Pokemon has always been a fallback for me. Blue version was my first video game, and I have bought every adaptation Nintendo has thrown at me. I will always love Pokemon; I still, at 17, watch the cartoon and own all the legendaries as plush toys. However, it has always bothered me that these games lack a solid difficulty curve. The game gets easier as I play!
Pokemon Black and White, the newest additions to the franchise, fix this problem. Each game is challenging from the start. Gym Leaders employ strategies with Pokemon that work together oftentimes – frustratingly – perfectly. You have multiple rivals, something not explored thoroughly in other versions, all amped up to “you need to train too much for this” difficulty.
The game itself follows the same path of other Pokemon games. You need to beat all the Gym Leaders to get to and defeat the Elite Four, all while battling an evil Team Rocket knock‑off organization called Team Plasma. As the protagonist, you are a teenager instead of a 10‑year-old, possibly to mirror the difficulty of the game. You still fight turn‑based battles with six Pokemon, and you still walk around in tall grass and caves to catch them.
There are many new features, most noticeably the Pokemon Dream world. In it you can befriend new Pokemon not obtained in the game and get new powers for your Pokemon. In addition, there is a Season Cycle similar to the Day/Night Cycle first introduced in Gold and Silver. Other notable features are new battle systems, including triple battles and rotation battles, and new mini-games.
Every generation of Pokemon has gotten better in terms of graphics. Black and White both have better animated battles, changing camera angles, and interesting scenery. Cities have huge skyscrapers and giant bridges not seen before.
All in all, Black and White is all I hoped for and more. Pokemon will always and forever be my fallback game. Now I know what version I’ll be playing for years to come.
Pokemon Black and White, the newest additions to the franchise, fix this problem. Each game is challenging from the start. Gym Leaders employ strategies with Pokemon that work together oftentimes – frustratingly – perfectly. You have multiple rivals, something not explored thoroughly in other versions, all amped up to “you need to train too much for this” difficulty.
The game itself follows the same path of other Pokemon games. You need to beat all the Gym Leaders to get to and defeat the Elite Four, all while battling an evil Team Rocket knock‑off organization called Team Plasma. As the protagonist, you are a teenager instead of a 10‑year-old, possibly to mirror the difficulty of the game. You still fight turn‑based battles with six Pokemon, and you still walk around in tall grass and caves to catch them.
There are many new features, most noticeably the Pokemon Dream world. In it you can befriend new Pokemon not obtained in the game and get new powers for your Pokemon. In addition, there is a Season Cycle similar to the Day/Night Cycle first introduced in Gold and Silver. Other notable features are new battle systems, including triple battles and rotation battles, and new mini-games.
Every generation of Pokemon has gotten better in terms of graphics. Black and White both have better animated battles, changing camera angles, and interesting scenery. Cities have huge skyscrapers and giant bridges not seen before.
All in all, Black and White is all I hoped for and more. Pokemon will always and forever be my fallback game. Now I know what version I’ll be playing for years to come.
This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.
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