Saturday 22 December 2012

Pokémon Through The Years


Pokemon. A charming game that has long existed, and appealed to a variety of audiences. Yes, its initial design, plot lines etc. was meant to appeal for children. But the game is incredibly complex that many people have gone into and studied. The game itself has undergone many changes under the 14 years that it has been out for. Several games had been out before that, but it was the Pokemon series for the Gameboy that really drew peoples attention to it. It started with the Nintendo Gameboy and Pokemon Red and Blue. These games shaped the future of the Pokemon industry.

At first glance, as stated earlier, people assume it for a child’s game, but even so, the creative, charming and original designs for the original 151 Pokemon is enough to impress any person. Pokemon Red and Blue were the starters for this revolutionary game. For something like the Gameboy, the graphics were actually not bad. It was simple and while good, did have quite a few flaws which they did fix over the years. The bag had no organization whatsoever, so it is difficult to organize and find exactly what your looking for. The Pokemon sprites were strange-looking, but charming still, yet what sets it out was its music.

The music that the producers were able to create was beautiful. Even on the Gameboy’s speakers, which are not so good, they did a great job with using the sound to create the mood and atmosphere of the situation, whether it’s fighting Team Rocket, catching a Legendary or what not. The unique design and music, and graphics (for the time) set it aside from other games, and was the stepping stone to something wonderful.

Next up was Pokemon Yellow. Essentially, the game was the same, yet had slightly better graphics and improved Pokemon sprites. The reasons for the different sprites was because when the Pokemon TV show was created, the many fans of the Pokemon series argued that the sprites from the game did not look like the TV Pokemon. So in Pokemon Yellow, Nintendo fixed it to be more like the TV, even though the games had come out first. Yellow was scratching a surface of what Nintendo later realized was great potential for a new game, which came years later. But these three games, they shaped Pokemon as we know today.

In my opinion, I really enjoyed what they did to Pokemon Yellow to set it apart from the other two games. It made it different, and you experienced an entirely different world through the same plot and story line. However, I didn’t really like how you could only let Pikachu follow you around. I understand why, as the graphics and space were pretty limited back then, but even so, I hate Pikachu, to the end of days. Yes, he may be cute, but seriously, he is just... I mean, every time I get him, I name it Roadkill. You can use that name, I don’t mind.

I understand why they would do that, seeing as the cartridges would most probably not support all sprites of every Pokemon, but oh well, I just hate him. Of course, thats just my opinion, but yea. Getting back on track.

With the launching of the Gameboy Color, a new set of Pokemon games came along, keeping up, if not outclassing the previous games, bringing a host of new things to it. First of all, they changed the Pokemon stats from Attack, Defense, Speed, Special, HP to Attack, Defense, Speed, Special Attack, Special Defense and HP. They broke it up nicely, and this did cause a completely new strategy option, but more on that later. With Pokemon Gold and Silver came great new graphics and color, thanks to the Gameboy Color (obviously) and music.

Being set in a different region, it was still able to keep the old nostalgic feel to it. They were able to mix the two games and story-lines together perfectly. A player could pick up Pokemon Silver and Gold, and understand everything that was happening without ever  having played Red and Blue, whereas another could see Gold and Silver as a sequel, and still enjoy it immensely. The introduction of the new type, Steel, gave the game new meaning, sense and more fun, introducing stronger and better combinations for teams.

Again, Gold and Silver brought some of the best music, definitely living up to the standards of its predecessors. While slightly different, it was able to create such a great atmosphere and feeling that it’s impossible to not sing along to it. It introduced more organized structures, moves and the absolute best thing that it did was introduce the new evolutions. Yes, the Pokemon that they created were unbelievably charming and good-looking, seeping originality, and I have my personal favorites from that Generation, like Heracross, Tyranitar, Elekid etc. but they introduced pre-volutions and evolutions. And... It. Was. Glorious.

The introduction of the Steel and Dark-type Pokemon made it so that more evolutions and Dual-typing could be made, and the evolutions made were simply astounding. They all resembled the evolution line, but also looked completely different. A good example of this would be Scizor or Slowbro. You can clearly identify whose evolutionary line they belong to, but still they’re incredibly powerful and look completely different.

The new moves created also added more fun to the game, like Dragon attacks. Previously, there was only one Dragon attack, Dragon Rage, and that attack did 40 damage every time, so really, there was no STAB, critical hits, nothing, but with attacks like Outrage, Iron Tail, Sludge Bomb etc. The game is so much more fun, and more Pokemon become valuable.

But how can we forget about the shiny Pokemon? Thats right, with G/S/C came the great idea. Shiny Pokemon. In case you didn’t know, shiny Pokemon are essentially the same thing as the normal ones except the color of the Pokemon is changed. The chances of one appearing is roughly 1/8104, and really, nothing changes except its aesthetics. But if you do have one, it makes the game all the more valuable.

This Generation was my favorite. I did not actually start out with Red, Blue or Yellow, even though I have played them. My first game was Silver and that may be the reason why that Generation is my favorite. The graphics were cute and not in any means good, but good enough. I really liked this Generation, as it had great Pokemon designs, awesome new moves, amazing evo/pre-volutions and an incredible plot line, it’ll always remain in my heart.

And then the Gameboy Advanced came, and this is where, in my opinion, Pokemon really reached its high point. Because here they introduced... Abilities! Abilities was the start of real competitive and strategic battling. Abilities like Drizzle, Drought and other weather-inducing abilities are my favorite, as they provide such a great strategic offense, each having its pros and cons. Not only those of course, but also things like Arena Trap, Compound Eyes and Effect Spore rocked the new ways of battling. It gave the games so much more life, meaning and overall fun.

Generation III consisted of Pokemon Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald. The graphic change from Gold to Sapphire was astounding, and they did a great job of it too. To me, the plot line of Pokemon S/R/E has always been the weakest, but that is only my opinion. I feel that, while the plot line and idea behind it being really good, I just couldn’t connect with it as I had with the other games. The music that was created was also pretty good, and definitely had some happy jingles, but it was missing some of the things that G/S/C and R/B/Y were missing.

That being said, Nintendo did most certainly not disappoint anyone with the new Pokemon. They again, incorporated charm, strength and originality into the new Pokemon.    The designs that were used and the beautiful graphics made the shiny and attacks stand out so much more. I love the shiny sprites for Seviper, Flygon, Aggron, I could go on and on.

But along with that, came the first ever remakes. Fire Red and Leaf Green. These games were the first remakes of Pokemon Red and Blue, and they did everything perfectly. They remade everything perfectly, the Pokemon, the music, everything. It was beautiful, and it was a real challenge. The Elite Four were much stronger than before, and your rival, Green/ Gary was also incredibly hard. R/S/E and FR/LG did still introduce the first step into the newest, best and sadly, last, of the Gameboy franchise.
These games were great, and I loved them both equally. What I didn’t like about R/S/E though was that there was no way to acquire any of the Pokemon from the other Generations, which sort of bummed me out, like you could in FR/LG and G/S/C, but it didn’t take away from great hours of gameplay. My Sapphire is my Pokemon game with the most hours played on. I’m on 300 hours at the moment... I don’t have a life, I know, I know.

And along came the DS. And in my opinion, the worst Generation ever came into existence. Of course thats just my opinion, so don’t take this all too harshly, and I understand you may disagree with me, but to be blunt, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum is just a pile of shit. Excuse my language, but thats basically all that I think of it. The designs are disgusting, like Hippopowdon and Skuntank. The names are terrible and frankly idiotic, not to mention the designs. And the main character sprites were also horrific, looking either super pretentious and obnoxious or just downright stupid.
But the worst crime, the worst thing that they did, was make new evolutions. I mean, I understand what they were going for. They were doing just what Generation II was doing, adding some evolutions. But uggghhh, the ones they made hurt my heart and soul. Literally. Electivire, Mamoswine, Tangrowth, Magnezone. Seriously, what the hell ?! Again, excuse my language. But come on, they made evolutions to already awesome Pokemon, that did not need it!

My next rant will be about the music. And they messed it up in every, single damned aspect. I mean, they even changed the Pokemon Center music! Like, come on! You do not understand, my pure rage and hate for this game. I really do not think you do.

But one thing that I do like is all the moves that were introduced. I’ve got to give them credit for that. The moves they introduced were pretty incredible, some much needed. I didn’t actually realize how little moves were in Generation I, II and III. But here they just went all out, and I loved it. Wood Hammer, Energy Ball, Stone Edge, X-Scissor, I could go on and on. Plus, with more abilities being introduced, and the added Wi-Fi function of the DS, online and competitive battling really took flight, and nearly everyone flew (Apart from those who sucked. Their wings were torn off).
But not all hope was lost, because just like Generation III, Generation IV introduced... Heartgold and Soulsilver! And boy was it glorious. It recreated the old game perfectly, and literally slapped Diamond Pearl and Platinum across the face with a lobster. There’s really not much to say about Hg/Ss, as really, they made it so well, that it was literally just like G/S/C. The graphics were much improved, the levels were swapped slightly, but everything, the feel, the nostalgia comes flowing back when played.
Apart from Heartgold and Soulsilver, as I’m sure you guessed, I hated Generation IV with a burning passion. The designs and names just seemed so incredibly desperate. So that’s that. Oh and again, sorry, thats just my opinion, hope I didn’t offend anyone.

And POW came Generation V, Pokemon Black and White and I have mixed feelings about Gen V. I mean don’t get me wrong, it came with amazing new graphics, sprites, moves etc. And some of the Pokemon that were introduced are pretty good. Some however, are not.
A commonly used Pokemon to berate Gen V is Garbodor. And while I do not agree that all of Gen V sucked, some Pokemon really struggled to make it over the line. I agree, Garbodor was pretty terrible. I mean, stat wise and move wise, its pretty good. But design and name... It’s literally itself. A pile of trash. Another example would be something like Vanillite. Now, in my personal opinion, I love the Vanillite evolution line. Their stats are pretty decent, movepool isn’t bad and, well, they’re just so damn adorable. But I understand why some people hate it, seeing as it is a literal ice cream cone. However, people who think Gen V is bad and Gen IV is good, I counter with Skuntank and Bidoof. I mean, come on.

As said, I think that some of the new Pokemon, while not awesome, were a step in the right direction, like Haxorus, Cofagrigus, Zebstrika and a few others. Their designs were pretty good and I thought that even though they weren’t really like the designs of the first three Generations, it was nice seeing something different that didn’t suck donkey balls, like Generation IV’s Pokemon did (again, really sorry if I’m offending anyone, but I just dislike Gen IV far too much).

The music in B/W was average at most. Sure, some places had some pretty great atmospheres and you really felt like you were in the game, but most of it was pretty bad. But hey, at least it’s not as bad as D/P/Pt music! Really though, I think that they could have done a lot more with the music in B/W, because honestly, I was quite disappointed with it.

Just like Gen IV, it came with a plethora of amazing new moves. My favorite is probably Scald, seeing as it is ridiculously powerful (its base power is 80), plus has a 30% chance to burn. I mean its base power in the rain, plus stab and a water gem would be 240, plus a burn chance! It’s insane! Some moves that were introduced, I must say, are pretty pointless, like Struggle Bug, but some, like Volt Switch just adds more strategies for teams.
One thing I haven’t talked about very much is the new items that have been introduced, and I am impressed at what they came up with, in Gen IV and V. I love Eviolite, Choice Scarf, the new Gems etc. I think that it is seriously the thing that has changed competitive battling the most (besides abilities), because some Pokemon can just become ridiculously powerful and great assets to the team.
To be honest, I loved the plot line of B/W. From what I experienced, I thought it was great, matching the original one. The Legendary Dragons and what not, meh, but actually playing it and advancing was a ton of fun. But I honestly could not take Team Plasma seriously until B2/W2 because of their costumes. I mean seriously, they look like raccoons inside grey pumpkins. It’s like they intentionally designed themselves to look like that so that everyone would just assume that they were gay. Well good job guys, it worked! It’s really just sad. But transitioning into B2/W2, they changed, and instead they just became awesome.

B2/W2 was so good, it’s incredible. The plot line was even better, as just like G/S/C’s plot, a player could pick it up never having played Pokemon before and understand it, or a seasoned veteran of B/W could pick it up and see it as a sequel. And the costumes, oh the costumes, they were so glorious, like really. They’re pretty incredible, now looking like flipping ninjas. And Ghetsis’ costume is just so damn cool it hurts to just look at it. Like the badass cane, and the awesome black cloak/cape, it’s just so great!

The awesome new areas and available Pokemon that were added to the game gave it so much more meaning. A few of my favourites were Twist Mountain and the Marine Tube, and a few others. They also did a lot more work with the character sprites and camera angles, which I really enjoyed. The atmosphere and the music in some places really fitted the mood, and I felt that the music in BW2 was a lot better than its predecessor. Really, I think it was the improved B/W in nearly every single way.
BW2 is probably my second or third favourite, following Crystal and Fire Red. Pokemon has changed so much over the years, and generally I have enjoyed it. Each Generation brings something valuable to it, and makes it better, in one way or another. Even though the plot lines are generally the same, they are completely different and you experience them all separately and in your own way. Pokemon will always sit in my heart as one of the most enjoyable, and charming, games of all time.

--Ttar

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