Thursday, 16 July 2009

• Pokemon Still Going Strong

  
  

  
  At the time of its debut, parents, teachers and government officials watched us play the games, the cards and toys, sighed and lamented, "It's only a fad."
  
  Pfft. Grown-ups.
  
  Over ten years later, Pokemon is stronger than ever. Annual movies (the latest of which recently entered the Guinness Book of World Records), a card game that refuses to go away, numerous spin-offs (remember Pokemon Snap?) and appearances in other franchises, and new games released each generation ensure it's here to stay, a stalwart totem in the video game pantheon.
  
  I thought I grew out of Pokemon back in the Red and Blue days. It wasn't that fun, or convenient. Kind of annoying, actually. Pulling out a bunch of wires to trade and battle was just a pain. So when the Nintendo DS games - Pearl, Diamond and Platinum - made trading, fighting and collecting the little critters even easier thanks to the handheld's WiFi function, I got pulled back in.
  
  

  
  

  
  Since then, Pokemon has linked itself directly to the pleasure centers of my brain. The game is as addictive and deep as those unwashed weirdos and young kids playing the card games would have you believe. It's designed so well, the game can accommodate little kids and serious perfectionists by allowing anyone to delve as deep into the mechanics as they want. You can stick the simple surface stuff or go straight into the hard numbers - EV training, Shinies, the Pokerus and whatnot. The customisation is endless. Getting your team together, deleting their moves, assigning items, the rock-paper-scissors-and-beyond style of planning and strategy in battle... These are massive games.
  
  And the STYLE. It's just. Too. Cute. Unless you're a hard-hearted misanthrope, it's irresistible. But not every Pokemon is cuddly. An important element in a monster-collecting game is to have diverse creatures for different tastes. Cute monsters are just a part of it. There are cool ones (zomg Lucario), scary ones (Drifloon ;_;), the artificial ones (Porygon!), the strange, fanciful ones (Manaphy~), and the stupid ones (Bidoof doof doof). Just like we have cute animals like bunnies and squirrels, scary animals like sharks and lions, and strange things like the platypus and dumb things like Shia Labeouf. Diversity is key.
  
  The next games, Heart Gold and Soul Silver, look like the ultimate iteration of the series, combining the best of the old and the best of the new.

  Remakes of Pokemon Gold and Silver, the games are built on a similar engine as Platinum, with various improvements - like finally being able to arrange your Pokemon and items using the DS' touch screen, something that really should've been included in Pearl/Diamond/Platinum.
  

  Also, Team Rocket's back, all 493 Pokemon can now follow you in the overworld, and all the Pokemon NOT in Pearl/Diamond/Platinum show up in Heart Gold/Soul Silver. So it will be possible to catch 'em all without the Game Boy Advance games, Fire Red and Leaf Green.

  A pedometer-like device to Pocket Pikachu (remember that?) will come included with the game too, except this new "Pokewalker" can increase your Pokedude's experience as you walk, lets you catch Pokeymans and transfer them to your game, and also acquires special items, and communicates with other Pokewalker holders. Could be pretty cool!

  
  

  What's your Pokemon experience? Did you get caught up in the "fad" years ago, or did you discover it recently? Do you look forward to Heart Gold and Soul Silver?

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