Pokémon Black

Overview

Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version are 2010 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fifth generation of the Pokémon video game series. First released in Japan on 18 September 2010, they were later released in Europe, North America and Australia in March 2011. Sequels to Black and White, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, were released for the Nintendo DS in 2012.

Similar to previous installments of the series, the two games follow the journey of a young Pokémon Trainer through the region of Unova, as they train Pokémon used to compete against other Trainers while thwarting the schemes of the criminal organization Team Plasma. Black and White introduced 156 new Pokémon to the franchise, 5 more than the previous record holder Pokémon Red and Blue, as well as many new features, including a seasonal cycle, rotation battles, triple battles, hidden abilities, and fully animated Pokémon sprites. Both titles are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot, and while both can be played separately, trading Pokémon between both of the games is necessary in order to complete the games' Pokédex.

Upon their release, Black and White received positive reviews, with praise for the advancements in gameplay. Reviewers, however, were divided on some of the Pokémon designs, and some critics felt that the games did not innovate as much as expected. Nevertheless, the games were commercial successes; prior to the games' Japanese release, Black and White sold 1 million consumer pre-orders and became the fastest Nintendo DS titles to sell 5 million copies. As of September 2017, the games' combined sales have reached 15.64 million, putting them amongst the best-selling games for the Nintendo DS, just behind their predecessors, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.

Official trailer

Trailer. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

POKÉMON BLACK Gameplay Walkthrough FULL GAME (Nintendo DS), Kouteshi. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Role-playing (RPG), Turn-based strategy (TBS), Adventure

Developer

Game Freak

Publisher

Nintendo

Series

Pokémon

Platforms

Nintendo DS

Age rating

ESRB E

Modes

Single player

Yes

Co op

No

Age ratings

CERO

A

USK

0

ACB

G

CLASS IND

L

ESRB

E

PEGI

3

GRAC

ALL

Release dates

Editions

Check out the store

Space and patches

Update patchNo patch

Playable today

Playable offline todayPartly

The story and local battles and trades still play; online play is gone.

Online

Plays offlinePartly

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	DS	87	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
Edge	8	10
Famitsu	40	40
Game Informer	8.75	10
GameSpot	7.5	10
GamesRadar	9	10
IGN	9	10
Nintendo Power	9	10
Official Nintendo Magazine	95	100
VideoGamer.com	9	10

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Developer	Game Freak
Publisher	Nintendo (outside Japan), The Pokémon Company (Japan)
Director	Junichi Masuda
Producers	Junichi Masuda, Hitoshi Yamagami, Shusaku Egami, Hiroaki Tsuru
Designers	Shigeki Morimoto, Shigeru Ohmori
Programmer	Tetsuya Watanabe
Artists	Ken Sugimori, Takao Unno
Writer	Toshinobu Matsumiya
Composers	Shota Kageyama, Go Ichinose, Hitomi Sato, Junichi Masuda, Minako Adachi

Notes for collectors

• The first games of the fifth generation, set in the Unova region.
• The main story uses only new Pokémon until the end.
• The C-Gear on the touch screen runs infrared, local wireless and Wi-Fi play, including the Xtransceiver video chat.
• The Pokémon Dream World on the Pokémon Global Link website sent Pokémon back to the game through the Entralink.
• Pokémon can move to the 3DS games through Poké Transporter and Pokémon Bank.
• 15.64 million copies of the pair sold by September 2017.

Credits

Publisher

Nintendo

Developer

Game Freak

Director

Junichi Masuda

Released

2011-03-06

Age rating

ESRB E

Region

US

Time to beat

about 32.8 hours