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"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Pokemon Black
8 years ago
Figured I would do another one before the big one later.
Pokémon Black
I should have had this review done sooner, but I have been playing this game off and on for a few months now. I figured it was time I went back and played some Pokémon myself before the real release later this year that I will be coming. This is a chance for me to express how I feel about Pokémon Black for you all. Was Pokémon Black just as good as the other games in the series? Let us take look for ourselves shall we?
Gameplay
Pokémon Black is your typical Pokémon game where you get a starter Pokémon from the professor in your home town and then go on a journey around the world to collect all the gym badges to become a Pokémon master. If you have seen that format before, it is the same here of course. I do have to say, the format doesn’t get old, which is good, seeing as all the games in the main series sort of follow this format. It’s a bit hard to explain the differences between the other games as I’m sure most people know how you play Pokémon at this point. You battle other trainers and wild Pokémon until you level up enough to take on harder Pokémon and trainers. There are a few things though I do have to bring up that are different in this game that are either positives or negatives though about the base gameplay overall. The game for the most part is actually a bit on the easier side when you are playing through the main story. It is very easy to be over-leveled throughout the main game, and even then, the gyms are often easy level wise unless you have bad type disadvantages against the gym you are taking on. Even the elite four aren’t even that hard as you are normally going to be very close to their level when you reach them. I think I only gained two levels in preparation to beating them at around level fifty or fifty one. Saying that though, I think the creators realized they made the main game too easy, as post game is a completely different story. As I said, the elite four and final boss of the main game are normally in the low to mid-fifties. Yet, the first trainers’ right after the elite four are in their low to mid-sixties. There is quite the difficulty spike that happens right after beating the game. You are definitely going to have to grind for some levels at this point, otherwise the after game trainers are going to beat your Pokémon very quickly without type advantages. This can be resolved with some training, but I’ve not seen a Pokémon game where the after game level jump was this severe. Also, while I do enjoy the Unova region, it is definitely a very linear region for sure. It is literally pretty much a circle on a stick. You start at the stick, and then make your way up to the circle and just make your way around in a circle until you get back to the other end of the circle. Yeah, while there are for sure many places to go, most of them you just go into one after the other as you get to them. There are very few reasons to backtrack to other areas of the game. The season’s system though is interesting and one of those few reasons to go back to previous areas. Seasons can in some cases change not only the variations of Pokémon, but it can also change access to certain areas. For example, snow in winter can get you to areas that in the summer are just a bit pit with no way to get across. The seasons aren’t a big deal otherwise, but it is nice to see the time of the year changing as the months of the year change in real life. These are a few of the big gameplay differences with Black and previous Pokémon games. There is nothing big changing here, but hey, the main gameplay system still works.
Story
The story is one of the better stories I feel in the Pokémon games. The evil team this time, Team Plasma, instead of trying to simply commit terrorist acts all over the place, is instead trying to half the time make you have a moral dilemma with Pokémon. They will make peaceful speeches in towns telling them how keeping Pokémon in balls and not letting them go free is unfair to Pokémon and that their goal is to simply free all Pokémon from humans. This is actually one of the better methods of a team to use against the people as they are trying to play on the human’s emotions instead of simply intimidating them into giving up their Pokémon. Even then, one of their leaders, a trainer named N is roaming around as well with Pokémon on a journey to find a legendary dragon that is said to show up before a hero that is there to save everyone. He also aims to be the champion as well to try and force their ideals of freeing Pokémon onto everyone. Yes, the more you get into it, you start to see that what they are doing is still trying to force people to do something they may not want to do, but hey, this I think is a better way for a team to try and get what they want than to simply intimidate everyone and steal Pokémon, even if there are members of the team that do just that. The story that goes along with the main character is of course just trying to go on your Pokémon journey to be the best, while you travel and compete with your two rivals from your home town. One trainer wanting to be the best as you are, and the other being a bit more on the shy side and seems to want to just travel and learn about Pokémon than to be the best. Your two rivals have very different personalities and they do fit rather well. You don’t want two rivals that are just the same. The one being really strong willed and the other being sort of soft spoken is the perfect match for two different rivals, if you must have two of course. I’m not sure why some people don’t enjoy this story, as it really does seem to do the job well. There are areas where the story is a little slow of course, but for the most part, I do have to say this is one of the better evil teams that have come pretty close to accomplishing what they wanted to do, if they had done a few things different.
Graphics
The graphics in this game still look great, even for a DS game and when the Pokémon series was still using the sprites for the Pokémon. All the Pokémon in the battles do move and look like they are alive, and really do look like they are trying to battle. Yes, I know it isn’t as good as the new 3D models, but for the sprites they were using at this time, they are still impressive. Even the world is great and it shows itself off in many areas that they were trying to do more with what they could with the graphics they had at the time. Even with them still using sprites, the worlds were trying to be more 3D and give the world more depth, rather than having everything look like flat sprites. The world is bright and alive in many areas, but there are still plenty of areas that have that quiet nature feeling with trainers all roaming around just looking for a battle. There are no glitches, and really nothing looks out of place. I know the world overall may be very linear, but the world itself looks great and very detailed when roaming these areas. I honestly don’t have anything bad to say here at all. For the time, this is still great to look at in my opinion.
Sound
You remember how I’ve said in other reviews that to get very high ratings in sound that you had to have very memorable music? Well Pokémon Black has just that. The music in this game is great and very memorable. If you hear it enough, even long after you play the game, you will remember what game the music is from. That’s a good sign of music being pretty good, especially when the music tends to show up on top music lists in general. It isn’t just from seeing the music online either. I totally agree that the music puts you in the mood during battles, and that it has that very Pokémon like sound to it. There really is a Pokémon like sound if you believe that. Maybe it’s just me, but I can tell when music comes from this game, and the music definitely fits this series well. I have no complaints about it and honestly, I recommend listening to some of the music from the sound track. Some music is very soft and pleasant, and then you have the rockin tune when you are fighting the evil team grunts. It is all good in my opinion.
Control
What can you really say about the controls in this game? Most of the game is just roaming the menus while you are battling or trying to manage or use your items. Also, you are roaming around the world as you go from area to area or battle to battle. There is nothing wrong with this at all, and it all works well and is very easy to work. My only thing with the controls is that I do think there could have been an easier way to use the quick button items. While you can set more than one item to the quick button, it is a hassle if you get more than one or two in the list as you then have to constantly stop doing what you are doing to find the item you want in this menu. This basically defeats the purpose of the quick item slot and also did result in me accidently clicking wrong items many times to where I would then have to de-equip items that I didn’t want to then get the item that I did want. This is a very small thing, but it is something with the controls that did pop up often. Other than that though, everything else controls wise is very simple and works as intended.
Replay Value
This is Pokémon; of course there is replay value to the game. That is almost the whole point of Pokémon is to have a game that is full of replay value. You are meant to play this game more than once every now and then and try different Pokémon on your journeys to see how things go this time. This is also how you see if different strategies work and which Pokémon work better for you. Then you get to play through the game with these Pokémon and also to get ready to fight other players at some point. That is usually one of the goals of these games is to eventually fight other real life trainers as well. This game does that, and does it well. Though there are a few issues that I think hurt replayability just a tad. First is that there is a limited number of Pokémon to choose from on any given playthrough as this game is using only this regions new Pokémon in the main game. You don’t gain access to Pokémon outside of this games new Pokémon until after you beat the elite four. I would like it if there were a larger number of accessible Pokémon in the game and also at earlier points in the game as well. This is a common problem with many of the Pokémon games. There just needs to be access to more Pokémon and at earlier stages as well. When there are fewer options, you are going to be running the game with similar Pokémon each time you play the game. Also, the linear map of the game does take away some of the exploration aspects of the game, since there aren’t really alternate pathways you can take and different ways you can get things done. Everything will be done in the same way. While these are small problems with replayability, the game overall is still very replayable.
Overall, Pokémon Black is another good entry into the Pokémon series that deserves its place in Pokémon history. If you want a good game on the DS, you can usually never go wrong with Pokémon, and once again, Pokémon Black shows that it is worth getting. Sure, the gameplay is a bit on the linear side and the number of available Pokemon can hold the game back in some areas, but for the most part, there are very few problems with this game, and even the story I feel is better than in some of the games. You don’t always have to be stopping a terrorist group or a group of nothing but thieves. I would definitely say could out and pick this up if you want a good solid game for your DS. It is wort it.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Pokémon Black a nine out of ten.
Gameplay: 8
Story: 9
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Control: 9
Replay Value: 8
Overall: 9
Pokémon Black
I should have had this review done sooner, but I have been playing this game off and on for a few months now. I figured it was time I went back and played some Pokémon myself before the real release later this year that I will be coming. This is a chance for me to express how I feel about Pokémon Black for you all. Was Pokémon Black just as good as the other games in the series? Let us take look for ourselves shall we?
Gameplay
Pokémon Black is your typical Pokémon game where you get a starter Pokémon from the professor in your home town and then go on a journey around the world to collect all the gym badges to become a Pokémon master. If you have seen that format before, it is the same here of course. I do have to say, the format doesn’t get old, which is good, seeing as all the games in the main series sort of follow this format. It’s a bit hard to explain the differences between the other games as I’m sure most people know how you play Pokémon at this point. You battle other trainers and wild Pokémon until you level up enough to take on harder Pokémon and trainers. There are a few things though I do have to bring up that are different in this game that are either positives or negatives though about the base gameplay overall. The game for the most part is actually a bit on the easier side when you are playing through the main story. It is very easy to be over-leveled throughout the main game, and even then, the gyms are often easy level wise unless you have bad type disadvantages against the gym you are taking on. Even the elite four aren’t even that hard as you are normally going to be very close to their level when you reach them. I think I only gained two levels in preparation to beating them at around level fifty or fifty one. Saying that though, I think the creators realized they made the main game too easy, as post game is a completely different story. As I said, the elite four and final boss of the main game are normally in the low to mid-fifties. Yet, the first trainers’ right after the elite four are in their low to mid-sixties. There is quite the difficulty spike that happens right after beating the game. You are definitely going to have to grind for some levels at this point, otherwise the after game trainers are going to beat your Pokémon very quickly without type advantages. This can be resolved with some training, but I’ve not seen a Pokémon game where the after game level jump was this severe. Also, while I do enjoy the Unova region, it is definitely a very linear region for sure. It is literally pretty much a circle on a stick. You start at the stick, and then make your way up to the circle and just make your way around in a circle until you get back to the other end of the circle. Yeah, while there are for sure many places to go, most of them you just go into one after the other as you get to them. There are very few reasons to backtrack to other areas of the game. The season’s system though is interesting and one of those few reasons to go back to previous areas. Seasons can in some cases change not only the variations of Pokémon, but it can also change access to certain areas. For example, snow in winter can get you to areas that in the summer are just a bit pit with no way to get across. The seasons aren’t a big deal otherwise, but it is nice to see the time of the year changing as the months of the year change in real life. These are a few of the big gameplay differences with Black and previous Pokémon games. There is nothing big changing here, but hey, the main gameplay system still works.
Story
The story is one of the better stories I feel in the Pokémon games. The evil team this time, Team Plasma, instead of trying to simply commit terrorist acts all over the place, is instead trying to half the time make you have a moral dilemma with Pokémon. They will make peaceful speeches in towns telling them how keeping Pokémon in balls and not letting them go free is unfair to Pokémon and that their goal is to simply free all Pokémon from humans. This is actually one of the better methods of a team to use against the people as they are trying to play on the human’s emotions instead of simply intimidating them into giving up their Pokémon. Even then, one of their leaders, a trainer named N is roaming around as well with Pokémon on a journey to find a legendary dragon that is said to show up before a hero that is there to save everyone. He also aims to be the champion as well to try and force their ideals of freeing Pokémon onto everyone. Yes, the more you get into it, you start to see that what they are doing is still trying to force people to do something they may not want to do, but hey, this I think is a better way for a team to try and get what they want than to simply intimidate everyone and steal Pokémon, even if there are members of the team that do just that. The story that goes along with the main character is of course just trying to go on your Pokémon journey to be the best, while you travel and compete with your two rivals from your home town. One trainer wanting to be the best as you are, and the other being a bit more on the shy side and seems to want to just travel and learn about Pokémon than to be the best. Your two rivals have very different personalities and they do fit rather well. You don’t want two rivals that are just the same. The one being really strong willed and the other being sort of soft spoken is the perfect match for two different rivals, if you must have two of course. I’m not sure why some people don’t enjoy this story, as it really does seem to do the job well. There are areas where the story is a little slow of course, but for the most part, I do have to say this is one of the better evil teams that have come pretty close to accomplishing what they wanted to do, if they had done a few things different.
Graphics
The graphics in this game still look great, even for a DS game and when the Pokémon series was still using the sprites for the Pokémon. All the Pokémon in the battles do move and look like they are alive, and really do look like they are trying to battle. Yes, I know it isn’t as good as the new 3D models, but for the sprites they were using at this time, they are still impressive. Even the world is great and it shows itself off in many areas that they were trying to do more with what they could with the graphics they had at the time. Even with them still using sprites, the worlds were trying to be more 3D and give the world more depth, rather than having everything look like flat sprites. The world is bright and alive in many areas, but there are still plenty of areas that have that quiet nature feeling with trainers all roaming around just looking for a battle. There are no glitches, and really nothing looks out of place. I know the world overall may be very linear, but the world itself looks great and very detailed when roaming these areas. I honestly don’t have anything bad to say here at all. For the time, this is still great to look at in my opinion.
Sound
You remember how I’ve said in other reviews that to get very high ratings in sound that you had to have very memorable music? Well Pokémon Black has just that. The music in this game is great and very memorable. If you hear it enough, even long after you play the game, you will remember what game the music is from. That’s a good sign of music being pretty good, especially when the music tends to show up on top music lists in general. It isn’t just from seeing the music online either. I totally agree that the music puts you in the mood during battles, and that it has that very Pokémon like sound to it. There really is a Pokémon like sound if you believe that. Maybe it’s just me, but I can tell when music comes from this game, and the music definitely fits this series well. I have no complaints about it and honestly, I recommend listening to some of the music from the sound track. Some music is very soft and pleasant, and then you have the rockin tune when you are fighting the evil team grunts. It is all good in my opinion.
Control
What can you really say about the controls in this game? Most of the game is just roaming the menus while you are battling or trying to manage or use your items. Also, you are roaming around the world as you go from area to area or battle to battle. There is nothing wrong with this at all, and it all works well and is very easy to work. My only thing with the controls is that I do think there could have been an easier way to use the quick button items. While you can set more than one item to the quick button, it is a hassle if you get more than one or two in the list as you then have to constantly stop doing what you are doing to find the item you want in this menu. This basically defeats the purpose of the quick item slot and also did result in me accidently clicking wrong items many times to where I would then have to de-equip items that I didn’t want to then get the item that I did want. This is a very small thing, but it is something with the controls that did pop up often. Other than that though, everything else controls wise is very simple and works as intended.
Replay Value
This is Pokémon; of course there is replay value to the game. That is almost the whole point of Pokémon is to have a game that is full of replay value. You are meant to play this game more than once every now and then and try different Pokémon on your journeys to see how things go this time. This is also how you see if different strategies work and which Pokémon work better for you. Then you get to play through the game with these Pokémon and also to get ready to fight other players at some point. That is usually one of the goals of these games is to eventually fight other real life trainers as well. This game does that, and does it well. Though there are a few issues that I think hurt replayability just a tad. First is that there is a limited number of Pokémon to choose from on any given playthrough as this game is using only this regions new Pokémon in the main game. You don’t gain access to Pokémon outside of this games new Pokémon until after you beat the elite four. I would like it if there were a larger number of accessible Pokémon in the game and also at earlier points in the game as well. This is a common problem with many of the Pokémon games. There just needs to be access to more Pokémon and at earlier stages as well. When there are fewer options, you are going to be running the game with similar Pokémon each time you play the game. Also, the linear map of the game does take away some of the exploration aspects of the game, since there aren’t really alternate pathways you can take and different ways you can get things done. Everything will be done in the same way. While these are small problems with replayability, the game overall is still very replayable.
Overall, Pokémon Black is another good entry into the Pokémon series that deserves its place in Pokémon history. If you want a good game on the DS, you can usually never go wrong with Pokémon, and once again, Pokémon Black shows that it is worth getting. Sure, the gameplay is a bit on the linear side and the number of available Pokemon can hold the game back in some areas, but for the most part, there are very few problems with this game, and even the story I feel is better than in some of the games. You don’t always have to be stopping a terrorist group or a group of nothing but thieves. I would definitely say could out and pick this up if you want a good solid game for your DS. It is wort it.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Pokémon Black a nine out of ten.
Gameplay: 8
Story: 9
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Control: 9
Replay Value: 8
Overall: 9
chinook_orca
~chinookorca
Odd as I personally despised Pokemon black, to the point where Black and white 2 are the only iterations of pokemon I don't actually own any version of.
