The (Most) Perfect Pokemon Games - Black 2 & White 2

There is no truly perfect Pokemon game, but in my opinion, there is one that comes close. This is my breakdown of the legacy of Pokemon Black 2 and White 2.

[JPRPokeTrainer]

We are ROCKETING towards 150k subs, thank you guys so much!!

[YuseiTheSynchroHero]

Generation 5: The pinnacle of not appreciating what ya got until it's suddenly taken away.

[IKEMENOsakaman]

Actually BW and BW2 were meant for young to late teens, not 10 year olds. That’s why the protagonists are 14 instead of 10. GF felt their audience was getting older, so they designed their game accordingly.

[zacharywheat]

These games have SO much to explore it's crazy.

The Battle Subway, the World Tournament, the White Forest/Black Tower, Pokestar Studios, Join Avenue, the Entralink, Hidden Grottos, tons of legendaries, side quests like Curtis/Yancy or the Abyssal Ruins.

And importantly, almost all of these things are well put together. They aren't shallow. Even the Pokestar studios has _tons_ of content, which I didn't realize until I tried to complete it.

[catalyst]

Gen 5 got so much hate from older veterans with Black and White. But Black 2 and White 2 brought back older pokemon and adding a bunch more features, switching in-game routes, adding the ability to continuously use repels, adding hidden grottos, having much harder battles and several straight-up run killers, and an awesome revitalized post game with the Yancy side quest, the PWT, shiny haxorus and gible rewards, and so much more. Best games, hands down.

[randomcommenter]

Black 2 was the first Pokémon game I ever finished, I still remember when gen 5 was so hated. Makes me happy to see that it’s been getting the love it’s deserved for a decade

[anujsingh]

The praise gen5 gets nowadays relative to its initial reception is very satisfying to me, because of how controversial things initially seemed. I wonder (and hope!!) if GF is aware of how beloved these games are by many of us.

Great video, and for those looking for more gen5 video essays praising these masterpieces, would definitely recommend KingK's retrospectives, too!

[connerautenrieth]

God I love the limited 3D graphics in this game. It’s so charming

[sterling]

Something you didn't talk about that I really appreciate is the sound design and minor detail. On various routes and towns, standing next to a musician adds their instrument to the already amazing music. Running on routes adds a drum or tambourine, adding to that sense of adventure. All route songs have a individual version for each of the four seasons with minor changes to the instruments that add to the mood. All town and cities have unique themes, adding to their individuality. And the seasons in general changing color pallets, terrain, ect. The attention to detail in this game is bitter sweet, as future games simply lack these clever details.

[victorgutierrez]

Pokemon BW2 will always have a special place in my heart, maybe even more than HG SS. I grew up poor and I played every gen 2 or 3 years late until I got HG SS, I sold my bike to get that game, but when I got BW2, it got me into the competitive scene. I played online for hours. I remember taking my ds to school and battle my friends, getting caught like 4 times playing the game in class. Sometimes I wish to experience that again, the nostalgia I get from watching videos like "pokemon BW2 is the best" is overwhelming. I never get tired of watching these videos. I never understood the hate these games got. But now I see people are starting to appreciate these games.

[TheWazzoGames]

Black and White 2 in my opinion are everything a Pokémon game should be. A plethora of legendaries to catch, rich post game content, and an amazing story with depth to it that leaves the player thinking long after they put their DS down.

Its such a shame that upon their release, these games were shunned and are one of the lowest selling entries in the series. If only we knew how bad it could get.

[hhjan]

In fact, you CAN get drought Ninetales in Black2/White2 legally even today without anyone's help. Pretty sure one secret hollow in the Abundant Shrine has a 1% rate to spawn a hidden ability Vulpix.

[eli]

I’m gonna be honest. I definitely loved the incredibly new fresh take when Gen 5 was released and didn’t even care that they didn’t have all the old Pokémon. I was more excited to see what new Pokémon were around and I liked having a new team. Plus afterwards you got access to older gen Pokémon anyways

[IgnitedQuils]

Gen 5 was a fun time when it came to the story, concepts, and exploring Unova (it does have a linear design but the routes tend to be interesting to go through like the Hidden Grottos and legendaries), not to mention seeing the animated trailer in 2012. And the animated cutscene of Kyurem fusing with Reshiram/Zekrom.

I do agree with you on the Pokestar Studios being the least interesting part, they could have not let it be a mandatory part to go through like in RSE with contests.

[goldenhydreigon]

Notice how the perfect Pokémon games according to JPR have Hydreigon in them.
This is furtherproof Hydreigon is the perfect Pokémon.

[silversilvia]

I’m so happy that gen 5 is getting all the love and a lot more ppl realizing that it’s the best gen or at least in a high ranking for Pokémon games

[beyond]

Gen 5 was a breath of fresh air yet it was familiar to past generations. That is how the series SHOULD have continued, but here we are scratching are heads and wondering why young teens loved Gen 5 yet some veterans did not. Thanks to the haters Pokémon has never been the same and it breaks my heart 💔

[HoennMaster]

I was definitely one of those people who was a little too critical of Gen 5 when it started. HGSS and Platinum are still my favorite games, but Gen 5 was seriously a great one too. Seeing what has happened to the games since then has made me appreciate it so much more.

[nikidelvalle]

It's sad that we're probably never going to get a Pokemon like this again. This was the series swan song, before all sense of creativity and effort was sucked out of the franchise forever.

[terraSpark]

I would love to point out that Drought Ninetails IS actually available. It can be found from a hidden grotto, it's surprising how many pokemon can be found in the grottos that are also pokemon you'd probably want. 😉