The struggle for me to understand this series has been unreal. I have a myriad of things that turn me off from Pokemon, just as a franchise, that is the reason why I’ve only finished a handful of the games despite enjoying a lot of qualities about them. My main issues come from pacing and gameplay, I like JRPGs but Pokemon often feels too slow for my liking and I prefer having multiple party members out at once in my turn based games compared to being 1v1s where you swap your party out. Factor in added frustrations because of my impatience regarding level curves, exp distribution, finding which mons I want etc. and it’s a recipe for something that I can’t enjoy. But, oddly enough, I don’t try giving up on it, because I want to understand. I really do.
Out of the games in the series I played prior to this, the original Black and White was my favorite. Not just because of the story, but the pacing and linear progression made it more consistently engaging for me, and the very clearly western inspired region of Unova hit close to home. Tie that with a fantastic OST, character designs, and risky design decisions like the pokemon distribution being solely new mons during the story it was the one game that I could say I genuinely liked as a complete package.
So, clearly, the next step would be to play the sequels. And that’s correct! But this was at a time before I knew how to emulate games, and ALSO the time where this game was artificially inflated to a 100+ USD value and uh… Well yeah I didn’t get an opportunity to even try it. After getting access to emulation tools I’ve sampled this game a handful of times here or there, but out of nowhere earlier this year I finally pulled together the energy to just sit down and finish this damn game for once, because I knew I would like it.
And like it I did. Shockingly even more than I expected. BW2 pulls everything I liked about the first game and amplifies it to a crazy level. The presentation is absolutely INSANE, with all the added trainer animations, flashier UI, and drop dead amazing soundtrack. BW1 already looked great but this game makes it look like a beta by comparison. Even the character designs in this entry are an upgrade, alongside my absolute favorite art style in the whole series. Rosa’s design is still up there for me as a character design I’d put as one of my favorites in general, it strikes the right balance of colorful, cute, flashy, but practical. Nate is also amazing with his stupid Pineapple cut lmao. I think Pokemon fans are overly negative for some absurd reason but I cannot entirely blame them for being harsh on the presentation of more recent entries because of the bar set by this game.
Story was also a major draw of BW1 and… I think it’s still pretty good here! BW2’s story does something only a sequel can do. The schism between old and new members of Team Plasma is such a unique facet of the story here. Those who live in regret because they truly believed they were helping the world, vs those who still side with Ghetsis solely because they desire world domination. Hugh is regarded as a weaker side to the story, and I do agree on that. Even so, I think the intent behind his inclusion is really interesting, and opens up an odd thread regarding the use of Poke Balls as a concept, which… the game oddly drops immediately after its brought up? I’m not sure why, though. Personally the most disappointing aspect of the story to me is that we are never given a followup on what happened to Hilbert/Hilda in this game. They just sorta… disappear which is a letdown. Not even as some postgame superboss like Red from G/S/C… Oh well. It honestly would’ve been cool if they served a role in the story similar to Vent/Aile in Mega Man ZX Advent, but no use mulling over it. Overall I don’t understand why this game’s story gets so much flack. I’ve seen it criticized as being “just another pokemon story” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Structurally, maybe, but many things it touches upon are rarely a thing in these games.
Also I need to highlight the density of content this game offers. Not only do you get so much to do in the main story, but beating the campaign is just the beginning. Pokemon World Tournament is a HUGE loving tribute to the first four generations of the series, having battles against every gym leader and champion from those games alongside full remixes and reanimated sprites. The pokemon distribution in this series is among the absolute best, giving you access to plenty of fan favorites from the older games combined with Unova’s already great new original monsters. I was constantly switching out my team because there’s so many great ones to pick from! This game also introduced wild Eevees which should’ve been a thing since the beginning, but I’m glad it’s finally here! It’s just so much fun.
Maybe the rating I gave is a tad exaggerated. Just maybe. But I also really needed this game. There’s so many things I could still write about, like how Iris is handled (so proud of u :)) or the insanity of Colress’ battle theme, or how much I adore Pokestar Studios and how it finally breathes personality into the protagonists. Regardless of my opinions on whatever Pokemon games I try after this one… Man, I’m just so glad I finally found one of these games (alongside the original Black and White) that I can say I fully understand.

It's Unova and Pokémon Black but like.... even better. The world is expanded upon with more areas, more Pokémon, and a big post game addition.

The plot continues after the aftermath of Black/White without dropping down in tone or babifying it for the player. There is so much content jam packed into this game from beginning to end, something we don't see anymore.

Gen. 5 art still reigns supreme and is still the best of the entire series. The music goes hard. These games are GOATED. And holy shit!! You can get Lickitung so early in this game. I could have 6 of them if I wanted.

Please do not make 3D remakes of this game, I will turn you into applesauce.

I never got the chance to play Pokemon Black 2 Version when it came out in 2012; I was much too preoccupied with playing the first Generation 5 games, as well as catching as many Pokemon as I could to transfer to the Generation 6 games when they released. Unfortunately for my wallet and I, fate played a dastardly trick and the games shot up to prohibitively expensive prices. Well, years later in December 2023, I emerged from a local game store 130 dollars lighter and with a legit Black 2 cartridge. I could finally put all the praise I heard about this game to the test. Well, was it a good Pokemon game?

Hell yes! Let’s get down to it!

(PS: Like my Pokemon Omega Ruby review, I won’t be reviewing features added to the Generation 5 games overall, just what Black 2 changed or added from it’s predecessor.)

Pros:

- I think I’ll start this review with changes to the map and region. B2 and W2 (White 2) were the “first” sequels to a Pokemon game (Gold and Silver were sequels, but not in the same way), and as such, many locations have been added or changed to reflect the passage of time. All new cities and Gyms have popped up, like in Aspertia or Humilau; new areas have been built or become accessible, like the Castelia Sewers and Strange; and many locations have been changed—Route 4 has finished construction, Relic Castle has been filled with sand, Victory Road has suffered a cave-in and now has a completely different layout…there’s a lot. It is frankly INSANE how many new areas there are to explore and it’s so cool to see that many changes have in-universe explanations, which makes the region feel so dynamic and lifelike—the most out of any Pokemon region. It truly felt like a new game.

- I could gush about the visuals of these areas for a long time. Marine Tube has changing 3D imagery based on the time of day, where you can see different marine life swimming by. Castelia Sewers connect Castelia all the way to Driftveil via the underground Relic Passage. The Strange House’s furniture changes every time you change rooms, letting your progress further into the building. And of course, the elephants in the room are Pokestar Studios and the Pokemon World Tournament, which I’ll discuss later. It’s all just so cool.

- There’s also a lot of gameplay-related changes that add some fun mechanics. The best change is undoubtedly the addition of non-Unova Pokemon to the main game, which was a large criticism of Black and White 1 and is more than welcome. The Pokedex now has the habitat list, which gives you a look at what Pokemon live in an area and if you’ve caught them—for once, the Pokedex is actually useful as a source of information! The XTranscivere isn’t just a voice chat machine; you can actually use it to learn what Abilities do and how to evolve certain Pokemon. And we’ve got the Medal Rally! By god, Pokemon has achievements now, and some of them are absolutely unhinged (beat the Pokemon League with Pokemon of only one type??? Get 1,000,000 experience in one day?!) All amazing changes that were sorely needed.

- We’ve also got a new “gamemode” in Pokestar Studios, which tasks you with following a movie script with your Pokemon. It plays almost like a puzzle game, where you’re given a Pokemon with certain moves and abilities and tasked with achieving a goal, like knocking out one Pokemon every turn, and it’s up to you to figure out how to do that in the timetable you’re given. And of course, who could forget the Pokemon World Tournament, which pits you against Gym leaders and Champions from past games in battles for BP, and with new ways of battling to boot with Rental Tournaments (battle with preset Pokemon) and Mix Tournaments (you and your opponent swap a Pokemon with each other). Absolutely puts the Battle Subway to shame. Not even CLOSE to being as cool as the PWT.

- Keeping with making the game feel like a true sequel with a dynamic world, returning characters reflect on their past experiences, and the previous protagonist’s impact can be seen in the world. NPCs you could interact with in the previous game comment on their interactions with that protagonist, Victini is absent from Victory Garden, Ghetsis mentions being bested by a Trainer two years earlier, and when you visit the home of the previous protagonist in Nuvema Town, the woman living there thinks your her child at first, which is actually really sad. I know that sequels referencing past events are kinda their whole thing, but it is an exceptional instance for Pokemon, so I feel compelled to praise it. Oh well.

- The central characters of the story also showcase the impact of the past game’s events through their development. Bianca went through with her reflection on battling not being as fun for her, and now she works with the Pokemon professor. Cheren has continued to hone his battling craft, and now heads a Gym. N, who comes in near the end of the game, has reformed a sect of Team Plasma and resolved himself to search for the protagonist in order to thank them for the impact they had on his life. I might be giving this game too much credit, since Pokemon games are usually allergic to character building except in rare instances like this, but whatever.

- I also just want to take a second to praise the visuals of this game. I truly believe Generation 5’s games were the peak of Pokemon graphics—they combined DS-era 3D overworld graphics with animated battle sprites (say, did I mention animated Trainer sprites? Because that’s AWESOME). The visuals in this game are amazing, and I’m so glad areas like Gyms and the Elite Four rooms received a facelift (Marshall’s podium staircase assembling itself in front of you is so badass) to showcase how banging they are.

- AND OF COURSE the soundtrack absolutely fucks. Pokemon has NEVER failed in this department and hooooooly shit they delivered some heat this time around. Hugh’s battle theme, Floccesy Ranch, Virbank Gym, Castelia Gym, Nimbasa Gym, the Strange House, the GODDAMN PLASMA THEME??? How did they make peak even peaker??? Black 2’s music joins Nimbasa City, Driftveil City, Route 7, the Elite Four battle theme, and Gear Station in the Pokemon soundtrack Hall of Fame.

- The postgame of Black 2 is also insanely expansive. There are tons of legendaries to catch postgame, and unlike some encounters in newer Pokemon games, actually require you to explore and discover them for yourself. The Regis have another suitable puzzle that also makes use of Unova Link (more on that later), Cresselia and Heatran require you to find items hidden in the Strange House and Route 18 respectively, and once you discover the Cave of Being, you can find Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. And to make up for the post-game routes of BW1 being main-game in their sequels, everything past Skyarrow Bridge and between Twist Mountain and the Moor of Icirrus has been rendered post-game in its stead. I actually loved this, especially for the novelty of the early-game routes of BW1 being the exact opposite, and the excitement of seeing what became of the BW1 protagonist once I reached Nuvema. I’m telling you, encountering level 60 Pokemon and Veteran trainers on Route 1 is a surreal experience. So is fighting Preschoolers with level 61 pseudo-legendaries. 10/10.

- Unova Link is a feature I couldn’t make use of, since it requires two DS systems with local communication, but it sounds like an insanely cool feature. I’ve grown to find paired Pokemon versions more of an annoyance than fun (version-exclusive Pokemon are so annoying…) but I could get behind it if they were implemented like Black and White 2. Unova Link lets you swap “keys” between the two versions, allowing you to access some of the features of the other version—namely White Forest/Black City and the corresponding Regi. Unova Link also allows for Memory Link, which not only lets you view events that happened between BW1 and BW2, but also carries over some features from that game, such as giving Cheren and Bianca Pokemon they had in the previous game, and viewing Pokedex certificates and Battle Subway trophies in the house of the previous protagonist. All interesting mechanics that Pokemon will assuredly never bother with ever again.

- One more tiny thing: Black 2 has the best credits sequence, showing the player traveling all the way back to their home from the Pokemon League, and having people congratulate them on their accomplishments along the way.

Cons:

- While I do really like the story insofar as it incorporates the events of previous games and the passage of time, I think it’s a step down from the emotional resonance that Black and White 1 had. Team Plasma was such an interesting adversary to fight because their goals were purportedly altruistic. They wanted to liberate Pokemon from their owners, since it’s not as if they could consent to being captured. This is legitimately the closest Pokemon has ever come to being self-aware of that harsh truth, which is actually really funny now that I’m thinking about it. Anyway, that’s gone in the sequel since Ghetsis is now just hellbent on conquering the Unova region like he originally wanted to in BW1, but since it’s now removed from the context that the “sympathetic” Team Plasma provided in BW1, it falls flat and makes him seem like any other bad guy. And it doesn’t help that N, the best character in BW1, only comes in at the very end of the game. I guess I’m trying to argue that BW2’s story is bad because it isn’t BW1…but whatever.

- Maybe I’m just a little stupid, but there are way too many online features spread too wide for me to make sense of. Game Sync, Feelings Check, Survey Radar, Entralink, Dream World, Xtransciever…Union Room, Global Trade, Random Matchups, all spread between the second floor of Pokemon Centers, the C-Gear, and the Main Menu. It’s a little overwhelming, though I’ll give credit for explaining them all pretty well. I still feel like they could have been consolidated a little bit more to be easier to digest.

- While I GREATLY appreciate Game Freak’s attempt to add a Challenge Mode and Easy Mode to Pokemon, it’s implementation is sorely lacking. You can only play it if you’re gifted a key via Unova Link, and you can only select it at the beginning of a new save file. This means not only do you have to get the key from someone who’s already beat the game—meaning you’re out of luck if you’re playing solo—but you will have to delete your save if you want to start a new one with either mode. PLUS, even though the new difficulties do change the levels of opposing Pokemon, the stats of the Pokemon still scale based off Normal Mode, making the change in levels only really affect EXP gain. Ironically that makes the early-game of Easy Mode harder since you’ll be getting less EXP every fight, and the Pokemon will still be just as strong as Normal Mode.

- Three smaller complaints: First, Pokemon Breeders always rematching you every time you reload the location they’re in is a clear downgrade from rematches. I don’t get why Trainer rematches haven’t been standard in every Pokemon game. I guess it is still an improvement since BW1 didn’t have this feature. Second, the Battle Subway was not updated for the new Unova Pokedex—they still use the same teams from BW1 (at least in the non-Super modes), which means it’s only Generation 5 Pokemon. And lastly, level grinding in this game sucks. It’s all Audino genocide all the way down. That’s certainly better than wild Pokemon with normal EXP distribution…but as I said above, it’s worse than rematches. Say what you want about Generation 6, but key item EXP Share made the inevitability of grinding at least tolerable.

Objective rating: 4.5 stars
Subjective rating: 4.5 stars

Generation V is the best generation of Pokemon games. Pretty frustrated that I ignored all the voices beforehand, telling me to save it for later. "It can't be that good, right? It's a Pokemon game!" I was very wrong.

- Bringing back old Pokemon was definitely a positive thing. Refreshing the dex in BW was a good change of pace
- A POKEMON GAME??? WITH STORY??? AND IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD??? 😱😱😱
- The game has effort put into it. It has soul; that's what Switch era Pokemon is missing.

You know the region. You know Unova. You went through it with Bianca and Cheren before, your best friends. You encountered new Pokemon, fought new Pokemon, explored new areas, made friendships with other people, and stopped Team Plasma from ending the world.
All of that happened two years ago.
But you're going to do it again, but a little differently this time.

You're starting in Aspertia City. You meet this kid who's kinda rude and brash, but he turns out to be a great guy after he gets his sister's stolen Pokemon. He's just kinda hot tempered, but he's not mean or anything.
You meet Bianca. As the player, you know who that is. Bianca was that friend who you steamrolled every fight, and who wanted to help out Professor Juniper. The sight of a familiar name turns on a few signals in your brain.
The more you progress in the story, and collect your gym badges, and catch more Pokemon, and fight more trainers, you learn that Unova's changed a lot in two years. You jump when you see that you're fighting Cheren for your first badge. You're a bit confused when you go to Virbank- who's this Roxie girl? You catch a ship back to a familiar place. You see Burgh in an always artistic Castelia, Elesa in a fresh Nimbasa, CLay in a funky Driftveil- pause. There's one of the Seven Sages, relaxing in Driftveil. He's terribly sorry for what he has done. He knows that he was wrong, and Ghetsis was just a powerhungry criminal organization leader. He learned from N. He's changed. He's not a bad guy anymore. Anyway, there's a cheerful Skyla in Mistralton- wait, what's this? You're fighting Drayden for your seventh? Huh, odd. Then Opelucid gets frozen over by this new Team Plasma. You run towards Humilau for your final badge, and eventually you have eight badges. All of a sudden, you're going to get killed by Kyurem, inside Giant Chasm.
And then N stops that from happening. N, the same Pokemon Trainer who fought atop the Pokemon League with your past self, two years ago. But Kyurem fused with N's dragon. And now you have to fight it.
Then you win, you saved the day, you go towards the Pokemon League, you fight the Elite Four, you fight Iris. What happened to Alder? But you still win anyway.
You're the Champion now. You decide to go towards southeast Unova. You learn what happened in Nacrene, Striaton, how Brycen's doing, and more. The time skip of two years gives so much world building to flourish.

Black 2 and White 2 are excellent examples of a sequel done right. Not too much has changed; there's still a sense of familiarity when you travel across the region. But it's all a new experience. They're my favorite games, topping Legends Arceus (which I love very dearly).


My only complaint with this game is that challenge mode wasn't coded correctly (I think)? The displayed levels are not accurate to the actual stats of the Pokemon.

Look Gary! It's the goat!! The GOAAAaAAaaAaAaT... Reflecting on this game is reflecting on a hope that never was. The series at its best, 3D graphics on the horizon, the series stood firmly on both legs, but... Anyways, B2W2 is a full blown sequel, the other one we ever got was Gold & Silver way back when. There's new UI, almost 100 songs.... a revisited map... new Elesa... many such changes. The community wouldn't shut up about BW not having their mid favorites from previous games, resulting in the usual Pokédex being brough back. Still surprised we got to have Riolu before the 1st badge... only for XY to do that again. Now I know what they were doing, shoving him down our throats pause !

Does it sound like I love everything about this game? I love everything about this game! Story, map, graphics, you name it, and I say "this clears". They better not remake it, or I'll glitch out of the map's bounds to protest on the now defunct Route 10. Yeah, thing is, I may be salivating at the thought of an expanded PWT reuniting 9 gens... urgh, stay strong... must... complain...

"Black Kyurem" and "White Kyurem" though? Come on! They think they fullmetal 💀 be lookin fresh though, like Gyattsis from Team Neo-yuck yuck ahh name I don't even wanna say none of that.

Hmmmmm, after seeing a let's player I'm watching go through this title, I'm reminded of a lot more negatives and nagging flaws I have in regards to this. I'm gonna do another bullet point style one, especially since I'm very confident a lot of this will stay relevant if I ever decide to do a full replay:

- The writing, from the top, is weaker. BW1 are far from the most in-depth RPGs you'll ever play, and anyone trying to exclaim otherwise should take it down some notches, but if there's one thing I can say about them, it's how that duology strives to incorporate every key personnel into its narrative. In fact, I'm pretty sure this was the first big push to do so instead of just utilizing the Rival, Professor, and Champion like before. In some instance, I can understand this such as a few Gym Leaders opting to converse very little and sending you on your way due to having bigger priorities now, but utilizing Cheren and Bianca again despite having their stories already told is a strange decision that could've been better used for newer NPCs, and N's epilogue arcs isn't quite as compelling upon both the game itself, and reflection. It also doesn't help most of the interpersonal drama that are present isn't as compelling this go-around, with Hugh's ""arc"" being so boilerplate and nonsensical it genuinely stunned me from how rival characterization have devolved back to the level of growth displayed by Silver when they’re trying for a Barry.

- On the note of writing, the pacing also took a hit. Pokemon titles have generally had a problem balancing the adventure feel with the story interactions after RBY/FRLG, and while it doesn't get Gen 6 level of poor, I'm honestly sad to say I could make a good argument that it gets pretty close. The flow of route -> city/story event -> badge -> sidegame content -> story event -> repeat gets dulled by how much they elucidate every minute detail without the substance to back them up, and there's also two entire sections from Mistralton to Opelucid then Humilau to the end where it's a barren trek across linear areas upon linear areas that, again, don't have much going on. It's strange to go from two titles that have the strongest sense of increasing scale and conflict, to this one where it struggles to juggle it despite pulling off bold moves of its own.

- Yea I'm gonna say it, I'm not a fan of the Nat Dex mixture in this title. We're not even talking about "ohhhh but the intentional soft reboot vibe" here, I see them Riolus, Magnemites, and Elekids/Magbys amidst all the other strong Unovan natives in the opening hour and I get the feeling I'm playing some weird romhack, not a proper Game Freak title. Pokemon placements are usually dictated not just by the environment and how it affects their habitual nature, but also by how their strengths/weaknesses can affect and influence a player's team composition. We can argue about which game does this better or how this one area fails to invoke that feeling, but regardless I don't think it's surprising that this is the next biggest split fans have amongst BW1 v. BW2 arguments due to how abundant steamroll options have become now, doubly so since it accentuates Unovan Dex's already prevalent flaw of containing a gross number of late-post game evos. A simple handwave of “well, it’s not as bad as Gen 2 and Diamond/Pearl!” shouldn’t be my takeaway when taking all of it into account when the previous game did a much better job of emphasizing and balancing this.

- I appreciate the switch up in regards to gym progression, both in regards to the stages' gimmicks as well as the inclusion of Cheren and Roxie, and I'm all for the idea of Easy and Challenge Mode, but because of their implementation - especially in regards to unlocking them - it meant the general team pool has been weakened even regarding the series' overall standards both at the time and now. I'm not asking for Perfect IV 6-team High Power Move spread here, but I expect more than just rolling into Iris' chamber with an adequate enough team without any finagling of intense training against her own, then swiftly mop the floor with just three members, and my only option for "tougher" rounds is locked behind a completely obtrusive method who's big altercations are a few level increases with maybe some item and/or move additions. At least Alder was able to put up a fight despite containing his own air of ease, so it's a shame that, in regards to League trials, Cynthia, Steven, and heck even Blue's fights have yet to be matched.

A lot of my problems come purely from how downscaled they are when compared to the first game, which in my eyes is still the peak of the mainline titles' bold swings and feverish ideals regarding personal growth and frictional stances. As I said, despite making sense in some regard, most of them are watered-down retreads instead of doing something new to accentuate the timeskip. Let it be known though that the sequel does have some moments that I enjoyed:

+ One common critique I see of BW1's story is how we never get to see enough members of Team Plasma that actively struggle against their actual goal and what Ghetsis, himself, actually wants. BW2 mends this to a noticeable degree by not only its nature of a sequel to show how much the inhabitants have altered their lifestyle, but also making sure to put emphasis on the type of activities ex-Plasma members have been up to since then. I'm willing to concede the idea not going far enough within the meat of the plot simply because chatting up with the folks and how their views of these things have affected them, exploring a few new regions that have opened up, the Memory Link feature, as well as seeing more of Ghetsis' aggressive manners and especially Colress do more than enough to fill that particular aspect.

+ I still very much maintain that their introduction should've been handled much better, and I'll admit to never caring that much about Pokemon's post game reaps, but if you're someone that does this is one of, if not the most bang-to-back deal I've experienced in the series (note: I have yet to play Gens 7, 8, and 9). Though it sucks some of these are locked behind now-offline services, the sheer volume of things to do that are still available is nothing to scoff at, to the point I can see this being a whole year project if you put your mind to it.

+ Presentation wise, this is about as good as its last outing, which is no big surprise. Same with the music, just as good as last time and there's no real negative feeling I have for how they do things here.

+ Again, I'm still not hugely in favor with how the Mons are plopped around, but there's enough sensibility going around that trying to make a team has been a delight to fuss and ruminate over for future runs, be it casual or challenge-based. The stuff done to parts that involve move tutoring have also largely helped in this regard, even if again things are just a bit too easy for my liking (though ya know, if I want a difficult experience, I wouldn't be playing Pokemon to begin with).

One view I've gleaned over the years is how deciding whether BW1 or BW2 is the better entry largely comes down to whether you're the narrative or mechanical believer of their core. I should also mention I played BW2 years after BW1, which meant I was more aware and perceived numerous other wrinkles in comparison. The first game's writing and atmosphere is the apex of what I look forward to in the franchise with only one exception, so I will always continue to prefer that title over this one, but all things considered, BW2's a rather great followup that I can't quite get too mad that there are those that choose it instead.

playing this game without any grinding or meticulous team building was such a great time. it sounds corny but i feel like i briefly learned how to enjoy pokemon again.

then again, this game reminds me how fucking done i am with this series. scarlet’s been rotting on my switch for months and i just don’t feel that much love for new pokemon games, which somehow makes me feel self conscious of the connection i have to 2D pokemon.
its like an abusive cycle with these games where i feel like i never wanna play them ever to shooting them up like heroin. i hope next time i feel my pokemon phase come back i have enough self respect to play some spin offs i’ve been long putting off

Makes a really strong first impression, but kinda starts running out of steam the closer you get to the end, with wholesale re-used assets and anti-climactic scenes back to back. I'm kind of impressed at how many character arcs unceremoniously got dropped; it feels like they wrote EVERYBODY out somehow. And that's a damn shame, because Hugh was so endearing. I don't think any of the characters in this franchise have ever been so ready to throw hands before him, and I feel like a kid with that much gusto deserved better.

I really liked what this had to offer gameplay-wise (though I felt the encounter rate got grating after a while), but as a followup to the surprisingly well-written story Black 1 had, this left a hell of a lot to be desired.

This is potentially my favourite game of all time, with some bias due to sentiment. I have clocked at least 1000 hours on this 30hr RPG across 6 playthroughs, without ever accessing the online features. At one point I'd replayed this game once per year, which makes me want to do it again now. The Unova pokedex contains some of the most creative designs to date (my favourites being zoroark, chandelure, hydreigon) but unlike its predecessor, mixes in the older pokemon in a way that feels natural. It's so cool that I can catch riolu in like the 3rd route of the game! The music is the best this game. It's the graphical peak of the series, with incredibly lively animations and gorgeous spritework. The pacing of the story is strong, the game is a great difficulty for nuzlockes and the postgame is only rivaled by ORAS which came years later. This game squeezed every bit of value out of the DS and is simply perfect for this era of the series. Literally PEAK.

Like I said in my White 2 review, this is the Pokémon game that's fantastic without an asterisk, the only one actually. Teambuilding is so fun in this game that I beat it twice in the span of less than a month, and Challenge mode added so much replayability. I'm so excited to dive into all of the post-game content, I feel like I'll likely never exhaust everything this game has to offer. Not only the best Pokémon game (full stop, if I put aside my personal bias for PMD2) but also one of the most overall rock solid RPGs I've ever played. No matter how low this franchise continues to fall, I will always have Black and White 2 to return to, reminding me why I love this series so damn much.

I honestly don't know why it took me so long to play the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time. I was not disappointed which is crazy because that's all this series has been for me lately. BW2 has every good aspect about its predecessor, the music, sprite animation, speed, everything, and it even improves on many of these. The town design is excellent and probably better than the original BW, I don't think the worldbuilding and density of towns like Castelia and Nacrene have been matched in the series yet. I played the game on hard mode with an AR code that unlocks it right at the start of the game and it was actually a genuine challenge. I cannot believe no other Pokemon game has done this it's so good! The only things I felt were a little disappointing in this game compared to BW1 was the story which didn't have a climax nearly as amazing, and pokemon isn't known for its story but BW1 really has a climactic conclusion and the fact that BW2 plays it so straight is kind of a letdown. Still this game was amazing start to end, I played it side by side with a friend which gave me I think the best experience possible. MelonDS actually has wifi support for DS games so I was able to play with my friend too. That, the postgame, and the just insane amount of content in this game mean I'm probably gonna be playing this one for a while longer. Such a shame the series has yet to do anything this good since.

Edit: Finished the Pokédex as of February 14. Crazy how fun that ended up being.

Esse jogo é incrível em muitos aspectos pros jogadores de Pokémon que focam em estratégias de batalha, principalmente se você jogar no modo desafio. A história segue os eventos de Black/White, se passando dois anos após a vitória do protagonista anterior. A passagem de tempo por muitas vezes se faz presente na história, a começar pela presença de pokémon de outras regiões. A equipe Plasma tá de volta, mas agora dividida em duas "dinastias" separadas por suas ideologias divergentes.

Como eu disse, esse jogo segue o foco competitivo de seu antecessor, expondo mais o jogador às diferentes formas de planejar seu time e interagir com as mecânicas que são oferecidas.

É uma masterpiece, de verdade. Os jogos de Unova são, de longe, os mais subestimados da franquia.