Platforms: Nintendo DS
Developers: Game Freak
Publishers: Nintendo, The Pokémon Company
Players: Single Player / Online Multiplayer
Genre: RPG Adventure
Price: €39.99*
Pokémon Black and White became the fastest selling DS title in the world when it sold over 5 million copies halfway through January. Black and White are the twelfth game in the series of capturing, training and mastering the mysterious Pokémon, the series has had dozens of spinoffs from other handheld console adventures to venturing onto the big screens featuring games on the N64, GameCube and Wii! Just to recap the series, so far we’ve had…
Red & Blue, Green, Yellow, Gold & Silver, Crystal, Ruby & Sapphire, FireRed & LeafGreen, Emerald, Diamond & Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold & SoulSilver and now the series has turned to Black & White!
After eleven games, the series has, and we’ve never had an issue in saying this, become a little stale. Despite new Pokémon and even new ways to play the game we found ourselves barely enthused with the release of any games after Gold/Silver. Now all of that is about to change after we learned of Pokémon B/W very early last year. The series has finally gotten a new lease of life and we have found ourselves falling in love with Pokémon all over again… (No not like that… perverts -_-!)
As always you take on the role of a teenager with a desire to become a Poké trainer, along with your friends Bianca and Cheren you are given a choice of a starting Pokémon, Snivy, Tepig or Oshawott (Grass, Fire, Water respectively). From here on out you will begin your journey to help Professor Juniper fill the Pokédex and capture as many Pokémon as you can. You will travel from town to town in the same linear pattern as the other games, battling trainers and Gym Leaders on a quest to obtain all eight Gym Badges and ultimately face the Elite Four in the Pokémon League. However there is a new side story following the games, along your journey you will encounter Team Plasma, a group modelled after the Templar Knights who wish to liberate all Pokémon from the clutches of their human masters and at various points in the game you will face a mysterious trainer known as N, but who he is or what his involvement is in this campaign of liberation is all shrouded in mystery!
Ok so the plot sounds very similar, with the main goal being the Pokémon League and a side quest to stop some villains but trust us when we say that this time round we’re glad not to see sight of Team Rocket.
The world of Unova is also very different to the regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, which after years of traversing had all started to look the same. Unlike the previous regions Unova is not based on Japanese cities or towns, instead Unova takes inspiration from New York City ( Skyarrow Bridge = Manhattan Bridge etc.). As well as the location you might notice a change in the people who now look a lot different in both terms of appearance and colour, with Unova coming across as a more diverse region than any of the others. So that all still sounds like minor changes, where is the good stuff?
Ok, as well as all those changes and the Night and Day modes, Pokémon Black and White will also feature seasonal gameplay – this feature will mean only certain areas of the game will be accessible during certain seasons and Pokémon in certain areas as well. Two Pokémon will even change appearance according to season, Deerling and Sawsbuck will adapt to the time of the year, – the seasonal rotation is not link to our own seasons but will alter every four months.
We also see the introduction of two brand new battles, Triple and Rotation. Triple battles will see players take on teams of three rival Pokémon and do battle on a grander scale while Rotation battle will also use three pocket monsters but rather than pitting them in one large battle the players will be able to swap quickly between the three selected allowing for more frantic and skilful battles. There are loads of other new features to the game including the Pokémon Dream World, the C-Gear, Feeling Check and Pokémon Musicals but we are going to leave those for you to discover all your own but can only stress that they’ve combined to make one amazing that feels so different to all the others in the franchise.
For us the best change to the games is how it all actually looks, the graphics look and feel so much smoother, colourful and engaging. The dialogue in the game is a little basic and anyone with their mind in the gutter will definitely have a few giggles at some of the more phrases full of innuendo but we are not looking for philosophical debates when we start up our game!
If like us you felt that the Pokémon franchise had turned into an over milked cash cow and you’d all but given up on the little cute monsters and were about to overlook Black & White let us stop you right now! We too felt like you once did but B & W have managed to not just revitalise the droll gameplay but have actually restored our faith in the series and filled us with the nostalgia over our first days playing Red/Blue on the GameBoy. Ok so the plot isn’t going to throw you into a mind boggling and suspenseful story (this isn’t Lost) but it’s fun and it is new, the new battle systems make playing the game a lot more challenging (we will admit that Cheren whooped out butts with his Tepig) and there are a whole heap of new Pokémon to find and capture and dare we say it… BEFRIEND!
So dust off your trainers cap, grab your Pokéballs and let’s battle!
Good Points:
Colourful and cleaner graphics
New Pokémon and new modes of play
A brand spanking new region to explore
Bad Points:
Poor dialogue
Not exactly a Pulitzer Award winning story
Rating: 8.5 / 10
*Prices may vary depending on retail outlet
