Pokémon Black/White in-game discussion

[Green Mage]

Some tracks have an out-of-place and sometimes non-harmonic overlay that can get really annoying, like those twinkly sounds while bike riding. There's one track that breaks out this terrible nails-on-a-chalkboard sound out of nowhere (i can't remember where it is though). And then there are a lot of songs that are just plain bad (twist mountain, lacunosa town).

One thing I absolutely love about the music is how it slows down and drops pitch when you go down a level in caves. It reminds me of when I was a kid playing dragon warrior on the NES. Good feeling lol.

Now that I have tons of ev berries I can do a final check on the legends I care about:

Virizion - #640 (Jolly) : 9 - 10 / 22 - 23 / 30 / 23 / 29 / 28
Zekrom - #644 (Lonely) : 16 / 28 / 28 / 21 / 26 / 20
Victini - #494 (Timid) : 17 - 18 / 22 - 23 / 27 - 28 / 31 / 31 / 27

Virizion has low HP but i'm happy with the rest of the stats, and that victini is really good. Zekrom kinda sucks but I don't usually play ubers. I still have to catch terrakion.

 

[Lork]

surely victini's only acceptable with a 31 speed iv? thats why i sred and used my masterball for terakion because the rp/dd set has more scope for error.

 

[alphatron]

The music you're talking about might be that of the transfer lab.

I dunno. Fifth gen has some good tracks while it has some dissapointing tracks in other areas. I'm a personal fan of any of the game's music having to do with N, Ghetsis, and Team Plasma. The legendary theme is alright.

The already broken sand gets even more broken bonuses, rain and sun get non-uber permasetters and seriously deadly sweepers, and hail gets...absolutely nothing. Literally nothing at all.

Not true! We got some new ice body pokemon this generation!

...Just so you know, I am of the opinion that gamefreak just doesn't like ice types. Every fire type pokemon (including flareon) learns flame charge. Only a handful of the (already small) group of ice types learns ice breath? The hell is this?

 

[Shroomisaur]

-Worthless starters
I kind of liked finishing the game with the pokemon I started with. That's kind of hard to achieve when all three starters are completely outclassed by easily caught pokemon before you even get your third badge.

I somewhat agree with this. Emboar and Samurott are usable, at least, but Serperior is indeed worthless.

-The music
Compared to past series, it sucks. Sometimes it's downright annoying.

Are you joking? I completely disagree, the music in B/W blows DPPt out of the water. I am a huge VG music fan (and I even remix some tunes), so the music here was a large reason for my enjoyment of the game. My favorite tunes include Team Plasma Battle (best evil-team battle theme to date), Elite Four Battle (I'm addicted to thiiiis), Special/Rare Wild Pokemon battle, Gym Leader's Last Stand, Driftveil City, Sky Arrow Bridge, and Castelia City. Lots of awesome/epic/catchy music.

-Hidden Power and the IV system still unchanged
Hidden power is only useful to hackers or other sorts of abusers, and thus encourages hacking; you either hack for hidden power or you're at a serious competitive disadvantage. Any system that punishes clean users while rewarding cheaters is a bad system; spending days or even weeks hatching 20000 eggs until you get a decent pokemon is the definition of punishment.

Yep, agree here. The IV system is so outdated and clumsy, not to mention pointless since almost everything wants flawless 31's... I was seriously hoping for a complete revamp. Or at the very least, some way you could modify existing Pokemon's IVs, like in a Pokeathelon style minigame or something (like if you succeed in a agility minigame, your speed IV is increased by 1, etc)! But no, of course not. That would require effort....

-Lack of competitive battling
6v6 lvl100 flat battles don't exist. I haven't had a single serious battle with my pokemon yet and I never will because i'm not leveling them all to 100. I'm not buying another 5th gen game until someone confirms this to be fixed.

Completely agree, removal of lv100 flat battles is a huge turnoff for me. (Especially since I can't check my IVs with them anymore!!!! /rage) Lv50 battles are ok, I guess....

-Random Battles
While gamefreak did a great job of fixing some of the lingering problems that have plagued the series since the beginning (reusable TMs and the lack of necessary HM slaves being the two biggest improvements), god damn random battles are still around. Yes, it's so much fun to stop every three steps in a cave just to run away. So. Much. Fun.

My main problem with random battles in B/W is, after you get out of a battle, you can now run into another battle in only 1 step. Did anyone else notice this? It's incredibly frustrating! In any other game, you'd at least be able to make *some* headway before the next battle in a cave/dungeon. Now, if you so much as ROTATE your character when you get out of battle, you're liable for ANOTHER random battle. So irritating.

-Senseless ability and move issues
I just love how my winged pokemon that is clearly flying in the air still gets hit by ground attacks. Would multiple abilities really be that hard to program and balance? Breloom is healed by poison and takes super effective damage from poison at the same time. And why can't marowak hit a flying pokemon by throwing a bone at it? I could write a book about this issue.

This honestly does not bother me at all, never even crosses my mind.

-Obvious weather bias is obvious
The already broken sand gets even more broken bonuses, rain and sun get non-uber permasetters and seriously deadly sweepers, and hail gets...absolutely nothing. Literally nothing at all.

Agree here... hail was the one weather that actually needed a slight buff, and what happened was the exact opposite.

Also, something that really bugged me is the fact that the Champion's battle theme is the same as the... Battle Subway Bosses? Huh? Not to mention the theme stinks; it was a utter and complete failure when I got to the champion and heard the same boring theme from the Battle Trollway.

 

[AuraSphere]

My favorite theme has got to be a time between the Alder battle or the final N battle.

 

[Expeditious]

The fact the game has random encounters doesn't bother me.

The fact the encounter rate has been greatly increased? That bothers me.

The fact the XP system means most Pokemon, particularly unevolved ones give around a pixel of experience? That really bothers me.

The fact that in game teams tend to leave said wild Pokemon alive at low health more often than not, leading to more time wasted?

That's when I said screw this and bought a few dozen Repels.

Yes, I know about Audinos. Forcing you to hunt down one Pokemon and making most of the rest of them terrible for leveling efficiency is not an improvement.

 

[Green Mage]

The fact the game has random encounters doesn't bother me.

The fact the encounter rate has been greatly increased? That bothers me.

This says what I wanted to say better than I said it. You can't even take three steps. It's utterly ridiculous. Sometimes you don't even get to move; you can get into a random battle just by changing direction. Not even kidding here.

If they were much less common it wouldn't even be a noticeable problem.

 

[AuraSphere]

This says what I wanted to say better than I said it. You can't even take three steps. It's utterly ridiculous. Sometimes you don't even get to move; you can get into a random battle just by changing direction. Not even kidding here.

If they were much less common it wouldn't even be a noticeable problem.

That's happened to me many, many times. This makes encountering Audino a pain in the A$$.

 

[Shining Kestral]

Sometimes you don't even get to move; you can get into a random battle just by changing direction. Not even kidding here.

Just to point out, this has always been present in the series, ever since RBY. I actually used this to my advantage when I was eight years old hunting stuff in the Safari Zone. However, I do agree that the rate this happens has been increased and is thus extra annoying.

There is but one thing that annoys me more than anything else in BW, and that is the menu system. Gamefreak hit gold with HGSS' system, and I don't understand why they have to go back to the clunky list format that everybody hated. I guess it's because of the C-Gear, but couldn't they just put a little button in the corner so you can access your C-Gear when you need it?

 

[Virizion]

Just to point out, this has always been present in the series, ever since RBY. I actually used this to my advantage when I was eight years old hunting stuff in the Safari Zone. However, I do agree that the rate this happens has been increased and is thus extra annoying.

There is but one thing that annoys me more than anything else in BW, and that is the menu system. Gamefreak hit gold with HGSS' system, and I don't understand why they have to go back to the clunky list format that everybody hated. I guess it's because of the C-Gear, but couldn't they just put a little button in the corner so you can access your C-Gear when you need it?

The menu isn't bad. How is the menu in HG/SS? I've skipped that game, it didn't seem too good.

 

[AuraSphere]

The menu isn't bad. How is the menu in HG/SS? I've skipped that game, it didn't seem too good.

Well, I guess they added an on-screen 'A' button, useful for those that have horrible 'A' buttons on their system. Anything else is what I don't know about.

 

[Shroomisaur]

Just to point out, this has always been present in the series, ever since RBY. I actually used this to my advantage when I was eight years old hunting stuff in the Safari Zone. However, I do agree that the rate this happens has been increased and is thus extra annoying.

There is but one thing that annoys me more than anything else in BW, and that is the menu system. Gamefreak hit gold with HGSS' system, and I don't understand why they have to go back to the clunky list format that everybody hated. I guess it's because of the C-Gear, but couldn't they just put a little button in the corner so you can access your C-Gear when you need it?

Yes, it's always been possible to get into an encounter by rotating your character, but as I said above, in B/W it's possible to do that the second you get out of a previous battle! You would at least be able to move some distance before another battle in previous games, but in B/W moving through the high-encounter caves is so tedious...

I agree about the menu. Since I almost always have my C-Gear turned off, the bottom screen is used for... nothing... which is a huge downgrade from HGSS, where all the menu icons were arranged for easy access. Also, no auto-running shoes in B/W... huge pain having to hold B all the time again.

I did like the X button's function of immediately exiting any menu screen though, which made getting out of the bag or PC menu a flash.

 

[Virizion]

Yes, it's always been possible to get into an encounter by rotating your character, but as I said above, in B/W it's possible to do that the second you get out of a previous battle! You would at least be able to move some distance before another battle in previous games, but in B/W moving through the high-encounter caves is so tedious...

I agree about the menu. Since I almost always have my C-Gear turned off, the bottom screen is used for... nothing... which is a huge downgrade from HGSS, where all the menu icons were arranged for easy access. Also, no auto-running shoes in B/W... huge pain having to hold B all the time again.

I did like the X button's function of immediately exiting any menu screen though, which made getting out of the bag or PC menu a flash.

Oh, that's what Kestral meant. Is it really that hard to press a button to open a menu? And Platinum's bag scrolling was horrible; it was slow whereas Black's bag listing lets you jump from one part to the other by just tapping it, which is something I like.

I mean, the scrolling via the vertical bar next to your items

 

[Redtype]

@Green Mage - I agree with most of what you're saying here. Starters suck both aesthetically and functionally. IVs are useless and need to go. And removing the autolevel in Wi-Fi battles ruined the game completely for me. -.- However, I do like the music and don't mind random encounters much since I spam Repels whenever I want.

Personally I found the game to be ridiculosly easy, even for Pokemon standards. The difficulty level of these games reached Kirby levels, which is downright horrendous. A few examples of the game "easyness":

- critical capture
- Audinos
- Poison doesn't work outside of the battle
- a doctor/nurse on every goddamn route. I hardly felt the need to buy healing items when I knew that a pseudo-PokeCenter would be just a few steps away...
- unlimited TMs (yes, it's extremely useful for competitive, but it also makes the game much easier since NPCs rarely use TMs themselves)
- every second NPC gives you something useful, be it a TM, or a Poke Ball, or a hold item.
- free Lucky Egg mid-game. What. The. Fuck.
- weak E4 for first time you encounter them, and considering I don't have much initiative to play after that point...
- and a very minor one - a free Fresh Water in each Gym

I don't get why these games get such good reviewes, they were nowhere near as good as HG/SS. They hardly introduced any changes to the game mechanics (like the famous physical/special split in DPPt), the 3d graphics are not THAT impressive and the new side-games (Pokemon Musical and Dream World) just plain suck.

 

[AuraSphere]

@Green Mage - I agree with most of what you're saying here. Starters suck both aesthetically and functionally. IVs are useless and need to go. And removing the autolevel in Wi-Fi battles ruined the game completely for me. -.- However, I do like the music and don't mind random encounters much since I spam Repels whenever I want.

Personally I found the game to be ridiculosly easy, even for Pokemon standards. The difficulty level of these games reached Kirby levels, which is downright horrendous. A few examples of the game "easyness":

- critical capture
- Audinos
- Poison doesn't work outside of the battle
- a doctor/nurse on every goddamn route. I hardly felt the need to buy healing items when I knew that a pseudo-PokeCenter would be just a few steps away...
- unlimited TMs (yes, it's extremely useful for competitive, but it also makes the game much easier since NPCs rarely use TMs themselves)
- every second NPC gives you something useful, be it a TM, or a Poke Ball, or a hold item.
- free Lucky Egg mid-game. What. The. Fuck.
- weak E4 for first time you encounter them, and considering I don't have much initiative to play after that point...
- and a very minor one - a free Fresh Water in each Gym

I don't get why these games get such good reviewes, they were nowhere near as good as HG/SS. They hardly introduced any changes to the game mechanics (like the famous physical/special split in DPPt), the 3d graphics are not THAT impressive and the new side-games (Pokemon Musical and Dream World) just plain suck.

-Sprite Animations
-Random Matchup
-Pokedex now ends at 649, rather than the smaller 493.

 

[Green Mage]

Obviously musical taste is extremely subjective lol. I personally loved those pleasant piano melodies that dominated diamond and pearl. Black and White have this non-harmonious techno thing going on.

I forgot about the dumb side games. Everything about the dream world sucks: repetitive and boring minigames, time limit, once a day, etc etc. Not to mention that the only reason to do it is to get the ev berries because you can just grab any female DW pokemon off the GTS. And I don't even know wtf the pokemon musical is.

The easiness thing was a bit annoying too, but I find it is mostly because of the god-like in-game pokemon that are available early and easy to obtain. I could solo the entire game with just archeops if I wanted to. Same with Victini. At least you no longer have the option to blow through the last parts of the game with the cover legend; that was always a bit extreme.

And yes, the sprite animations are jerky and disjointed and the backsprites are on green's level of sheer crapola, but honestly i'd rather have crappy animated sprites than static sprites.

It may seem like i'm complaining a lot, but black and white are still the best pokemon games imo. I'm really just nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking. Maybe some GF employee will read this and understand what they can do to make the next games better or something (yeah right).

 

[Cheapoman]

I forgot about the dumb side games. Everything about the dream world sucks: repetitive and boring minigames, time limit, once a day, etc etc. Not to mention that the only reason to do it is to get the ev berries because you can just grab any female DW pokemon off the GTS. And I don't even know wtf the pokemon musical is.

The Dream World is a bit ridiculous. It would be better if the dream world was 2 or so 1 hour sessions w/ 50/50 male-female ratios as well(87-12 % ratio pokes **** >.>;).

Looking for ppl's berry patches to water is also mind-numbing... ...

 

[Green Mage]

The Dream World is a bit ridiculous. It would be better if the dream world was 2 or so 1 hour sessions w/ 50/50 male-female ratios as well(87-12 % ratio pokes **** >.>;).

Looking for ppl's berry patches to water is also mind-numbing... ...

I really don't understand why I can't water most people's berries. I spend a half hour of my hour wandering from home to home trying to find waterable berries. I can't even water my own berries half the time.

 

[R_N]

Obviously musical taste is extremely subjective lol. I personally loved those pleasant piano melodies that dominated diamond and pearl. Black and White have this non-harmonious techno thing going on.

They do? The only one I can think of is, what, Black Opelucid?

Nothing else really seemed "techno". Nuvema, Accumula (I love getting the Piano & Drums every time I go there), the route music, White Opelucid (it is bliss), Sky bridge and so on.

 

[alphatron]

Dreamworld is an overall poorly implemented feature if you ask me. Lousy music, the same four flash minigames every now and then, inability to add your own friends to your dreampal list, etc.

Playing it feels like such a frggin chore. Unlocking the additional areas does not boost my morale at all when the areas contain so little pokemon. The pokewalker was a better side option overall, with more areas and six pokemon per area. I don't care for decorating my house at all. In the future, maybe we'll get more minigames and more areas. Even so, my interest has dried up and the only thing that keeps me are the berries and drought Vulpix.

As far as the in game difficulty goes, I let that slide. Looking at nearly any series these days, it can easily be said that video games in general are being made easier to appeal to a wider audience. There are some exceptions (games like Megaman 9 and 10, obviously made to appeal to a certain group of people). It's noticeable with pokemon since the series was easy to begin with.

 

[R_N]

I guess I'm weird, I like the DW music. It's very soothing while being peppy; I like that.
And honestly I think there's enough variety within the areas, but yeah they could use at least one more minigame to help break it up.

I find it is far less of a chore if you just go at your own pace and not worry about how many points you get in a session or getting a certain Pokemon on a trip.

Hopefully they continue to add things to it and make improvements as Gen 5 goes on, it has a lot of potential to be great.

 

[Shroomisaur]

I guess I'm weird, I like the DW music. It's very soothing while being peppy; I like that.
And honestly I think there's enough variety within the areas, but yeah they could use at least one more minigame to help break it up.

I find it is far less of a chore if you just go at your own pace and not worry about how many points you get in a session or getting a certain Pokemon on a trip.

Hopefully they continue to add things to it and make improvements as Gen 5 goes on, it has a lot of potential to be great.

Urrrghhh... you like a song with an 8-second loop playing over, and over, and over, and... over. =_=

Hmm... I thought DW was fun when it was released, but at this point the same 4 boring flash games over, and over again is incredibly tiring. I was expecting new games to come with each new area, but no dice. It is now very much a chore (and I still have yet to find a female DW Gligar, despite meeting 8 males). I hope they make improvements in the (near) future.

 

[133k]

Hmm... I thought DW was fun when it was released, but at this point the same 4 boring flash games over, and over again is incredibly tiring. I was expecting new games to come with each new area, but no dice. It is now very much a chore (and I still have yet to find a female DW Gligar, despite meeting 8 males). I hope they make improvements in the (near) future.

This.

That's really all that needs to be said.

 

[Ssargon]

DW would be better if you could actually use more than one of those 10 slots for taking Pokémon to the Entralink. Why give us 10 when you close the rainbow bridge after one wish? It's mad...

 

[R_N]

DW would be better if you could actually use more than one of those 10 slots for taking Pokémon to the Entralink. Why give us 10 when you close the rainbow bridge after one wish? It's mad...

For event Pokemon, so you can bring them all over at once.