So you battle slowly, and then re-watch the battle you just fought in normal speed. After completing the fight, you can head over to the theater and watch the finished product.

Movie-making sequences are among the new additions, and they involve a slowed down battle where the player has to input combat commands in a certain order.

These are all great features that work well with the Pokémon formula, but none of them have expanded in a tangible way for the sequel. All of the impressive online trading and battle features also made the transition. There are a number of aesthetic changes to the sequel, including redesigned gyms and characters to account for the two-year storyline gap. Like Black and White, the world is 3D with 2D elements, battles are fully animated, and you occasionally have up to three Pokémon battling at once. Even if they only have a sentence or two to say, I was always interested. The story introduces you to all kinds of different trainers with distinct looks and personalities, something I have always appreciated in the Pokémon games. It hits all those saccharine notes of friendship and fighting for what’s right without anyone ever being in real danger – everyone makes their Pokémon fight all of their battles for them, after all. You cross paths with characters from the original, as well as the villainous Team Plasma, but for the most part this is a separate story rather than a continuation. You take on the role of a new trainer who sets off on his or her own journey two years after the events of Black and White. Despite the number 2 that appears after the title, these games feel more like the Gray we expected. I assumed that Pokémon Gray was the logical follow up to Black and White, but we were all surprised when Nintendo and Game Freak announce a direct sequel. Pokémon games get two color-themed releases, and then a third a few months later named after another hue. It’s a bizarre world, but it is an inviting one, and time flies by as you get absorbed. The people you meet either want to fight you or give you free stuff, and both kinds of people chase you down the moment you cross their line of sight.

Black and white game review