Pokemon Black: Postgame

Long time no blog!

So yeah, I “finished” the postgame of Pokemon a while ago. I wouldn’t really call it finished as much as significantly complete. At least until Infinite Space came into my life (more on that later).

So, the postgame. I’d describe it as being significantly large. It’s non-linear, like HG/SS’s postgame. The levels jump up to about 65 from the level 53 highest in the elite four. It made me really confused, like I’d  forgotten something. You also have to find six of the seven sages scattered throughout.

So it’s not QUITE as big a postgame area as HG/SS, but it’s ok. Marvelous Bridge is ok, and Village Bridge would easily have the best music in the game (without the weird old man singing). I challenged the elite four again, and this time actually beat the champion and entered into the hall of fame. I haven’t caught all the postgame legendaries, or experienced more than winter and autumn in the game. It’s a decent postgame in summary. Oh, and Looker (from Platinum) and Cynthia make a cameo appearance (Cynthia is hard to beat!).

 

In summary throughout the many parts of my Pokemon Black review. It’s a good game. The new pokemon (although weird) and region are a welcome change, the new graphics are insane (I mean, Castelia City, come on) and the (again weird) storyline make this a must have for any DS owner.

 

PS: I’ve used the Entralink and Pokemon Global Link now. The Entralink hardly compares to the brilliant underground mode of Pearl/Diamond. I feel like a 5 year old when I use Global Link. I haven’t, and won’ be using it again- it’s very insulting.

Pokemon Black- Story Thoughts (spoilers)

 

WARNING!

CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Ok, you asked for it. So, the story. A quick summary. Plasma are the bad dudes. Team Plasma’s “King”, N, was raised by Ghetsis (one of the Seven Sages) in such a way that, when he was older, could re-awaken one of the two legendary Pokemon and rise as the new hero of Oblivia, and force all trainers into releasing their Pokemon so Plasma could reign supreme. N believed that Ghetsis had good intentions (heh). So that establishes N as a character. You have the 7 sages, and then 3 ninja guys (I forget their name,Shadow Triad or something) that persistently pop up throughout the game (and pretty much stalk you).

N meets you in the 3rd city (or was it second…) and battles you after Ghetsis gives you a speech. N eventually obtains a stone (depends which version) and uses it to awaken a legendary (depends which version again), and with it charges to the Pokemon League to defeat the Champion so he can force all trainers to release their Pokemon. He challenges you to find the other legendary so that you can both battle. So you obtain the other stone… And nothing happens. You go to the Pokemon League anyway, and defeat the Elite Four. Just as you enter the Champion’s room, a building rises around the Pokemon League (and pretty much destroys the place), and N escapes. You follow and eventually reach N after weaving through Plasma’s Castle (no battles) and N summons his Legendary to him, and scoffs at you for not having a legendary of your own. conveniently, your Legendary pops out of its stone and you battle it. Upon its capture, you are asked if you want to transfer it into your party. You then defeat N, and battle Ghetsis, who revealed the PETA-like ambitions to be a farce, and N a puppet. You then battle him.

So, as you are now more informed about the story, now comes to my criticism. The storyline is quite different from previous games. The bad guys have good intentions, and your Rival is pure at heart. Team Plasma seems like a religious cult and there aren’t any crony-bosses that you can battle. You don’t get a Legendary until RIGHT before you battle N and defeat Team Plasma, and don’t beat the champion until post-game. It is different, and very much weird. Plasma doesn’t have a hideout in which you can battle them (unlike previous games).

Does it work? No, not for me. I want the bad guys to be bad. I want to beat the champion to end the game. I want to feel good after beating my evil rival. It all seems very different from previous games. Not for me, however.

NINJA EDIT: I’ve noticed many people coming to this post via google, looking to see if you can find N after finsihing the game. Here’s a hint for you- you can’t.

 

Pokemon Black- Endgame Thoughts

Well, I finished Pokemon Black Version on Sunday. I will give my criticism of the storyline in a different post, due to it containing big spoilers (you’ll only find little ones in this post).

So, Victory Road. It’s pretty cool. It utilises the movable camera, but it just feels too small. Victory Road in other games just seems bigger and better, whilst Victory Road is half inside half out, it still is pretty cool though.

Oh, and leading up to that is the Badge check. You then go through 8 different gates (red and blue styles) which are pretty cool. The Elite Four has no set order. You can tackle them in any order you please. It’s a nice touch and quite a big change.

The credits are boring. Normally something happens in the background, but all you get to do it look at the legendary Pokemon’s eye. Great fun (rolls eyes)- but the endgame music is awesome. The story takes a few twists and turns at the end, but still seems.. weird.

Game Freak has mixed a few things up. You know when your Pokemon gets poisoned, and it gets hurt as you run? You know how TMs can only be used once? You know how your lead follows you around in HG/SS? You know how (nearly) every region has a gambling place? You know how there’s this Contest Place where you move up ranks and stuff? The previous things have been changed. Your Pokemon just stays the same not in battle. TMs never go away. No lead following you around. No place to gamble. All we get is this Musical thing which consists of dressing up. Fun, I’d rather the original contest any day. Small stuff, I know. But same is good… Sometimes.

Overall, Black is an all round good game. Better than Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/Heartgold/Soulsilver… In some aspects. Not many, just a few.

My Rating

Music: 10

Gameplay: 9.5

Creativity: 9.5

Graphics: 9.5

Other: 9.5

Total: 48/50

NINJA EDIT: Need help with Pokemon Black/White? Feel free to drop me a question and I’ll be happy to help.

Pokemon Black- Midgame Thoughts

Yeah, I’m sorry. I said I would post every week, but that became a very long week.

So, on March the 10th, like the good Pokemon fan I am, I went down and bought Pokemon Black. I chose Black because you get Black City over White Forest, for some reason I chose a city over a bunch of trees.

From the start, it is pretty obvious this game is different. The camera is slightly lower than Diamond and Pearl, and even lower than Ruby and Sapphire.

The starters are probably the weirdest so far. The fire Pokemon is a pig, as many of you already would know (it gets weirder as it evolves). And the grass one is a snake… thingy that also get weirder as it evolves. The water one is an otter, that gets more awesome as it evolves.

In these games, the Pokemon’s individual personality comes out with animated sprites. I know that it doesn’t seem like a large achievement to have moving sprites, but it looks really cool. Suddenly a cute little puppy just standing there (Lillipup), turns into this energetic bundle of fur, jumping around like crazy. I can’t wait to finish the story so I can see what the previous versions’ Pokemon look like.

The story… It’s slightly weirder than usual. The evil team is like PETA, but without all the naked celebrities. There are no boss like things that you can actually battle. There are 7 Sage things, but you can’t battle them. There are 3 ninja dudes, but you can’t battle them either, so you’re stuck with grunts and their leader, N. It just seems weird most of the time.

The difficulty seems significantly lower. I haven’t once had a problem with N, your two friends or any Gym Leaders. The first Gym battle is type dependent, but a nice person gives you a Pokemon that counters the Gym Leader’s Pokemon- and you don’t even have to train it. From then onwards its smooth sailing. The Gyms themselves are pretty cool, and are rather fun.

The region map is large enough, and densely populated. The 5 bridges that are in the region (3 of which I have passed over) look awesome. The camera when passing over the main bridge to Castelia City (and Castelia City itself) look amazing.

The addition of darker grass in which double battles with wild Pokemon happen, and the movements that show either a hidden item or a rare (ish) Pokemon are also a neat addition. That said, the encounter rate is far too high, many times I’ve had 3 or 4 Pokemon come out in as many steps.

The seasons I can’t say much about, seeing as it’s been the same season for the whole time I’ve had the game. That said, I look forward to seeing part of the region in snow in Winter. The weather also changes slightly. Raining areas don’t constantly rain (again, doesn’t seem like a big thing) and a legendary Pokemon whips up insanely strong storms and makes trouble (which looks pretty cool).

The music, as always, is awesome. The battle music isn’t annoying, and the routes and cities have fitting music. You’ll walk past someone playing an instrument in a city and the music will change to suit. It’s a nice touch.

Game Freak have messed with the age-old formula ever so slightly, but it’s enough to be noticeable. HMs are hardly used. Cut and Strength have only been used twice, and I’m up to Victory Road. You aren’t even told which Hms you can use after beating a Gym Leader. TMs can be used infinite times, and you don’t get a fishing rod or a chance to grow berries until post game.

Elite Four, here I come.