Pokémon Black / White (Nintendo DS) Review

For those still catching up on the series, Pokémon Black / White are the fifth main entries into the franchise that began back in the days of the humble Game Boy with Pokémon Red / Blue. What was initially thought to be a mere quirky Japanese role-playing game fad here in the Western world is actually still going stronger than ever as one of the biggest franchises in gaming. In fact, since launching in Japan late last year, the latest duo has already passed the five million mark, putting them on-track to eventually reach the dizzy heights of the originals, with the hype huge going into the US and Europe March release dates. Why exactly should we all be excited, though?

As we enter the 15th year since Pocket Monsters first graced Japan, being able to find someone who has never heard of the games, cartoon show, movies, or even just that little electric mouse, Pikachu, is becoming increasingly difficult. Levels of recognition have almost hit Mario and Mickey Mouse standards. It is because of this that the development team has continued its efforts all these years, rather than hanging up the brand name much earlier, as it had originally planned.

When the initial promotional images and information came to the fore about Pokémon Black / White, it focused on new elements to be found within the RPG monster-collecting adventure. However, the basic elements of Pokémon have not changed at all - something that long-term fans will be overjoyed about, yet those that thought the formula was growing stale will use as a reason to once more avoid this and wait to see what appears on the Nintendo 3DS. The mantra of 'Gotta Catch 'Em All' still applies despite the motto being sidelined in recent years, with three youngsters (one of whom the player controls, the other two being Cheren and Bianca, Pokémon trainers from your hometown) setting off on a perilous journey to traverse the world on a mission of discovery, growth and monster capturing. There are some plot deviations along the way that aim to hook players, such as the inclusion of the Pokémon-liberating Team Plasma, yet there is nothing in the story to really draw people in as in other Japanese RPGs, meaning that if monster catching and battling is not your cup of tea, then cease reading now as the level of depth to the tale is minimal to say the least.

Nominal story elements aside, though, the graphics are also an area where there has barely been any upgrade, giving the game a retro charm but continuing the disappointing tradition of not taking full advantage of the hardware upon which it is released. The battles harbour some improvement, with each Pokémon finally animated as the fights go on. The animations unfortunately don’t stretch to characters moving body parts to execute or react to moves - creating unique visuals for each would be a big ask in 2D, considering the amount of moves and monsters there now are - but as the attacks get flashier and visual touches such as the Pokémon’s Abilities flashing on-screen begin to slip in, it’s clear that it livens the battles up. On the other hand, the ‘dynamic’ camera, zooming and sliding about after a few seconds of inactivity, doesn’t add much to proceedings. There is the odd smidgen of 'magic’ elsewhere, such as the gorgeous animated introductory sequence and some half-decent 3D environments, but with the calibre of other RPGs available on DS nowadays, Pokémon Black / White suffers in the visual stakes considerably.

That may come across as unfairly negative to some, especially given the fact that certain other games will be praised for their links to the glory days of the 1990s. The difference there is that some developers choose a basic appearance on purpose for effect, whilst Game Freak appears to have gone down the route of providing the tiniest update possible. However, judging a book by its cover is a foolhardy practice and what Pokémon Black / White may lack in the visual stakes, it more than makes up for in the all-important areas of pure gameplay, depth of adventuring and wealth of added content for after-play.

At the beginning of the journey, after meeting up with Professor Juniper in your home town, there is the chance to choose what path the lead character will take, with the traditional option of a starter Pokémon from the fire, water or grass origins (Tepig, Oshawott and Snivy, respectively). There is no enforcement to stick with this choice through the entirety of the adventure, though, since along the way there are 156 new Pokémon to find (bringing the grand total for the series to 649 now), meaning that should you feel rather restricted by the initial line-up, the suffering does not necessarily have to stretch out for a long time.

In terms of the general format of the adventure, it comes in the template of wandering around different residential townscapes in the region of Unova (a land that is very different to past regions Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, and is based on real life locations around the USA, including New York, mixing rural landscapes with bustling city locales, and even a desert section), chatting with locals, finding out new information about various tasks related to the storyline, and taking on numerous different Gym Leaders to gain experience over the course of the exploration mission, as well as uncovering the true intentions of Team Plasma (a far more serious replacement for the wacky, bumbling Team Rocket) and their plans to ‘liberate’ Pokémon everywhere. Players have no instant access to any of the previous 493 Pokémon from earlier games, with them only becoming available for transfer long after growing accustomed to the new line-up of cute, ugly, weird, and very varied critters that have been thought up for this Fifth Generation. The decision to only allow the use of new Pokémon until the game’s completion means that, despite the lack of change in formula, the journey through Pokémon Black / White feels quite new and full of discovery, recalling the first titles.

As for the fighting and collecting element, Pokémon Black / White continues the traditional turn-based mechanic, whereby the player’s trainer will send out one of the six Pokémon that can be carried at any one time to spar with an opposing trainer’s monsters to simply defeat them. When battling Pokémon in the wild, though, the aim then changes to reducing their energy to extremely low levels and throwing out a Pokéball to grab it for storage in your collection, the Pokédex - or just besting them for experience, of course.

The random encounter feature of many RPGs can definitely grate, and it is no different in this edition of Pokémon, yet thankfully battles are speedier than ever, which is a massive benefit for players wanting to build up the experience of their monster collection quickly. Mixed with the considerable amount of unavoidable battles against trainers found around the region, as well as against your two friends from the start of the adventure, there is definitely no shortage of fighting, which makes the swiftness of most battles a blessing.

Random battles only tend to occur when walking through grass, rather than on the main path, and Game Freak has decided to throw in some new ideas to keep things fresh. First up, some sections of terrain will move - patches of grass that shake, splashes of water, small fountains of dirt. These tiles are wildcards that sometimes contain items, but always have Pokémon hiding inside waiting for a duel, and more often than not they are monsters that cannot be found otherwise. There are also parts of the route that contain regular grass and others with taller, darker grass, with the former holding normal battles, and the latter normally having stronger Pokémon awaiting, as well as a higher probability of being thrown into a Double Battle, fighting against two wild Pokémon at the same time.

Not content with giving players the thrill of two-on-two battles, there are now ‘Triple’ and ‘Rotation’ versions. Whilst ‘Triple’ may infer an simple extension of the ‘Double,’ there is the small matter of positioning playing a large factor in how battles are carried out. Whilst in a Double Battle your Pokémon can attack either opposing creature, this new style restricts attacks based on position, with those on the left only able to strike each other, and so on. In a normal one-on-one fight, when changing Pokémon it means the user loses a turn to switch-in/switch-out, and this is where battles of a Rotation variety are handy, since three Pokémon are sent out into the field at the same time, meaning you can switch between any of these three to conduct the one-on-one fight without losing a turn.

There are plenty of other differences to help Pokémon Black / White stand above its predecessors, such as the inclusion of a season system, which changes from Spring to Summer, Autumn to Winter, all depending on the current real-life month (January is Spring, February is Summer, March is Autumn, and so on). Therefore, since the game selects the season based on your DS clock, manipulating months is very simple, granting access not only to the aesthetic changes that reflect the generalised weather type associated with a particular season, but actual amendments to the story. For instance, certain areas can only be accessed when snow has built up to create a crossway. Additionally, whilst the main set of Pokémon can be found and caught in any season, the locations where certain wild Pokémon will appear can alter.

After reaching certain levels or fulfilling other criteria, your collection of Pocket Monsters will start to evolve. This is a process that can actually be stopped if you prefer, with different defensive/offensive abilities opening up dependent on personal preference. In general, though, as Pokémon develop, they pick up new skills automatically, with the player making the tough decision as to which final four powers a Pokémon will keep. This choice is made even more difficult when it comes to considering attributes linked with some moves as having a well-rounded monster is important to take on all-comers. Another matter to consider is the TMs, the Technical Machines that can teach new moves to your creatures, which are no longer single-use and can be used again and again - a hugely welcome move - and HMs (Hidden Machines, that can also be used repeatedly on many Pokémon) that are found or earned along the way. There are only six of the latter type - Cut, Strength, Fly, Surf, Waterfall, Dive - and, thankfully, they are used more for side-quests than the main story now, alleviating some of the pressure in the decision process and meaning that you no longer have sacrifice a team slot in order to carry around a ‘HM donkey’ to continue.

On top of the pleasingly lengthy main story, and post-game adventuring that can continue as long as you like, there are plenty of other extras that can be accessed via accessing Nintendo’s Wi-Fi Connection, or simply using the local wireless ability of a DS system. On the title screen there are the following options: Game Sync, Battle Competition, and Mystery Gift. Game Sync connects to the Internet to provide the owner with a special code that can be entered on the Global Link website, which is a portal for all sorts of Pokémon fun. The Battle Competition mode requires registration via Global Link in order to take part in Wi-Fi battles against random people across the world, without the need for Friend Codes, plus a Ranked Match online option for a more structured approach to worldwide battling. The online Dream World website expands even further once a save game has been uploaded: there are mini-games, a house to decorate, special berries that can only be grown there, exclusive abilities to add to your Pokémon line-up, and the chance to catch unique Pokémon to send back to your game. There are also Mystery Gifts that can be obtained through online downloading, and these will open up new opportunities in the game itself for players to reach new areas, obtain special Pokémon, and so on.

Then there is the in-game feature, C-Gear, which when turned on keeps the game constantly hooked up to the Internet, searching using the local wireless network, and even looking out for Infra-red connections thanks to the cartridge’s in-built IR functionality - a massive improvement when you want a quick local battle, as you can swiftly hook-up through IR rather than traipse to a Pokémon Centre (though if you want in-depth battle options, the Pokémon Centre’s Union Room is still the place to go). C-Gear gives players access to quick online battles and local wireless Pokémon trades, but also offers the ‘Entralink’ ability that allows for people to locally enter each other’s game and complete certain missions to gain special benefits. Another great addition is the ‘Xtransceiver’ for the DSi / DSi XL / 3DS, where two (online) or four (locally) people can enter video chat using the systems’ microphone and internal camera. Other online features, such as the Global Trade System, have also been improved. Now players can negotiate trades with others over the system, as well as still being able to specify a desired creature as before, and can do so from any Pokémon Centre rather than the sole location in the Fourth Generation titles.

As well as the major differences between the actual two games (alternative Gym Leaders to battle, and differing areas to visit in each version), Nintendo and Game Freak have well and truly created what many will deem to be the best entry in the Pokémon franchise so far. Unfortunately, whilst the new features help bump up the quality overall, there are still several factors holding it back, mainly in the presentation stakes. It can only be hoped that a true revolution in gameplay appears in the inevitable Nintendo 3DS edition, along with revamped sound and visuals to take full advantage of the hardware improvements. For now, though, long-term Pokémon fans will adore Pokémon Black / White and those who may have started to lose interest in the same formula being regurgitated could well be drawn back in thanks to the positive changes and online additions.