Does Pokémon Black and White Hold Up? (Retrospective)

[@stijnburgers719]

It feels like the pokemon fanbase always takes things to the extreme. It's either gonna be vastly overrated or vastly underrated. It's either going to be a masterpiece or a piece of sh*t.

[@zubair-rp1ie]

I agree. Even my favourite pokemon game, pokemon crystal, has some flaws. Theres no such thing as a perfect pokemon game.

[@n3k0hgueimis]

I think the main reason for this is that Pokémon fans take a lot to the nostalgic side.

[@seorwhite3333]

The main issue with Pokemon is that all of them are braindead, they will never make a truly difficult Pokemon campaign since their target demographic is kids, it had good games but Pokemon needs a hard mode.

[@sebastiankulche]

@@zubair-rp1ie There´s no such a thing as a perfect game.

[@lol-ih1tl]

@@seorwhite3333 I don't think that targeting kids is an excuse for being too easy. There are kids games that are harder than mature games.

[@J2ojuiced95]

I think the main reason for the Gen 5 hate back in the day was no-one wanted change, fans just wanted more Gen 4. The BW games have got to the point where they are becoming nostalgic, so I’m just happy to see more people appreciating them.

[@leonardofarias8843]

Nobody wanted a soft reboot

[@delphoxxthevulpera68]

Also it was coming off of HGSS, so it would be tough to be that.

[@BuizelCream]

I remember too that Gen 5 was a really mixed bag back in its debut, but some of us quickly came to love the graphical updates, the music, the characters, and all the mysteries and lore and story depth it brought to the franchise (the last thing that was too hard to swallow were majority of the new Gen 5 PKMN tho). In fact, it what I was expecting X & Y to do back in 2013. Now Gen 6 was the generation I actually consider that left a lot to be desired.

[@bakes1324]

God ten years... I remember going to GameStop and getting a copy of leaf green with my brother and having the clerk tell us about black and white being announced. We were blown away by the gameplay we found on KZbin. Ended up getting Pokémon white and it was one of my favorite games of all time

[@veradrost9654]

It would be a lot easier for me to enjoy if Gen 5 lovers didn't make it all about the story. The story is fine. Maybe a 5/10. Compared to other pokémon games it's great. Terrible in terms of general storytelling. Unless Gamefreak gets to make a truly story-focused game, we should *Never* enjoy a pokémon game for its halfbaked story, because they're all so surface level it physically hurts me to play them if I focus on the story too much, Black&White included. I like it for the 2D animated sprites and the art, though I hated the artstyle at first. I still hate the pokémon designs. I'll play them over gen 7 & 8, but I'm not sure that is much of a compliment.

[@Hia_SuS]

I disagree with a point or two but they were all solid arguements and overall good analysis. It's been a fun year watching your channel grow

[@shupasopni]

Yeah I disagree with various things as well, though even then most of those things I can still understand someone else thinking, so I appreciate seeing a different point of view.

[@jabbathehutt2774]

I agree completely, but nostalgia glasses makes this game still my favorite.

[@jonasdiaz8615]

While BW and B2W2 aren’t exactly perfect games by themselves, they’re both a fresh experience with fresh stories worth playing much like Sun and Moon are (not USUM). And just like the stories, absorb it for the fun of it and don’t think of it too hard since it will slowly start falling apart.

[@urm8matt156]

USUM are much better imo. Even though B2W2 had much more content, BW were worth playing for the story, while SM just have a slightly better story set in a alternate timeline to the ultra games. Edit: I don't think USUM are better than BW2, I was trying to say that even though BW2 are overall much better than BW, BW still hold value because of the story and your playthrough, selection of Pokémon etc. will be different to BW2. Where as USUM almost replaces SM because of its postgame and even though SM has the overall better story, I don't think it's much better than the one USUM has

[@jonasdiaz8615]

@@urm8matt156 IMO USUM as a whole felt lazy and rushed, and the story is unnecessarily much worse than SM. The post-game feels quite cheap and worse overall than in ORAS, and the character story is rebooted and shafted when they got it right the first time around. The difficulty is also very uneven as it goes from relatively difficult with the trials and totems to not really hard with the trainers to extremely hard boss Pokémon unnaturally. I wish I could like USUM as much as others like yourself but I would much rather stick to SM as my Alola journey and enjoy the Unova region than USUM at least.

[@idrissb9742]

I can never understand people defending sun and moon. Idk, soulles games to me. My moon cartridge will forever stay in that game case, im not even kidding haha

[@billybobbobson3797]

@@idrissb9742 soulless? You’ve lost your mind

[@thesecond1a]

@@urm8matt156 BW2 is better than USUM

[@falconlord7811]

Gen 5 aged well, especially when you compare them to the new switch games. Better story, more imagination.

[@Adrian_Franco]

That isn't saying much because the switch games are abominations.

[@SirAvila]

b&w are 🗑️🗑️🗑️

[@kimseokwin5534]

Now scarlet violet surpassing BW on story telling.

[@optick3554]

​@@kimseokwin5534 After dlc, sure.

[@kimseokwin5534]

@@optick3554 even without dlc. I think 7th gen have better story than 5th gen already, but 9th gen have better delivery than 7th gen.

[@archflamingo9156]

Can’t believe black and white came out almost 11 years ago

[@cosmictrainer2919]

Ya man I was 5 back then time flies by

[@duck4259]

It was released on my birthday: D

[@shupasopni]

@@cosmictrainer2919 Geez. I'm only 26 but I'm starting to feel old. Played these and loved them in my late teens. Still my faves in the main series. Only games before them that even approach are HGSS and some spinoffs (PMD: EoSky and the Orre games).

[@brotbrotsen1100]

Just 1 year older than skyrim

[@solarrrrrrrr]

Damn, THAT OLD-

[@Galavantworks]

As a New Yorker I was really disappointed by how the Battle subway was never introduced as a deeper layer element of B/W by introducing subway routes. Hell there’s even a in-game map of what could’ve been a potential fast travel system. Edit: Also geographically, Unova is missing two whole boroughs of NYC. Although whether or not adding Staten Island or Bronx necessary to the game, it would’ve fleshed out the post game of Unova and made the region far less linear.

[@zjzr08]

"Stanten Island" being a post-game could've been interesting like how Sinnoh did with the Battle Resort island and such.

[@Galavantworks]

@@zjzr08 Staten Island Unova could be the Safari Zone/Battle Resort, and White Forest area of the region and The Unova Bronx could’ve held the Battle Frontier and Black City of the game. Even better if each area was version locked post game, or made the league approach different depending on version of game.

[@GamingStates]

I find it funny how so much of NYC is missing, so in B2W2 they decided to add locations based on New Jersey. As someone from Jersey I'm happy to see some representation, but Game Freak you gotta finish what you started first lmao

[@Galavantworks]

@@GamingStates Ghost Type Mudbray yo.

[@PeruvianPotato]

@@GamingStates Technically, they already added several Jersey cities by the first game including my own home city

[@thelastdaybreathinginetern1385]

Gen 4 and 5 are the best.... some of my best memories

[@blablablablabla504]

For me Gen 3 and 5. D/P sucked, Platinum was mediocre and HGSS were very good remakes. (My opinion btw)

[@hin5781]

@@blablablablabla504 Eh i highly disagree in your opinion, pokemon platinum is the greatest pokemon game of all time even better than B2W2

[@blablablablabla504]

@@hin5781 I saw ur unedited comment. "Gen 4 and 5 is the best lmao" xDDD But opinion is an opinion. Have a nice day bro

[@mihaimercenarul7467]

@@hin5781 platinum is mediocre honestly, whith a bad variety of pokemon, almost no fire types, awful level curve, and over 8 hm's that you need to use every 10 steps. Platinum is overrated and not even close to be the greatest pokemon game. It's overrated due to nostalgia

[@SirAvila]

They both were fucking trash lmao. What are you smoking

[@saff2375]

i’m a gen V stan and in the whole video, u didn’t miss once. great content keep it up

[@leargamma4912]

Yeah he did.

[@YopAlonso]

This was a genuinely great review. I can absolutely understand your reasons for not liking this game, and while I don’t agree with your nitpicks or the things that didn’t quite click with you, am I in a position to tell you that you’re wrong? Absolutely not. You gave arguments and fundamentally explained the things in a way that conveyed your feelings towards this game pretty clear, without falling under the trope of “this game is bad and all my nitpicks are actual, tangible flaws that back up my facts”. There’s obviously things I disagree with, no doubt. I do prefer the original versions of the music compared to the sequels, I adore the setting of the Unova region because it has an organic feel in the transitions from place to place, and Village Bridge is the best place in any Pokémon game ever. And while the argument of comparing BW to the last releases, HGSS and/or Platinum, is understandable, a comparison on its previous base generational games Diamond and Pearl would’ve been a much fairer scenario for both games to be compared upon, and I like how you did exactly that at the end. Keep on growing, Gireum. Your content feels analytical and refreshing to watch.

[@keeysOST]

I remember being 10 and seeing a kid on the bus playing Pokemon white on the bus. My family was poor growing up, so the only pokemon game I owed at the time was Ruby. When Gen 4 can out I wanted it so bad but never was able to get it. Seeing the kid play a game where the pokemon were moving, on the DS, was absolutely mind-blowing. I remember going to the back of the playground and battling/trading with friends in Gen 5. I remember spending days grinding pokemon, getting all the items from the dancing mini game, and filling my Pokedex. Maybe Gen 5 might not be so great, but I think due to my nostalgia for it and the things I experienced with it have increased my love for it. BW will always be peak pokemon for me. (Also, might be a hot take, but I actually like the original BW a lot more than BW2.)

[@keeysOST]

@@SirDibble25 bro why did it take you one year to post the same reply lmao

[@Chtis.]

I was 7 years old when B/W came out. While they weren’t my first Pokémon games (Sapphire and Emerald were my firsts), they were my absolute favorite from the time I finished it. I spent 300 hours in my first save file and came close to completed the dex, and as a 7 year old at the time, it’s a huge accomplishment. Unova In my eyes is a perfect region. Since B/W2 every Pokémon game except the Hoenn remakes have been hallow and left a lot to be desired. But, I do understand the criticisms with some of the Pokémon (Vanilluxe is my favorite ice type and is fun to use) and the problems people had with many of the glaring issues. I love them, they will always be my favorite, but I can see why they’re not for everyone

[@thunderthepikachu150]

Everyone is either a gen 1 fan or gen 3 fan

[@aidankocherhans9861]

I love the gameplay and characters of gen 5, but I like the aesthetics of gen 4 much more

[@mihaimercenarul7467]

ew

[@Liam4Dead]

“First white and blonde gym leader” Volkner: “Am I a joke to you?”

[@christianmckee2116]

Lt. Surge: "Do I not exist?"

[@TheBooBomber609]

I played through Black recently for my first Nuzlocke, and even though Gen 5 remains my favorite, I was reminded how much B2W2 ended up improving, such as the Gym designs and better level balancing (I ended up overleveling for the Elite Four, and still found myself underleveled for the postgame). But I still love BW, as the flaws that exist are minor enough that it doesn’t completely ruin the overall game like SwSh’s flaws do.

[@joaquincasascortes624]

Doing a hard mode Nuzlocke (no items in trainer battles + set mode) in BW is really tough, specially in the last fight between N and Ghetsis, where so many things can go wrong really quickly.

[@M3rtyville]

Ironically I liked BW when it came out, because it was a new experience for both new and old since all pokemon where new in the main game. And it was significantly faster than gen 4 games. No longer waiting 3 minutes for Blissey to die to a close combat. But it didn't age well to me because how restrictive the maingame is. The sequels are just so much better even if they are still on outdated hardware. And it still has version exclusive legendaries. Not to mention its from Masuda, that is usually an ingredient for desaster Btw, have you heard the reason why the easy and difficult setting were locked in BW2? If you read the reason and why they are game exclusives, you will lose your mind on how stupid it is... The only reason pokemon fans want the game to beautiful now is because Masuda's reason for cutting Pokemon. We have been tolerating content keep getting removed over the years and being resold. Once the Pokemon got cut from a mainline game (sry LGPE), people could no longer take it: - removing tutor moves each gen and putting them into remakes/sequels/third versions - only a handful of legendaries to catch and locking past gen Legendaries in remakes/sequels/third versions - boring postgame and locking good postgame in remakes/sequels/third version Do you see what I am getting at?

[@bigroddempsey4082]

Yea I also use level 100 Blisseys against fighting type Pokemon

[@shupasopni]

Yes exactly. It's not that all Pokemon fans really care all that much about the graphics. The games have always been behind on graphics, but if you are gonna cut features that are so integral to the experience of Pokemon as a whole for many people, and are so long running, then say it's about graphics, your game better be leaps and bounds better looking than anything before and at least be up to par for some of the good looking games on that system if not comparable to the best or better.

[@TheWispGuy]

I've never heard of the reason the easy and hard mode settings were locked. I'd like to hear why they did that.

[@M3rtyville]

@@bigroddempsey4082 that is actually the fastest way to see a blissey to be taken down. Imagine you battle someone's blissey keep hitting it for a decent chunk of damage and it repeatedly heals. The fight takes forever. My cousin and I played Pokemon Pearl and Platinum recently to battle each other. It took 1 hour for Blissey itself to die in the match. Mostly because it isn't the only Pokemon doing moves slowly and losing HP while it regains health... slowly.

[@techmark3665]

⁠@@bigroddempsey4082 Blissey used to see a lot of use in competitive DPP OU (which is primarily level 100). Only in more recent times have DPP players stopped using it in favour of clefable. Also, if it isn’t killed by a move, then it uses soft boiled, taking up even more time. There is a reason why people preferred to play competitive on shoddy battle rather than on cartridge.

[@Smfsableye]

BW were great, but it’s important to state how important online connectivity was to the game. The Dream World was the only way to get Hidden Abilities and grow berries, which limits competitive gameplay if you pick up the game nowadays. The updated breeding mechanics also weren’t introduced until BW2. Completing the National Pokédex is an absolute bore since transferring from Gen 4 is completely necessary to do so. There’s also no Vs. Seeker which severely limits the trainers you can rematch after the main story. Black City and White Forest are postgame areas that require connectivity with the other game and regular gameplay to keep in an upgraded state. All in all a good game, that didn’t age as gracefully as I might have hoped.

[@MrKevosmin]

Wait there’s no VS Seeker??! 😭

[@zjzr08]

Forcing a lot of features that are in Gen 4 to online was quite a bother at a time where reliable wi-fi isn't as accessible as it is now, IMO.

[@Smfsableye]

@@MrKevosmin Nope, and you can’t rematch gym leaders either.

[@MrKevosmin]

@@Smfsableye ugh… they took so many QOL thing’s away

[@Smfsableye]

@@MrKevosmin I know, kind of a shame because they were going for the magnum opus of 2D Pokémon games with BW. Though that title goes to HGSS in retrospect.

[@PoipoleBoi]

I believe the main reason team plasma was evil or mistreated pokemon was to show there's corrupt people in everything such as a selfless desire to have pokemon be better off than themselves. Ghetsis for example was even hinted at in Castelia city in the abandoned building that he's in it for himself to control everything. This theme is even shown in bw2 how team plasma split into two groups. One that believed in a desire to do good, and one took advantage for selfish desires.

[@lesserknown5138]

I've honestly never had an issue with gen 5 pokemon design

[@alexkumaratunga2834]

Me neither. I believe that this generation had some really cool designs.

[@bigroddempsey4082]

Cool

[@jaretco6423]

It also has the best type varieties out of any gen and alot of Gen. 5 Pokemon are really good.

[@firetools]

Same here, in fact the Pokemon designs are the main reason I like Gen 5. I saw more good than bad and it introduced my current favorite Pokemon, Hydreigon.

[@jamesgiles4517]

Same

[@sleepy2702]

Pokemon White will always have a special place in my heart for me. I bought it as my second ever pokemon game during release (my first pokemon game was blue rescue team). I loved every second of it and played it for hours on end. I was very young so my views weren't very developed but I can still go back and play it today and love it just as much. It might just be because of nostalgia but I'll always love BW :)

[@GireumRed]

As I was making the video, I challenged myself "How many references to Michael Jackson can I make without it being distracting just because the title of the Pokemon is "Black or White?" for lolz. 0:00 Doctor Gireumattan Intro 1:55 Intro 4:30 Part 0: Why Overrated Though? 7:24 Part 1: The Graphics: Worse Than You Remember It 11:40 Part 2: Deleted Features from Gen 4 15:45 Part 3: The Map Design 19:24 Part 4: Masuda and 151 23:45 Part 5: The Story 28:41 Part 6: This isn’t America 33:04 Part 7: The Post-Game 35:26 Part 8: Minor Things 38:51 Conclusion

[@johanninong]

Is pokemon xy underrated?

[@zjzr08]

@@johanninong Maybe he can wait for a gen or two after and see how it is, but frankly it does seem to be underrated now, although not too underrated as it did things "less" rather than "different".

[@GireumRed]

@S W i'll talk about that when i review sword and shield someday

[@Saul.Gone_]

@@johanninong no

[@M3rtyville]

I hope we don't get remakes to Gen 5 but another sequel or perhaps a prequel just so we can get the true Dragon.

[@cosmictrainer2919]

I love these games ,they gave you such a engaging gameplay experience ,the story was good ,the Pokemon felt alive,the cities had soul and the music was amazing.this is in my opinion the definitive Pokemon game! I just hope they don't remake gen 5 they will turn it into garbage , perfection can't be improved

[@cosmictrainer2919]

@@luciaborges3283 😂😂

[@notatroll156]

Actually I do hope they make remakes as I never played it and as of now those games are being sold for crazy prices.

[@notatroll156]

@@luciaborges3283 I don’t have a good computer

[@khudi8155]

@@notatroll156 you can easily emulate it in your phone

[@notatroll156]

@@khudi8155 I kinda don’t wanna take chances

[@n3k0hgueimis]

Even though Black & White is my favorite game in the franchise, I agree with most of their criticisms especially the fact that they cut a lot of content from the games (I only disagree with the part about the story that despite not being an FF I really liked it and a little bit of graphics because I'm a sucker for 2.5D game), I always like to see people criticizing my favorite games or games that are overrated or good for just being that (even more in this fanbase that pulls a lot on the nostalgic side), Black & White 1 and 2 despite being good games are far from being the best game ever, as well as HGSS, Platinum, ORAS and etc. EDIT: Forget what i said because i unlocked my 3DS and transfer my save from Pokémon White and i can guarantee that i didn't find it as pixelated as it is shown in the video and i can guarantee that this is the emulator's fault, because before i got a hacked 3DS, I used to play White on Desmume which has many emulation problems with the Pokémon games, in HGSS for example if you use savestate the screen become black, Platinum has a problem with sprites and BW has several problems if you use OpenGL ( just go to some places in castelia city).

[@zjzr08]

What's FF, hehe, also, what game(s) do you personally think are the best Pokemon games, and which aspects of the different games should be the direction the franchise should go next?

[@n3k0hgueimis]

@@zjzr08 FF means Final Fantasy and i don't know how to opine about it because I haven't played all the games in the franchise yet and I have a huge list of games to play

[@zjzr08]

@@n3k0hgueimis I see, although isn't FF sometimes convoluted in storytelling at times, the concepts may be great, execution may not be so.

[@jaretco6423]

No Pokemon games are perfect. Every single one of them has flaws. And whether it can be minor or major, it can effect the game. An minor flaw; but still an good Pokemon game. But an major one can be either meh or bad Pokemon game.

[@joa6336]

17:40 Masuda said in a Iwata Ask's interview that he designed the map that way so kids don't get lost... He got feedback from japanese children that get stuck and didn't know where to go in Sinnoh

[@leargamma4912]

Even I don't know where to go in Sinnoh and I'm 27

[@elpiedra1596]

​@@leargamma4912 😂😂😂

[@tobiaswehner6836]

​@@leargamma4912yeah same here. And I'm 29. And also gen1 er. So I should be used to not know where to go and figure it out. But in the end I bought the strategy guide, got sick of running around, like in lethal weapon, I'm too old for this shit I don't have so much time anymore, I have bills to pay🤣🤣

[@domjay]

Gen 5 became my fav simply because I loved N so much and his battle theme. I agree with the main villains being misplaced. Perhaps if the villains were all Wall St goons, it'd make more sense. Or maybe that'd be too on the nose LoL

[@alyssarichardson2544]

yeah, that'd SERIOUSLY be pushing it, especially considering Japan's take on WW2 history, hooo boy...

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

Making a generic open-world Pokémon spin-off game (which they recently confirmed they weren’t even going all-in on) isn’t exactly “taking a risk”.

[@kirbyfazendoummoonwalk9214]

It is cuz its still a diferent style of gameplay

[@LukeSkywalker-zv3xy]

I actually there are far more side areas to explore in unova such as the side part in pinwheel forest, the forest out side nimbasa, icarus moor and the cave where you can find axew.

[@zach415]

And the underwater temple

[@alyssarichardson2544]

Speaking of the Axew line, Haxorus is the coolest looking pseudo-legendary dragon's final form, easily. I was raised on gen 1 and I'll be the first to say Dragonite looks terrible....Dragonair is beautiful though, I wish it was competitively viable with an Eviolite or something.

[@cy4069]

You are quickly becoming one of my favorite youtubers with the diligence you show the topics you speak about and the eloquence in which you present it. Keep up the good work, and keep shitting on Elon Musk.

[@leargamma4912]

Yeah but he is still gullible and will end up bowing down to elon musk and the overlords.

[@matteolovito872]

Something I love about BW is that, despite having much less content than its sequels, there were still some places from BW that were removed from BW2 (like Challenger's Cave, Route 10, the old Victory Road, most of the Relic Castle, the Driftveil Lighthouse and so on), which I don't understand, but it helped Black and White to have its own separate identity from BW2 and feel like a completely different game nonetheless

[@bigounce2704]

Yeh, medieval Pokémon age Pokeballs would’ve been new and not putting Pokémon into pokeballs would’ve made more sense as part of the plot

[@nothingtoreport1918]

This video was really interesting for me to watch, especially since I have genuinely not liked Black and White since it’s release. Seeing it suddenly gain a ton of popularity and seeing how it’s now praised as the best Pokémon game is really funny to me lol

[@mrrpggamer2]

I felt Gen 5 was odd to me I didn't hate it but I didn't enjoy it either just didn't feel the same.

[@jaretco6423]

I guess I'm the minority when I say I felt the same way with Gen. 4. Like it's not an bad Gen and I do believe Platinum is the superior version to Sinnoh. But even that game has it's problems that I couldn't handled. Like the slowness, HM requirements and some bad level curve towards the end.

[@pokemonspinofffan767]

@Jonathan Marshall what about black 2 and white 2 what is your opinion on them?

[@nothingtoreport1918]

@@pokemonspinofffan767 BW2 fixed literally every single problem I had with BW1, they’re definitely some of the better Pokémon games. Wish I had played them sooner but I only got the chance to play them last year for the first time

[@leargamma4912]

@Nothing to Report If you had a lot of problems with BW1 then you don't use that thing on your shoulders much.

[@rylanBread]

Bro the game never said team plasma was good basically every character on the player's side say they're full of shit. Also they try to make N sympathetic because he was brainwashed and put in place as a puppet leader

[@oppean4610]

I remember that I was the only kid in my friend group who didn’t hate these games. Everyone else was talking back then about how trash they were and wished to go back to dppt and hgss. Those same people are like “I always like bw and bw2.” smh everytime

[@magnawaves]

To me, Gen 5 was the culmination of the series. I thought the fully animated sprites were badass, the music was great, and the story tried to get a little more serious. I like the "scratchy" and pixelated look that these sprites have. Getting to go on a journey with 100% new pokemon only felt refreshing. Samurott, Krookodile, Darmanitan, Zebstrika, Braviary, Bisharp, WEW I loved my team. As much as I love HGSS I loved Gen 5 more. When I finished it I imported my mons from gen 4 and kept enjoying it. I do not look at this era from the viewpoint of today, because since day 1 I loved it. I played it to death then bought the sequels on day 1. I still like gen 7 and I enjoyed gen 9 enough, and since gen 3 was when I came back to pokemon so I loved ORAS. But gen 5 still holds a special place in my heart. It is not perfect at all, but I almost hope they don't tarnish it by remaking it.

[@niklasstg6957]

Thats so crazy i still remember buying Black on Release PS: Retrospec i believe that B/W are not as good as Gen 4. The sequels on the other hand are great. But you could skip BW and you wouldnt miss a thing

[@jaretco6423]

I still think Black & White 1 are solid games. But I do agree that I prefer BW2 more.

[@memeextreme1356]

I like that Alder is a Native American and one of his Pokémon is a buffalo.

[@maude7420]

Oh good catch yeah, I knew his design reminded me of something

[@IsomerMashups]

It's definitely a matter of people looking back and seeing that this was the last game that actually improved on the franchise more than it took away.

[@garchompelago]

Gen 5 was amazing for a lot of things. The only thing I dislike about Gen 5 is the fact that most of its designs are Gen 1 inspired.

[@daniellap.stewart6839]

Why? Gen 1 rocks

[@garchompelago]

@@daniellap.stewart6839 Gen 1 is garbage

[@shouldveusedsafesearch8099]

I wouldn't say most but some tbqh.

[@galvsparks6295]

@@pedromonteiro2248 Conkerldurr and Seismitoad are better than their gen 1 counterparts though and by a landslide

[@leanbeast1105]

@@garchompelago Dude it was built on a fricking calculator with almost no funding and it still did great. Give it a break. Just say Kanto instead of Gen 1

[@ViewtifulBeau]

Gen 5 is a cozy top 3 behind gen 3&4 for me.

[@nmikk10]

Unova's victory road is my favorite in the entire series. I'm a sinnoh Stan but goddammit victory road is dissapointing in that game. Black and White's feels unique and expressive. It actually tries to feel cultured

[@johnhatzis3113]

I may disagree with a point or two, but hey, these were the games that taught 11 year old me that different opinions can coexist and thrive hand in hand, so it's a healthy dose of poetic irony...

[@mr.preston1632]

I think the problem with the animated sprites is that they didn’t bother to animate them, they just rotated them, which makes them look like they’re trying to come off as smartasses

[@obits3]

Pokémon White holds a special place in my heart because it made me love Pokémon again… this year. I bought it when it came out with a 3DS, played for a bit and tabled it. I didn’t play a single Pokémon game until I picked up my copy of White and played a fresh game this past summer. I can’t explain it, but it just felt great this time. I do agree that it is more pixelated, but I think that mainly impacts those that play on the XL models. Play on a normal 3DS and you don’t really notice it.

[@pablopicado156]

Same. I never got to play BW when it came out, so I played it this year (on 3DS too, I think it looked better), and suddenly I was completely engaged. It must be the fastest I've completed the regional dex, minus Landorus and Thundurus.

[@obits3]

@@pablopicado156 If you have a second 3DS, I recommend going on eBay and buying a gen five event cartridge. Most should have the Liberty Pass, so you can get access to the Victini event. Also, since only the pass is hacked, the Victini itself would be completely legitimate for online play. You also get other event mons like Meloetta which gets a special scene in a cafe to get a signature move.

[@yiangaruga4928]

Jokes on you, I've thought of 5th gen as some of the best Pokemon games before it was cool and then wasn't

[@Hellowp]

What?

[@pikminologueraisin2139]

cool

[@randomduck8679]

@@Hellowp He liked Gen 5 before it was cool to like it.

[@joa6336]

Same. The only thing I hated was the linear design in the map.

[@Hellowp]

I like everything about Gen 5 except for the aesthetic they went for.😕

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

People act like the story in Black and White 1+2 is Citizen Kane, but it’s just basic storytelling. It’s what happens when Gamefreak puts anything more than the bare minimum amount of effort into something. The level of story in this game should be the expectation, not the exception. In the spirit of October (shoutout to domestic abuse and Halloween), Pokémon fans are like victims of domestic violence. They’re so accustomed to being constantly insulted, disrespected and shit on that they’ve lost their frame of reference for what the standard should be.

[@solidice5660]

I actually harbor much discomfort with gen 5. You perfectly describe the "coldness" feel of the graphics. For me that "coldness" flows throughout the whole game. I played this game so much when it came out, constantly searching for secrets and exploring, only to discover how linear it was. I remember how much mystery and intrigue I felt when playing Pokémon Gold, and the simplistic story of standing up to the bad guys, saving pokemon, making friends, and learning mysteries about the world. Then after having played the remake, Pokemon Soul Silver, and the breath of content that was in that game, Black and White in comparison just felt so _empty_. That feeling of emptiness stuck with me the more and more I played the game, I kept hoping for something more that wasn't there. The more I played, the more I saw the game for what it was, not an epic journey, or a living breathing world, but just a bunch of computer code. I think that is the point when the facade fell apart and my Imagination could no longer keep me invested in pokemon like it once did. It was ironic, the more I tried to like the game the more I hated it, the music permanently burned into my memory from hours and hours of play, while yes, there are some good bangers, I just can't separate those feelings... The feelings of discovering the limit of my imagination, the fact that I was growing up, that my friends were moving away. All that compiled into this _overwhelming feeling of melancholy_ throughout my playthrough of the game. It just left a bad taste in my mouth, and I haven't played a pokemon game since. It was at that point I just figured I would choose to keep the good memories of Pokemon; My first journey with Gold, my friends showing me their hidden bases in Emerald, my best friend trying to figure out how to get a bicycle in Platinum, and stirring poffens without burning them, competing in the Pokeathalon in Soul Silver & Heart Gold, everyone bringing the pokewalker to school and trying not to get caught using it in class. Those are the memories I will always hold dear.

[@DuffyLONER64]

I love these games, and they rank fairly high among the other Pokémon games, but I think these also pale in comparison to their successors in B2W2. B2W2 is by far one of the best Pokémon games, in my opinion. The PokéDex is expanded, the map isn't just a linear path, and there's a lot more stuff to do. The story is probably the only thing that can be debatable.

[@DuffyLONER64]

@@SirDibble25 I wouldn't say criminally overrated, but I do think they have the same issue as DP, where people praise that generation, but people are really praising the games after the first two in the generation. I would say BW are only a bit overrated, and that the love they get is misconstrued with the love for B2W2.

[@leargamma4912]

Black amd white 2 was also a linear path. But people praise it anyway

[@mg4uorsmth]

Guy whatever u said about the graphics is the part that i like the most about bw. From the pixelated back sprites, to the tall overworld sprites, to the octagonal shapes and backgrounds. It just slaps, i love gen 5 mainly cos of that

[@castform7]

37:40 Never have I been more offended by something so true. You can't deny they did a pretty bang up job though.

[@nmikk10]

I think the point of team plasma is that they say they fight for pokemon but in reality are just facilitating a world for ghetsis to rule. Hell, they literally kick a pokemon the next time we see them after they spout morals and shit in the very beginning. While I like your take on it it's clear that was never their intention

[@firetools]

From what I remember, when you reach the finale of the game and start exploring Team Plasma's castle, you come across several Plasma grunts who hint at Ghetsis being the true mastermind behind the group, along with knowing all along that their goal of Pokemon liberation was a front.

[@leargamma4912]

@@firetools Yup. And anyone who didn't catch that is the same type of person to complain for the game being too linear. When there's tons of contentent and stuff to do and explore along the main routes and beyond.

[@zjzr08]

I guess the expectation here is maybe many try to think that maybe "they have a point" and that what we saw in the Dreamyard are just a splinter group - while it is true them showing hurting Pokemon in the Dreamyard was actually a reveal than a twist I think seeing N have some hoping that his vision for Team Plasma may be true.

[@nmikk10]

I've seen the pixelated criticism everywhere but I just don't see it. I still think it looks 100% better than the previous games. I agree the in battle backgrounds don't look nice but the sprites are the best they've ever been. Even better than 3D.

[@KnucklesWTD]

I preferred the gen 4 battle look just looked cleaner

[@smirglepapier531]

Might just be his emulator. Even on the 3dsXL it didn't look bad

[@joshuasibley5674]

tbh Unova has more of a European feel to it than the Galar Region

[@jaretco6423]

That's weird considering it's based on america.

[@rohankhatri3226]

Galar lacked a story, this would've been perfect for Galar. The music of Galar also feels that it belongs to Unova. Galar should've had more "royal" kinda sounding themes like Unova had. My overall favourite region is Kalos. I just like the way it sounds French.

[@Emily-lh6em]

I've been looking forward to this even if you roast one of my favorites you always make good points 🎉🥳

[@ricardoemanuelsaezlabrana3778]

The pixelated sprites its because of the lack of filthers on the DS. And, there is a Gen 1 back sprites reference

[@moseskuria1234]

I'll never understand why there are less rematchs these days?

[@kjhgfdfghjkdrtyuiwewe]

Every video you make, I find myself rewatching like 5 times

[@asleepydude5941]

Fun Fact about C-Gear was that they had skins for it to make it look MUCH better than its basic color

[@BuizelCream]

You can no longer find Unova haters in the PKMN community nowadays cause they have already left the franchise, just like you couldn't find any Sinnoh haters today x3 Aside those who have changed their opinion over time, of course.

[@zjzr08]

So what's the reason the "haters" of the more recent games fled earlier than those from Gen 4 which logically should have left before haters of Gen 5?

[@Hatchumosc1]

Legends arceus is not a risk. It was actually the least risky way they maybe could have possibly lead into the open world format. Make a side game with open world catching mechanics only and call it a "mainline game" to sell more.

[@juiceboxh3ro]

14:39 that line transfer music hits me with nostalgia every time

[@RatusMax]

I put gen 5 in 2010 up with Gold and Silver but still below Red and Blue (my first pokemon game). I didn't give a damn about the hate. It was fkin amazing having no old pokemon in the game. Everything felt fresh and new. Then the story was more serious AF. It was more than just badges.

[@Oswaldoxs11]

i have watched a lot of your reviews and while i like and agree with most, this one is pretty much just nitpicks to the point i would say is a bad review, i think that shows how solid this game is when you have to pretty much scratch the bottom of the barrel to say negative things about it.

[@zjzr08]

I'm not sure how the story actually being average (he even thinks Platinum has a better story), missing features from Gen 4, map design and aesthetics (which is arguably a big hook in games) are just nitpicks even when I assume you don't care about those issues.

[@SaberWolf94]

If it was just the little things it wouldn't matter too much. To me it was big features that they took out like berry planting, contests, secret bases and more. This is why I thought they were a step in ways but also a step down from the gen 4 games, even Diamond and Pearl yes. I too thought from the start that these are good pokemon games, but not the best pokemon games. Same with the plot, great characters, bad concpet for a story and execution though. And unlike what Platinum was for DP Black and White 2 also took steps back from the first Black and White.

[@datcatsavedme7071]

Pokémon black and white is the only game where I enjoyed catching everything along the way

[@tiaguinho_samba]

team plasma is SUPER OVERRATED, so true

[@theroyalwraith]

Great video, but I think it was a little bit nitpicky when it comes to the story and region design. For the story, I will admit that it’s a bit awkward how they treat the lower Team Plasma grunts as all being terrible, but it’s at least implied that some of them are genuine in their beliefs. We just didn’t get confirmation of it until B2W2. However, if you help Looker take down the Seven Sages in the post game, you do get to see that some of them were genuine in their beliefs like N. This leads me into the criticism of N’s character, and by extension the themes. The reason N harps on about truth and ideals is because he was raised by Ghetsis and the Sages, who are essentially scholars. The Sages at many points quote different philosophers, and these teachings obviously rubbed off on N. Combined with his lack of communication skills with other humans due to being sheltered by the Sages, it makes sense that that he talks about his beliefs in such a blunt, stilted way. As for the other characters talking about other people having different points of view, sure it’s on the nose, but it’s a Pokémon game, they’ve never exactly been subtle about their messaging. Despite the bluntness of the messaging, I think a lot of people interpret the themes of Black and White incorrectly. I don’t think the game ever really intended that the player question the ethics of Pokémon battling. I mean, you see Team Plasma assault the Munna in the Dreamyard about 15 minutes after they’re introduced in Accumula Town. The game firmly says that yes, the training of Pokémon is not morally wrong, so long as the trainer treats them with respect. The game always intends for the player to fall on the side that Pokémon belong alongside humans. The point of the game was to try to get you to sympathize with N, despite the fact he is so obviously wrong. He is a foil to the player, as despite you both being steadfast in your beliefs, the difference is that you can sympathize and at least hear out the other side, whereas N is unwilling to see other points of view, such as when he shuts down the conversation with Juniper in Chargestone Cave. N, while having pure intentions, is misguided, as well as a hypocrite. He wishes to not use Pokémon or keep them in Pokeballs, but he sees it as a necessary evil in his goals. The message is not so much, “both sides of an argument are valid,” although that is part of it. It’s more so, “people who disagree with you aren’t necessarily immoral, just misguided.” Given this, I think Ghetsis works as a villain. He is unlike N, and even unlike the other evil team leaders. Despite their plans being insane and selfish, Archie, Maxie, Lysandre, Rose, and arguably even Cyrus had noble intentions in their goals. Giovanni and Lusamine had entirely selfish goals, but they at least showed signs of redemption. Ghetsis is the only villain in the series that is purely evil. He has no morals or love for anyone but himself. If the player represents a noble search for truth and ideals, and N represents a misguided search for truth and ideals, Ghetsis represents a person who twists truth and ideals for their own gain. Even after getting his ass handed to him a second time in the sequels, he still shows no signs of a change of heart. As for the logistics of Team Plasmas goals, I think it’s more of a sound plan than you’d think. The point of taking over the Pokémon League wasn’t because the Champion has any authority, but more so to show that no one will be strong enough to stop them. In lore, it’s stated that Reshiram and Zekrom have enough power to completely destroy the region. If the champion isn’t strong enough to defeat the legendary dragon, than no one is. Even if others tried to resist, it’s shown in one of the rooms in N’s Castle that Team Plasma had planned to hack into the PC storage system to release all of the Pokémon in them. While the player can defeat N without using Reshiram or Zekrom, I think it’s fair to say that canonically, the only thing that could defeat the dragon was its counterpart. Had the player failed, no one would be able to challenge N, and they would be forced to release their Pokémon. Although very subjective, I also disagree when it comes to Unova being a badly designed region, at least from a lore perspective. The medieval inspirations of the region make sense since the heritage of America was primarily European, especially around the time of the founding. While the ancient kings do contradict American history in the more direct sense, it stays true to the ethos of the founding since the monarchy of Unova nearly destroyed the region due to the infighting of the twin heroes. Unova, like America, was founded on the principle that people persecuting each other over their beliefs only leads to destruction. The first settlers of America tried to escape persecution from the monarchy and the church over their religious beliefs. Similarly, Team Plasma fights and persecutes those who go against their beliefs, and so they are themed around monarchy. Even if you think the medieval aesthetic is out of place in the region, I don’t think it’s any worse that Team Aqua being based on pirates despite being set in a Japanese region. I could go into the criticisms of the gameplay, graphics, and music, but I’ve ranted long enough. While Gen IV is my favorite, I think you can guess that I view Gen V as the best games in the series in a more objective sense. I disagree with a lot of the points raised in the video, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, and I respect your opinion.

[@zjzr08]

While I do agree they probably didn't meant for it to be question for the player to ask about Pokemon subversion morality, I would think it's such an elephant in the room that I felt it should've been one of those more obvious answers. Sure we may see Pokemon being friendly with thei trainers, but how do we know it's in their own volition? Like maybe show a Pokemon defending their trainer without being told. That being said B2W2 did do a better job showing the two sides of Team Plasma but I felt it should've been more prominent here, maybe have Team Plasma members that help you (like maybe they heal you after battle like the Nurses and makes you question them as a whole too). Also I get the region may be closer to the post-colonial history of America but they really hammered how close it is to New York and being far from Japan that you can't blame people being confused why it doesn't match that general history somehow, seeing how many do try to equate the Pokemon world to the real world.

[@theroyalwraith]

@@zjzr08 Fair point. All of the examples I can think of Team Plasma showing kindness are within N’s Castle. There is a grunt that will heal you, and one that will give you Pokeballs if you’ve run out. There’s another grunt who talks about a Pokémon he released coming back to him, and N’s sisters Antheia and Concordia are kind towards you as well. It’s almost like they realized they made Team Plasma a little too evil and added more examples of them being kind right at the end. Like I said, the region design is a more subjective thing. The problem with Unova is that America is such a relatively new country that there isn’t much history to draw upon for inspiration. I guess they could have work touched upon native history, but that probably would have clashed a bit too much with Unova’s modern, urban aesthetic. It’s sort of a lose lose when it comes to designing an American region. I think they did a good job given the circumstances, but I can see why people would think it’s a bit jarring. However, for me I like Unova because it’s so visually striking, and I think the creative liberties they took paid off.

[@zjzr08]

@@theroyalwraith I mean the royal ruins and things like Resort Ruins clash with the modern aesthetic, not sure how a more Native American background that's less royal and more federal (which their system was I think, maybe have different factions).

[@juandiegotorres9632]

The only problem i have with the graphics are the back sprites. I agree the backgrounds could look better like in pokestars in black and white 2. Though with the sprites particularly in triple battles it could have made it lag severely but in single battles it should have been fine. Using 3d models would have been kinda ugly on DS also they would look more lifeless like the modern models have looked.

[@janistransbian]

eelektross looked like the doomsday machine in star trek:the original series.

[@alexkumaratunga2834]

Yeah, even when I played the post game, I was confused as to why all the Pokémon in the battles were around level 60. It wasn't that bad, though, since most of the battles were pre evolution Pokémon, from my memory.

[@jaretco6423]

Also unlike Gen. 2 & 4 where gaining experience points & leveling up Pokemons are slow, this one actually makes up for it as u gain alot more experience points and leveling up Pokemons faster and combined with Lucky Egg, Audino or whatever that can double or triple experience, it makes the battles way more balanced and not as an slog than the others.

[@RBLPlayZ]

Even though gen 5 is my all time favourite due to it being my first Pokémon game, this video was very good playing both sides of the argument to even make me consider it’s flaws, I’ve watched this channel throughout 2020 and 2021 and I must say your content is probably my favourite out of KZbin Pokémon

[@RBLPlayZ]

@@SirDibble25 why are u still talking about the subject it’s been like a month

[@tentrilliconlp7748]

In my opinion these games and its sequels are the best Pokémon games yet, but I sincerely hope that Legends Arceus will be better or at least as good.

[@lthefifteenth661]

I remember saying how I thought BW were okay, but everyone thought I was full of shit when I was saying how amazing BW2 is.

[@dahuntre]

Now that you mention it, there are more non-American aspects to Unova than I thought about. - more diversity - the only nonwhite generic trainers are Dancers; would’ve been nice to have more, like Hispanic NPCs - immigrant culture - its such a new country with a mixed pot culture rather than a long-established culture developed over centuries upon centuries, so what if there were more NPCs from other pokemon regions? Or towns who are mostly immigrants from other regions? I know these changes probably won’t be done by game freak, but a fan game could include these aspects. I’m no game builder but it would be fun to tackle so I might try it on a small scale

[@zjzr08]

Also why was there Japanese and French based legendary trios, I mean IMO the Lake Trio felt more "American" than them.

[@MangaBear]

If done they aloa with more diverse characters than it's possible I mean look at gen 6-8 you technically have more brown, dark , fair skin characters appearing alot now

[@leanbeast1105]

@@zjzr08 The tao trio is based on the yin and yang. It's chinese not japanese.

[@zjzr08]

@@leanbeast1105 I'm talking about the Forces of Nature and the Swords of Justice.

[@leanbeast1105]

@@zjzr08 ohk my bad

[@_b7090]

I really couldn't disagree more with your reasoning, most of the things you claimed detract from the game I believe to be its biggest strengths. Aesthetically it's undeniably the best game in the series, hands down, locals are more diverse, intricate and striking. Your problem with the ui are purely subjective as I entirely prefer them for the exact reason you dislike them, but objectively it has a more coherent look than the sinnoh games, with literally random color and ugly box shapes, which could literally have been a leftover from a beta menu. The cut Pokedex was a good choice because it actually makes you fully appreciate the new Pokemon while making the region feel fresh and unique, unlike other games where the mons are just put together with little rhyme and reason; I think this could be less fun on repeat playthroughs, but honestly that's what the sequels are there for, and if 151 mons were enough for gen 1 and 4, it's gonna fine here. The story, while not being a masterpiece, will always be miles above every other pokemon game because it does what all other past and future games will refuse to do, it asks questions (even if it answers them half-assedly) but most importantly because it has real characters. Writing is not just what happens in the plot, it is also characterization, bw characters feel like actual human beings with motivations and a personality instead of one note meat puppets that do whatever is either 1:their one gimmick or 2: necessary for the plot. Here gym leaders actually take part in the plot, instead of just being a character design + 2 lines of dialogue. I can't remember a single character that had significant character arcs from any other game in the series at the moment. Linearity also isn't a problem at all, in my opinion, since the routes are so different from each other while still being intricate and full of extra paths to explore. I personally don't mind it because for the most part all Pokemon games have a set order in which you explore the world, making you zigzag around while you follow such order doesn't make the game less linear. BW truly utilizes its map to the fullest extent so the proglem with linearity don't amount to much. I could say more but this comment is already too long. Fun thing is I'm not even nostalgic for gen 5 because I played it in 2020-2021, I originally wasn't interested because I disliked the pokemon designs

[@zjzr08]

I'm not sure how the color coded menus in DPPt is objectively bad, like it's colorful and varied, unlike say IMO the plain aesthetic of Gen 5 at times, even if it does the job, and much better than how SwSh did its UI design.

[@progameroshawott9675]

Team Plasma is comically evil? Did we play the same game?

[@zjzr08]

From even those who liked the game, yes they are, as they reveal their true intentions pretty easily when you meet them, so it's not have not taken them seriously, and just point and laugh on those who believe them (although there's only a few in the game).

[@cregjones7337]

I think the gen 5 games are still the best looking games in the series

[@eazybuxafew]

So many Michael Jackson references in the first 15 mins. I love it!

[@sashizakura9124]

Black was my first Pokemon game ever, at 37 years old. I don't know what possessed me to go ahead and try it, but hype for it was through the roof, so I thought I'd give it a try. Probably not surprising, nostalgia hitting the way it does, that it's still my favorite of all so far, followed by Heart Gold, which I tried immediately after finishing Black. I was definitely hooked by then! I'm thinking of revisiting both Black and White 2, especially now with Nintendo's paltry offerings for the coming holiday season.

[@zjzr08]

Not a Mario fan, I mean, there's Super Mario RPG and Super Mario Bros Wonder coming up.

[@Skypro560]

Gen 5 graphics are the best

[@Rex13013]

3:45 Before I go into your video completely I just want to to say that it sucks being lumped with everyone, I've always loved these games gen 2 and 5 have always been my favorites from their start and while I haven't watch your entire video yet your opening statement makes it seem like people are liking the game too much when that isn't the case when I still find a lot of people hating on the gen 5 designs. Plus it's just my favorite gen along with 2 and some of my favorite games, not perfect tho. Most of my favorite pokemon are from gen 5 like enough to fill a top 15 (except for my #1 which is from gen 6) even my favorite legendary is from gen 5 which is why I think the gen 5 pokedex is the best imo, I like N and Colress not team plasma tho, I like the region and it have some of my favorite pieces of music in a pokemon game like dragonspiral tower or route 10 (still 2nd to gen 2 entire ost imo), plus I have things I don't like about it like the some pokemon evolving way too late and things like that. I could go on but I think I've proven my point, I haven't really changed my mind on anything I've always liked and always will like these games, the reason I've seen a lot of people hating on the game still is because I like what I like doesn't matter if people hate it so everytime I talk about how I like it a lot of people come and tell me that I'm wrong. Anyways I'll watch your video now

[@bigroddempsey4082]

You don't have to justify all of this lmao..

[@perritoshido5845]

Ikr, I see people nowadays saying “I liKEd ThEm sInCe tHeY cAMe oUT”, like ok, you want a medal or something? This is the Pokémon fandom, you always get lumped somewhere you will not feel right, but people feel like it’s a necessity to point out they are special case, as if that made them more of a fan or something

[@Rex13013]

@@perritoshido5845 You two make no sense, "You always gonna be lumped somewhere you don't feel right" yes I know which is why said all of this, I don't like being lump with stuff I know I'm not part of, which is why I always speak my mind completely. "But people feel like it's a necessity to point out how special they're" lol what? Which is it bro? It can't be both. I'm not a special case nor do I want to be, I just really don't like people who change their opinion based on what the majority thinks which is why I almost always exactly what I think, is not that deep. I like speaking my mind so I did, this a comment section ain't it? As for the people who have said the same thing, um I'm not them so idk man, we're not a monolith nor a hive mind.

[@Rex13013]

@@bigroddempsey4082 "You always gonna be lumped somewhere you don't feel right"

[@perritoshido5845]

@@Rex13013 I get what you mean, but it’s annoying because that is what everyone says specifically. It just sounds like you’re trying to either forcefully gain the sympathy or some sort of respect from others showing you where an “original” fan of gen 5. I get it, we all get put in grupos we don’t like, but the people that say they liked gen 5 since it first came out sound like that friend/classmate/coworker that always says they’re tired/that their workload sucks every single day to generate sympathy from others. Like a few times is fine, but when you repeat that phrase for half a decade it’s starts to get really tiring

[@justingehrke6857]

This video is thorough, well explained and well editted video as well. An excellent review!!! Keep up the amazing content!!!

[@leargamma4912]

It wasn't a review. Most of it was a list of nitpicks or things he didn't understand because he's Korean.

[@Caydiem]

If you emulate the game you'll notice the art-direction and pixel-art coupled with the 3d-environments hold up exceedingly well, so I don't get your gripes about the graphics at all. Only judging them based on the battle-screen is just petty. Plus they didn't look even half as bad on the smaller DS-screen like you pretend they did. "Unova feels cold and urban for some reason" That's because the setting was deliberately chosen to be urban. The gameplay up until the dreamyard wasn't 3-4 hours either. It's literally the first half hour, unless you fuck around grinding for some reason. The lack of a diverse Pokemon-roster on trainers isn't due to the fact that the game only has 151 new Pokemon until post-game, it's because Gamefreak is lazy (always has been with the trainer-rosters for some reason) and only puts 1-2 different Pokemon on most of them, with the "bad guy organization" always being the worst in terms of diversity. This has been the case since gen1 and it's not gonna change unless you play hacks, which actually care about which trainers have which and how many Pokemon. Just throwing in 500+ new Pokemon wouldn't solve the problem. I'd actually appreciate it more if they stopped introducing so many new Pokemon in every new game and instead chose to mix them up and only go with a small roster of new ones instead. Your reason to dislike seasons doesn't make sense either. I'd understand if you said they could've used the resources on other things instead but just boiling it down to "I don't like it because I'm not gonna play the game until next season" is just dumb. It does give the game its own charm and showcases that GF actually did care for the game and its presentation. Despite this wall of text I'm actually not even that hardcore of a Pokemon fan, but having recently played through Black myself I just had to point out my own thoughts on your points.

[@zjzr08]

On the part of the "cold and urban" -- while it is deliberate there could've been ways to enhance it's liveliness like how I feel cities like Jubliife City did with its city. I think Castelia City when I played B2W2 felt too grey for some reason, when New York has some variety of colors with its buildings that just high rises IMO. I felt the "Central Park" could've been a lot bigger and not juts one screen too (maybe make similar size to previous Pokemon forests before). I think the 151 limit was still an issue as in DDPt they tried to add unique species of every NPC in the main game as that's the requirement for unlocking the National Dex there which means for Platinum all 210 has some spotlight. XY meanwhile which had a 450+ Regional Dex barely have duplicating Pokemon with its NPCs.

[@590488]

BW were the first games that really pushed the handholding to the extreme. When XY came out I preferred that game because they didn't stop you every time you stepped on a new route like BW. (Also the thing that pissed me off the most about gen 5 was they didn't auto level you guys for online battle. In hgss they auto leveled you to 100 and in xy they raised you to level 50 for online battles)

[@Nefaliss]

Pretty decent video. I disagree with most of your points and many really felt like unnecessary nit picks but you also did brought up some good opinions that I also share: - Battle Subway should have been better. They could have added Battle Factory Style Battles instead of Multi Battles and it would have been enough for me. - Post Game is indeed lacking. I don't think the super high level pokemon is all THAT bad since it makes the battles more challenging and your pokemon make up for it by having EVs, while other trainers don't have such. You also at least get to fight 2 champions in Alder and Cynthia but overall, the post game need more and good for B2W2 for adding some god tier post content in theirs. - Looking back at all the initial dual game releases in each gen, and I 100% that they all suck except for Black and White. Their 3rd versions (except for Crystal) massively improved upon them. Especially Platinum. BW, despite being out-classed by B2W2 in many (but not all) ways, still stand well on their both in gameplay and story. B2W2 came about as continuations that enhanced the overall generation. I would willingly play the 1st and 2nd games but I can't say the same in returning to Ruby and Sapphire or Diamond and Pearl when Emeraldn and Platinum exist.

[@leargamma4912]

I actually prefer sapphire to emerald, mostly because I never played emerald. Is it really that much better?

[@Nefaliss]

@@leargamma4912 It literally improves on everything. It has more content through more Pokemon and the Battle Frontier, better quality of challenging gameplay, better story that brings both Magma and Aqua Teams together and the game overall looks a bit cleaner and less "blockier" than Ruby/Saphire.

[@Lexicon-ff6or]

29:41 Well actually if we consider "America" as the continent and not the country, it technically did have a king as the North American continent once belonged to England and France which were both monarchies.

[@zjzr08]

The lore was said to be native (hence the ruins) so it doesn't apply here.

[@sanjablazina2879]

I just started playing Legend of Zelda BOTW and ... Yeah. I was never much of a gamer and 95% of my playtime were pokemon games. When I loaded BOTW though ... I understood that no matter how much better and fresh, and beloved, every pokemon game is just another pokemon game. I don't mind that, but it was an interesting "revelation" to have.

[@leanbeast1105]

Yeah pokemon was never outstanding at graphics

[@E_X_I_T]

Just discovered the channel man. It’s awesome! I love that you have your own flavor to what you do. Reminds me of Radicalsoda a little, just not as whack 😂 Keep it up dude x

[@zer0name720]

Unova has no cars at all, if memory serves me right. That probably was the main thing stopping me from realising that region was based off USA (I was 12 since I last played it)

[@JOCoStudio1]

There are some on the bridge beneath you heading in to Castelia, I think. Technically more traffic than any other Pokémon game, I guess

[@zer0name720]

@JO Co You're right. I always thought it was nothing but 7.8/10 too much water below the bridge until now

[@EmeralBookwise]

Oddly enough, I think Unova and Galar should be thematically reversed. The whole knights and kings plot would fit much better in Brittan, while Pokémon Trainers being sports celebrities with every gym battle held in huge stadiums feels like more of a US thing, not to mention Dynamax fitting the US tendency to supersize everything. Other than that, I think having a seasonal cycle is great for aesthetics and immersion, much like having a day night cycle. It's just the kind of thing that makes the game feel more alive and less static. That said, I really do think things like this should mostly just be a visual change. Nothing should be exclusive to specific time of day or month of the year... although I do think it's fine if encounter rates are adjusted, with some Pokémon being common or rare accordingly, just so long as they are never entirely unavailable.

[@Rex13013]

Great video man, I disagree with a few of your nitpicks but you brought a lot good points, I also disagree with people who call it a masterpiece tbh. But good job nonetheless, I always enjoy your humor too. (35:54 also jokes on you I'm into that lol)

[@cintiavargas6617]

HEY don’t disrespect the absolute BANGER that the low hp music is

[@bandicootsauce4569]

14:46 Nah, the Battle Tower is a poor man's version of the Battle Tower. At least the Battle Subway has a gimmick going for it, even if that gimmick is purely aesthetic.

[@WafflesX3XD]

i loved gen five when it released ^_^ to be fair, i was like 8 or 9, but boy did i draw a lot of crappy fanart of oshawott and snivy. even though gen 4 remains my favourite, gen 5 is super rad, and even if i disagree with some of your points, you made some really interesting ones too! great video :o

[@sv2670]

The intro for this video si a fucking masterpiece. You deserve to be yo there with the best my dude.

[@solarrrrrrrr]

Gen 5 is where I GOT into Pokémon (Well, the anime, not the game). When I saw the games tho, I LOVED them, I loved the Pokémon, the characters, the music, EVERYTHING. Gen 5, for me, will always be the best gen. Nothing will ever come close to it now

[@zjzr08]

I kinda feel sad that your first exposure in the Pokemon animé is BW...a pretty frustrating sub-series to watch IMO.

[@solarrrrrrrr]

@@zjzr08 Yeah tbh, it IS my guilty pleasure, but looking back, I wish I knew about the games first

[@UncannyEXP]

Boy I've never agreed and disagreed with so many of your points in a video but hey, it was a good one still. Gen 5 was and will always be the last good one in my and many other's eyes, but it's abundance of praise is really only because it was a good Pokémon game that got undeserved hate when it released. I played it just before XY came out and liked it enough, and I've yet to play BW2 to see if that one is better.

[@nascour5991]

I didn't mind the Pokemon limit personally, because unlike diamond and pearl there weren't tons of new Pokemon not available until super lategame or postgame. Plus there was a lot more variety then diamond and pearl, though honestly it could've made the national Dex and non unova Pokemon available after the 8th gym like Oras that'd be cool too. I don't disagree with team plasma taking Pokemon away either their goal is to seperate Pokemon from people that's why they're stealing they only use them to fight when they have too. The twist villain ghetsis plottwist is really dumb too I agree. Another thing I really don't think that the postgame isn't that great there's a lot to do, the battle test, battle subway, catching the rest of the legendaries, finding the seven sages, east unova, white forest/black city, fighting cheren for the final time, rematching the Pokemon league, fighting Cynthia, diving to find treasure in the ruins (which I'll admit is kinda boring but it's there). There's even a few things in a post post game like battling bianca in juniper's lab. The level jump with the battles in postgame being 60-65 is dumb though I'll totally agree.

[@brunolike8631]

I need to say, the music in the overworld of Unova is the best one... And i hope that you make an video like that to DP becouse i like fire on the comments

[@maccross]

I really hope that this video helps B2W2 get the love it deserves

[@EdgardoJCruz-dk5kv]

Pretty sure the opening battle PokeBall scroll soundeffects were the previous games as well. Not exact, but they were there. In fact certain official battle remixes like STEVEN STONE remix on the RS CD, or some of the rearrangements of Lance/Red theme include it. Some find it iconic for those moments or series as a whole.