From the time of its release up to the current day, Generation Five of the Pokémon series (consisting of Black and White and Black and White 2) has been the most hotly contested Generation in the series. Some regard them as some of the best, while others believe it’s some as the worst. Then again, some have flipped sides. Whatever you think of these games, they did things differently from other generations. Today, we’ll be taking a look at 10 reasons why Generation Five is the best Pokémon Generation.
10 Sequels, Not Remakes
From Generation Three to Four, remakes were expected to be the follow up to the new games before a third, upgraded title came into the mix. Generation Five was the first time that this trend was bucked.
Black 2 and White 2 shocked the community, and completely changed the way that a Generation could unfold, adding some variety to a formula that had gotten a bit stale. Even so, rest in peace to Pokémon Grey, Z, and Stars. Oh, and Gun.
9 The Art Direction
The art direction throughout the Generation Five titles, and the Unova region as a whole, is beautiful. We’ll discuss this more in a bit, but the titles really pushed the series and the DS to the extremes.
The pixel art in both battles and the overworld is incredibly detailed. Everything feels alive and real. The impression the games make just from the beginning is huge. Features such as the seasons gimmick really help to drive home just how great the art of these titles was.
8 The Plot
A great plot is a central aspect to any good Pokémon game, and Black and White certainly hit it out of the park. While the sequels weren’t quite as fantastic, there were many aspects of the original that were just great.
The focus on Team Plasma’s liberation motivation, N’s character, Bianca’s arc and growth throughout the game, the titles really nail this aspect of the game. It is unfortunate that after Generation Five X and Y sort of spiraled and didn’t deliver on the levels of these games in the area of story content.
7 Separation From Previous Generations
As a soft-reboot of sorts for the series, Black and White featured only the Pokémon new to Unova until the Elite 4 was defeated. This forced many players out of their comfort zones and made them choose a team made up of only the Pokémon that were new to them. While the old classics were still there, they were saved until postgame. This was a smart move to make sure that the attention was squarely on Unova’s offerings this time around.
6 The Gimmicks
With Black and White, two of the main gimmicks introduced with the games were seasons and triple battles. Triple battles weren’t utilized often, but they were a fun new way to battle that changed things up a bit.
Seasons would dynamically change environments and other elements of the world, along with the design of some Pokémon. There were other great gimmicks too, with Black and White 2’s Pokémon World Tournament being a big standout. While many of these elements never came around again, they were at least tons of fun while they lasted.
5 The Locales
Being the first region not based around a Japanese real-world equivalent, Unova certainly impresses. The region is diverse and full of exciting areas to explore, including the massive city of Castelia City, which was the first of its kind in the Pokémon world.
Unova certainly makes sure that it makes its impression on players. Everywhere that you go is memorable and interesting, which is in part aided by the next entry on our list.
4 Pushing The Series And The DS
With advancements for the series such as full, animated cutscenes, Generation Five really brought Pokémon to the next level. While the games were still very much sprite-based, the amount of details paid to every single area of the overworld and battles is huge. Small but important details such as animated sprites for all Pokémon and the aforementioned seasons really made these games look stunning, and made them unforgettable in terms of the polish they delivered upon.
3 Bucking Conventions
Serving as a soft reboot for the series, Black and White are unlike a lot of other Pokémon games. As previously mentioned, the game featured only brand new Pokémon throughout the length of the story.
The game is also set in a region not connected to any other, meaning that there aren’t many callbacks or nostalgia pulls as we so often see in the series. Black and White were unapologetically their own games, which is certainly a large part of their appeal to many.
2 The Music
The music of Generation Five is arguably the best of any generation. While the Reshiram and Zekrom battle theme is literally the biggest bop that has ever been delivered by anyone and is better than the entire music industry as a whole, much of the soundtrack is very calm and peaceful. There are also many different areas of the game where you can talk to musicians that will add their instrument into the current track, which is a fantastic way to really integrate the music into the gameplay. Overall, the fantastic soundtrack is full of up-tempo and down-tempo tracks that make every single area of the games feel different and special.
1 Their Legacy
Overall, Pokémon Black and White (and in turn their sequels) were a set of Pokémon games that dared to be different. They pushed the DS hardware to its limits, contained an entirely new set of Pokémon with no returnees, told a fantastic story, had memorable locales and music, and were simply fantastic titles.
NEXT: A Definitive Ranking Of Every Starter Trio In Pokémon
Any current Pokémon fan owes it to themselves to go back to these games at some point to take a second look, and really take a look at everything that they had to offer. There’s a lot to be discovered and enjoyed in these games, making them a blast to play through.
