So. Pokemon Black 2 is now out!
Didn’t look like there was a spoiler opening like with N. Just some flashes of people and a guy with the weirdest hair yet:
Opening music is hella ominous.
Hey look, ice! I heard something regarding ice while trying to ignore spoilers. Clarify nothing, readers.
“Ice pokemon are cool,” volunteers Smallbrother.
Hi there!
Welcome to the world of Pokemon!
My name is Professor Juniper. Everyone calls me the Pokemon Professor!
That’s right! This world is widely inhabited by mysterious creatures called Pokemon!
Pokemon have mysterious powers. They come in many shapes and live in many different places.
We humans live happily with Pokemon! Living and working together, we complement each other. We help each other out to accomplish difficult tasks.
I will bet money that this game will also fail to show what humans help pokemon accomplish, besides “get better at helping humans”.
Having Pokemon battle one another is particularly popular, and it deepens the bonds between people and Pokemon. And that is why I research Pokemon.
Because battling deepens bonds? Admittedly, that does seem a good research subject.
Well, that’s enough from me… Could you tell me about yourself?
Are you a boy?
Or a girl?
Holy shit.
The boy is wearing a short-sleeved jacket and baggy shorts. The girl is wearing…
Okay, so she’s wearing one of those things that’s halfway between a short and long sleeved shirt. I’ve worn these on very rare occasions and hate them, having something that ends right around the elbow joint means it irritates you when you bend your arms. She’s wearing some ruffled thing that isn’t even a miniskirt. If not for her black skintight leggings, she’d be flashing everyone. Also, the hairdo. Don’t tell me the boy’s hairdo sucks, it does, but hers sucks even on the scale of sucky female character outfits.
So I do what I should have done last time and select the boy.
You’re a boy, right?
Yeah fuck you too. If that’s what you think boys look like, then sure.
I’d like to know your name.
Same as usual.
Your name is Farla?
Yup.
So your name’s Farla! What a wonderful name!
Thank you.
Could you tell me a little about your friend — the older boy who lives nearby?
Huh. Well, he looks like some sort of scrappy fighter kid.
Would you mind telling me his name?
Oh. Just that.
I really wish we could pick which traits went with which character.
Default option is Hugh, which is a horrible name only people who hate everyone else give their children. I will name him Gary, in homage to the non-sucky rivals of yesteryear. Better live up to it, Gary!
Gary? Did I get that right?
Lady, you think I’m a boy and you’re trusting me to give you the names of people I already don’t much like. You clearly aren’t concerned about inaccuracy.
Farla!
Oh so we don’t even get a girl rival this time! I’d be angry, but let’s face it, nonexistence is preferable to that thing we had to deal with last time. Sorry Bianca, I’m sure you were a very nice person, but that fucking battle animation.
Death is too good for whoever came up with this.
I’m going to entrust you with a Pokemon. I’m sure you will be great partners.
By your definition, yes, yes we will. Until I dump it off my team for some reason, I mean.
The moment you choose the Pokemon that will accompany you on your journey, your story will truly begin.
Just like it did the last few hundred times I’ve played a pokemon game.
During your journey
God we’re still going.
you will meet many Pokemon and people with different personalities and points of view.
“The ones that say this are the only people with the right points of view, of course. Also, pokemon viewpoints are just a theoretical thing, we’re not interested in what those might actually be.”
I really hope you learn what is important to you as a result of your travels…
Beating the game on hard mode with cool pokemon.
That’s right! Befriend new people and Pokemon and grow as a person! That’s the most important goal of your journey! Let’s go visit the world of Pokemon!
We start in Spring. Fitting.
And…there’s this long animation with…cherry blossom petals? Huh, I seem to live in a more citylike area today.
Oh hey, the people can look up and down.
And there’s this girl?
Oh, hi!
Why, Aurea Juniper! It’s been far too long! What can I do for you? … Wow! A Pokedex… For my child?
Arg, I was about to compliment the game for making another NPC Juniper deals with female, but it’s your mom, who’s in every game to have a personality that’s just being a stay at home mom.
Why, that’s great! I think a journey would be a wonderful experience!
The narrative coddles you more by the game.
What now? She’s already here? Oh, for Pete’s sake. You never change. Once you’ve decided on something, you just start going. OK! Bianca, right? A big, green hat. Got it.
Hm. So is the reason the rivals had set names last time because they meant to use them here?
They could have just asked you to name them in the opening as well…
OK! No worries!
And in she goes to the house.
Farla! I’m home!
Hm. No upstairs room. Also, ugly sprite. The hair is just way too big. Maybe I should go with the girl. Her sprite’s terrible, but her overland sprite might be okay…
Alright, I was hoping for this so I didn’t have to buy it.
Really? But the fun of the game is the pokemon battles, and I’m just going to be complaining about the plot and stuff.
I actually like the girl’s outfit better than previous ones. Yeah, the skirt’s a little short, but she’s wearing leggings and appropriate shoes, and her shirt isn’t revealing at all. It looks like a normal weekend outfit, especially since leggings as pants are in style right now. Her hair is definitely ridiculous, but so is the boy’s.
On second thought, her skirt even looks like cloth shorts. It might just be how it’s drawn, but it looks like the sides wrap around, which would make them similar to nike shorts, which is even more appropriate.
I’ve probably given too much thought to this, but at least I can see me or one of my friends wearing this. :)
Edit: I was going to buy the game to play it myself, but I think I’ll read your playthrough first to figure out if it’s worth it.
Her upper half’s fine, I just have a visceral DNW at the sleeve length. I have worn those and they suck. (Also, the boy gets a thicker top while hers has to be skintight.)
Yeah, the skirt’s a little short
The leggings go up past it because it’s so short on the top. And it’s flared so it’s almost vertical on the sides. You could see all the way up it.
If someone wanted to wear that while running around, hey, maybe it’s comfy. But it’s drawn here to show off as much of her legs as they could get away with. Honestly, this is making last game’s tiny shorts look good.
I think they’re ruffly shorts. They join in the middle. And yeah, horrible sleeve length
Yeah, that’s true. I happen to like 3/4 sleeves, so I’d call that personal opinion, but they are definitely sexualizing her. Ick.
Weirdly enough, if you got rid of the panty-shorts, the outfit would be fine. It’d be similar to what I wear to run on cold days.
Hm, yeah, it’s like the extra covering is there to imply there’s something worth hiding (and which it’s doing a very bad job of) while if it wasn’t there the whole issue would disappear.
Now I’m going to have to make sure I stay ahead of you to not get spoiled in all the plot-complaining. Motivation!
I didn’t even notice that was that blond guy’s hair. I thought it was some weird futuristic Japanese headphones attached to his skull. The girl sprite reminds me of the 90s fashions that were popular when I was a kid. Perhaps they’ve reached the “retro phase” in Japan these days? I agree half-length sleeves are strange and annoying, but I feel that way about short-sleeved jackets too. If it’s cold enough to wear a jacket, my arms are cold too and I want them covered. But, my northern relatives keep giving me such things to stick in the back of my closet, so someone somewhere must wear them.
I don’t think you have to worry about me overtaking you, this will likely be progressing at a healthy crawl.
I didn’t even notice that was that blond guy’s hair. I thought it was some weird futuristic Japanese headphones attached to his skull.
That was my first thought, then when I looked closer to try to get a hint of what kind of futuristic thing it was, it became hair.
I’ve worn short sleeved sweaters and jackets, and in my experience they work for when you’re really active and the temperature is just slightly too cold – they keep your main body warm without making you overheat. But it’s a delicate balancing act.
I hate his outfit more than hers.
Really? Am I missing the hidden shoggoth in it?
His outfit seems to be the work of a blind clown.What is with that vizard (google says that is the word) and his ridiculous unkept hair?
Don’t even get the me started on the rival who seems to be using shorts under leggings.
Nah, that makes sense – I mean, I can’t explain the abomination coming out of his skull, but the vizard thing is keeping it out of his face while blocking sunglare, which can be an issue while traveling. What’s weirder is his apparent lack of socks…
But I’ll grant you nothing compares to the rival.
Nooo, my game probably isn’t going to get here for a week or two! :( Why do you taunt me so.
Have you seen PETA’s “Pokémon Black & Blue” game yet, by the way?
My replacement illegal cheating device to unlock hard mode won’t be either, so I sympathize. I probably won’t get very far while you’re waiting, though.
Silly PETA, don’t they know that’s every game?
Am I the only one that noticed that the girl is in fact Princess Leia!
She reminds me more of Meiling from Cardcaptor Sakura.
Oh! Good one. Here I’ve been thinking “Some strange combination of Princess Leia and Sailor Moon, who both ruined her hairstyle for anyone else.” I wish she just had normal pigtails, because then she would be super-easy to cosplay.
I would love to see female Pokémon protagonists with normal ponytails or simple back-of-the-head buns. You know, easy and practical hairstyles for traveling. And ponytails are also super cute on just about anyone.
Most of them aren’t bad in the hairstyle. The BW1 girl’s pretty good: just a high ponytail through a hat, maybe some fallen strands framing the face. HGSS girl: pigtails, hat. Crystal girl: pigtails. RSE: fairly short hair, banana. Only the FRLG and DPPt girls have long, loose hair unless I’m forgetting something. Most have terrible outfits, but that’s a different matter.
ruffled shorts <3 I have black, silk ones.
Rather than sexualizing her, I think the gamemakers are following the recent urban fashion trends. The only thing missing from the girl is a really long cardigan.
And lol her hair must drop down to her feet to make buns that big.
Cool to hear that they have cherry blossoms in spring. I just started mine today in a Winter month, and as you might expect, the petals are replaced by snowflakes. I wonder what they use in Summer, though. Probably green leaves. Autumn would obviously be fall leaves.