Cynthia: I think I have finally found the answer from studying the myths. When this world was made, Dialga and Palkia appeared. Apparently, there was one more Pokemon that appeared at the same time. A Pokemon with as much power as Dialga and Palkia… But also one whose name was never to be spoken— Giratina!
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Game Freak
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E
Release: March 22, 2009 (NA) May 22, 2009 (EU) May 14, 2009 (AU)
Pokemon Platinum
Introduction:
The 3rd game in the Pokemon Diamond/Pearl generation is Pokemon Platinum. Like in the past, the 3rd game is focused on one of the legendaries, except for Pokemon Yellow. Suicune for Crystal and Rayquaza for Emerald. This time, it’s Giratina’s turn. Perhaps it’s too similar to D/P, however with a decent amount of changes from the previous two, will it be successful?
Storyline:
Pokemon games usually have great, original storylines. These are usually around 30-50 hours long, so there's a lot to get through. I’m sure we’re all aware of how a normal Pokemon game usually goes. You receive a Pokemon from the Professor, and that’s when the story begins. Behind your Rival, the player travels town to town, city to city in a world with oceans, mountains, forests and Pokemon defeating the Town/City’s Gym Leaders on a quest to become the greatest Pokemon Master ever. Along the way, you will encounter the evil team of bad guys as usual. It’s up to you to save the world and to find the Legendary Pokemon only spoken of, never seen.
In this case, Team Galactic will be plotting something evil, which only you can stop. Save the world from an enraged Giratina, and become the Pokemon Master. To accomplish this, you will have to go through a long confusing maze, where the Laws of Physics do not apply. This place is the Distortion World, and it allows you to walk upside down etc. to make your way through . At the very end, you will battle Giratina in order to make the two worlds peaceful again.
.. Don't ask.
You’ve probably played a Pokemon game before, at least once. Even though Pokemon Platinum is the latest in the series, you would have the general outline of the main structure. It has always been like that after Kanto. “So, you’re saying it’s not worth it?” At this point, that thought may be running through your head. The answer? Not really. There are plenty of things that make it different to all the others. I can assure you that it’s not the same old adventure as Hoenn and Kanto. In my opinion, the storyline here is very addicting. There is a lot to discover and explore, transforming a basic storyline into a more detailed one.
Gameplay:
One thing that I began to notice after a while was that there was a lot more to the game than I expected. Putting the storyline aside, you can enter things such as Pokemon Contests and Battle Contests (Battle Frontier). My point being that Pokemon Platinum has a lot of interesting features to offer and you can take a break from the storyline once in a while. Creating strong teams can occupy your time with hundreds of unique combinations and with some work, you will be the best Pokemon Trainer in Sinnoh. Of course, this is your other objective. Pokemon Platinum can be a very competitive game over WiFi so for some people, it may be hard to keep up. However, this doesn’t exactly make Pokemon Platinum difficult. The game’s difficulty starts off fairly easy but as you progress, the player should expect Platinum to get harder. Keeping your Pokemon up to this level needs quite some effort and time. The same can’t be said for WiFi, with a large variety of players you should be able to find a trainer at the same level as you.
The controls for Pokemon Platinum are fairly simple and you can get the hang of it pretty easily. You use the D-Pad to move around. The A button performs basic commands, such as talking to someone, selecting an item etc. B is pretty much ‘back’ or ‘exit’ and X opens the in game menu. In battles, the touch screen does come in handy. With 4 simple options, battling is very easy to get the hang of. Just by a quick tap, the controls aren’t a problem here. The Poketch is also seen throughout your adventure in Sinnoh, wherever you go. Controlled by the touch screen, it has various features like a calculator, a pedometer, and even a Move Tester (you can check a Pokemon’s type against another in order to see how effective it will be). This means that almost anyone can play Pokemon Platinum, it’s very easy to understand and the controls work well for this game.
The new Battle Frontier.
WiFi:
Pokemon Platinum supports Online Play, and this allows new experiences which you could never have in the previous generations. I’ll start off with the WiFi Plaza. Upon first entering the new WiFi Plaza, I took a look around. The WiFi plaza can hold 20 players, from all over the world. The player can start a conversation with anyone from anywhere, in the room. You can choose from a variety of questions and the other player will respond. It wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. Also in the room, you can find 3 different minigames to play with other people. These being Swalot Plop, Mime Jr. Top and Wobbuffet Pop. Waiting for people to join can take quite a while, and sometimes you don’t even find any people willing to play. A WiFi Union Room was always something that we all wanted, and the final outcome isn’t bad at all.
The mini game, Swalot Plop.
The Global Terminal really brings out the best of WiFi in Pokemon Platinum. From the outside, it looks great. Inside, it’s even better. Without using the friendcodes feature, players can put Pokemon for trade, specifying the details of the Pokemon they would like in return. While your
DS is off, anyone from anywhere all over the world can trade that certain Pokemon for yours. In return, you can also search for anyone else’s Pokemon to trade. This makes things a lot easier than having to register people’s friendcodes etc. Otherwise, this unique building grants you the ability to view Pokemon Battles submitted by other people, as well as Pokemon storage boxes.
Outside the new GTS (left) Inside the new GTS (right)
The graphics retain the 2D look which is often found within Pokemon games, but it has a different feel to it. The visuals are a lot more vibrant, appealing and they’re just nice to look at. The game is very colourful, and it simply makes your adventure more exciting. Each Pokemon has a sprite image, which also keeps the colourful look going. This shows them each in different battle positions, with nice animations seen as you send them out from their Pokeball. The graphics are good, nothing too amazing but they suit the game.
Sound:
The music in Pokemon Platinum goes with the adventure, and gives each part of the game that different feel. To be more precise, take the Giratina Battle Theme for example. It sounds generally spooky, but it still has that certain Pokemon touch to it. The music in the game really gives you that sense of an adventure, and for many RPGs the music is an important aspect. However, the
DS speakers are the problem here. Compared to the sound with headphones, the speakers aren’t good enough. Although, those with the DSi have nothing to worry about. The new and improved speakers on the DSi are a lot louder and clearer than the
DS’s, but I wouldn’t say that the DSi is worth it just for that. If you’re not getting the DSi then you’d be better off with a decent pair of headphones to really appreciate the sound in this game.
Longevity:
Pokemon Platinum will surely keep you going for a while, especially if you’re keen on catching every single Pokemon. I love how they turned what was generally a basic storyline into one that was so intriguing. I found it hard to put down, especially because trying to make a perfect team for Competitive Battling and completing the game was so absorbing. With all the WiFi features in mind, this game could probably last around a few months or so after completing the main storyline. In my experience, it quickly became one of my favourite
DS games, and I still am playing it quite a lot. If I had to describe it, I would say that it's very addictive.
Pokemon Platinum Trailer
Summary:
Pokemon is back, with a new adventure for us all. While the series is becoming more predictable by each game, most of us are still ready for the challenge that it gives us. With a twist in the storyline you’ll eventually fight Giratina, and be the hero that all Pokemon games usually end with. The gameplay is very simple and it’s very easy to get used to. While I believe that the Online Play is excellent for this game, I wouldn’t really say that it is worth it solely for this. However, when considering the other aspects too it only comes down to whether or not you want to go for the adventure again. If there’s anyone looking into a good RPG and you’re looking to get back into Pokemon, I would recommend this game.
Re: Pokemon Platinum
Pokemon Platinum... awesome!
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