2 questions regarding Pokemon Black and White

[PureChaos]

Today was my last day at my job and tomorrow I start a new job but I have a 40 minute train journey each way. A collection was gathered for me and I ended up with a nice amount. I want to get a Nintendo DS to keep me occupied on the train. I have no interest in a 3DS so don't suggest I get one mainly as I don't have £200-odd to get one and I want to be able to play my GBA games on it.

AMYWAY, Gamestation have an offer where if you buy any pre-owned DS (think a DS or DS Lite is around £50) you can get Pokemon Black or white for £10.

Question 1: as I haven't played Pokemon since Blue, and haven't had a whole lot of interest in Pokemon since the first generation, is it worth me taking them up on this offer or will White/Black be too different from Blue in terms of battle system, gameplay, ease of navigating options ect to be good?

Question 2: If I do get one of them, which one? I'm assuming the main difference is the Pokemon you can get but is there anything else?

Question 3 (ruining the title): Should i just get Golden Sun: Dark Dawn instead? the first two were AWESOME!

what you think?

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

1.

Nah. The mechanics are basically the same.

4 moves per pokemon, 6 pokemon limit. Line-of-sight battle triggers. Random grass battles. Get 8 badges.

The stupid bag item limit from Gen 1 (Blue, which you played) is gone, and items can be assigned to Y for quick use.

Special is now split into Sp Defense and Sp Attk, though.

And abilities, which as basically passive powers.

And moves are now individually assigned to physical attack or special attack, rather than merely type determined such things. No more Thunder/Ice/Fire Punch Alakazam of infinite rape, sorry!

And in B/W, TMs now have infinite use.

2.

White if you like catching Pokemon, since White Forest has wild pokemon.

Black if you like battles, since Black City is full of trainers.

The exclusive pokemon can be found here.

http://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/exclusives.shtml

3.

Don't get Dark Dawn.

It's like a kids version of GS. Pathetically easy, and now with extra-paper-thin story.

 

[drisky]

I love black version, And just a few months ago I was playing red on my gameboy color. I really feel Black is my favorite version, a way deeper battle system, solid multiplayer, and taking steps to make it feel like its a game solely targeted to kids.

I also like Dark Dawn but no better than the other Golden Suns, after all these years it still feels like the same game so provided you don't feel Golden Sun is dated, its a solid experience.

My favorite DS game is still The World Ends With You though.

 

[Aris Khandr]

I got White, and I consider it a very good addition to the series. If you've played a Pokemon game before, you'll figure it out again really fast. I'd recommend it, especially if you're going to have a lot of free time on your hands.

 

[PureChaos]

1.

Nah. The mechanics are basically the same.

4 moves per pokemon, 6 pokemon limit. Line-of-sight battle triggers. Get 8 badges.

The stupid bad item limit is gone, and items can be assigned to Y for quick use.

Special is now split into Sp Defense and Sp Attk, though.

And moves are now individually assigned to physical attack of special attack. No more Thunder/Ice/Fire Punch Alakazam of infinite rape, sorry!

And in B/W, TMs now have infinite use.

2.

White if you like catching Pokemon, since White Forest has wild pokemon.

Black if you like battles, since Black City is full of trainers.

3.

Don't get Dark Dawn.

It's like a kids version of GS. Pathetically easy, and now with extra-paper-thin story.

that mostly made sense. With Blue, I use the same team each time (Venusaur, Pidgeot, Ninetails, Gyarados, Hypno and Jolteon) so i would probably go for Black for the trainer battles.

That sucks about Dark Dawn, been waiting for it for ages but the trailer didn't look great.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

that mostly made sense. With Blue, I use the same team each time (Venusaur, Pidgeot, Ninetails, Gyarados, Hypno and Jolteon) so i would probably go for Black for the trainer battles.

That sucks about Dark Dawn, been waiting for it for ages but the trailer didn't look great.

Black/White has ONLY new Pokemon until you beat the Elite Four, so none of your old team will make it, sadly.

But you'll get the thrill of discovery. Especially as you'll also get to discover the Gold/Silver pokemon, the Ruby/Sapphire pokemon, and the Diamond/Pearl pokemon.

Lucky bastard. You'll be seeing new pokemon everywhere...

And if you think you feel bad about Dark Dawn...I had that game PRE-ORDERED.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

Since the first generation, there are more Pokemon and items, as well as the obvious graphical upgrades, but there have also been quite a few changes to the mechanics:
-The "Special" stat is now Special Attack and Special Defence.
-Moves are no longer physical or special based on type; instead, there are both physical and special moves for each type. For example, Flamethrower is special while Fire Punch has been changed to physical.
-Ghost is now super effective against Psychic, Bug is not very effective on Poison, Bug is not very effective on Ghost, Poison is normally effective against Bug and Ice is not very effective on Fire.
-There are 2 new types: Dark and Steel.
-Menus are easier to navigate and more streamlined.
-Pokemon can now breed and make eggs containing younger Pokemon, sometimes with the moves of its parents.
-Pokemon can now have alternate colours, which do nothing but make it look cool.
-There is no item PC; instead, your bag is (technically) infinite.
-Pokemon now have a nature which affects their stats.
-Time and day of play affect certain things.
-There are many, MANY more boxes for storing Pokemon.
-Most Pokemon have a gender, and some of them differ cosmetically depending on their gender.
-You can now battle and trade over Wi-Fi.
-Tons more TMs, which are now infinite-use.
And many more! Although this may seem like a lot, they're pretty intuitive and the core battling mechanics are the same. It's different, but not different enough to make the game unplayable for someone who's only played Blue.

Black and White DO differ by available Pokemon, but each game has an exclusive area: Black gets Black City, where you can battle trainers, and White gets White Forests, where you can catch many Pokemon. In addition, certain things change aesthetically and the final gym has a different leader, though they may as well be the same. Really, get either one. It doesn't matter that much.

As for the third question, get Pokemon. It's the best one of the series, I think, and it's much more worth getting than Dark Dawn.

 

[Black Phoenix]

And if you think you feel bad about Dark Dawn...I had that game PRE-ORDERED.

I had it pre-ordered, and it took an absolute age to arrive, since nothing in this country (UK) can run properly if there's more than a flake of snow on the ground. I got it about two weeks after release. All that waiting, just to be let down. I have many issues with that game, which is a real shame, as I absolutely loved the first two on the GBA.

 

[mew4ever23]

1: The core of the Pokemon experience hasn't changed that much since R/B/Y.

What hasn't changed:

6 Pokemon at on hand.
4 Moves per pokemon.
All the classic types (they have been re-balanced for the new types though).
Menu Navigation hasn't changed a lot.

The Big change list since blue:
The Bag has been completely re-designed, you can now hold as may items as you want, and your items are now split up by type (Though balls moved back into the items pouch this generation, what's up with that?).
Item storage is now completely different. You're now limited to how many pokemon you have in your PC boxes (This used to irk me. I've since realized that item storage has become redundant with the new bag).
Mail was introduced.
Your characters PC is now used for the storage and reading of mail.
The interface for using items in battle has undergone a lot of change, anything that you can't use in battle no-longer appears, and Items are grouped by function.
A visible XP bar now shows up on the info panel for your active pokemon.
Around 500 creatures have been added.
The Pokedex now supports searching.
A boatload more multiplayer options have been added.
2 types were added: Steel and Dark.
Lots of moves have been added.
The TM list is completely different in Black and White. Speaking of, TMs are now infinite use, starting with Black and White.
Waterfall's now an HM. Flash lost it's HM status.
There's now someone that can help unlearn HM moves.
There's now someone that can teach your Pokemon moves.
All Pokemon now have a "Nature" and at least 1 "Ability".
The Special stat was split into "Special Attack" and "Special Defense".
Moves are now categorized as "Physical" or "Special". Their descriptions now reflect this.
Moves also state outright their base power and accuracy. This info can be found on their descriptions.

I'm probably forgetting something..

2. Which Pokemon appear, triple battle style (Rotation or Team battle) and White forest or Black City are the key differences.

White forest is catching Pokemon, whereas black city features a dynamic city full of trainers.
Rotation battles, I really dislike. Never tried team battles.

 

[ThatLankyBastard]

Definitely go for it, Black and White are my favourite generation to date, even if some of the Pokemon... well... suck...

As for which one, I'd say White, but just because I like the few small differences that White has over Black's...

 

[PureChaos]

Definitely go for it, Black and White are my favourite generation to date, even if some of the Pokemon... well... suck...

As for which one, I'd say White, but just because I like the few small differences that White has over Black's...

just out of interest, like what?

 

[emeraldrafael]

Question 1: as I haven't played Pokemon since Blue, and haven't had a whole lot of interest in Pokemon since the first generation, is it worth me taking them up on this offer or will White/Black be too different from Blue in terms of battle system, gameplay, ease of navigating options ect to be good?
Pokemon has obviously and radically changed from the days of R/B/Y. The additions of abilities, separation of the physical and special attack, as well as the addition of Dark and Steel have helped to further fix the broken Psychic type and stat. EVs and IVs, priority moves, and (with B/W) the addition of movies like scald (where water attacks can burn the unsuspecting), the metagame of battling online or even multiplayer is completely different. However, this is not a bad thing, as said before, the Psychic type has been leveled and weakend, and the advances add a bit more excitement and flair to the battle. Its hard to find a truly bad pokemon nowadays.

Question 2: If I do get one of them, which one? I'm assuming the main difference is the Pokemon you can get but is there anything else?
This is completely dependant on personal taste. While obviously there will be version exclusives, the main difference between the two is the natural feel of White vs the industrial feel of Black. this is seen in the contrasting landscapes, but more prevelantly in the Black City/White Forest comparison. Black City offers a challenge to fight trainers and grow strong, but little pokemon catching. White Forest is its opposite. Also, the Rotation Battle (I believe its more seen in Black) vs the triple battle (I believe more seen in White) comes into play, though admittedly neither is extensively used or radically different. You'll just have to look and see which you feel you like aesthetically and if Black City or White Forest tickles your fancy more (at least, thats what I did).

 

[ThatLankyBastard]

Definitely go for it, Black and White are my favourite generation to date, even if some of the Pokemon... well... suck...

As for which one, I'd say White, but just because I like the few small differences that White has over Black's...

just out of interest, like what?

Well, I like the Pokemon that you find in White Forest, the White exclusive legendary, (Zekrom) is better than the Black exclusive legendary (Reshiram) in my opinion, the last Gym Leader depends on your game, (they have the same pokemon, I just like White's Gym Leader, Iris, better)... just small things like that...

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Definitely go for it, Black and White are my favourite generation to date, even if some of the Pokemon... well... suck...

As for which one, I'd say White, but just because I like the few small differences that White has over Black's...

just out of interest, like what?

Well, I like the Pokemon that you find in White Forest, the White exclusive legendary, (Zekrom) is better than the Black exclusive legendary (Reshiram) in my opinion, the last Gym Leader depends on your game, (they have the same pokemon, I just like White's Gym Leader, Iris, better)... just small things like that...

Nah. White's biggest selling point is Reuniclus.

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/579.shtml

************ has epic abilities, and a 135 base special attack.

 

[PureChaos]

Question 1: as I haven't played Pokemon since Blue, and haven't had a whole lot of interest in Pokemon since the first generation, is it worth me taking them up on this offer or will White/Black be too different from Blue in terms of battle system, gameplay, ease of navigating options ect to be good?
Pokemon has obviously and radically changed from the days of R/B/Y. The additions of abilities, separation of the physical and special attack, as well as the addition of Dark and Steel have helped to further fix the broken Psychic type and stat. EVs and IVs, priority moves, and (with B/W) the addition of movies like scald (where water attacks can burn the unsuspecting), the metagame of battling online or even multiplayer is completely different. However, this is not a bad thing, as said before, the Psychic type has been leveled and weakend, and the advances add a bit more excitement and flair to the battle. Its hard to find a truly bad pokemon nowadays.

Question 2: If I do get one of them, which one? I'm assuming the main difference is the Pokemon you can get but is there anything else?
This is completely dependant on personal taste. While obviously there will be version exclusives, the main difference between the two is the natural feel of White vs the industrial feel of Black. this is seen in the contrasting landscapes, but more prevelantly in the Black City/White Forest comparison. Black City offers a challenge to fight trainers and grow strong, but little pokemon catching. White Forest is its opposite. Also, the Rotation Battle (I believe its more seen in Black) vs the triple battle (I believe more seen in White) comes into play, though admittedly neither is extensively used or radically different. You'll just have to look and see which you feel you like aesthetically and if Black City or White Forest tickles your fancy more (at least, thats what I did).

so i pretty much need to play both to find out which of the small difference between them i prefer?

so far the higher emphasis of training in Black seems to swing the...swinging thing (it's late!) more to that side

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

The main mechanics of it are the same.

As for some other changes or version exclusive mos's, i'd look at bulbapedia, it has all the info you need 2x over.


I'd wait for the inetviable gray version though, they 3rd one is always better, and the cover legendary is always better.

 

[mew4ever23]

Lagg connection double post. Nothing to see here.

 

[ThatLankyBastard]

Nah. White's biggest selling point is Reuniclus.

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/579.shtml

************ has epic abilities, and a 135 base special attack.

That may be, but I like my team as it is... Besides, I really don't like it...

 

[darkwolf29]

1)I think most people covered it but there's a few more things:
-Berries are hold items the can cure a Pokemon of a particular status without using a turn
-Seasons now affect the catch rate of certain Pokemon and changes the appearance of Deerling and Sawsbuck, they alternate every month
-Dream world is a feature you can use to obtain Pokemon and to grow berries that aren't available in the game (Dream world is accessed through a website)
-During the main story HM's are not heavily used to progress to a new area (at least it seemed that way)
-Running Shows enable the player to run faster in the towns and routes
-In battle Weather conditions that affect accuracy and power of certain moves and/or deal damage
-You can battle the Elite Four in any order
There's probably more the but some are somewhat minor like gym leaders having an alternate career/interest or the fusion on the Pokemart and the Pokecenter.
2) I would suggest you go with Black because of the trainers it offers. Right now I have a seven trainers with Pokemon ranging from the early 30's to the late 60's and if you can get the city full it's a good spot for training. Another reason would be some useful items that can be found both the city/forest. Depending on the trainers in the area certain items will appear. While in White items will appear at random daily in spots in the forest, Black will have a store where the item can be bought at any time. Even though some of the items are silly to buy like gold nuggets and other items normally used to get money, there are useful items like evolution stones and shards and provides a reliable way than other methods.