Pokémon White Version
Year: 2011
Rating: E
Time Played: 61.88 hours
As I worked through the back catalog of Pokémon games I had missed between Generation 3 and 7, I had always heard that the Generation 5 games were the most difficult. Having completed Pokémon White Version, I can say that there is a definite challenge spike when compared with previous entries in the series. This doesn’t mean it’s an impossible game, just that it took a little more work and a little more grinding to be able to defeat the final bosses. Since grinding isn’t necessarily that enjoyable, this made the gameplay suffer slightly as a result.
I was quite surprised to start up this game and find that all the Pokémon I was used to were nowhere to be found. Granted, they did show up after I beat the game, but by then, it was clear that this Generation of games was a reboot of the series formula. With a whole bunch of new Pokémon—many of whom had distinct corollaries to Generation 1 Pokémon—I had to spend quite some time figuring out what Pokémon were worth training and which ones were stronger than others (both stats-wise and type-wise).
The story of this game was mostly forgettable, which was a bit of a shame. I also found the seasons mechanic a neat twist, but with an annoying timeframe. I didn’t want to keep playing this game over four months to experience what each season had to offer, and there weren’t any significant changes to the gameplay when playing from month to month (a weekly change would have perhaps been a better way to handle this). Still, I did find the actively-animated Pokémon sprites to be a visual treat compared to the static counterparts from previous Generations.
A Pokémon reboot for slightly more hardcore players, I give Pokémon White Version 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
