(This review was originally written back in March 2011.)
Its been over a decade since Pokemon first exploded into popular culture. School lunchtimes consisted of frantically trying to find someone to trade the Pidgey card you had twelve duplicates of. Mornings would involve watching Ash Ketchum make his way through Kanto while you ate your breakfast. Friends and colleagues would battle each other on their Nintendo Game Boys while playing Red & Blue.
But now in its fifth generation, and with its original audience growing up, can Pokemon Black and White still deliver in a crammed RPG market?
The first thing to note about Pokemon Black and White is that it still has the same essential core gameplay that Red and Blue had way back in 1999. You still start by picking one of three starter Pokemon. You still have to sit through the ‘how to catch Pokemon with a pokeball’ routine; and you still have to battle eight gym leaders in eight different towns to then challenge the Pokemon League to become the champion. It’s all there and it’s oh so familiar.
Yet five generations in, this core gameplay still works. If you’ve never played Pokemon before, the tutorials are there to guide you. If you’re a regular Pokemon player, you know how to start and therefore can focus on the deeper RPG aspects of the game. It’s all there and it’s what continually drives the franchise forward. That said there are still some grating aspects to the game that can infuriate.
For some, Pokemon Black and White won’t be the ultimate leap forward in the series. There are many new aspects to the game, but for those hoping for a major change in the game mechanics, those that beg for a Pokemon MMO for example, may be disappointed. The game also features the same areas that appear in every Pokemon game (a bug Pokemon forest, several caves, and a long, long mountainous region) that veterans to the series will find grinding and frustrating. Whilst it is necessary to have these long areas full of battles and wild Pokemon, do we always need a forest and a cave?
On the other hand the new towns and cities in this game look great. All have their own distinct looks to them culminating in Castelia City, the games version of Lower Manhattan, which features towering skyscrapers, commuters and about five different docks. It’s something truly different and feels really refreshing. The game in general though looks fantastic. The pseudo-3D graphics really show how wonderful sprite graphics can be. It’s bright, colourful, and with the addition of ever-changing in-game seasons, constantly changes up the world around you.
One of the biggest selling points of Pokemon Black and White is that there are 150+ brand new Pokemon inhabiting this region. Some are clearly inspired by previous Pokemon, Woobat for example shares some traits with Zubat from the original games, and some look silly: Vanillite is basically an ice-cream shaped Pokemon. But most feel fresh and new and look really cool. The measure that you can’t import your Pokemon team from previous generations means you have to go exploring for new Pokemon to catch, and it’s always nice to see a new Pokemon you’ve never seen before.
For the first time, the two different versions of the game offer more than slightly different Pokemon in each game. Yes that’s still there, but the aesthetic of the two games are different, Black looking a lot more technological than White’s more natural feel. The Black version also has an exclusive Black City which offers more trainer battles whilst White has the White forest where different Pokemon reside. The games are overall generally the same but it’s a nice touch in making the two versions feel more exclusive.
The story of this game is another great leap forward to the series. Ok, we’re not talking about Metal Gear Solid levels of story depth here, but the overall arc of the game, where Team Plasma lead by the mysterious ‘N’ want to separate people from Pokemon, feels a lot more meaty than the usual tale of taking over the world.
There are plenty of new features and changes to the games as well. In terms of little changes, Pokemarts are now integrated into the Pokemon Centre to make healing and buying a lot simpler. In terms of new features, in-game seasons now change as real-time months pass by (for example, March is autumn in-game, April is winter etc.) This changes how you battle based on the seasons, and means different Pokemon will appear at different times. It’s another nice touch moving on from the day/night cycles of previous generations.
Once you have finally beaten the Pokemon League and become the champion of the Unova region, there is a tonne of post-game content to keep you hooked. Battle arenas in some cities become more accessible, and of course previous generations Pokemon become available. This along with the best multiplayer support yet means Pokemon will be at the forefront of your gaming conscious for some time.
Verdict:
Overall, Pokemon Black and White are the best games in the series history. It may not break the mold in terms of its gameplay, but it offers enough new content, mixed with the best bits of previous games in the series, to leave you with a deep RPG experience. It’s endlessly playable, totally fun and with a playtime of well over 50 hours, total worth your time, attention and money.
4/5
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