Late in the game review: Pokémon Black Version

Game Title: Pokémon Black Version
Console: Nintendo DS
Devolopers: Nintendo and Game Freak, Inc.

Release Date: March 6, 2011

 

Pregame:


Pokémon may not be getting the fanatical attention it once did (at least in the U.S.), but the Pokémon game series is still going as strong as ever. Since the original Red, Blue and later Yellow Versions, Nintendo and Game Freak have released new editions, two or three games at a time, five times (not including extras like Pokémon Pinball), and each new generation has added hoards of new Pokémon. Eventually, that adds up to "catching 'em all" being a real pain.


Play-by-play:


I chose to play the Black Version of this latest generation, although there are few differences between it and the White Version. Both put players in the new Unova region and add 150 brand spankin' new Pokémon and take all the others away. Players can't rely on their old favorites to hold their hands this time, and that makes the game more nostalgic, in a way. It brings back the feeling of discovery the first generation had. 


Nostalgia factors into this game in a big way, at least for me, who hadn't picked up a Pokémon game in about a decade. New Pokémon aside, the game's formula has hardly changed. It's still the old familiar "fight, item or run" RPG where you'll get jumped if you wander into a cave or tall grass, where you need to beat eight gym leaders, then the Elite Four, then your rival so you can be the best in the world for God knows what reason because the protagonist never says a word. Some new move types like Ground threw me off for a while, but otherwise the game is a walk down memory lane.


There are a few new diversions, such as the Pokémon Musical, which some sadistic game developer put in because he thought it would be funny. The entire point of the mini-game is to play dress up with your Pokémon and watch them do a little dance that is really just their character model being tilted awkwardly. It seems to be a distraction for distraction's sake, and if you want to be distracted from a game you're probably not having much fun. On that note, I'm not even going to mention the utterly-pointless-unless-you're-in-Tokyo C-Gear.


A bit of a style change for the series comes in the the form of Team Plasma, this year's fashionably evil organization. This is what would happen if PETA was formed in Unova instead of Virginia. Their leader Ghetsis is a fan of actually good battle music, and he claims that trainers like the player are enslaving innocent animals and forcing them to brutally fight each other, which, y'know, they are. Seriously, Pokémon is Charles Darwin meets cockfighting.

Image and Joke via Johnny Wander

You'd think that this injection of morality is a chance for the series to mature, to add shades of grey to the villains and show player that the world isn't, well, black and white. You'd be wrong. Turns out Ghetsis is just as evil as Team Rocket ever was, he just wanted to mess with people's heads before taking over the world.


Graphically, the series has certainly improved over the years, although battles are still noticeably pixelated. Rare snippets of dialogue (from characters other than the protagonist, of course) are accompanied by small anime-style animations, an idea that could have greatly improved the look of the game if it had been done constantly. Once or twice, anime-style cutscenes pop up too, but they are too scarce to affect the overall visual quality.


Final Call:


If you liked the older Pokémon games, you'll like Black and/or White. It's good for what it is: a Pokémon game with a new coat of paint. It tries to be something grander, but the series isn't quite there yet.