Well-designed mechanics, an immersive story, and breath-taking sequences make Pokemon Pearl an all-around impressive add
Yes, it’s THAT Pokemon Pearl. The one where friendship conquers above all else. The one where eight gym badges stand between you and the Pokemon League. The one where many of the passed down mechanics from early on in the series have been refurbished to feel fresh and nostalgic at the same time. The one where losing battles, money, and even your Pokemon can be solely responsible for your destructive demise as you scamper helplessly to the nearest Pokemon health station, praying that you’ll outlast the next few hours until you suddenly collapse and see no more!
Deep breaths, Tish. Deep breaths!
In a nutshell, that’s how Sinnoh plays out, save for maybe the constant flutter of drama ‘round every corner (sorry about that). But more importantly, that’s how Pokemon Pearl plays out, Nintendo’s latest addition to the long-standing Pokemon trilogy. If you’ve been following the series ever since its incipience, you’ll recognize many of the aspects within Pearl: there’s wild Pokemon, TMs and HMs, trainer battles, and also thrown in the mix is a new cast of villains – Team Galactic – attempting to take over every Pokemon in the known universe. Wedged among these familiarities are new traits, such as online play, allowing you to trade, battle, and converse with your friends via Wi-Fi and friend codes, and touch screen controls, allowing you to manage your Poketch, a watch that makes even a Rolex seem plastic.
The story itself plays out similarly to prior games – you travel all over Sinnoh, catching new Pokemon, collecting gym badges, competing with a rival to become the best trainer ever, and defeating other Pokemon owners in the process. The Pokemon you brandish will level up, learn new abilities, and occasionally evolve. Propagated across the map are TMs and HMs, machines taught to Pokemon as an extra incentive. Some you’ll come across, such as Cut or Rock Smash, are required if you wish to complete the game, while others are simple amenities that can be dished off for some extra cash. Most of the money you’ll earn comes from winning trainer battles, allowing you to buy Poke balls, status healers for Pokemon, and other, more redundant items, such as an escape rope to quickly exit a dungeon, or the super repel to fend off those nasty wild Pokemon.
While we’re quite acclimated to these facets, there’s an exceptionally big list of new Pokemon added to the national Pokedex, altering the central story significantly. Sinnoh is an immersive region that maintains many aspects of previous game maps, such as lakes, mountain peaks, temples, gyms, and even the Pokemon Mansion, albeit mostly everything is compiled in a different format, somewhat similar to how The Legend of Zelda’s primary locations will trade places on the map in different games. The battle sequences are merely recycled attributes from past adventures. The most notable discrepancies are the enhanced visual effects – brighter appearance, more polish pixel-wise, and really neat-looking attacks. As bothersome as reading what your Pokemon did may appear, it works quite well to the extent of keeping battles from being too over-the-top. Sometimes, however, it can be enough to make your eyes roll to the back of your head when your foe’s Pokemon faints and the dialogue says, “It’s not very effective…” Obviously it was if the dang thing collapsed.
A great way to earn experience points is by training against other Pokemon wielders, whom can be found all over the map at any time and corner. You’ll come across some pretty bizarre name recognitions, such as Youngster Tristan, Aroma Lady Liz, Ruin Maniac Brian, and Roughneck Kirby (if that isn’t an oxymoron…) But they’re a great way to gain new levels, techniques, and raise some cash for that cute sweater you wanted your Snorlax to have. And the Elite Four this time around is probably the toughest to ever surface in a Pokemon game.
There is so much stuff you can do that’s optional – join contests, take pictures, fish, shop, buy, sell, and a whole lot more. But probably the most interesting option is trade via online play at the Global Trading Station in Jublife City. As long as you’ve seen the Pokemon in the game, you can trade for it at any level and gender. First you must put a Pokemon up for offer, search for the one that you want, and wait patiently. It’s quite an ingenious new component exposed to the Pokemon world. You can also chat, trade, and battle your friends with friend codes. With these characteristics, one would think Pokemon Pearl is perfect for the DS hardware.
The graphics are easily the best any hand-held Pokemon game has ever experienced. Sinnoh is rich in vibrancy and color. One thing that is quickly recognizable is the alternations graphically that switch from 2-D thoroughly to 3-D in different perspectives. Everything appears flat until you see it in a divergent viewpoint. The texture is depicted in massive configuration on mountainsides and the water drawn towards it. Every aspect nature feeds off is so illuminating and detailed. The battle scenes are layered with radiant patterns and colors depending on the setting, and perfectly blended with stimulating visual effects committed by the Pokemon that are battling. Overall, the basic qualities of the graphics are pretty close to that of the Nintendo 64, which elucidates just how powerful this hand-held console is.
When it comes to audio, Pokemon Pearl has a knack for annoying you with uncharacteristically antagonizing sounds derived from certain Pokemon. Just when you thought a Geodude couldn’t sound anymore like a dying elephant, or a Zubat sounding like the console’s speakers are frying up, they still do. Even worse, when you run into something, the speakers blare out something that resembles the passing of gas. It can get exuberantly frustrating when you miss the door to the building and have to hear that noise over and over again. The music changes in different regions of Sinnoh, and most of it is pretty fitting to the mood. The tune played outside of Sandgem Town kind of sounds like Super Mario 64’s credits song at the end of the game, but otherwise the music has a nice tone all throughout the story.
Surprisingly for an RPG, Pokemon Pearl has a ton of replay value, primarily because you’ll want to go back and check out some of the Pokemon you missed, or maybe perhaps some of the TMs and HMs that got by you. Methodically speaking, the game never ends, even after you beat the Elite Four. You can still catch all kinds of Pokemon, trade them, battle them online, and raise their levels to their peak. It’s a routine cycle that allows you to continue playing for years to come. Even if you’re not a die-hard Pokemon fan or the fad doesn’t appeal to you at all, Pokemon Pearl is an excellent addition to any gamer’s collection.
Over all, Pokemon Pearl stands up to be one of the greatest role-playing experiences the DS has to offer, and maybe one of the best Pokemon adventures ever. Whether you’re familiar with the series or not, Pokemon Pearl is a must-try.
-Tish-