Pokémon Black Version
2010
- role-playing (rpg)
- turn-based strategy (tbs)
- adventure
- action
- fantasy
- science fiction
- kids
- single player
- multiplayer
The story
Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White 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.
What it’s like
Bright, clean handheld art on a small DS screen: sprite-based towns drawn in crisp pixel palettes, with the Unova region's seasons and day-night cycle shifting the colour of routes from sunlit greens to amber dusk and pale blue night. The camera stays top-down and tidy, with the Pokémon battles framed as bobbing sprites against plain backdrops, and the menus and Pokédex screens carrying a crisp, neatly ordered look. Sound is a jaunty chiptune-style score that loops comfortably through long walks, with town themes that sound warm and inviting and the occasional rush of a tense battle track. The vibe is cheerful, unhurried and gently absorbing, the kind of thing that suits a rainy Sunday, a long train ride, or quiet evenings with a handheld in bed. Pacing is steady and relaxed, with frequent small rewards: a new creature, a town to explore, a trainer to beat. Its emotional register is light and optimistic, with a story of two young trainers building friendships and confronting a well-meaning but misguided organisation along the way. Intensity is very low: battles are cartoonish, faint-and-recover rather than violent, with no gore, no sexual content and nothing frightening. Ideal for people who want collecting, gentle adventure and a comforting, low-stakes companion for long stretches of play.
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