Pokemon Black & White were the games that kickstarted the 5th generation of Pokemon. This was the first time since I started actively playing Pokemon that a whole new generation was released. I live in Europe and at the time my level of English was just enough to have a general sense of where I had to go in my Pokemon Diamond game. I remember me and my friends seeing the first trailer that was released for the games and completely flipping out on the playground. Every week, two or so new Pokemon would be revealed and we would wait patiently every time to see what they looked like. Sandile was far and away my early favorite of the bunch. I also remember hating Watchog lol.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that these games hold a lot of nostalgia for me. Me and my friends were all Pokemon fans already but we got into the series at different times and this would be the first time we would all be at the starting line together.

Anyway, I think it's time to stop my sob story there before it gets out of hand. On to the game

Graphics - 10/10

These games were released at the tail end of the Nintendo DS's life span and it shows. The developers made sure that the 5th generation of Pokemon was going to finish off the DS saga with a bang. It was the first time a generation released onto the same console as the previous one so they made an extra effort to make it stand out from Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. The tileset and backgrounds look amazing. Whilst still being on a 2D console, the games look like an early draft of what 3D Pokemon could look like. There was an element of depth to the game and background and they messed around with camera angles throughout the region as well. This all culminates when you leave Pinwheel Forest to head to the big Castelia City and you get to see the stunning view and angles as you cross Skyarrow Bridge. Not to mention the cars that drive past you! Cars in Pokemon had been some kind of myth ever since the Mew truck became as widespread of a rumor as it did. To finally see them for real was a special moment.

A special feature for these games was the seasons mechanic. Every month the current season would cycle and new areas would become available to you in the overworld. I loved traveling through the region and seeing the different landscapes in all 4 seasons.

The game also excels in other places when it comes to graphics. First of all, the new Pokemon dex looks fantastic. I know it's the cool thing to do on the internet to hate on gen 5's designs because of the ice cream cone and the trash bag, but honestly I find these Pokemon kind of charming. And you can't be hating on Garbodor when some of generation 1's designs are among the laziest in the franchise (Seel, anyone?). People neglect to talk about the Scolipedes, the Golurks, the Hydreigons! This generation brought not only the single biggest batch of new Pokemon, but also one of the best.

We see another big change in battles. Instead of the usual still sprite to represent a Pokemon (though they had started giving them a few frames of animation as they enter the field already), this game was the first to make Pokemon fully moving and animated in battles. Granted, it was still a loop of sprites, but it looked clean and still fit the general look Pokemon had always had. This was the last generation to still have sprites instead of models, and I honestly miss it. Sure, some of the new models look nice, but so many Pokemon look lifeless in recent generations. Gen 5 is the sweetspot for me and my personal favorite aesthetic.

Sound - 10/10

Oh. My. God. The soundtrack in this game is easily the best in the series. Banger after bop after banger. The instrumental choices were so smart and work so well to go with the look of the region. They also added a bunch of fun NPC's around the map that would reveal secret arrangements of the background music in that location when you talk to them. My favorite was the accordion guy in Nacrene City. I used to play accordion and I loved hearing my instrument in the game.

Some of my personal highlights include Driftveil City, the Gym theme, Gear Station, Cedric Juniper's theme, route 10, and the credits theme. SO SO SO GOOD. Would highly recommend checking out the OST.

Addictive - 7/10

This game does have its flaws, and I'd say this is one of them. The region is very linear and I always felt like if I played too much, I'd blaze through the game too quickly. The fact that they decided to make the old Pokemon only available during the post game also meant that people who wanted to use some of their favorites would either have to transfer them into the game or wait until they beat the main storyline.

Story - 10/10

And right back to the upsides. Pokemon has always been a little weird about the story of their games. Initially there barely existed anything you could call a story, and when they did decide to add a story in generations 3 and 4 it was still not the main focus of the game. Pokemon had always been about collection Pokemon, taking on the league challenge, and becoming champion. Any story past that was a bonus. This game is different, however. Pokemon Black & White are the first main series Pokemon games to predominantly focus on their story. You do still take on the league challenge, of course, but it gets tied in to the main plot of the game very nicely. And now the big question awaits us. Is the story good? This is kind of an important question when you now have a game that relies on its storytelling to keep you hooked. Luckily, I can safely say that this is the best story Pokemon has ever had. Later games have tried and replicate what they did in generation 5, but with little or no success. While in those games the forced focus on a story becomes grating and cheesy, this game does it just right. There is no overbearing villain character and a bunch of lackeys, but a carefully crafted plot with fun, unique, and complex characters. Just when you think you know where it's going, you are taken for a surprise and your vision on certain characters begins to change. It all ends in an epic showdown when the truth comes to light.

There is even a little post-game continuation of the plot that you get to tackle once you've beaten the Pokemon league.

Depth - 6/10

Look, I can admit when something isn't right. The game, while amazing in many aspects, is lacking in others. First of all, the region looks great, but is very short and linear. In fact, half of it is locked until the post-game. Half of it! And it's not even necessary. Once you get access to those places it feels like they just scrapped something together last minute to fill in some space. The difference between the main game and the post game areas is glaring.

After going through a predictable pattern of route -> cave -> new gym, and repeat, and then viewing the disappointing post-game areas, there really isn't much to do. You can finish the post-game story, which is admittedly fun, but that will come to an end fairly quickly. There is no battle frontier, something which the previous two installments (Platinum & Heart Gold/Soul Silver) both had. There aren't a lot of legendaries for you to hunt, and the amount of old Pokemon you can find is kind of disappointing. I often just stop playing after the post-game storyline. I wish there was more to do.

Difficulty - 8/10

These games can be quite difficult! The first gym is infamous for being able to kick your ass if you don't prepare properly. They will always be super effective against you and if you don't choose to use the monkey given to you (understandable), you might struggle. Couple this with the fact that they changed the way experience points work, so you can't even gain a small level advantage. After a certain point you just get 1 or 2 experience from every wild Pokemon. I do like the idea of a soft level limit, but it caught me off guard the first time. If it weren't for Audinos being perfect punching bags, I'd say this game would be horrendous when it comes to grinding your Pokemon.

There's a few other boss fights as well that can get out of hand very quickly. The gym leaders in this game are a step up compared to last generation's, which is nice to see. A solid 8.

Overall

These games are fantastic. They took everything that was great about Pokemon (minus the battle frontier) and turned it into something better. I have nothing but love for generation 5. And while it might not be the popular opinion on the internet, it's a hill I'll happily fight for.