Pokemon Black Lacks Magic

[jjboat]

Popular? i dont know why fire and fighting have to be combined though we have too many of those. People complained but the bottom line is that if they make all new pokemon they'll end up being nearly identical stat wise to many of the older ones. Just cause you don't have to see a ratata any more doesn't mean you wont be fighting a rodent type normal pokemon with a similar move set way too frequently.

Yes, popular. I can count three fire/fighting type combinations. Blaziken, Infernape, and that pig in Black/White. What are the other ones? Keep in mind, this does not mean a fire/x type that can use a fighting type move.

Those are the ones i meant. 3 out of the 5 "fire" starters are also fighting types, the last 3 consecutively. Fire has always been popular, but i think this particular combo is just popular with the designers. A little variety please? I have no problem with this type combination, but to have it as a starter just makes no sense esspecially considering most of the water types have been straight water types. I just wish they showed a little more creativity, instead of sticking so strictly to the same formula when they create a new generation.

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

Popular? i dont know why fire and fighting have to be combined though we have too many of those. People complained but the bottom line is that if they make all new pokemon they'll end up being nearly identical stat wise to many of the older ones. Just cause you don't have to see a ratata any more doesn't mean you wont be fighting a rodent type normal pokemon with a similar move set way too frequently.

Yes, popular. I can count three fire/fighting type combinations. Blaziken, Infernape, and that pig in Black/White. What are the other ones? Keep in mind, this does not mean a fire/x type that can use a fighting type move.

Those are the ones i meant. 3 out of the 5 "fire" starters are also fighting types, the last 3 consecutively. Fire has always been popular, but i think this particular combo is just popular with the designers. A little variety please? I have no problem with this type combination, but to have it as a starter just makes no sense especially considering most of the water types have been straight water types. I just wish they showed a little more creativity, instead of sticking so strictly to the same formula when they create a new generation.

What do you suggest without utterly breaking the balance of the three starters? Charizard was severely overpowered, and Typhlosion was naturally stronger than the naturally weak Meganium and average Croconaw. Fighting type is incredibly easy to balance against.
Two of the generations have had straight water type starters. Two of five does not make most.

Why should they change their formula if it works, is what made it great, and still sells? To appease critical gamers? These games are supposed to be accessible and fun. Pokemon has always lived up to those demands.

 

[jjboat]

Read below: sorry for reposting I thought the first one hadnt gone through.

 

[jjboat]

Popular? i dont know why fire and fighting have to be combined though we have too many of those. People complained but the bottom line is that if they make all new pokemon they'll end up being nearly identical stat wise to many of the older ones. Just cause you don't have to see a ratata any more doesn't mean you wont be fighting a rodent type normal pokemon with a similar move set way too frequently.

Yes, popular. I can count three fire/fighting type combinations. Blaziken, Infernape, and that pig in Black/White. What are the other ones? Keep in mind, this does not mean a fire/x type that can use a fighting type move.

Those are the ones i meant. 3 out of the 5 "fire" starters are also fighting types, the last 3 consecutively. Fire has always been popular, but i think this particular combo is just popular with the designers. A little variety please? I have no problem with this type combination, but to have it as a starter just makes no sense especially considering most of the water types have been straight water types. I just wish they showed a little more creativity, instead of sticking so strictly to the same formula when they create a new generation.

What do you suggest without utterly breaking the balance of the three starters? Charizard was severely overpowered, and Typhlosion was naturally stronger than the naturally weak Meganium and average Croconaw. Fighting type is incredibly easy to balance against.
Two of the generations have had straight water type starters. Two of five does not make most.

Why should they change their formula if it works, is what made it great, and still sells? To appease critical gamers? These games are supposed to be accessible and fun. Pokemon has always lived up to those demands.

Halo still sells, Dynasty Warriors still sells, Does pokemon deserve such high praise for this? Its an established franchise that won't go away for awhile. Bullshit like Transformers movies make millions at the box office, does that make them good movies? I hold all art to a higher standard, especially games. I have played the pokemon series since the first gen and they may finally lose me after this if they don't improve. The first 2 generations were ambitious, but like dynasty warriors or halo it has started to coast on success. The loyalist who defends pokemon's obvious rejection of change and evolution is as bad as any halo fanboy who does the same for that series. By the way, 3 Generations feature straight water and grass type starters. If its a balancing issue than just lower the fire types damn stats. or are you trying to say that all fire types are stronger than any leaf and water type? I don't believe that is the case.

 

[DJDarque]

Well, OP, I have to agree with you on one thing. The original Gold and Silver are still by the far the best generation of Pokemon. However, I feel that Black and White bring back some of the magic that the series has lost since then, making them an extremely close second best. In my opinion, Ruby and Sapphire were completely forgettable. I didn't play Diamond or Pearl, but I did play Platinum and it just felt bland and far too easy.

This, of course, does not mean Black and White have no faults, but they aren't anything major. I, for one felt that Black and White were much more of a challenge than the older generations. I found it to be refreshing. Also, the fact that they restricted you to the new pokemon until you complete the game made me actually try instead of falling back on the proven regulars. The story really shines, especially with your interactions with the other main characters. The struggles of your friends to discover what they even want added a level of maturity and realism and N was believable and his inner confliction made him more human as opposed to Team Rocket/Galactic leaders.

Plus Black and White, I think have the best selection of Dark-types yet. I've never before had a team the consisted of mostly dark-type pokemon. Krookodile, who's just bad ass; Zoroark, his illusion ability makes him so worth it; Bisharp, a dark-, steel-type (mine is nicknamed Pirellus for anyone who gets that reference) who has attacks to deal with multiple types; and Hydreigon who is a dark-, dragon-type that is just strong as Hell.

TL;DR: Black and White versions are the best versions since the original Gold and Silver.

/soapbox

 

[jjboat]

Well, OP, I have to agree with you on one thing. The original Gold and Silver are still by the far the best generation of Pokemon. However, I feel that Black and White bring back some of the magic that the series has lost since then, making them an extremely close second best. In my opinion, Ruby and Sapphire were completely forgettable. I didn't play Diamond or Pearl, but I did play Platinum and it just felt bland and far too easy.

This, of course, does not mean Black and White have no faults, but they aren't anything major. I, for one felt that Black and White were much more of a challenge than the older generations. I found it to be refreshing. Also, the fact that they restricted you to the new pokemon until you complete the game made me actually try instead of falling back on the proven regulars. The story really shines, especially with your interactions with the other main characters. The struggles of your friends to discover what they even want added a level of maturity and realism and N was believable and his inner confliction made him more human as opposed to Team Rocket/Galactic leaders.

Plus Black and White, I think have the best selection of Dark-types yet. I've never before had a team the consisted of mostly dark-type pokemon. Krookodile, who's just bad ass; Zoroark, his illusion ability makes him so worth it; Bisharp, a dark-, steel-type (mine is nicknamed Pirellus for anyone who gets that reference) who has attacks to deal with multiple types; and Hydreigon who is a dark-, dragon-type that is just strong as Hell.

TL;DR: Black and White versions are the best versions since the original Gold and Silver.

/soapbox

I agree, dark types have been largely ignored up until now. I think the fact that the game is so similar to the older titles without any major surprises is a flaw, and that the storyline, while having a good premise, has awful dialogue and a hypocritical, morally obtuse message. As far as the difficulty is concerned, i made it through 5 gyms my first night using only my starter and no potions, and it was never a challenge. the only challenging part is the insane amount of random encounters, another glaring flaw. Thanks for giving Gold and Silver some love though ^_^

 

[tehsqueez]

1) It seems that I'm the only one who's still using an hm whore still ...go Stoutland!
2) I have yet to have a triple battle even though I'm at the elite four, grinding till I can kill them; have had rotation battles though
3) I still find the game captivating, capturing each pokemon and evolving them, only considering using the ones that can get to tier 3
4) There are some good names (Haxorus, Keldeo, Kyurem, Reshiram, Zekrom) and some not-so good (Pidove, Patrat, Landorus, Thundurus, Tornadus)
5) There are some good designs (Solosis, Archeops, Sigilyph) and some not-so good (Trubbish, Vanillite, Gothita)
6) With the addition of evolutions taking place at higher and possibly odd levels, and multiple exp. shares, there are some things that people like more and some that people like less. Pleasing everyone is impossible, but they sure can try.

 

[TheSquashedOrange]

I never get all the complaints about Pokemon just being remade endlessly, that's what Ninetendo does WITH ALL their franchises! Hell, it's basically building on the old ones, rather than removing as much stuff as they put in. While pokemon may not be as fresh as the older versions, I will never understand why Pokemon gets so much hate with every release while Zelda and Mario get a free ride...

 

[jjboat]

I never get all the complaints about Pokemon just being remade endlessly, that's what Ninetendo does WITH ALL their franchises! Hell, it's basically building on the old ones, rather than removing as much stuff as they put in. While pokemon may not be as fresh as the older versions, I will never understand why Pokemon gets so much hate with every release while Zelda and Mario get a free ride...

i talked about this in an earlier post. While what you say could possibly be true of Mario's spin of games, Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel are far from rehashes of old gameplay and are truly innovative on a level to level basis. The main Zelda titles have major gameplay differences like ocean travel or being able to transform into a wolf. Same structure but with some really amazing new mechanics. The same cannot be said of pokemon. to say that mario and zelda have not made significant innovations and changes is a very uninformed statement. Seriously? you think Super Mario Galaxy and The Wind Waker took the easy route? Give me a break.

 

[lapan]

i talked about this in an earlier post. While what you say could possibly be true of Mario's spin of games, Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel are far from rehashes of old gameplay and are truly innovative on a level to level basis. The main Zelda titles have major gameplay differences like ocean travel or being able to transform into a wolf. Same structure but with some really amazing new mechanics. The same cannot be said of pokemon. to say that mario and zelda have not made significant innovations and changes is a very uninformed statement. Seriously? you think Super Mario Galaxy and The Wind Waker took the easy route? Give me a break.

While Zelda has more differences between different games overall, many of them still are way to similar in my opinion.

 

[NuclearPenguin]

Best to worst.
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
Black/White
Gold/Silver/Crystal
Red/Blue/Yellow/Green
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

I disagree. Pokémon Black has charm, it's just a different kind of charm than the older games. Frankly, I wish that they'd re-implement Water Routes, like Routes 19-21 in Kanto, Routes 40 and 41 in Johto and that whole Eastern/Southern section of Hoenn. Despite being a bit confusing in layout, and the fact that there are encounters all the way (that's what Repels are for), it adds a certain sense of exploration to the game for me. Land routes are pretty straight-forward.

Another thing I liked about the other games is that the towns have more personality. Maybe I just haven't found it yet. Pacifidlog Town in Hoenn had tons for personality, despite the fact that there's not much to do there, just because it's a town that floats on the ocean using logs. That's pretty awesome. Come to think of it, I think Hoenn is my favourite region, despite the third generation being my least favourite overall.

Another problem I have with Black/White is that a good third of the region is post-game stuff. I mean, they couldn't implement them into the pre-National Pokédex game? And Lacunosa Town is a huge disappointment. You can't do ANYTHING there, and the only personality it has is that the people there adhere to a tight schedule. You can't even see the results of that! The only purposes that it has seem to be: 1) To make the northern part of the region neat and symmetrical and 2) To have a place to fly to when going to the Giant Chasm. That's another thing a have a bit of a problem with: there are too many dungeons/caves/whatever and too few routes. Even if it was a small route connecting a town to a cave with a single patch of grass off to the side, like Route 33 connecting Azalea Town to Union Cave, I would have really liked it.

That being said, I think that Black and White are some of the best Pokémon games out there. I was just focusing on the negatives here.

 

[CriticalGriffin]

I would now say "Nostalgia Filter", but I haven't played the game yet and that would probably be too cruel.

 

[Terminate421]

I still don't understand why people hate the 4th gen so much. Its my favorite generation along with the second generation.

As for pokemon white, I think its great, its not the best of the series but all the little improvements help, moving pokemon sprites isn't revolutionary but it is certainly a welcome change. Graphics have gone up through the roof as well.

Online interactions are also great.

I still don't understand why newer generations keep getting hated by people, and I grew up with this shit since it hit America.

HM wise, it does get annoying to have to teach my bird how to fly when they are a fucking bird. But then again, what ever.

The first generation, despite being the first, isn't close to my favorite generation, there litterally isn't anything to do after you beat the elite four.
The second generation did it just right, everything was just about perfect, I can't think of many complaints towards it.
The third generation, despite having some cool pokemon, just didn't work for me, location wise was awesome and felt limitless, but it also felt....off. I don't know, pretty much either flooding or burning the planet wasn't the best way to go when it comes to teams.
The fourth generation was the stimpak the series needed, I have clocked in, in total 748 hours on my diamond cartridge, why? So I could get that perfect pokemon, I felt the need to get it just right for the online play, not to mention have the designs in the 4th generation were actually cool, this generation has even created my favorite pokemon yet!
the fifth generation is where all the fire seems to be, I love it so far, it's close to being as good as the second and fourth generations but in terms of locations, damn is it awesome.

If there is one thing that does sadden me is that people who enter a pokemon discussion claiming that the first generation was best and there really were no other pokemon after that.

 

[jjboat]

i talked about this in an earlier post. While what you say could possibly be true of Mario's spin of games, Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel are far from rehashes of old gameplay and are truly innovative on a level to level basis. The main Zelda titles have major gameplay differences like ocean travel or being able to transform into a wolf. Same structure but with some really amazing new mechanics. The same cannot be said of pokemon. to say that mario and zelda have not made significant innovations and changes is a very uninformed statement. Seriously? you think Super Mario Galaxy and The Wind Waker took the easy route? Give me a break.

Not similiar in the a way a pokemon game is similar. Each zelda title adds a lot of unique elements that litterally change the way the game feels. Combat is always different, the look and graphics are always a major departure from the previous game. The differences between Ocarina of time and majoras mask? major differences. The time system, the mask transformations are major departures. Wind Waker added a ton of new items and a world divided by the ocean, not to mention the entire look of the game had been boldly redesigned. Twilight princes, while being a throwback to older games was still totally unique in its execution with the twilight world and wolf transformation and much deeper combat. Pokemons changes have never been that drastic, brave, or noticeable. From a gameplay perspective they feel nearly identical every title.

While Zelda has more differences between different games overall, many of them still are way to similar in my opinion.

 

[jjboat]

I still don't understand why people hate the 4th gen so much. Its my favorite generation along with the second generation.

As for pokemon white, I think its great, its not the best of the series but all the little improvements help, moving pokemon sprites isn't revolutionary but it is certainly a welcome change. Graphics have gone up through the roof as well.

Online interactions are also great.

I still don't understand why newer generations keep getting hated by people, and I grew up with this shit since it hit America.

HM wise, it does get annoying to have to teach my bird how to fly when they are a fucking bird. But then again, what ever.

The first generation, despite being the first, isn't close to my favorite generation, there litterally isn't anything to do after you beat the elite four.
The second generation did it just right, everything was just about perfect, I can't think of many complaints towards it.
The third generation, despite having some cool pokemon, just didn't work for me, location wise was awesome and felt limitless, but it also felt....off. I don't know, pretty much either flooding or burning the planet wasn't the best way to go when it comes to teams.
The fourth generation was the stimpak the series needed, I have clocked in, in total 748 hours on my diamond cartridge, why? So I could get that perfect pokemon, I felt the need to get it just right for the online play, not to mention have the designs in the 4th generation were actually cool, this generation has even created my favorite pokemon yet!
the fifth generation is where all the fire seems to be, I love it so far, it's close to being as good as the second and fourth generations but in terms of locations, damn is it awesome.

If there is one thing that does sadden me is that people who enter a pokemon discussion claiming that the first generation was best and there really were no other pokemon after that.

Like I've said before, I am not a first gen loyalist, and with each new title i come in with an open mind, hoping they really blow me away. the last 2 haven't done it for me, although gen 4 did have some pretty cool pokemon designs.

 

[jjboat]

I would now say "Nostalgia Filter", but I haven't played the game yet and that would probably be too cruel.

If that was the case then i would be biased to both the first mario and zelda games i played, but that is not the case, i feel the newer games are just as good if not better, in spite of my nostalgic ties to the older games.

 

[emeraldrafael]

HM wise, it does get annoying to have to teach my bird how to fly when they are a fucking bird. But then again, what ever.

I think the reason for that is because some pokemon are birds but cant fly. Actually, what raises a question to me is how grounded bird (doduo) get the ground immunity when they dont fly. I was hoping they would address that.

 

[Solo-Wing]

I personally thought the story was dry, and the cities are not very memorable either. I hated how you are not required to get the HMs, and what I hated most is that until you beat the Elite Four, you do not see a SINGLE 4th gen and under. That was the one thing that was nawing at the back of my mind during my play-through.
The cities were not memorable because they did not put any thing the players actually needed in any of them. It hurt bad to put the GTS in the pokemon centers. If they made it a building in one city that would give me great reason to keep traveling to that city. Plus I hate the Battle subways. I miss the battle frontier. And none of the 5th gen gyms never really left a mark on me. Mainly because the types were so repetitive. The 7th gym is ice and the 8th gym is dragon? How fucking original.

Though I did like the Elite four. Being able to fight them in any order won points in my book.
Another thing that was eating at me through the game was that pokemon Black and White were advertising Triple and Rotation battles. I played the entire story and only got ONE rotation battle. Like WTF. There are not enough of those battles!

But I never played Pokemon for the Story. I play because I like to collect and battle. Being able to train a team and building the perfect strategy was always fun and brought joy to my younger years and it is good to see that the idiots at GameFreak did not fuck that up.

 

[Solo-Wing]

YOU SEE NOTHING!!!