Pokemon Pearl Version

"How do you get a Pikachu on the Bus?"

You "poke him on." Do you get it! "Poke him on" sounds like Pokemon. Well, I heard that joke from my friend when Pokemon Diamond & Pearl came out. So, I thought I would use it for a slogan for my review. Pokemon Pearl is the new Pokemon game for the series and it's the first one on the DS as well. The Pokemon series is one of the most known Nintendo franchises out there. (Next to Mario, Link, and Kirby that is) I think almost 85% of the world know what Pokemon is. Well, if they can read that is. So, this is the 4th generation of Pokemon with more than 100 new pokemon. Is it worth the buy? Well, if you're looking for something new and exciting and has never been done before. Too bad, because you definitely won't find it here.

Graphics: 6

The graphics are better looking than most Pokemon game I have played. Well, duh!?!? This is the newest one compared to Sapphire and Ruby. The graphics are smooth and colorful and the DS does a good job at supplying us with these kinds of graphics. But the graphics look only a slight better than some GBA games. Which isn't total bad, but after 4 years without a Pokemon game. You would think that the graphics would be extremely better than this. Another thing that was a disappointment was that you couldn't move in 3-D. You could only move left, right, up, and down. I was hoping for a control pad that would let me move to the upper right or that you could walk in a slanted line instead of always walking in a vertical or horizontal line.

Sound: 6

Sound is still the same as the old Pokemon game. Same pokemon grunts and stuff. I was just hoping that when you see a wild Pikachu that the Pikachu would go " Pika piii" or something like that. Instead you get a "grraaww" or some weird computer noise. And Pikachu isn't a computer noise. Background music is average and nothing really stands out as extraordinary good, but the legendary pokemon battle music is pretty good. I didn't really care for any of the other music in this game, because none of them were really outstanding.

Gameplay: 6

The Pokemon game has the most simplest gameplay ever, yet it's so addicting for some people. You and your foe take turns attacking each other with attacks. Of course, you have to add in super effectives, and not very effectives to add some strategy to the game. Example fire > grass, thunder > flying, psychic > dark. I don't know how dark owns psychic, but that's ok, because it just adds a whole bunch of strategy to the game. You can also catch Pokemon and add them on your team. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the game you'll be seeing multiples of the same pokemon in the wild grass. "This is my umpteenth time seeing a Bidoof."

But the thing that killed the gameplay was the slow combat. Like when you enter a battle you have to watch the grass move then the wild pokemon slides from the left to the right. After that happens you see that pokemon do some sort of dance or growl and then you send out your pokemon. Yea, it was interesting for the first few battles. Then it got totally boring and I felt like I wanted to skip all of that stuff I didn't need to see. You can turn off the battle animations, but the game still feels sluggish and slow moving. Also battles are frequent and can last up to a minute just to get 8 exp.

The poketch to me was something thrown in just to show off the DS touch screen. Some of the things are useful like a watch, but 75% of them are totally useless. Like flipping a coin, telling how many steps you took, even showing all your pokemon moving around. But at least the game has Wi-Fi, so you can battle people without that stupid link cable thing. The biggest plus to this pokemon game is this.

HMs are pretty useless in this game, because you have to get rid of one of your pokemon's moves just to learn an useless attack in battle like Cut or Defog. And since you can only carry 6 pokemon about one of them will just be useless, because that pokemon will just know useless HM attacks. 2-on-2 battles are boring as ever. There twice as long as normal battles and you only get some measly experience points. And then you take another three steps and you have to fight another double battle. Good thing double battles don't come up often or else this game would've been a real bore.

The new pokemon aren't as good looking as the original 151. I thought all the starters looked ugly in this game and when they evolve they get even more ugly. The pokemon also need some variety, because there starting to look the same and the new ones are ugly. But I can't seem to totally hate this game, because maybe of the old feelings of the first pokemon game.

Value: 7

This game will last you a long time if you want to catch all the pokemon in the game. And some people will actually go that far, but not me. And it will even last you a long time if you just want to finish the game and beat the elite four. Took me around forty hours to finish the main game, but there are a whole bunch of extras after the game which add to the re-playability. So, if you're a big fan of the pokemon franchise by all means purchase this game.

Conclusion: 6

If you're looking for a good RPG for the DS, then maybe Pokemon Pearl might be the game for you. If you're looking for something appropriate for your child then this game may be your chance. Pokemon Pearl is good for anyone from young people, but for people that are already bored of the pokemon game then this game won't be for you.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/27/07, Updated 09/21/07

Game Release: Pokemon Pearl Version (US, 04/22/07)