Once again the time has come for the release of a new Pokémon game. With the latest addition to the series making its way to the 3DS family of systems in a week, we continue with the second part of our Pokémon retrospective and further examine the franchise’s evolution. As we grew, Pokémon grew with us, but at the same time it provided younger gamers with a chance to forge the memories of a lifetime.
GENERATION IV (2006–2010)
– Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
– Pokémon Platinum
– Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver (remakes of 2nd gen)
The story is more or less the same. New Nintendo portable, new Pokémon game. History repeated itself once more and 2006 saw the release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl for the then new Nintendo DS. The additional graphical power of the DS led to these games being the first with 3D graphics mixed with 2D sprites. This interesting technique brought the Sinnoh region and its additional 107 new Pokémon species to life. Included in these were of course the new starters; Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup.
Small refinements were made to the core Pokémon formula and the battling mechanics but what this generation had to offer came in the form of connectivity and the use of Wi-Fi for online interactions like battling and trading. Further details were added to utilize the DS’s bottom screen for inventory management, time and note-taking. A ‘director’s cut’ of sorts was later released (Platinum) as well as improved remakes of the amazing second generation, as mentioned above.
GENERATION V (2010–2013)
– Pokémon Black and White
– Pokémon Black 2 and White 2
As years went by Game Freak became better and better in crafting their unique Pokémon experiences. Once again released on the Nintendo DS, this generation gave way to better use of online features, interesting design choices, triple battles and of course 156 new Pokémon complete with fully animated battle sprites. With this new selection of species to choose from, the developers sought to make Black and White feel like an entirely new game. The new 3D engine gave players the chance to explore the Unova region, complete with day/night as well as seasonal cycles. The starters were Tepig, Snivy and the cutest of all, Oshawott (don’t deny it).
To this day, the Black and White versions are the only core Pokémon games to receive direct numbered sequels. Black 2 and White 2, released also on DS, had a fresh storyline set 2 years later in new locations of the Unova region and completely new characters. The starters remained the same but the game was changed to include a variety of Pokémon not seen in the previous game of this generation.
GENERATION VI (2013–2016)
– Pokémon X and Y
– Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
I cherish this generation, maybe more so than the original one, because after a nearly 10-year break, I was reintroduced to the series with Pokémon Y. The starters, Froakie, Chespin and Fennekin reinvigorated my interest in the franchise and the jump to fully rendered 3D graphics blew me away. The Kalos region looked beautiful on 3DS and the seamless battling, trading mechanics impressed me from the moment I picked up the game.
This generation introduced 72 new Pokémon, the new Fairy-type, as well as Mega Evolutions of certain species. Players had the ability to customize their clothes and hairstyles as well as interact with their Pokémon using the touchscreen for training or friendship building.
The year following X and Y’s release, the world was introduced to Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire; these greatly enhanced and re-imagined remakes of Generation III used the same 3D engine as X and Y and utilized some of the same game mechanics like Mega Evolution and brought Fairy-types to Hoenn.
GENERATION VII (2016-???)
– Pokémon Sun and Moon
And just when I thought these games couldn’t get any better…
Pokémon Sun and Moon will be out on November 18th in the US and November 23rd for unlucky PAL players (hang in there).