VG Weekly Poll #1: Was Black and White a Step in the Right Direction?

[DarkDragonite]

My vote went both:
Step-forward:

• X button use to exit menus quickly
• The shift in the camera angle to create a better 3D effect
• The added movement to pokemon, this made them seem more real to me
• The addition of seasons, I liked this one a lot because it made Unova feel more like a place
• The dream world
• The fact that Tms are now permanent items
• Expanding the box system

Step-backwards:

• The removal of the Vs. Seeker, yes there is the stadiums now but they aren't enough.
• I liked some of the gimmicky stuff, like pokemon walking with you and no B button holding to run
• post game activity, but the third game will always improve on that.

I agree with alot of this. I wanted my Victini to walk with me.

 

[Cyber Jet]

I think in most ways it was a huge step forwards such as the better plot and faster battles but in some ways it was also a step backwards in things like no Vs seeker.

 

[Cresselia*]

I just don't know, I hate most of the new pokemon, I hate how them ap looks.. I'm just more a fan of the oldschool stuff, like HGSS or DPPT. Old graphics look in my opinion better, I think it's annoying that the pokemon move around a lot. In BW they've ruined some of the sprites, and some functions are gone. I think if I could choose between BW or HGSS I would choose HGSS.

 

[linny_456]

overall it was a step in the right direction, i liked to big storyline and how they got the gym leaders involved, and i thought it was good that the legendaries were easier to catch, doing the same thing for an hour was tedious in previous games.

I didn't like some of the designs of the pokemon, especially vanilluxe, and I thought the gym leaders were too easy, I remember in previous games there was always one or two gyms it took me a while to beat (Whitney HGSS, Norman, and Tate and Liza in RSE)

 

[WingAttack=ko]

I didn't answer the poll. Black & White is a wonderful game, imaginative new pokemon, a plot that you dont forget the second enemies aren't around, and an environment that changes without feeling mashed together. A very complete experience, and well paced. But the changes to game mechanics are just different, not really better or worse, and I wasnt impressed by the new battle modes. So it depends on the question, as my opinion of Gen 5 is much more reserved than the games themselves.

 

[Chimchar15]

The only major irk I had with Black and White was the linearity of Unova, although I commend them for allowing you to completely finish the main story only using one HM. Everything else was a step forward.

It's like you read my mind. Seriously there was barely any backtracking in this game. I love bouncing around all over the place in the games, it's one of the main reasons why I love diamond soo much.

Still B/W did a lot of stuff right and I commend them on it especially the bridges. One thing though I hope that in the third installment they put more stuff for you to do on the bridges.

 

[FinalArcadia]

Like many people, I dearly miss the Vs. Seeker, but the stadiums in Nimbasa City kind of make up for that.

Overall, B/W is definitely a step in the right direction, though. The Pokemon designs were great, the towns had more personality than ever, and it was nice to finally see the gym leaders get a (albeit slightly) more important role. And N was a fantastic antagonist, if that's what you'd call him.

As far as the linearity goes, I didn't mind much. The biggest improvement for me over D/P/Pt was the fact that Unova is MUCH easier to navigate. Mt. Coronet being smack in the middle of Sinnoh created many annoyances for me.

I do wish B/W would've kept the walking Pokemon from HG/SS, though. I felt like it allowed for players to have a better connection to their Pokemon.

 

[Chimchar15]

Like many people, I dearly miss the Vs. Seeker, but the stadiums in Nimbasa City kind of make up for that.

Overall, B/W is definitely a step in the right direction, though. The Pokemon designs were great, the towns had more personality than ever, and it was nice to finally see the gym leaders get a (albeit slightly) more important role. And N was a fantastic antagonist, if that's what you'd call him.

That's what makes the adventure exciting. It's no fun when all you have to do is go to the next city is pretty much walk . Alas to each their own.
As far as the linearity goes, I didn't mind much. The biggest improvement for me over D/P/Pt was the fact that Unova is MUCH easier to navigate. Mt. Coronet being smack in the middle of Sinnoh created many annoyances for me.

I do wish B/W would've kept the walking Pokemon from HG/SS, though. I felt like it allowed for players to have a better connection to their Pokemon.

 

[Blue Dragon]

Yes and no really for me. Don't get me wrong I love Black and White a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the play through and all the wonderful updated graphics and features like Dream World abilities.

However there are some things that I find a little disappointing. It's not much to complain about, but I don't like how there's not much to do after the story play through is over.

It can get a little boring after it's predecessors and Battle Subway just doesn't give that special excitement that Battle Frontier did, but I still like it none the less.

That's all I have to complain about and hopefully they will dress up Battle Subway a little bit, or even replace it with an interesting Battle Frontier with more than two bosses.

 

[BaileyPlaysPokemon]

I believe that this game was a step-forward. As a gen I fanboy, I never fail to see the distinct differences between gens I and II vs. gens III and IV. in my opinion gen IV was embarrassingly awful. Too many gods of this and that, and creation and ancient myths and a legendary pokemon for every letter of the alphabet and yuck yuck yuck. I felt like gen V was a good combination of the gen I and II style with the style of gens III and IV, making it the best generation in about a decade in my opinion. the story was ehh (shoulda returned more to focusing on your rival as the antagonist as opposed to a mysterious boss) but in reality, it was still a very very good game.

 

[Ghost Tamer]

I thought that B/W were a step in the right direction except for a few key things. These include lack of a pokewalker, Vs. Seeker, having Dream World abilities in game for those who can't get them, keeping trio's down to one a generation, and Fire/Fighting starter... again. But these are not enough to overshadow all of the great things B/W did such as change the exp mechanics, add in new abilities in general, rotation battles, triple battles, etc.

 

[Jirachi's Wish]

I feel like B/W went in the right direction gameplay-wise and graphically but at the same time it hasn't kept my interest like past games. For instance the linearity was kind of bad in the fact that the story just progressed on a one way path to the post-game. Not many sidequests along the way and everything felt more scripted than the usual Pokemon game. I feel that they could've of remedied this by using the other half of Unova to place a gym or two on that side which would not only make you explore the region more but also have some backtracking. The post-game was the most boring post-game of any pokemon game yet. There wasn't much to do; no rematches or the like and the post-game story felt a bit scattered over the post-game. Lastly the region felt smaller compared to most games and felt lacking. When I first saw the Unova map I thought there would be the main routes like you see in the ingame map and throughout the game you'd find smaller sub-routes which take to various locations which in turn make up a large overworld but in the end it didn't turn out like that. Besides those aspects I feel that while B/W took a few steps in a new direction it took a lot of steps backwards to go there.

 

[Te-em]

They should have made BW based on HGSS instead of DP, so that they had kept the touch screen outside battle and the more realistic grass. The latter is just a graphical thing, and maybe they were not happy about it, but the thing about the touch screen is annoying. So, in a way BW was a step backward. However, animated sprites is a good step forward and there are new monsters and new attacks (of course, it's a new generation) so a lot is actually forward as well. I still like HGSS better though, because in Soulsilver you can always go around battling trainers, collect berries and so on, while I'm not sure what to go around and do in White.

 

[Shadow Victini]

Both.
On one hand, the storyline was good, the characters were interesting enough (although some people over-hype them a little too much) and the Pokémon weren't that bad.
On another, Unova was very linear (too much backtracking is annoying though), the only Gym I had problems with was Elesa, some of the Pokémon had WTF-worthy designs, and the plot, while good, was much too short. Then again, Guardian Signs had a bit of that problem as well.
Also, Black City and White Forest. WHY THE TIMER. WHY.

 

[LordOfTheSmeargle]

Yep.
I think my sig says enough.

 

[Kouzan]

In my opinion, they were a step in the right direction for gen V, and a really big step for the series overall. The great improvements in graphics, 3D camera angles and a whole new battling system is what sold me. Plus how amazing Castelia City looks and how the camera rotates as you walk makes you feel like you're in an actual city. The music is beyond amazing too, I love how the battle music changes when your hp is low and the extra part you add to the music just by talking to NPCS. I also think the storyline is the best of all the series , especially N's story. He's definitely my favorite villain.

 

[Almonds]

It was a step in the right direction - the Team Plasma arc was definitely interesting, and N was a unique antagonist. However... I wish they had more post-game stuff to do...

 

[RaccoonGoon]

I think so. New Pokemon and new features asnd all that jazz.

 

[Anser]

To me, just for making TMs infinite, it's definitely a step forward.

 

[spagzter]

For me it was both. It was a step back coz it took away some of the Gen 4 stuff such as poffins, journal and also it would have been cool if you could travel to a different region or somthin'. But i do like the "Seasons every Month" deal. Also the new type match ups and Pokemon are pretty awesome.