Pokémon Black Version (2010)

Game #69/225

I've been on an absolute Pokemon kick recently, with Gen. V being my 4th gen mainline game over the past year or so (not to mention I have Legends Arceus lined up and have dabbled in a few other side games). It's remarkable how consistent these Pokemon games are, and how well-designed the formula of the gameplay loop is. Gen. V, which I have beaten probably 10 years ago or more, was perhaps the best I've played yet. I remember this game coming out when I was well "out" of my Pokemon phase and being skeptical of the monster designs (and increasingly more every generation), but as I look at them now, I feel like they're quite excellent overall. Without nostalgia blinders for Gen. I/II skewing my judgment, it's clear that the Unova designs took a bold direction that mostly pays off. The obvious exceptions are the ice cream Pokemon and the cog-wheel; the object-based Pokemon really stand out here (in a bad way) that wasn't evident in previous generations, even with Pokemon like Magnemite and Chimeco, for example. There's something very "un-monster" like about Vanillish, for example, or Klink. But these weak entries are few and far between. The cover legendaries are exceptionally cool, and various other legendaries leave a strong impression (like Virizion for example). Besides that, there are many more bug, dark, and steel types that mostly come out great. Even the flying and normal types have plenty of variety and creativity. There are over 150 new designs too, which is quite ambitious.

Graphically, B/W is more or less on par with previous entries despite its slightly less appealing overworld graphics. The pixel art on the monsters is pristine though and they have some nice animations during battle which add some extra flair. The actual game's graphics are a bit less chunky than previous Pokemon games but the 2.5D perspectives of some of the game's areas is a welcome visual surprise. The music, I'll say, certainly struck me as a notch below (but still great) other entries and I didn't have a favorite track.

The gameplay, like Platinum which I had just finished, has a nice difficulty level and there will be some intense battles and the occasional loss. The Elite Four took me a few tries, and I had to be considerate of my team composition and move-sets to avoid an abundance of grinding. The final bosses were quite easy, however, as you are gifted a decently strong legendary Pokemon. The gameplay loop of exploring, catching Pokemon (unlike in Platinum I went out of my way to snag as many as possible), and battling trainers to leave is so addicting, satisfying, and therapeutic in a way. There's constantly a "what's next?" as you play -- whether you're planning who to incorporate in your team from an upcoming route, or when to involve a Pokemon with a stone, or how to conquer your next gym. The game's linearity is a great strength and allows the player to feel like they always have a next step. Another small improvement is the great reduction in HMs needed for traversal. I don't think I ever needed cut. No rock smash. No rock climb. No whirlpool. Just strength for a few optional things and Fly/Surf for convenience. Besides that TMs could be used infinitely, which is pretty cool and proved quite useful. Other than that, it is mostly standard Pokemon stuff. The story and rivals were handled nicely, and there was definitely more of an emphasis on light storytelling, something Pokemon had always eschewed.

Lana: Such a good game and cool to re-experience playing through it normally again instead of doing a nuzlocke or challenge run. Love love LOVE the soundtrack, all the pokemon are cool and memorable in my opinion and the characters unique (especially N!). Minor negative aspects would be the amount of rival battles (Cheren LITERALLY challenges you after every single fucking badge like c'mon, we would groan in unison whenever we saw him standing on the route we were on in the distance) and I missed an overview of your team after the elite 4/beating the game like in the other games, I always liked seeing the player character standing with the entire team, but obviously that's a very small thing. Love that the pokemon sprites move, looks way better than the newer 3D animated sprites and honestly just a very good game overall. 9/10

Rodrigo: wow just wow what a great game. Even better than HGSS and Platinum in my opinion. You can tell it's definitely on the verge of a newer gen. The amazing graphics, 3D cutscenes and awesome animations are proof of that. And as is tradition in the NDS gens this game has awesome pokemon, gym leaders and elite four and the story is also great. N is an epic antagonist. But... What really stands out... IS THE FUCKING SOUNDTRACK. HOW FUCKING GOOD IS IT JESUS!!!! It's so hype. Team Plasma, Elite Four and Low Health tracks are the best imo. I was more excited to talk about the soundtrack than anything else but the game itself is really amazingq and honestly my second favourite after Emerald. Solid 10/10.

Game Freak's fifth generation debut follows the general trend of ironing out the formula further and introducing Quality of Life improvements down the line. Overall it turned out barely decent over time, which is pretty typical of first efforts by Game Freak from Gen 3-on. Briefly going through the appeal as a Pokemon game would take too much time, so I'm just going to talk about how it is relatively.

Positive wise, I think the game has the heart in the right place. There's a distinct effort in having a story that matters to the player here that's absent in prior games, whether that being because it was half-assed or a complete afterthought, B/W contrasts by introducing N as a genuine character and fleshes out your friends as being tied to the theme of understanding the bond with Pokemon. It also does a decent job of building up some of the gym leaders and tying them to the world. In general I think B/W stays true to making Unova a distinct region with distinct Pokemon.

However there's quite a few missteps with this entry. The key issue being that the pacing of the story is awful, dreadfully so. There is so much time covered for minuscule plot points and the story itself never really grows out of its simple element. Which for a Pokemon game some would find fine, I don't and it's simply because I don't enjoy the gameplay this time around. Pokemon combat is rock solid as a system but the campaign here is relatively easier than most this time around and the competitive gen 5 is awful. Gen 5 weather wars was a disease on the world and I'll never forgive it.

Summarizing mediocrity is never my strong suit, I think in general it was a decent step forward for the series but not a strong game to play on its own unless you were already a fan of the series. (5.5/10)