Pokémon Black and White and the accompanying 5th generation of Pokémon
has promised to bring new life into the games which has the potential
to revitalize the game franchise and in turn all the other aspects of
the Pokémon franchise. This has lead to high expectations and a lot of
speculation regarding these upcoming games.
Various screenshots and a video have already been released showing
parts of the games. GAME FREAK has promised that Pokémon Black and
White would enhance most aspects of the games but from the first
screenshots and video, it appears that very little has changed. Sure,
the camera angle has changed and there are new Pokémon but the overall
feel still seems too familiar. A recent hack for Diamond and Pearl
allows players to adjust the camera angle of the engine to something
similar to what we are seeing in the Black and White screenshots. It
appears that GAME FREAK did something similar with the game engine for
Black and White.
The sprite system should be at its end but it appears that it will
return once again for the battling system. Final Fantasy IV for the DS
has shown that it is possible to have a 3D battle system that looks
good on the DS. It’s unfortunate that Pokémon still has 2D sprite
battles when the rest of the game is in 3D. The Zoroark battle
screenshot highlights the dated battle system as the pixel resolution
is too low.
Pokémon Sunday and Coro Coro have been releasing information monthly
which are then posted on the official websites. Obviously the Pokémon
franchise doesn’t need too much promotion anymore as the various news
media outlets more than sufficiently inform players. Their marketing
campaign is already in full swing with events and tidbits released
throughout the year to build up the hype.
It has been known for quite awhile now that Pokémon Black and White
would be released on the Nintendo DS like the previous 4th Generation
games. With the announcement and launch of the Nintendo 3DS being so
close to the release of Pokémon Black and White, it seems as though
they should have made the games 3DS exclusive titles to help promote
the system and take advantage of new features. It would be nice if the
games include 3DS only features similar to how some DS games have DSi
enhancements. On the other hand, there are millions of DS systems on
the market now allowing those that have the system to be able to play
without having to buy a new system. If the Wii launch is any
indication, system availability may have been the determining factor
in deciding which system the games would be made for.
Pokémon Black and White are 5th generation Nintendo DS games and the
previous 4th Generation Nintendo DS games had support for the 3rd
Generation GBA titles through the use of the Nintendo DS’s GBA slot
and the Pal Park feature. Pokémon Black and White should retain GBA
3rd Generation compatibility allowing people to take advantage of that
feature. I was never a fan of Pal Park and did not like the fact that
transferred Pokémon were not put in a storage box. Recapturing your
Pokémon in any manner is counterproductive and is strange from an
ownership point of view.
Nintendo seems adamant that they will never have a MMORPG for Pokémon.
The franchise is perfectly setup to be a MMORPG and many of the
aspects would translate perfectly. While the previous 4th Generation
games expanded upon the online multiplayer options, it unfortunately
pales in comparison to what other games are currently doing online.
GTS has also been plagued with hacked Pokémon and a general lack of
focus regarding trades online. The GTS website cannot be accessed in
game and players are forced to use a simplistic interface. Accurate
hacked Pokémon detection as well as a more refined GTS interface are
musts for Black and White.
The Nintendo Wii games Pokémon Battle Revolution and My Pokémon Ranch
both had compatibility for some of the DS Pokémon games. Nintendo
should release an update patch for My Pokémon Ranch for it to support
Pokémon Black and White. Pokémon Battle Revolution 2 seems inevitible
but it needs to return to the days of Pokémon Stadium which featured a
more robust list of game features. Pokémon Battle Revolution seemed
rushed and its successor should incorporate Pokémon Black and White a
bit better than Diamond and Pearl where in the original Pokémon Battle
Revolution.
Pokémon Black and White will end up surprising gamers with a few cool
features and expand upon the previous games features. One thing is for
sure though, Pokémon fans will have a new fun game to play in late
2010.