Overall score on pook's 100-point system (TM): 82, or just 8. A first time Pokemon player's impressions.
-the breakdown-
Graphics (24/30, judged by era)- This isn't Golden Sun, by any stretch. The graphics are like late-generation NES graphics in terms of quality. But the sheer amount of graphical content helps considerably. The game world is large and the tons of Pokemon make for a decent overall graphical package. While the map-portion of the game never really impresses, the variety and generally well-drawn nature of most of the Pokemon make the battles visually interesting. Simple things could have been done like environment-dependent artwork in the backgrounds of battles. How much effort would that have taken?
Sound- FX/Voice (6/10) The sound is serviceable but rarely exciting or necessary. While the bulk of sounds occur in battles and help to liven them up a bit, the overworld areas are pretty quiet on the FX side. Occasional Pokemon calls in the wild clue you in to when certain Pokemon are nearby, but if you've gone so far as to memorize the sounds of specific Pokemon, then this review isn't for you anyway.
Sound- Music (8/10) One of the more impressive aspects of this game happens to be the music. Generally upbeat, it carries you along fairly well and accompanies battles decently, all the while rarely getting annoying-quite a feat for a game this size.
Gameplay- Length/Replay (15/15) This is a very large game that looks deceptively simple at the beginning. The story-portion of the game easily lasts over 60 hours, and you'll probably clock in some 80 hours, minimum before putting this one away. There's a ton of optional stuff to do in terms of training up and capturing Pokemon. Admittedly, while a very large battle area opens up once the story ends, the motivation for continuing seemed to get sapped out by having finished the game. I didn't fully engage every optional portion and still came out about 80 hours here. Bang for buck.
Gameplay- Story: (2/5) A very simplistic story of achieving greatness is enhanced through the usual RPG method of having tons of NPCs who'll talk to you, some of whom are entertaining or downright weird.
Gameplay- Game Design (27/30)- I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with how engaging this game became. The multiplication of options in terms of Pokemon to capture, skills to give them, items to try and such really gives the game its addictive quality, moreso I think than the "Gotta Catch 'Em All" tagline, especially since so many Pokemon require cross-game linking to get. Battling is rarely hard to find as there are tons of NPCs who want to battle you. The story itself progresses nicely, though there was some annoying leveling up at the end.
One gripe would be that the sheer number of Pokemon coupled with how late in the game many are encountered means you will probably never explore using even most of what you find. A story mode twice as long might not have been long enough for that purpose. As well, some Pokemon you can't acquire til after story-mode, which means you'lll only get to know them in post-game battle arenas. In my case, that means you won't get to know them.
I can definitely see if you are a returning player that this game probably has lots of more-of-the-same. I confess that after getting my fill of this title, that the next version of the game doesn't seem very attractive because of that seeming sameness. I think I've had my share of this series for awhile, but it was satisfying while it lasted.
Final Thoughts: If you've never played a Pokemon title and like RPGs in general, though this isn't as straight RPG, you should give it a whirl.
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