker that may take your fancy. If money is an object head to Johto and leave Unova exploration for another time in the near future.
Black and WhiteRatings:
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