I've been talking about Pokémon on this platform so much, haven't I? Not to mention I haven't been exactly nice, case in point my first three reviews of some of the more recent Pokémon games. Despite my somewhat harsh criticism of the franchise and Game Freak as a developer, I hold much love and tender sentimentality for this series, as I have played it since I was a child. I still remember playing Red Version on my purple Game Boy Color at six years old, and not really knowing what I was doing, but knowing that Venusaur was awesome.

Back a little while after "HeartGold" and "SoulSilver" came out, I was on a Pokémon high; literally! Many fans, including me, were extremely optimistic about the franchise, and we could only imagine what awaited us in the next generation of games. Little did I know that Pokémon Black and White, as well as their sequels, would be some of the most controversial games in the franchise's history.

Some of you may be wondering, "what makes these games so different?", and that's a great question. These games were released in Japan in September of 2010, so us Americans were able to see the games before they came out, and boy, there was a lot to see. A whole new region, characters, story, villains, and the best part: over 150 new Pokémon! It was amazing, and I was so pumped to play these games. They eventually came out here in March of 2011, and these games quickly became some of my new favorites.

Despite this, there was a lot of criticism for "Black and White", mostly for the designs of the new Pokémon. A lot of them had designs based on inanimate objects, such as gears or ice cream, and some had very abstract designs that you had to dig into mythology or a biology textbook to fully grasp. Why was this bad? Because change is always bad, duh.

In spite of the criticism, "Pokémon Black and White" are amazing games for many reasons, which I would like to discuss. While they aren't the newest of most shiny versions of the series, they are some of the best in the franchise, in my opinion, and as such, they deserve recognition for what they did: force players and fans to look back at their origins, but in a non-conventional way.

Like I said before, the Pokémon designs really threw off some people. While there were awesome designs like Snivy and Hydreigon, there were Pokémon like Vanilluxe, which is based on a double-scooped ice cream sundae, and Klinklang, a massive gear Pokémon, just to name a few. The complaining from fans was prominent, with them vilifying the games due to just a few "questionable" design choices. Let me be the first to say that there are bad designs every new game that comes out. This should go without saying, honestly. Despite some of the more unpopular design choices, there were more than 150 to chose from in the games, so quantity definitely beat out quality here.

A snarky meme to point out the hypocrisy of "design critics" (gen 1/gen5)

The next thing that "Black and White" did was actually have a narrative in the games. You play as a teenage boy or girl in the Unova region, who is tasked by Professor Juniper to go on a journey as a rite-of-passage of sorts, as well as attempt to complete the Pokédex. You are impeded by the mysterious group Team Plasma, a strangely-dressed group of people that wish to free Pokémon from the control of their trainers in order to create peace. They are led by the enigmatic yet tragic N, a young man of unknown origins and great power. The overarching theme of the game is truth versus ideals, and which will always come out on top. Depending on the version of the game that you're playing, you will obtain one of the legendary Pokémon on the covers of the games and battle against the opposite one who is controlled by N. The fate of the region is left in your hands!

This narrative is actually quite sound because it doesn't force its way into the gameplay as much. Remember how I nicked Sun and Moon hard for how much of a hand-holding experience it was, and how it shoehorned me into a story I didn't want to be a part of? "Black and White" have a story, but they let you go at your own pace, and when you are interrupted, there's a good reason, not just meaningless dialogue or lengthy cutscenes. You want to be a part of this story because the characters are interesting and compelling, and not just because they give you items.

A triple battle in action!

Finally, the gameplay was taken to the next level this generation, with each Pokémon having animated sprites instead of static ones. Triple and Rotation battles were introduced, the former being 3v3 battles, and the latter being 3v3 with a strategic twist; you rotate your Pokémon in and out of battle to hit your opponent's weaknesses. These things, coupled with the large new region of Unova, provide a great experience that is akin in a way to the whimsy of Kanto, where the first games take place. In fact, if you compare the Pokédex from Gens 1 and 5, you will find a lot of parallels in design choices and Pokédex order.

That's because Generation 5 was a soft-reboot in the franchise. This is supported by the fact that there are only Unova Pokémon in Black and White versions, meaning there's no Zubat or Pikachu or Charizard available to catch until after the main story. This was such a fantastic idea because it forced the franchise to change the correct way, and made people adapt to using new Pokémon. I was unsure about it at first, but after playing the games a few times, I found so many new favorites that I can't name them all off the top of my head!

In conclusion, "Pokémon Black and White" are great games that any Pokémon fan should pick up, even ones that haven't played since the first ones. In fact, I highly recommend those who have since left the franchise return and give these games a try! You may just end up really liking them!

Pros:

+ Updated, animated battle sprites that spring to life in battle

+ Great new characters that develop and keep you invested in the game

+ A decent narrative that doesn't intrude on the gameplay, but is still important

+ over 150 new Pokémon to catch and use

Cons:

- Like X and Y, these games don't have a lot of post-story content

- For those who have only played the first four generations, the immediate jump to new Pokémon can be a bit jarring

Overall Rating: 8.5/10