When times were tough for the Big N, Pokémon was
the publisher’s saving grace. It sold millions worldwide, raked in billions in
game, toy and merchandise revenue, and gave Nintendo another franchise to
leverage with each new handheld system.
Pokémon Pearl and Diamond were the joint sequels
that arrived on the DS two years ago. While not a groundbreaking continuation by
any means, the RPG duo was easy to fall in love with again. The battles were
tougher, the monsters were cooler, and the simple, turn-based gameplay was still
insanely addictive. Looking at other franchises, you wouldn’t think that Pokémon
could get away with only minor improvements in each sequel. But it has – year
after year.
In between each Pokémon sequel, Nintendo has
released at least one upgraded version of the current game. This dates back all
the way to the original Blue and Red editions. Thus, Pokémon Platinum – the
upgrade of Pearl and Diamond – was inevitable. The “upgrades” include a
brand-new level called the Distortion World, monster location changes, new story
additions, new multiplayer capabilities, and many more trainer and Team Galactic
battles.
The concept behind the Distortion World –
Platinum’s primary gameplay addition – revolves around a lot of space and time
mumbo-jumbo. Surprisingly, it is not a place you’ll visit to uncover new
battles. Platinum throws so many of them at you ahead of time that the
developers must have thought that was unnecessary. With no one to fight for the
first 10 or 20 minutes, the world’s purpose centers on the solution of a very
basic puzzle. You’ll need to push three boulders into three specific holes to
locate the exit, which leads to this level’s only battle. Pokémon do not run
freely in the Distortion World so you won’t have the opportunity to catch random
monsters. However, you might want to save your Master Ball – acquired not too
long before the Distortion World becomes available – for the final battle,
because there is one Pokémon worth catching.
The time and space element is exemplified with
numerous floating platforms. Your main character (named by the player as always)
must ride these platforms, many of which rise and fall through the depth of the
environment. Some of the platforms are suspended sideways – when jumping toward
them, your feet will latch on and your body will adjust as if gravity was not an
issue. (Something tells me Mario Galaxy inspired this stage.) The same is true
when walking upside down, an effect that is somewhat tricky to maneuver since
the game is not good at adapting the controls when gravity changes.
Consequently, pressing Up on the D-pad may cause your character to move in a
direction other than forward.
As an added bonus, the Distortion World is kind
of cool. It isn’t the most exciting land in a Pokémon game, nor is it the most
challenging. But the perspective change is interesting. And if you care about
the characters and the story, it expands on that as well.
On the other hand, if you’ve played through Pearl
or Diamond and were planning to buy Platinum just for the new world, you will be
supremely disappointed. First of all, let’s go back seven or eight years.
Remember the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater upgrade released for the original Xbox? It
featured brand-new levels that were exclusive to Microsoft’s console. However,
you couldn’t access them up front. To experience the new content, you had to
play through the game all over again. Pokémon Platinum was designed the same
way. That means investing $35 and nearly three dozen hours in an RPG most DS
owners played through a couple years ago.
Pearl and Diamond were so much fun that Platinum,
despite being almost entirely a rehash, is still fun most of the time. But for
me, Pokémon games have never been about the replay value. The single-player
content far outweighs the one-on-one multiplayer battles, so my experience with
each sequel typically ended when the quest was over. When it came time to play
through Pearl/Diamond all over again (via Platinum), enough time had passed that
some elements of the game felt fresh again. The battles were much easier than I
remembered – most could be finished with just one sturdy Pokémon – but the act
of going to gyms, earning badges and uncovering new monsters is top-notch
role-playing entertainment.
Of course, it was also top-notch 10 years ago and
will likely be top-notch 10 years from now. In other words, Pokémon hasn’t
evolved much since its inception, which is kind of ironic considering the
franchise’s emphasis on evolving monsters. This is expected – and perhaps a
little too accepted – with each sequel. Platinum, however, gave the developers a
chance to right every wrong in the series. If not a big step forward, why not at
least clean up some of the flaws that have plagued the series from day one?
Things that you may have never thought of as
being flaws – repetitive animations that can’t be skipped or an overabundance of
random encounters – are a major irritant when playing through the game a second
time whether it’s an upgraded version or not. The sluggish animations are
particularly problematic now that Advance Wars and Fire Emblem have had sequels
that allow players to bypass nearly everything they don’t want to see. Pokémon
Platinum, however, doesn’t even allow you to skip a story segment.
It’s these glaring issues that make it all but
impossible to recommend Pokémon Platinum to anyone that has already played Pearl
or Diamond. If you’re one of the few who hasn’t, hesitate no further. Add
Platinum to your collection at once. But don’t buy it as the diehard Pokémon fan
looking for a fresh experience – doing so will lead to great disappointment.
Review Scoring Details for Pokemon Platinum |
Gameplay: 7.8
Pokémon Pearl and Diamond all over again.
Graphics: 5
Not much better-looking than Pearl and Diamond, which were barely an upgrade
from the Game Boy Advance edition. Compared to most other DS titles, the 3D
backdrops are very dated.
Sound: 9
This might be Pokémon’s best soundtrack yet. Such depth and diversity are
rarely found within RPGs, especially those targeting all ages.
Difficulty: Easy
Maybe I’ve gotten too used to the Pokémon mantra. Or maybe this game really
is too easy.
Concept: 6
Pokémon Pearl and Diamond all over again. Wait, didn’t I just say that?
Multiplayer: 7
The Wi-Fi Plaza allows 20 players to connect simultaneously. However, the
battles have not changed and the new multiplayer gameplay does not go beyond a
few simple mini-games.
Overall: 7.6
A great game…two years ago in the form of Pearl and Diamond. Today,
Platinum is a good game. A must-own if you’ve yet to play Pokémon on the
DS, but not a good buy for anyone else.
