Pokemon Black and White 2 Announced
During the Pokemon Smash! TV show in Japan, Game Freak head Junichi Masuda let the electric shooting cat out of the bag; Pokemon Black and White 2 are headed to the DS!
The announcement was surprising on many levels. First, it’s no shocker that a new version of Black/White would be coming eventually, especially considering the series is known for releasing a third “enhanced” version, (and by enhanced, I mean the same game with a few slight changes.) However, these games are the first full fledged sequel within a Pokemon generation. Whether or not the game will have a new story, an updated Unova region or a new region altogether remains to be seen, but I’m crossing my fingers that the game will expand on the surprisingly well told story from the originals. Oh, and now there are two new versions instead of one, proving once again that Pokemon’s strongest ability is the ability to print money.
Secondly, while I have no idea how the games would properly communicate if they were on different platforms, it seems to be a shock to some that the games are coming to the DS instead of the 3DS. It makes sense to me that a direct sequel to a DS game should remain on the DS while the next generation is prepped for the 3DS, especially since the 3DS is fully backwards compatible, but I feel for my 3DS owners who want their creatures to take advantage of their shiny new handheld. Let’s just hope that the games will have extra 3DS functionality or bonuses, like Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages did for the GBA.
And lastly, the cover Pokemon seems to be the complete version of the three main Legendaries from the first games. It was said that the previous mascots, Reshiram and Zekrom, were once one Pokemon that split into two, while the hidden ice beast Kyurem was implied to be their discarded body after the split. What can these new creatures be? Are they new Pokemon, or are they Kyurem with either Reshiram’s fire element or Zekrom’s electric element? I can’t wait to find out!
Black and White 2 will hit Japanese shelves in June, while the games will be “coming soon,” to North America.
