Pokémon White Version
18 Sep 2010
All releases
06 Mar 2011 - Nintendo DS
04 Mar 2011 - Nintendo DS
10 Mar 2011 - Nintendo DS
18 Sep 2010 - Nintendo DS
Tags
Time to beat
Main story
Main story + extras
100% completion
Pokémon White Version and Pokémon Black Version are the primary paired versions of Generation V. Black and White follow the trends set up by previous games in the series. Two player characters (one male and one female) travel a new region, Unova, on their Pokémon journeys. This region is inhabited by various Pokémon, and unlike before, none of those available prior to Generation V can be obtained before completing the main story by defeating Team Plasma. The games' names were revealed on the official Japanese Pokémon website on April 9, 2010, and scans from the subsequent issue of the magazine leaked the following day, April 10. Pokémon Black and White are followed in 2012 by two sequels, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, which are set two years after the events of Black and White. Black 2 and White 2 are the second and final paired versions of Generation V.
| Audio | Subtitles | Interface | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ✓ | ||
| English | ✓ |
As to be expected though, there is no real choice or agency you have in the game, especially if you agree with this line of reasoning. Imagine a version of the game where you could actually side with the villain or make genuinely consequential decisions. Despite being the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, the mainline Pokemon games are still largely a rinse-and-repeat of previous generations with only marginal improvements. It puts into perspective why some of the fan-made games are leagues above the official releases in terms of gameplay, concept, and innovation.
It's a good game, albeit with some of the weaker designs of any generation, even as of today (up to Gen 9). Though it starts with a good premise about liberating Pokemon from humans, it gets tossed away by the end of the story and never fully reflected in the gameplay. The post-game doesn’t give a whole lot of direction, and all the post-game legendaries have very minimal stories attached to them (if at all), which is probably why it’s the post-game I played the least of any generation. While some of the gimmicks in other Pokemon games aren’t very good, this one didn’t seem to even attempt one.
Worth a play for any Pokemon fan, but don’t expect anything too different from any other Pokemon game.
