Pokémon Black and White

Did You Know?

• Sequels to Black and White, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, were released for the Nintendo DS in 2012.
• The second part of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero takes place in the Blueberry Academy, a terrarium off the coast of Unova.
• Director Junichi Masuda stated that several aspects of the series were being revamped for the new generation.

Plot

The Unova region, where Pokémon Black and White take place, is on a continent far from the earlier regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. While those regions were based on real Japanese locations, Unova draws its inspiration from New York City. Game director Junichi Masuda came up with this idea during a trip to New York for the launch of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Castelia City, the region's main metropolis, shows this influence with its huge skyscrapers and Skyarrow Bridge, a suspension bridge modeled after the Brooklyn Bridge.

Masuda also aimed to create a sense of community in Castelia's streets. Unova features large cities, a harbor, an airport, an amusement park, several bridges, and multiple mountain ranges. The region's Japanese name, Isshu, comes from words meaning that the many kinds of people and Pokémon, when seen from a distance, appear as a single kind of life. The player character, either Hilbert or Hilda, travels through Unova aiming to become a Pokémon Master.

At the start, Professor Aurea Juniper gives the player a choice of Snivy, Tepig, or Oshawott as a starter Pokémon. The player's friends, Cheren and Bianca, act as rival trainers. Cheren picks a starter with a type advantage against the player's choice, while Bianca picks one with a disadvantage. The main goal is to collect eight Gym Badges, then defeat the Elite Four and the Unova League Champion to finish the story.

Promotion and release

Pokémon Black and White were released in Japan on 18 September 2010. They were later released in Europe on 4 March 2011, in North America on 6 March 2011, and in Australia on 10 March 2011. A silhouette of a new Pokémon was shown by Junichi Masuda on the 7 February 2010 episode of Pokémon Sunday, stated to be in the film for the summer and to be identified in a future episode on 21 February. This new Pokémon was also featured in the March 2010 issue of CoroCoro Comic available on 15 February.

Since then, the Pokémon has been named "Zoroark", and it evolves from a Pokémon named "Zorua". Both were featured in the film Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl The Movie: Phantom Ruler: Zoroark. For pre-order ticket holders, an alternate-colored Raikou, Entei, or Suicune was available for transfer to their Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver games. At the theater, players would be able to download a Celebi to the same games.

These Pokémon would activate special events in Black and White involving Zoroark and Zorua respectively. On 18 April 2010, the episode of Pokémon Sunday showed game footage of a player character walking around in a 3D environment and a single screenshot depicting a battle between the player's Zoroark and an enemy Zorua. On 9 May 2010, the episode revealed silhouettes of the three starter Pokémon, later revealed to be Tsutarja, Pokabu, and Mijumaru.

Reception

Pokémon Black and White earned an 87% aggregate score on Metacritic, which translates to "generally favorable reviews." Famitsu Weekly gave the games a perfect 40 out of 40, making them the fifteenth title ever to receive that honor and the highest-rated Pokémon game in that magazine's history. Annette Gonzalez of Game Informer said the games "do a great job building upon already solid features and taking them to the next level." Jamin Smith of VideoGamer.com noted they didn't innovate as much as some might have hoped, but called them "damn fine games; the best the series has to offer."

Official Nintendo Magazine described them as "a beautiful refinement of a great series" and "the best Pokémon ever." Nintendo Power called the pair "as addictive as ever." Edge wrote that while the games don't suggest where the series should go next, "they do remind us why we'd care in the first place." IGN gave them a 9 out of 10, the highest score for any Nintendo DS Pokémon game, praising the renewed interest they brought but criticizing some new monster designs as a "weaker lineup" that was "largely an aesthetic complaint."

Jeremy Parish of Retronauts said he grew tired of the game quickly, finding it too similar to earlier entries, and argued that the hidden EV and IV mechanics aren't necessarily beneficial—though he noted they'd be great for newcomers. He compared the experience to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Final Fantasy XIII, calling them all "bad before they get good." Justin Haywald, also of Retronauts, criticized the games for releasing on a DS that already had two main Pokémon titles.

Carolyn Gudmundson of GamesRadar stated, "It may not break the Pokemon mold, but Black and White offers enough new content coupled with the series' classic, deep battle mechanics to make it endlessly playable," adding that if you could only play one game forever, this would be a wise choice.