742 Beanbag Battle.

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I went into the new Pokemon game blind.   Didn’t go to any trouble to learn anything about it.  So when I started it up I wasn’t sure what to expect apart from the basic stuff that the series never strays from.  Having played it for a while now I think I would call it an alternate universe retelling of the original.  That’s not totally accurate, but it echoes past games in the same way that the Silmarilion echoes in The Lord Of The Rings.  I recognize that reference is going to be lost on a lot of you.  Just trust me on this, it’s totally clever and applicable.

I had a lot of trouble in the beginning of the game.  Not knowing what anything was I was never sure that pokemon to favor.  I didn’t start getting the hang of things till about 4 gyms in.  Eventually, however, I was able to get a handle on things and find some creatures I liked.  Now my team makes a little more logical sense that just “I THINK THIS POKEMON IS CUTE I WILL BATTLE WITH IT!”

The encounter rate is crazy high.  Higher than Final Fantasy 4.  If you step into grass you will be set upon by creatures.  Hundreds of creatures.  Early on I couldn’t catch pokemon for crap.  I’m not sure if that’s a game mechanic or I just sucked, but it took quite some time for me to get a handfull of monsters to do my bidding.  It probably didn’t help that I was Hell bent on catching the event legendary from the Wi Fi connection.

They finally fixed a bunch of the most annoying crap about pokemon in this version.  You can get rid of and recover moves without too much hassle.  Including HM moves.  Also, training machines last forever.  So you are free to mix and match to your heart’s content.  Getting enough coin to afford one in a store is a trick, but at least you keep it forever when you do.  Honestly, this stuff should have been fixed after the first generation, but at least it’s fixed now.

Apart from that stuff it’s pretty much business as usual.  Which is fine by me.  Pokemon is a wonderfully adaptable franchise.  With any luck I’ll be able to share it with my offspring someday.  It doesn’t look like I’m ever going to get tired of it.

In unrelated news, my birthday is Sunday.  I welcome you all to shower me with praise and gifts for surviving another year.

30 Comments

Hmmm, perhaps this gives a clue as to where Brooksie might be lacking in movie knowledge, do we have any quotes from movies where the effects of sitting in a beanbag chair might be noted?

In Gen 4 my capture rate since their beginning in 07 was 100%, including legendaries, you just had to manipulate the equation a bit…in Gen 5 I seem to be spending tons of money on different types of Poke balls ’cause I just miss, and miss and miss (so frustrating) seems Gen 5 pokemon have low catch rates which sucks ’cause they also don’t let you run away often.
And yes having the Technical Machines be unlimited is a big relief. Gen V brought along more changes than are clearly visible at first but I agree it is something I’d have my kids get into as well. Though I’m only 20 so that’ll be a while.

As for the chair….I always knew they had a taste for flesh but SUMO chairs are soooo comfortable.

Yeah, during my short time with this gen I noticed an increased encounter rate, decreased capture rate, and better-balanced status effect rate against the AI. They didn’t seem to do anything to curb the AI spamming Protect/Detect, though. Also, the starters felt kinda weak this time around, which is one reason I didn’t like this generation: I always use my starter throughout the game as one of my main fighters, which just didn’t work out.

Sadly, I think this generation is the last generation of Pokémon I’m ever going to play. I didn’t like the new Pokémon designs apart from the Smugleaf family, and I just don’t enjoy the gameplay like I used to. I probably would have been able to get past being tired of the gameplay if I could have just included a few Pokémon from my Platinum team without having to go all the way through the game with only the new monsters. It’s too bad, because I preordered both versions, went to all of the shiny legendary events so I could get Zoroark, and even taught myself how to change the security settings on my wireless router so I could get Victini because the DS can’t handle WPA2 security. For me, G5 was the end of an era.

The current Pokemon was based off New York rather than an area of Japan. The artwork even shows it (especially the city area where the storefronts go up one or two stories, only to be capped off by more generic looking skyscrapers. Also, I swear the Pokecenters look like Duane Reade. Like scary similar. Inside AND out. Other areas are easily identified as Soho, the Adirondacks, etc… Of course there isn’t any desert or underwater areas in New York, but it’s a fantasy game after all.

Personally I thought it was a nice feature to have 156 ALL NEW pokemon and none AT ALL from previous games until you beat the game. Although I have to admit that it seems like the pokemon designs are somewhat… I dunno. Uninspired? Definitely the names of some (Deerling? Really?). The seasons changing every month can be…. I dunno. Interesting but frustrating (there are only a few areas that actually change accessibility due to the season. Didn’t actually have any gym troubles, excepting the fifth (damn ground types ten levels higher than me), but that was likely due to O.C.D. poke-llecting and type matching. Found out early on that certain pokemon only show up in shaking patches (or black dots on the water) (re: Drillbur is in shaking mounds of dirt. Audino in shaking grass, etc…

And again, I can’t say enough about the story evolution. The main protaganist (you) is as always vague and ill-defined personality wise, but your companions, enemies, and other random NPCs have a lot more going on than the first game. Not sure yet if ther erare opportunities to answer people make an actual story difference (and I Reaaaaaaaaaaally doubt it), but I am looking forward to finding out.

As to the comic: Yeah, if I had a nickel for every time a beanbag chair devoured one of my garments I’d have quite nearly a dollar ninety-five….

Final thoughts: The Silmarillion sucked. It read like a drier version of the bible, admittedly with fewer contradictions. I’m guessing Tolkien had a better fact-checker.

“The Silmarillion… read like a drier version of the Bible, admittedly with fewer contradictions. I’m guessing Tolkien had a better fact-checker.”
–Henchman 21

If that’s the best — and most apt — or only review I read all month, it will still be a very good month for reviews! But I’m glad it was only water I was drinking when I read it; coffee or milk make such a mess of the keyboard.

–Perfesser

Love the comic but about the pokemons…

Sleep will pretty much seal any capture rate.

They will break all sorts of balls even at 1 HP but if you put them to sleep it’s practically 100% capture rate. I have yet to try it on that little event one but I have caught stuff at full health in one shot when they are asleep.

The whole ‘dex feels too kiddy and lazy for my taste but the mechanics are a bit improved from Platnium.

I tried this out since I actually have a strong pokemon that knows a sleep move for once. As far as I can tell you’re right. I’ve been able to catch anything that’ll let me put it to sleep. Which is pretty much anything that doesn’t raise a ruckus, or have insomnia as an ability.

Similar to what happpened to J near the end of MIB 2 where he almost lost to a pile of tubing.

OH my god, I actually remember that. Just because they are inanimate doesn’t mean they don’t still want to eat you.

Beanbags eat over 200 small women every year. Donate money today to fight this tragedy, or go out there.
Alternatively, let me lead you towards the GENOCIDE OF THE BEANBAG RACE!

and just like that brooksie’s life flashed before her eyes but just as she was about to lose hope the coat sacrificed its life and was eaten by the bean bag instead………… this has the makings of an epic story…… :D

So your reviews have brought me back to Pokemon. I remember getting the first generation when I was 11 or 12 years old. It was Christmas and I didn’t even bother opening the rest of my presents before pulling it out of the box and jamming it into my Game Boy. Good times. :)

Anyway, I played through Red, Blue, and Yellow multiple times, then played Gold a little before I got distracted by other games. Now I’ve picked up FireRed, since it’s a remake of what I’m used to, but with upgraded features. I figure it’s a good place for me to get back into the genre. What I really want to know is what to play after that. Which games are a good place to advance from, based on my play history? Should I just go to HeartGold/SoulSilver next, or maybe Diamond/Pearl? I’m also curious how strong the Wi-Fi aspect of the games are, as it sounds like one of those features that could be done really well or fairly awful. Thanks for any and all feedback.

Based on your play history, since you skipped Hoenn (Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald) you might as well skip Sinnoh and go straight for the Gold/Silver remakes.
Though if you want the full experience you should pick up Emerald and Platinum at least.

Yeah, I’d agree with that. I think Emerald is worth finishing before playing Platinum though. Red, Emerald, Platinum, Silver, & White pretty much will take you through the arc of the last decade or so.

Awesome, thanks for the feedback guys! Looks like I have a long way to go, but it should be a fun ride. :)

I agree with the Silmarillion/LOTR reference. (Also, much love for a book I read in 8th grade.) In a lot of ways it does remind me of the first gen, and I love the fixes.

Really, after nearly 500 critters, I expect designs to be kind of dry or repetitive. A lot of people complain about the names: remember, all the names (well, most) are redubbed for the US and English. Honestly, I preferred a lot of the Japanese names for the puns.

I’m one of those people who’ve been playing since the first gen, and will keep playing the games. I can’t help it, curiosity and love for the series keeps me playing.

In regards to the comic: RUN FROM THE MAN-EATING BEANBAG, BROOKSIE. It wants your ADORABLENESS!

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