I am one of the more sad people I know right now as today I got the new pokemon game for ds. Still, I have played every other generation of game in the series and they are good for lighthearted entertainment still. So, I’ve had a full afternoon an evening on it and here are my first thoughts.
Before I get into the game, can I just say that it has the best start screen so far with a 3D feel. It is advanced for a pokemon game but I suppose technology is always moving forward.
I was happy to discover my first pokemon was nicely gift wrapped for me.
I chose Snivy, the grass type, as my starter – why? Well, for 2 reasons really. 1. I liked the look of him best and 2. I always choose either a water or fire starter so I thought it would make a change. It seems more reasonable in this game too as where in the others you catch lots of grass and bug pokemon in the beginning, in this game there is an abundance of the normal type.
Anyway, as usual I took part in my very first pokemon battle with pokemon I have never even seen or heard of before this game.
Here’s my little Snivy taking on Oshawott. As you can see around the screen is pattern – it’s my hello kitty skin for my ds 😛 I won the battle, which meant I could get going with the game – or not.
The thing that annoys me about pokemon games is that you have to be introduced to everything in all of them. I understand that for a new player it is useful stuff but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t drag on too long.
After the professor had stopped yammering on I could finally do something and that something I chose to do after catching myself as many pokemon as possible was to challenge the first gym.
I won, not that it was too difficult considering I was given a pokemon with a type advantage over the gym. Still, it made sense in the context to give you your themed pokemon before a battle it could be used in. Because I had Snivy, I got Panpour, the water version of this monkey-like pokemon and water pokemon come in handy later on so I was happy with it.
An interesting development in the game I found was when a pokemon is put to sleep in battle.
The closing of the eyes is a nice aesthetic feature that just makes the game slightly more realistic. In general, this game is moving away from the old Red and Blue days with its graphics and extra elements.
I was very impressed by Skyarrow Bridge and its more 3 dimentional feel. However, despite it looking cool, Castelia City is quite daunting and confusing at first. What I do like about it though is some of the streets as here lots of people are going about their day-to-day lives rather than just standing and waiting for you to go up to them and press A.
See what I mean? But anyway, back to my progress. Some things just never change and it was a proud moment when Snivy evolved.
By this point I had got my second badge and caught quite a range of new pokemon. I always find it hard at first with these games as now I don’t watch the anime anymore, I don’t know who any of them are, or what they can do. The thing that makes pokemon white especially hard is the fact it is built up on solely new characters. There are no pre-existing pokemon in it unlike the past generations. I’ve also found battling harder as my attacks don’t seem to do a lot of damage most of the time – but then again, that could be due to my levels. I get lazy near the start of a new game when it comes to training as I just want to see what comes next.
Continuing my road of discovery I made it to a town that once again had a more real, human feel to it. Sports grounds and a theme park are things not often associated with pokemon but they do exist in the world and I like the connection this game is establishing, even if the places are pretty pointless.
I’ve noticed that in this same town there is a musical theatre, much like the pokemon contest halls from previous games. I thought I might as well take a break to try it out and I didn’t find it too thrilling as you don’t really get to do a lot. Once you’ve dressed the pokemon all you seem to be able to do is watch them, which isn’t very challenging really.
There’s my little Minccino in the air there. She is one of my favourites and although I don’t use her in my team to battle, I still like her and think she looks great on stage 😛
A couple of last features I must complement are firstly the ability to re-use a TM. Finally I don’t have to think before using one. I can just do it with the confidence of knowing I can teach someone else the move at a later date if I wish. That wins the game some brownie points. The second thing I like is having the PokeMart in Pokemon Centre as it makes things more convenient. Thirdly and finally, the gyms are made to fit in well by all looking different in each town. However, this does also make them hard to identify as gyms.
I’m on my way to my 5th badge now and I know there’s still a lot to more to discover and experience – but another day. I think 12 hours is enough for now.
My verdict so far is that it is still a good game but somehow it just doesn’t feel right not having the old pokemon and having so many effects. The visuals are good and I am still enjoying playing but sometimes I’m feeling like it’s not necessarily a typical pokemon game I’m on. Maybe once I get further through it or actually do some more training it will seem to be more normal. After all, it has only been a day. I look forward to trying a three-way battle and to discovering all the other secrets and side stories the game is sure to offer.
Also, I realise it’s past midnight now and is techincally the 5th rather than the 4th so I’ll just take this opportunity (ah, what a word) to say happy birthday to mumsie x
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