BW/BW2 Pokemon Black & White Reviews

Overall, these games are great, despite my disappointments.
Pros:
Fast battling
An evil team whose goal is actually understandable( not like Team Aqua, "lets drown the whole world", derp)
New moves and abilities(I'm loving Moxie)
Sprite movement
TMs
Pokemart+Pokecenter
Less HM usage required
Seasons
Gyms being different on the outside
Better overworld graphics.
Some great looking Pokemon(Elektross, Scolipede, Haxorus, Krookodile, Zebstrika, etc)
The occasional great name (Sandile, Emboar, etc)

Cons:
No more perma-run
The bag and box systems from HGSS don't return, I loved being able to do my business quickly with a stylus.
No more following Pokemon
No trainer rematches
some derpy Pokemon designs and names(Oshawott, Conkeldurr, that ice cream cone, Klink, etc)
Sprites(especially zoomed in) are too pixelated
Team Plasma had a good idea, but poor execution. They don't feel good or evil, just bumbling/dopey
Lack of originality in the new Pokemon (the afro bull, the third Fire/fighting starter in a row, Gigalith, etc)

Overall, the games feel very polished and worth it. Hopefully the third version polishes it off more.
 
Here's my review of the various aspects of Black version:
  • Graphics - Definitely the most graphically impressive installment to the handheld games. Drastically improved buildings, trees, obstacles, shorelines, rock faces - basically everything - make the game's environments that much more believable. Each location has its own unique feel, making locations more memorable and less repetitive. Pokémon animations are at their all-time best. I understand people saying they look pixelated, but that's just the way the graphics engine has to render the sprites - with all sprites made at the normal pixel size, when a sprite has to appear closer, the pixels have to be rendered larger. When they appear far away, they have to scrunch the pixels together. Unless they go with true 3D models, I don't think they can pull off smooth-looking movements.
    However, even with these improved graphics, some attack animations feel lacking. I understand not every attack can look spectacular and some have to be basic, but improvements to the way attacks such as Hyper Beam, Earthquake, and Psychic look couldn't hurt. They feel very flat, whereas attacks like Shock Wave and Fusion Flare really look great. Basically, a lot of attacks need their animations to be brought to the next level.
  • Pokémon - Despite the fact some of this Generation's Pokémon were desined to hearken back to the original 151, each feels unique in its own right. Being able to only find Unova Pokémon pre-Elite Four makes exploring the region interesting and helps the player form strong bonds with the new Pokémon. The stories behind some Legendaries feel somewhat lacking, but it's hard to live up to the previous Generation's various god-like Pokémon. The use of Pokémon by the region's trainers seems to have lost a little focus. I often found myself fighting trainers who in previous Generations had a specific Type they used, but in this Generation had different Pokémon that didn't seem to fit their trainer type. Whether this is a good thing or not is something I'm still not sure of, but it felt odd. They finally added a Shiny Pokémon section to the PokéDex, so that's a huge plus for me.
  • Sound - Music in this game is amazing. Each town has a catchy theme and each route, cave, etc. has a tune that I won't be turning down anytime soon. Battle music has been given some much-needed attention with varying themes (normal encounters versus double battle encounters / rare encounters, Gym Leader / Elite Four on their last Pokémon) and the addition of red HP changing the music entirely. No longer is being in the red annoying! The Bike and Surfing tunes are also nice. Pokémon cries are interesting and different, although there are a few that sound similar. Some Pokémon cries, however, are far too quiet. Herdier and Beartic are prime examples.
  • Overall Speed - Battles finally get a much-needed speed boost. Navigation of Boxes still feels a little clunky thanks to Move Pokémon still not living up to its DPPt glory. Navigation of Items in the Bag also feels clunky with the number of compartments being reduced, creating unnecessary clutter. The touchable scroll bar being implemented helps a lot, however. The Bike moves at a decent speed, but seems to have some issues moving only one tile forward - even on the Mach Bike in Generation 3 I had smoother mobility. Surfing moves at a good speed, as does text. Level grinding moves at a decent pace, with some points moving slow and others moving fast. The lack of a Vs. Seeker makes it somewhat harder to get decent experience sometimes. The lack of HM-heavy areas is refreshing and makes travelling the region less of a hassle. The lack of constant running seen in HGSS is somewhat of a letdown, but I still like the feel of having to hold down B to run.
  • Characters - The NPCs in this game are pretty much the usual "talk to me once and then never talk to me again", but some of them are actually interesting. The increase in NPCs that heal your Pokémon (such as nurses, doctors, and people in houses on routes) is an absolutely wonderful aspect of this game. Equally as wonderful is the increase in NPCs that give you items daily. Your childhood friends Cheren and Bianca are interesting and likeable, though Cheren seems to run into you more often than he should. Professor Juniper was compelling enough, at least for a professor. The Gym Leaders are all interesting and have depth to them, except for Brycen and the first Gym trio, who felt a bit lacking. Team Plasma was alright, and their involvement in the plot felt different in a good way. The Elite Four and the Champion were also appealing. Cynthia returning was a nice addition.
  • Locations - As mentioned earlier, each location feels unique and memorable. The music for each location perfectly matches the overall mood the location is trying to convey. The complexity of each location really makes them feel believable and makes me want to visit them again and again. Changes from the typical designs of some locations (such as Victory Road and the Elite Four) make the region feel stronger as a whole.
  • New Items / Attacks - Overall, this Generation introduced a lot of interesting items and attacks. Items such as Rocky Helmet add a nice change to battles. Maniac Items like the Relic items and Comet Shard provide for some much-needed ways to get money, and help get rid of items that were pretty much useless in older Generations (like Mushrooms). New tools like the C-Gear and Dream World are unfortunately things I can't really use, so I can't comment on them. A lot of the new attacks are usable, and most Types get a few much-needed additions. However, they seem to have forgotten Ghost-Type moves this Generation, as there was only one new move. A stronger Physical Ghost-Type move would have been nice.
  • Difficulty - For a Pokémon game, I'd say this was near the top difficulty-wise, which still isn't saying much. There were a few times I found myself a little close to a loss, but it was mostly due to Critical Hit nonsense. Speaking of Critical Hits, Battle Subway continues Battle Tower's reputation of having major "hax", which is never a good thing. The level jump after the Elite Four was a bit unexpected, but nothing too difficult.

If I had to give the game a rating out of 10, it'd probably be an 8 or 9. This game provides some much-needed improvements in speed, graphics, and gameplay. However, it falls short by leaving out some useful items and features (rematches, for example) and downgrading previously near-perfect features (the Bag, for example). Thankfully the positives drastically outweigh the negatives, making for an extremely enjoyable addition to the main Pokémon series. :)
 
My main Criticisms are
1. Team Plasma. They're so hypocritical! They say "Humans abuse Pokemon, let them go!!" And yet, they have Pokemon of their own. Therefor, they are "abusing" their Pokemon.
2. Crazy level jump post-game. I was all happy, strolling along to Black City, and then BOOM. This trainer has a level 65, while my Pokemon are at level 50. I get swept and then avoid trainers as much as possible. It's really not fun, the trainers being so over-leveled.
3. Graphics. I'm not talking about the overworld camera angles, I'm talking about the Pokemon sprites. If you wanted to, you could count every little pixel, especially when the camera zooms in on them.
4. The menu. I think the C-gear should be an option to go to in your menu, not automatically there. I hate that you have to press X if you want to see your menu, and the fact that there's no perma-run option, nor 2 key items that can easily be accessed with the touch of a button.
 
Team Plasma. They're so hypocritical! They say "Humans abuse Pokemon, let them go!!" And yet, they have Pokemon of their own. Therefor, they are "abusing" their Pokemon.
Click to expand...

That was the point. Ghetsis and co. pretty much brainwashed all of Team Plasma into believing that they were doing this for the good of the Pokemon, but in all reality, this was just so that Ghetsis would be the only one with Pokemon, thus causing all people of the Pokemon World to "bow down to him" or something.
 
I agree with Yoda with the Lv jump because I was strolling along happy with all the Lv.5 togipis I cought and then Lv 60 tropusis start killing all my pokes! Just that mad me buy the Guide book and started looking if I missed anything which I didn't ...
 
This is to everyone who says the moving sprites are pixilated
If you had to follow a budget would you rather have to spend a lot of money on moving sprites or good looking sprites if you had to choose one or the other what would you do.
 
^im sure they didnt really have that much of a budget lol. i understand that the DS graphics arnt that good and thus pixelation
 
I don't get why so many people dislike Team Plasma. To me, Team Aqua/Magma and Team Galactic didn't amount to much more than corny, clichéd super-villain junk. Team Rocket and Team Plasma both feel much more believable--Team Rocket, simply, exploits Pokémon to make money. Likewise, Team Plasma's motive was also simple--to free Pokémon from their trainers. No tomfoolery about wanting to destroy the universe.

Cheren and Bianca were all right. Better than Barry or whatever he was called...still, nothing beats good ol' Gary. I also liked how the Gym Leaders played such a big role in the story. They're supposed to be important, after all. This time you can actually feel it.

As far as the graphics go, I'm alright with the pixelization. It's just how Pokémon has always looked, and while it can look better, having the camera move around like it does and actually seeing things moving around on the screen is a big step forward.

Music...just listen to the Village Bridge theme. Need I say more? I don't think so, but I will anyway. I love how dynamic the music is in this game--how it changes all the time to better fit the mood. Like when a drumbeat comes in after you start running, or in places like Accumula Town and the aforementioned Village Bridge where you can talk to certain people and really bring it to life. Subtle things like that make an awesome soundtrack stand out that much more.

Gameplay...I for one like the level jump after beating the Elite Four. I just wish there was more to explore. As for things like the Battle Frontier, well...I just wish they'd take a different approach for once and put that stuff back in the Stadium/Colosseum games where they belong. The focus in the handheld games should be on catching and raising Pokémon, something that would be much easier with more post-game material and things like trainer rematches. Black and White were a step in the right direction, but they just didn't go far enough with it.

And of course, the new Pokémon. I love 'em all.

I'd say these are the best entries in the series since Gold and Silver. It seems Game Freak really took a step back and looked at what made the older games so appealing this time around.
 
Pokemon black and white were ok.

Pros:
-You don't need an hm slave.
-Audino (Have even seen how much exp these things give? I raised a deino (lv. 45) to a hydreigon (zweilous evolves at lv 64) on straght audinos.)
-Fully animated pokemon sprites.
-introduced an awsome uber (reshiram hits everything neatral with just it's STAB moves)
-Some cool cutscenes (You gotta respect team plasmas castle rising from ground, then stabbing the pokemon league with stairs)
thats about all.

Cons:
-N is not a name. It's a letter.
-Speaking of N, he's a total nutcase.
-Eelectric is a horrible name. What about Alomomola? I can't even say it properly.
-Jellicent's female sprite is trash.
-Team plasma is too stupid. I think nintendo tried too hard to have the evil team be different.
-What were they thinking when they designed patrat and watchog?
 
psycho hand said:
-N is not a name. It's a letter.
Click to expand...

v-for-vendetta.jpg
 
Yeah one thing I've already noticed about Black & White is that the English names for alot of the new Pokemon in Unova/Isshu are hard to pronounce especially for Kyurem, Reunculus, among others. Am I the only one who thinks that's strange especially for a new generation of Pokemon?

I'm also getting complaints from some people especially on YouTube saying that breeding Pokemon in Gen 5 is alot harder than it is on Gen 4 probably due to certain Unova Pokemon taking longer to level up to 100 or to learn new moves for specific movesets. It's like as If Game Freak and Nintendo designed Black & White where they don't want you to breed which I doubt that's the case.

Then of course there's the thing about breeding Dream World Abilities to the offspring. The Mother in
the Day Care has to have a Dream World Ability you're trying to pass to the offspring as it's similiar to passing on Egg Moves and the Father can't have a Dream World Ability though. If you breed Ditto (acting as the father) with a Pokemon that has a Dream World Ability the Offspring won't inherit that Ability when it hatches.

If you don't believe me look it up on Serebii.
 
my favorite theme in this game is nimbasa city...it reminds me of playing ape escape lol now that i have officially finished the game with all the ins and outs (except the dream world which is delayed :( ) this might turn into an essay or something that Xous did :p

Graphics- i dont care much for graphics in a game but dang this was STUNNING. i remember the first time you walk out of your house the birds fly by the screen which was amazing (although i started at night...well it was set to night, i was playing animal crossing so changing the times on the ds lol). then going down route 1 you have the leaves blowing in the wind just breath taking. also the touches on the gyms was great all the details. also walking into castelia city for the fist time was amazing. all the big buildings and all the detail put into them. but of course the thing that takes the graphical cake THE POKEMON MOVE!!!! its absolutly amazing. the first time i saw that oshowott (i picked snivy) move i just sat and stared and wondered if this was just a dream. it was amazing, by far...lillipup is my favorite movement or chandelure...all of them are amazing though. also...have you beat the E4. the things that they do on the background. my favorite is dark...the eyes are cool and creepy at the same time.

New Pokemon- what can i say im a sucker for new poke. the were all great well...most of them. i would say about 4 i dont like but that is impressive to have 147 that i like out of 151 (to list them...durant, garbador, stunfisk, masharna). i didnt like alot of the gen 4 poke (bronzor, bronzong, whole empoleon line, whole infernape line, shaymin sky form...the list goes on) and there wernt as many gen 4 poke as there are gen 5. they did a great job recreating gen 1 poke withought getting to similar. example is roggenrola line (LOVE THAT NAME LOL) or the timburr line (LOVE THAT NAME ALSO...until they get to conkeldurr...should have been pillurr) but also coming up with whole new idea withought them being to stale (venipede...do i have to say more scolipede is my avatar, cottonee, blah blah blah.) overall amazing group of poke.

Sound- great as usual. have you ever got the pokecenter theme out of your head HECK i learned it on guitar lol. it has great sound but a couple of things. some cry's are WAY to quiet or low. i dont like to have my volume up so when beartic comes out...its just silent and that bugs me. also some of the cry's are off. cobalion for example...i was not expecting this high pitched, ear splitting screech. sure i didnt have to much expectation but not that, it just confused me. the town music is amazing (as i said above...nimbasa is awesome might learn it on guitar)

Battles- THE POKEMON MOVE!!!!! that is all....ok its not but ya they move, THEY FINALLY MOVE but the battles are so much faster OR they can be slower. if you dont rush through it by pressing A it goes slow so if you like the slower style you can do that but most of us want that faster style so they FINALLY gave it to us. also i actually like the little weather reminder. for those of you that multitask while playing and forget alot and forgot that you used sunny day it shows it so you dont use it again and forget again and use it 4 more times until it has no more PP lol. the camera movment is great. i love using fusion flare and watching it move up and then slam down. again so much detail

Difficulty- i wasnt even gonna bring this one up but i guess i will. DANG the difficulty is kind of crazy. i wasnt expecting lvl 14 at the first gym. in DPPt is was 12. so the jump is pretty big and this game. ALSO why do they use your weakness? i thought the first gym would be easy but no...its freakin hard also the post E4 is pretty crazy. i thought it was a glitch at first but then it happened to my friend to so i knew it was legit...which scared me. my lvl 55-57 were getting there butt kicked over and over and i actually had to use potions and stuff. also the gyms seemed more strategic. the model chick and her emolga's. i hate those things. there volt switch. also the normal gym and her using hypnosis...pretty good. also the E4 was really hard the first time also i didnt mention this in the graphics one but OH MAN THE E4 ROOMS...imagine them in 3D on the 3DS. i can already see them as 3Dish.

Characters- this was where the game really shined. it was really in depth and the character development was great. and of course, N was AMAZING he was just so insane that he was intimidating. every time you see him your amused but afraid of what he will do. hes threatening but not to much and i didnt suspect him to be there leader. i just saw him as just some guy trying to help poke. so ill just talk about the characters here and do a evil team overview too. cheren was pretty good. i liked his (or is it a girl...embarrassing i know) journey of defining what power really was and how he thought he had power but really he didnt (and the fact that i beat him first time everytime :p), how he thought power was all that there was to being the champion. and bianca was great to, maybe not as defined as cheren but still great. her conflict with her dad showed how she might not be a strong person but her poke made her strong and kept her safe and able to keep going and as long as she helped them they would help her...deep i know but that was what this game was all about just deep character development.

Team Plasma- oh man. they were great. i kind of predicted the end well not all of it but the real motive but the whole time they were great. you could actually relate to what there purpose was. it made you actually think...am i holding poke back by keeping them for myself. i kind of agree with them. what is poke do have lives and them we come and take them from there families or lives. i dont want to give to much away but team plasma is right there with team rocket. it made me want to release my poke to the wild so they could continue there lives...and it made my think about all the poke in my box that i "said" i was gonna train but havnt...:p

that is my review...and its long lol
 
Card Slinger J said:
I'm also getting complaints from some people especially on YouTube saying that breeding Pokemon in Gen 5 is alot harder than it is on Gen 4 probably due to certain Unova Pokemon taking longer to level up to 100 or to learn new moves for specific movesets. It's like as If Game Freak and Nintendo designed Black & White where they don't want you to breed which I doubt that's the case.
Click to expand...


Honestly I'm not surprised. Selective breeding was already a huge timesink before Gen V. In fact raising pokemon in general is a huge timesink, especially if you care about stuff like EVs or wanting to breed specific moves/natures.
 
Ok, for starters since many are complaining about N's name. N doesn't sound quite of a name until you notice his last name: Harmonia. It might be a stretch but N Harmonia refers "Enharmonic", which means two notes that are the same in pitch but written differently. This refers to the ideals and truths of N and the player character are made with the same intentions, but the act made with these intentions are acted differently.

Now back on topic, this is all based on my opinion
THE GOOD
Graphics: The graphics are UNBELIEVABLE for a Pokemon game. The changing of camera angles during overworld adventures and battling makes them less dull in comparison. Due to the camera angles, it feels more like you're exploring in a more 3D environment compared to the Gen IV games. Not to mention the animations and the sprites are a step up in comparison compared to HGSS ones.

Music: Pokemon has reached to a point where some of the music have remixes or reprises of old music of not only Pokemon, but also the Mother Series(Noticed Mother 3's Love Theme in N's Farewell?), which is not a bad thing. The background music gives a feel of nostalgia while being a standalone song. That, and the Credits theme actually sounds epic.

Story: I dont see what is wrong with Team Plasma honestly, many people are complaining how it is hypocritical of them to use Pokemon while liberating them from other humans; however, didnt they use Pokemon with the intention of force, self defense, and releasing them after they used them? Didnt you guys notice N kept changing his team to match the Pokemon near his vicinity? Plus, the complaint about them following a teenager is justified. N has a special ability to befriend and understand Pokemon around him, not to mention some members actually know that Ghetis is the real leader. For the story as a whole, I can say that this is far from the now cliche "Ten year old finds his destiny to defeat the evilz and get all the badges to beat the champion." This is not your old Pokemon. Its about the clashing of ideals and truths to discover what is really needed to the Pokemon we live with.

Gameplay:
  1. Faster Battles.
  2. Unbreakable TMs.
  3. HM moves ingame are only needed once.
  4. Dream World Abilities!
  5. The new leveling system helps the lower levelled pokemon level up faster.
  6. The increase of high attacking and fast Pokemon to counteract the stalls of Gen IV.
  7. You are now given 3 BP for having a 7-winning streak

THE BAD
Graphics: Because of the increased 3D environment, the limits of the DS System shows. Plus, the animations of Pokemon sprites makes them pixelated.

Music: Even if the low HP song is awesome, sometimes it replaces some of the good music like Ghetis Battle, Final N Battle, E4 themes, etc.

Story: The progress of the games Pre-E4 is too linear. You follow a direct path town to town with the exception of Relic Castle. Also, some of the Team Plasma members and Ghetis are too stupid that by the time you reach Dreamyard, you can tell that Ghetis is the man behind the man.

Gameplay:
  1. The Post-E4 stuff are too limited compared to those of the Gen IV games.
  2. No Item Transfers from Gen IV. Which lets you start from scratch with the Power Items, Choice Items, etc.
  3. It's both a good and bad, Lack of a Stealth Rock TM.
  4. The Bag is poorly organized compared to Gen IV.
  5. Many of the Pokemon have horrible defenses.(Though I guess you cant have them all).

All in all, The new Pokemon Black and White have many flaws, but is counter-acted with the huge step up from other aspects, such as the music and the story.
 
@CardSlingerJ
Whoa! What are you talking about? Breeding is insanely easy. I've had a much easier time breeding this gen in my Japanese White, so much so that I could breed a good Pokemon in a single day.

Some other complaints that I've noticed is that the new names 'suck.' I'd like to remind you that your playing a game that has Pokemon named Geodude, Onix, and Magnemite. If anything they're more fun, because of they aren't serious. (Seriously you can't say 'Sawk' isn't an amusing name.) Also how are any of the previous team more dangerous and threatening than Team Plasma. Their leaders question society to cause chaos, and build the foundation for an empire if it succeeded. (Also Team Plasma is the only team to actually obtain a legendary Pokemon, as in past games they either quickly lose them, or they go berserk.) Lastly, what kind of complaint is N's name, it may be kind of lame, but still, why should that harm your opinion of a game? It's not like villains tend to have sensible names anyway.
 
^ i believe team plasma was actually in the right. also it wasnt hypocritical. didnt you notice that N always used poke that were from the routes around. thus he caught them to battle you then released them. he only caught Zekrom/Reshiram to bring out his new order. Ghetesis never wanted to liberate poke in the first place so he cant be a hypocrite :p
 
9.8

Graphics, storyline etc are amazing.
Storyline is awesome, though it has room for extensioons in Gray which is perfect.
I would make the gym leaders more challenging though.

I beat all gyms by the 10th (got it on 6th).
obly downsides;
no auto run
no pokemon following you (thats controversial though)
no transporting items (no more neverending masterballs)
dragon pulse and darkpulse gone forever
hard to get decent tms like flamethrower or energy ball until post game
not nearly enough triple/ rotation battles. Beat thegame and never had a rotation battle :(

Anyways, awesome game, got a lot of friends to play it inbetween black ops and such.
 
In terms of Story I think that Black and White are the best pokemon games in that regard. In terms of features I would give them a 9-9.5/10. They added some amazing features like animated battle sprites and camera panning but left out things like time exclusive pokemon and Safari Zone. Im hoping Gray will be much better in terms of features.

Other than features the only thing I feel they could improve in the land of Unova is the difficulty of gym leaders and elite four. I feel like they should have had more than 3 pokemon from the 5th gym leader onward.
 
oh yeah, i amlost forgot about those.
i was thinking 4 pokemon at elesa and 5 from then on.More exp. for my pokes.
more victory road people (optional of course) would have been great.
Safari Zone could beclosed off then have all these new (past gen) pokemon. Maybe they could have version exclusives there, and inplement it into the story. Closed because of pokemon abuse anyone?
 
XieRH said:
Honestly I'm not surprised. Selective breeding was already a huge timesink before Gen V. In fact raising pokemon in general is a huge timesink, especially if you care about stuff like EVs or wanting to breed specific moves/natures.
Click to expand...

What I meant to say was what's making breeding harder in Gen 5 is that there is no way to tell what IV's your Pokemon have therefore unless you go up to someone in the game who knows what Individual Values your Pokemon has in a specific Stat it could make breeding Pokemon a bit more harder than Gen 4 unless you just cheat the system with Action Replay or PokeSav which I still wouldn't recommend.

As what Ho-Oh_Master already mentioned especially one of my friends, most of the Unova Region Pokemon of Gen 5 have sub-par to horrible Defensive Base Stats as they seem to be glass cannon's whether they are Physical Sweepers, Special Sweepers, or Mixed Sweepers with no way to take a few hits and survive. I could be wrong though.
 
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