G: Pokemon Black 2

After Pokemon Soul Silver I was eager to play some more pokemon, so I decided to immediately boot up Black 2 as recommended from someone I know. One of my primary criticisms of Soul Silver was the lack of Pokemon from post generations, but this is assuaged in Black 2. Upon starting the game my initial reaction was that this game is a lot uglier than Soul Silver. The modeling resolution is a step down from Soul Silver and pokemon use 3d models instead of sprites and these models have a blurred look to them like a stretched out image. Gameplay is what matters most to me so it's not a hindrance of any sort.

A good thing that I noticed immediately is how fast the battles are this time around. Coming from Soul Silver, the battle speed is lightning fast and at first I thought it was a bit too fast. Over time as I got used to the game the speed became less noticeable. I can't imagine going back to a previous game after getting used to these battles. As far as other changes to the gameplay, there are now triple battles and rotation battles. Triple battles are basically three pokemon vs three pokemon. Certain attacks can hit two or three pokemon dependent on placement and some can also affect your pokemon that are adjacent to the pokemon performing the attack. Rotation battles have three pokemon out at once like triple battles, but the functional similarly to a single battle meaning only one pokemon can attack or be attacked at a time. Instead of switching a pokemon from your reserve you can switch between the three that are out and as your opponent can do the same it makes for a bit more strategic play more so than single, double, or triple battles. It requires a bit into reading what your opponent will do next turn. You have an electric pokemon out, but your opponent has a water pokemon in the front, but a grass, and a ground in reserve. You could stick with your electric hoping the opponent keeps the water out or switch your electric for a grass or ice to handle the grass or ground in case the opponent switches. Most of the rotation battles in the game aren't difficult enough to require a lot of thinking and guesswork, but on the occasions that they do they can be quite challenging.

Another improvement in this game is the utilization of HMs. HMs are moves that can be taught to your pokemon, that once taught cannot be removed until you meet the move deleter. HM moves have functions in the overworld usually used as a way to remove an obstacle or scale terrain. In the previous pokemon games I played I didn't like them because I felt most of them had little use in battle and as such I usually wouldn't have a pokemon in my party with the necessary HM move to get pass a particular path. In Black 2, HMs with the exception of Surf are optional for getting through the main game and are now limited to accessing items and creating shortcuts. This makes traversing the world far less tedious. TMs (Technical Moves) have also received an improvement in this game. TMs can now be used infinitely where as in previous games they were consumable. It takes away some of the pressure of using a TM and also provides for a bit more choice when having difficulty with a particular boss. It's a vast improvement.

As for the actual pokemon in this game, I love the diversity in this game. Immediately you can acquire pokemon from three generations and pokemon from all generations are sprinkled throughout the region. There are some interesting designs in the game, but I found a lot more that I disliked than I liked. Your pokemon in the front slot no longer follows you around which is a slight bummer, but doesn't take away from the overall experience.

This is the first pokemon generation taking place outside of a Japanese inspired location. The Unova region is based on New York and you can see the inspiration is some places as there is a bridge that resembles the Brooklyn Bridge and Castelia is full of the skyscrapers that the city is known for. Despite this being based on a US city, there isn't much racial diversity in the characters. Before the post game I encountered a total of four black characters and one Latino. There were a couple at the end and post game that surprised me because I barely saw none through my journey, but on the subject of the post game, the content is quite large rivaling that of Silver/Soul Silver. There are about five cities you can access after you beat the Elite 4 and the final challenge in the game The Black Tower is an excellent test of your skills. I found the conclusion a bit dissatisfying as after beating it you get a pokemon for a reward, but since I decided to tackle the Black Tower last I had no use for this new pokemon. Overall this was a stupendous experience and a mark of not only a great pokemon game or JPRG, but a great game period.