Nerd Mentality

REVIEW: Pokémon Platinum

Posted March 28th 2009 by Matt Coy.

Has it really been 10 years already? I remember it like it was yesterday: walking outside into the clean air with soft nostalgic music playing in the background and going to the Professor's lab to adopt some sort of quadruped creature with a plant growing on it. My childhood rival, the only friend I have in such a small town, of course chooses the biped that spits fire and scratches my plant pet in a battle of strength with bragging rights on the line.

Wait a second; now I remember! I remember it like it was yesterday because it actually was yesterday. But the same exact event also happened 10 years ago. No, it's not deja vu; it's Pokémon Platinum.

Yes, the Pokémon tradition that started with Red and Blue versions all those years ago still continues to this day. Most recently it comes in the form of Pokémon Platinum, essentially an expansion pack to the 2007 installments Diamond and Pearl. It's grown to be a series that both adults and children play, as it appeals to both demographics. Children like the collection aspect: being able to catch a bunch of critters ranging in looks from something that could melt you with cuteness to something that could melt you fire or acid. The trading aspect, in which you can trade Pokémon with your friends, expands upon this greatly as it forces children to make friends in order to "Catch 'Em All!" Adults look towards the battling aspect, which is surprisingly deep, as you have to choose up to six creatures with up to four attacks each to defeat your opponent. Of course, the different Pokémon have different strengths and weakness, and you have to build your team of monsters around countering those weaknesses while still maintaining their strengths. There are also multiple ways to influence a monster's stats through specific breeding and training methods, neither of which are stated explicitly in the game. They require outside research to fully understand, which builds upon the community aspect to the games.

As an adult, I still shamelessly enjoy the Pokémon franchise because of the complex battle strategies and the almost limitless variety of teams one can make. Sure, there are Pokémon that are obviously built to be stronger from the get-go, but I prefer using my favorites simply because it's more fun that way. And isn't that what video games are all about?

Despite these gameplay intricacies, it is nonetheless a 10 year-old premise. As a diehard fan of the series, I can easily admit that the core gameplay of the series has not changed very much since we first stepped foot outside of Pallet Town and caught our first Rattata. You still have the same basic turn-based gameplay, eight badges to collect, the Elite Four to beat, and loads of Pokémon to catch. And the caves are still full of Zubat using Confuse Ray and Geodudes exploding every two steps. Most of the changes in the past decade have been completely under the hood.

Platinum brings minimal core gameplay changes to the table. One significant change is the addition of Move Tutors, who are NPCs located throughout Sinnoh that will teach your Pokémon moves that they couldn't learn in any other game. This means some Pokémon who were previously unusable are now completely viable for multiplayer battling, which is a welcome addition. There are also fixes for a few things Diamond and Pearl did wrong. For one, the extremely poor opponent AI is drastically improved. Gone are the days where trainers tell their Rapidash to use Solarbeam on a grass-type. In Platinum, even the common trainer makes great use of status effects, attack combos, and multiple elemental attacks. Another welcome change is there are plenty of fire types available to catch before you face the Elite Four; Ponyta and Chimchar are no longer your only options. In fact, there are plenty of assorted old favorites that are available much earlier on: Eevee, Houndour, Scyther, Togepi, Magnemite, Elekid, Magby, and many more (in total, 52 more Pokémon are available before the Elite Four).

In addition, the single-player adventure has been reworked extensively, enough to where anyone who played Diamond and Pearl can enjoy the changes in Platinum. To follow through with what happened in the plot, most encounters with Team Galactic towards the end of the game have been reworked. I won't spoil too much (assuming you haven't heard the news already), but suffice to say, Cyrus' diabolical mission comes to a much more dramatic point, and you're sucked in with him. These changes also put Dialga and Palkia (the main legendaries of the current trio of games) on the back-burner. Giratina, a Ghost-type legendary Pokémon who was only caught in the late game in Diamond and Pearl, has become the main star.

The story is something that has definitely changed throughout the progression of the series. With each game, the main villains have gotten into bigger and bigger schemes. In Red and Blue, the villains, Team Rocket, were incredibly simple bad guys that stole Pokémon; there was no bigger goal in sight. Now, in Platinum, the antagonists aren't so much into stealing Pokémon (though it does happen to a great extent). Team Galactic is out for control of the entire universe, and there is actually a purpose to stealing/"borrowing" the Pokémon. While the plot is definitely no Final Fantasy, it is still enjoyable and does give a purpose to defeating the villains apart from "me good guy, you bad guy. We must fight!" Platinum goes deeper into the workings of Team Galactic and actually gives character motivation to why the head of Galactic, Cyrus, is doing the things he does. In addition, a new character is brought into the series: Looker. He plays the role of the overly-paranoid detective that is looking into Team Galactic as you go on your adventure. He is a welcome addition to the cast as his antics are actually pretty funny, despite holding to a cliché character archetype.

The graphics and music are essentially unchanged from Diamond and Pearl. There are a few new tracks and graphical overhauls, mainly involving the new plot points, characters, and areas. Overall, the same great music from Diamond and Pearl persists, providing soothing tunes that enhance the mood of whatever is going on onscreen. The graphics still provide a 2.5D view, in which the gameplay is two-dimensional, but the surrounding overworld is scattered with 3D objects. The new Distortion World is extremely well-rendered and features topsy-turvy gameplay that literally has you walking on ceilings. It's nice to see something so drastically different be made so well.

Closing Comments

Now, the ultimate question: who should buy this game and who shouldn't? To put it bluntly, it's the same game we all know and love with a few modifications. If you haven't played since Red and Blue, or even Gold and Silver, I think you should definitely give this game a chance. Enough has changed over the years to give you a different experience. If you've already played through Diamond and Pearl, it all depends on your level of Pokémania whether the changes are enough to make Platinum worth it. Obviously, if you simply don't enjoy the Pokémon series, this game isn't going to change your mind. Conversely, if you can't get enough of the little guys, go buy this game now, if only to have the chance to embark on a new adventure in Sinnoh with a wider variety of Pokémon!

Tags: Pokémon, Nintendo-DS

Posted in: Reviews, Gaming

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