Pokemon Black & White 2 [DS]

[MegaMan_EXE]

Well, I'm not the biggest Pokemon fan, but I did like Black and White. I'll go with Black 2. Kinda odd to see a Black 2 and White 2.

I think it's safe to asume that we expected a Grey version, but Black 2 and White 2?

Okay....

[Your Vest Friend]

All dem girls can't get enough of...erm, snakes and lizards?

Those animators are worse than me.

[Solkia]

I must admit, I was so skepticle of the original Black and White that I didn't bother getting it.

But holy shit has this game caught my interest. I haven't been this excited for a Pokemon game since Ruby and Sapphire.

Definitely getting this.

[Jetronic]

That nice animated trailer appears to have been dubbed.

Edit : Dammit, didn't know I was ninja'd, I'm so late :U

Edited August 9, 2012 by Jetronic

[Echidna Adventurer CC14]

Heh, Jason Griffith is Cheren. That's two BW gym leaders that he's voiced in anime form. Other noteworthy cast members that I noticed were Lisa Ortiz as the female BW2 trainer and Sean Schemmel as Hugh (The Rival.)

Ugh, seeing it fully dubbed like this is making me even more despressed that it's only a promotional trailer. WE WANT MOAR, NINTENDO!

[Kuzu]

So hey, remember that really sweet animated trailer that everyone loved? It's got an English language dub now.

Oh for fuck's sake Nintendo, just makes this the new Anime; you go ahead and makes this then have it dubbed, but we're supposed to be ok with the shit one your giving us, stop cockteasing.

[PSI Wind]

Good lord, I hated this place.

Also, Genesect was released today soooo

[Mega]

I'm just grateful that the dubbed trailer doesn't have the obnoxious name speak from the anime. That was one of my biggest concerns before watching it because I much prefer natural animal sounds coming from Pokémon. Or at least something that isn't pikapikapikapikapika.

Edited August 11, 2012 by Mega

[Jetronic]

Alder's grandson now has official artwork

I think it's fancy.

[\gunther]

English names for some characters (namely the protagonists) have been revealed.

Mei -> Rosa

Kyouhei -> Nate

Banjirou -> Benga

[Rinzler]

Black and White 2 review for anyone interested:

Pokémon Black and White 2 comes as something of a surprise. Not only did Game Freak buck fan expectations by announcing two new titles instead of the expected “Pokémon Gray,” it even revealed they’d be genuine sequels to the first Black and White versions and not, as we’d all assumed, a simple repackaging of them. Even more surprising is just how well B&W2 have turned out, considering their new direction, making them the most original pair of Pokémon titles since arguably Gold and Silver.

You wouldn’t be able to tell just from looking at the games, though. On the surface, B&W2 seem like any other Pokémon titles: You begin your adventure in a small town, where you and your childhood friend receive your first Pokémon from the local professor (or, in this case, the professor’s assistant). From there you’re free to explore the region of Unova, capturing other monsters, battling rival trainers, challenging the world’s eight Gym Leaders, and, eventually, becoming Pokémon League champion, all the while thwarting an evil organization’s plot for world domination--you know, the usual stuff.

Not that any of this is a bad thing; the gameplay is just as compelling now as when the series first debuted. There’s something undeniably satisfying about catching a team of monsters and raising them into an unstoppable unit, and Unova’s Pokédex has even been expanded to include some older Pokémon alongside the ones introduced in Black and White, giving you more options to take on the games’ challenges. There’s also enough depth in the battle system to keep each rival encounter fun and engaging, ensuring your quest will never devolving into a monotonous grind.

Where B&W2 really differ from previous games in the series is their storyline. The pair pick up roughly two years after the events of the first Black and White. N, the enigmatic “king” of Team Plasma, has left Unova with either Reshiram or Zekrom, depending on which version of the game you choose, and in his absence, the team has splintered into two rival factions: one which wishes to atone for its misdeeds and reunite people with their stolen Pokémon, the other which looks to liberate them from their captors. It’s an engaging tale, particularly for a Pokémon game, and you’ll want to stick with it to the end to see how it all plays out.

In addition to some other welcome nods to the previous games, B&W2 bring in a handful of new features to round out the experience. Among the first you’ll notice is the inclusion of achievements, which are doled out in the form of medals each time you complete a certain task (like saving a certain number of times, for instance). Also new is the Pokémon World Tournament, a stadium in which you can battle Gym Leaders from all over the Poké-globe, including old favorites like Misty and Lt. Surge. And then there’s Join Avenue, a unique shopping mall that you can populate with other players you’ve encountered, be it through Wi-Fi or tag mode. Each of these features adds a nice layer of replayability to the games, giving you plenty to see and do after you’ve conquered the Pokémon League and finished the main quest.

Unfortunately, there are a few areas where B&W2 stumble. While the titles are certainly a lot of fun, there’s very little in B&W2 to attract new players to the series, which is especially true considering they’re a continuation of the previous Black and White versions. To their credit, the pair do an adequate job of easing newcomers into the gameplay, but players will only get the most out of the experience if they’ve played either of the preceding games, making B&W2 a poor starting point for the uninitiated. The setting may also make the adventure a bit too familiar for returning fans, as you’ll be exploring many of the same towns and battling many of the same trainers as in the previous titles.

Still, these are minor complaints when taken with the games’ strengths. B&W2 are yet another fine pair of entries in the Pokémon series, and they serve as a fitting sendoff for the Nintendo DS. Rather than being a mere retread of the first Black and White versions (as each “tertiary” version before them was), B&W2 offers up an entirely new adventure through the Unova region, continuing the storyline of their predecessors while introducing new features and locations of their own. They still do too little to attract non-fans to the series, but for the vast crowd who have already been taken in by its charms, B&W2 will be yet another excuse to catch ‘em all.

http://www.gamesradar.com/pokemon-black-white-2-review/

I find it interesting how the reviewer says that it might turn of newcomers. The story does seem more sequel like though.

[Rinzler]

Guess not many people are interested in the game after all. Hmm:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/29/early-thoughts-on-pokemon-black-2white-2

Early Thoughts on Pokémon Black 2/White 2

A Whole New Game

As you likely already know, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 are not your standard third entry. In fact, this new set of games presents a brand new adventure in the Unova region, with new characters, new features and new challenges to overcome. A direct sequel to Black and White, the games continue the story of what happened with N and Team Plasma. From what I’ve played - which is quite a lot - the developers have done an amazing job of setting these games apart from the originals. While you’re in the same region, it still manages to feel like a fresh, new adventure, and the plethora of new features and activities (more on those in a minute) really build upon the solid foundation of Black and White.

It also helps that you start in a completely different part of Unova this time, so your journey unfolds very differently from that of the hero in Black/White. Along the way you visit several brand new areas, and many of the towns returning from the first games have undergone significant changes, which is especially cool for those who played through the first adventure. The Pokédex is also huge this time, with hundreds of Pokémon from Unova and regions beyond to catch and befriend. Wild Eevee, anyone? Yes, please.

So Much Content

Simply put, this game has a ton of content. To start, there’s the main adventure - collect the gym badges, beat the Elite 4, stop the bad guys and so on. Then there are also the extra activities from Pokémon Black/White, like the Battle Subway, Pokémon Musicals, the Pokémon Global Link, etc. On top of all this, the game also has even more for aspiring Pokémon Masters to spend their time on, like PokéStar Studios (where you can make short movies of your Pokémon), the Pokémon World Tournament (where you can battle gym leaders, Elite 4 members and Pokémon Champions from the old games), the Entralink (which has been significantly updated from the original to include tons of missions for you and your friends to complete), and numerous medals to collect and other side quests you can choose to seek out and complete. Throw in filling up your Pokédex, and you’ve got dozens of hours’ worth of gameplay here.

While Black 2 and White 2 are technically this generation’s “third entry,” so far they offer the same amount of new content (or more) that you might expect from the first entry in a brand new Pokémon generation - and I haven’t even finished the game. In fact, they’re so plentiful, they’ll likely make it difficult to go back to standard third entries in the future.

Continuing the Story

Like all Pokémon games, Black 2 and White 2 are structured in such a way that anyone can jump right in, whether or not they’ve ever thrown a Poké Ball in their life. But the cool thing about BW2 is that it offers extra perks for people who’ve played the original games. Not only does having an old Black/White save file mean you’ll be able to appreciate seeing Cheren as a gym leader and learning what became of Team Plasma, but it also allows you to use the game’s Memory Link feature.

Via Memory Link, players who beat the original game can unlock special vignettes which shed light on what took place in the two years between Black/White and Black 2/White 2 - including what became of the mysterious N. As someone who loved the story and characters in the original games, I’m really enjoying seeing what happened to this region and the people within - and I’m excited to see how it all concludes.

Pokémon Dream Radar

I’m not at liberty to discuss this 3DS download in too much detail, but I thought it was worth noting that I’m actually having a lot more fun with it than I thought I would. Having an AR shooter that lets me capture Pokémon and find items in the real world, then transfer them into my game, is a cool concept, and in practice it’s actually really fun. No, this isn’t technically a part of the Black 2/White 2 experience, but since it’s additional content meant to supplement the titles for 3DS owners, it’s cool that it’s not just a throwaway capitalizing on the Pokémon name.

The bolded part sounds really interesting. Maybe we'll see what happens to Alder in this game.

Edited October 3, 2012 by Starscream's Brigade

[Kuzu]

I have a lot to say about the game, but due spoiler, I've been quiet.

[ArtFenix]

The game comes out on October 12th, just on my birthdsy)). I'm thinking about buyng it. Have been playing White since the end of August. I think Generation V is a bit too short (the world is kinda smaller than that of Hoenn or Sinnoh) and the endgame content is short a well. But I still like the game a lot. I'm not a fan of pokemon, but when back in 2004 I started playing ruby on an emulator, I played pretty much every next game making a two-year pause before playing them again (pokemon white).

SO. Is Black 2/ White 2 worth buying? How much is the game better than the original? I've read some reviews but I'd like to ask you guys, especially those who played the japanese version already.

[Kuzu]

I'll try to say as much without spoilers, but it's a fairly worthy sequel, maybe not on par with Gold/Silver but still damn good. Unova doesn't feel as empty in the post-game, and there's still plenty to do, and having Pokemon from the previous regions definitely makes it the job easier. The game is also surprisingly hard, as opposed to trainers using a lot of weak pokemon, some(and by some I mean quite a few) will use strong one, I actually had to grind a bit to actually circumvent this. Aesthetically, the game beautiful and really pushes the DS, and it's definitely a step above the original Black/White.

[Rinzler]

Does the story in BW have any meaningful impact in the sequel? Because that's one of the things I was curious about.

[Kuzu]

Yes, yes it does.

[Rinzler]

Yes, yes it does.

:)Does it effect the gameplay or just story?

[-Robin-]

It will require you to pay more attention to the Pokemon you find in the wild, and can unlock bonus battles if BW1 is synced up with them, but beyond that, it's all story-related.

[Sonictrainer]

Here's some HD art of "Benga", who is Alder's Grandson

[-Robin-]

That Dakim look-a-like.

I suspect secret blood relations. That, or Dakim is a 40 year old Benga.

[Conando]

Figure I should tell people what he does, though I'll spoiler it.

If you beat him in a battle, he gives you a Shiny Gible or Dratini depending on the version. Gible for Black 2 and Dratini for White 2.

[\gunther]

looks like they changed Roxie's gym theme.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/xxteargodxx/451B43BF-D532-4CF5-9C96-E8D3FC23311E-236-0000000647D67999.mp4

It's still stupidly catchy, and in the grand scheme of things, isn't a big deal, but I wouldn't have expected them to bother changing it (especially since BW1 had an entirely Japanese song in the game).

[buba]

looks like they changed Roxie's gym theme.

http://img.photobuck...00647D67999.mp4

It's still stupidly catchy, and in the grand scheme of things, isn't a big deal, but I wouldn't have expected them to bother changing it (especially since BW1 had an entirely Japanese song in the game).

What are they saying? Sometimes it sounds like Dougar, other Pokémon or even Coconuts.

[Conando]

They're saying Pokemon in the English version. In Japan it was Dogars (Koffing).