Since Pokémon Black and White 2 releases this weekend in Japan, I would like to share some experiences I have with the franchise in regards to the games. Obviously, Pokémon up to this day has a big influence on my life as it got me into playing more video games and watching anime. (Image Source)
Back when the first Pokémon Games came out in the United States, it became wildly popular. At first, I was completely oblivious to it until I got a copy of Pokémon Blue. That is when I got into the series more and played other related games. Believe it or not, I bought the limited edition Pikachu Gameboy Color, Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Stadium and Super Smash Bros. From a gameplay perspective, the game mechanics wasn’t too complex while still being fun. It’s not until the second-generation games where things got better.
Pokémon Gold and Silver is where the series got better as it added more features and 16 gyms to beat in both regions. Also, it’s probably the first game I played through during my childhood straight through before beating it. Of course, it introduced us to the most annoying Gym Leader named Whitney. Even if your Pokémon was a few levels higher, she still manages to beat all your Pokémon with her Miltank and the move “Rollout.” I think other people had problems beating her too. Sadly, I never beat Red since his Pokémon is at a high level until the remakes came out. On the other hand, I did get Pokémon Stadium 2 (which is 3 in Japan) and Crystal version.
When Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire came out, it was a let down since you can only battle the Hoenn Gym Leaders. Also, Pokémon like Ditto and Eevee was completely missing from these versions, thus disappointing me a bit more. Pokémon Colosseum, Red/Green remakes and XD addressed some of these issues, but it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. On the other hand, there were some improvements such as the IV and EV systems’ refinement, introduction of abilities and natures, and double battles. This pretty much sets the stage for competitive battling for Generation IV and V, which they made more improvements through new moves, abilities and the separation of physical and special moves.
Several years ago when Pokémon Diamond and Pearl came out, it was simply big since it introduced online battling and trading. With EV training items becoming more accessible, it was easier to train Pokémon and allowed me to get into competitive battling. At this point, I lost all interest in the Anime, but still playing all the games. When I’m out, I spend a lot of time breeding and training Pokémon that I have a play time over 300+ hours. Also, I used them in the Battle Tower and Frontier. This still holds true to my Pokémon White version, more so since they took automatic leveling to level 100 out of the game.
As Pokémon Black and White 2 finally touches down in Japan, It makes you think how much the series has changed during these years. Out of all the changes, I think the Internet connectivity was a significant change for the series as you can play with anyone around the world. Thankfully, the saga doesn’t end there and I look forward to playing the Japanese version of the game once it comes in the mail.
I know you’ve already read about my experiences with Pokemon on my blog before, so I’ll just add a few things there =P
My first version was Red with a GameBoy Color, and I may have never gotten into Pokemon had I not seen an ad for it on the back cover of a magazine.
I remember having some trouble with Whitney’s Miltank…but the most annoying thing I remember from Gold/Silver is having a hell of a time trying to catch Ho-Oh. He would just not go in that ball! XD
I didn’t save my cartridges for the pre-Generation III games except for Crystal. But unfortunately, when I felt like playing my Crystal version just for old times’ sake a few years ago, I turned it on only to discover that the internal battery was dead and my save file (with a full Poke-dex and many strong LV100 pokemon) had been erased! 0_o The cartridge was already 11 years old at that point, so it’s no wonder…still was bummed out about that.
I can’t wait until Black 2 and White 2 come out. They look awesome judging by all the info that has been leaked so far ^_^ I’ll be glad to battle you again whenever you want. I won’t be getting the game until the English release this fall, but I can still battle you with my White version.
Yeah, my sister had problems with her Generation II cartages as the batteries die and she lost her save games. It kind of a pain losing a completed save file, but hopefully it doesn’t happen with the DS games (I don’t think they will since they now use flash storage. But yes, catching the legendaries is really difficult, especially the legendary dogs since they keep running away. I think I ended up using a Master Ball, which I cloned using that glitch in Gold and Silver. Good times…
But yes, I don’t think there is much difference between the English and Japanese versions with the exception of Gold and Silver remakes. I hate the Voltorb Flip game they added in, I just want to buy coins. Of course, the reasoning I bought the Japanese version is to practice what I have learn and expand my vocabulary. Currently, it’s rather limited since the textbook only teaches so many words. Also for the fact that the Japanese Dream World has more stuff than the International version… it’s unfair… but understandable considering that the game costs more than the English version like with other Japanese games I bought.
Ohhhh the nostalgia of Pokemon games. I LOVE playing Pokemon games as well (and watching the show). I love how it’s still going, everytime I hear about a new one, I get super excited. My first one was Yellow, ironically, I never had a gameboy or anything like that but my friend left hers at my house, so I kind of just used it and played, it was SO GREAT! But it took a while to get used to the newer ones as the graphics were different at first. But they are so fun!!! I don’t know if you ever played the same game twice (like play it again few years after you beat it), I can never seem to do as well the second time. One of my favorite things to do is training& catching the Pokemon! It takes the longest time as well. I also love how playing the game really makes me remember how great it was to watch the series.
I have played all the games since the first games, but I really only play it for the competitive battling as Effort Value training and nature breeding got easier in the 4th Generation.
Competitive battling? is that when you battle other people? I notice that it always takes a long time to level up by battling wild Pokemon, but it’s okay cos it makes the game last longer, cos what I hate is playing a really great game only for a short time.