Is Ray in Japan? Don’t we know what the game looks like already? Very strange, indeed… Well, I hope that the new Pokémon title will actually have animated sprites during their battles, do away with needless text (ROWANS WORDS ECHOED THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE FOR EVERYTHING!), and can you please just let me walk diagonally? It’s 2010, people. I think we can do it.
First?
First, second, third, and still missed the joke…
Maybe next time you won’t fail so hard.
GRAVE FROM MY RISE!!! Wait, sh*t, did it wrong. Nevermind. I just want to get my face (or generic human silhouette) out there. I’ve read every comic Via the Random button, and I look forward to more hilarity. Though in all honesty, I don’t have very high expectations for B&W. “OH MY GOD A NEW POKEMON GAME oh wait. I’ve played this exact game like 10 f*cking times already.” Seriously, Nintendo needs to get their act together.
0G earned by me. Wasn’t expecting a Black/White comic! Also, the new shirt is awesome! And the elbows got knubbier…
Overall, NCG and Success!
Elbows… still… not… nubby… enough…
*gasp* *pant*
*Ray passes out over his computer*
I didn’t notice the upgraded shirt at first. Perhaps Tim skimmed a bit of cash from the Pool of Money and gave it to Ray so he could afford a collared shirt. Prior to that, he was paying him in old Sega cartridges.
The games aren’t actually Black and White though. http://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/pics.shtml
That city image actually looks pretty epic for a pokemon game, of course maybe it’s nothing new compared to the last few releases, but I haven’t played a pokemon game since pokemon red edition…
Well, JohnW, I was. It was about time.
Minor laughter at the “Black & White” joke. That end panel could make a good wallpaper, but ti won’t replace my “Lost in Translation” wallpaper.
DO A BARREL ROLL!
well, lupineone, I stand corrected on what I said last week about the pokemon comic.
TheLupineOne WANTS TO LEARN VICTORY LAP!
ya know what this website needs…. some more toon ray/ toon tim comics.
Diagonal? Really? Out of all the many more valid lack of features in the series and you go for that?
It’s the grid-based movement layout system used in thousands of games. Yes, it may not be “total freedom of movement”, but this essentially an RPG we’re talking about here, grid-based maps go with them like bread and butter. If I wanted diagonal movement I’d replay the Zelda DX or Oracle games, yknow, where the engine and gameplay was built around the concept. Besides, diagonal movement would kill the “hidden items on floor” aspect of the game’s design, which with the addition of the Dowsing Machine has gotten really nice for obsessive hunting types like me.
Here are some much much better concerns:
1) HMs are still a huge pain. I suspect the “can’t delete” feature was put into the first games because you used to be able to store items on PC and therefore get yourself stuck on a map with no HMs to get you out. Nowadays it’s just sad that they still keep putting that limit in.
2) Multiplayer features are still so very sad. No experience is earned in anything. Multiplayer with real people I can maybe understand, but the single player extras are nerfed as well. There is little to no reason at all to go to the Battle Frontier except for some points-based nonsense. The dictionary-based “no non-approved words! ever!” approach fails because there aren’t enough words in their own dictionary. Not even basic stuff like colours/days/etc. Nintendo really needs to lighten up on the paranoia.
3)Anything even remotely interesting is locked away until after you’ve already finished the game, which really defeats the purpose of using them. Someone probably thinks that’s a way to “extend the gameplay” but there’s really not much extra content there, and more importantly, not enough renewing content. HG/SS is a tiny bit better in that regard with the mobile phone rematches, but it’s still… ehhh..
I could go on about the various menu/text things that slow down the pace of the game but that stuff is sadly the easiest of the flaws to overlook. (“Why do you still play it then?” some may ask? Because it’s POKEMON dangit! I had the brick GameBoy Classic!)
1) You know there are pokemon used as transportaion tools.
2) There are awesome items that can only found in battle frontier.
I have some information here that makes me think this WILL be brand new…
1) It might not succeed all 493 existing pokemon… or no at all.
2) No collecting those 8 badges.
3) The battle rule will prevent chance from affecting battle.
Sure if you want to ruin one pokemon to get past a design flaw, be my guest. It’s still a bad design flaw. And yes, fancy items, which still doesn’t improve on what the Battle Frontier could have been.
And yes, the new games look like they might possibly have some interesting new features. Like new battle sprites/animations/whatevers that Ray has been wanting so badly 😛
But me, I’m more annoyed at their lack of vision. Where’s the MMO Nintendo? Heck, I’d settle a proper console title!
I’ve seen many people keep climbing and climbing that batle tower just to get that Earthquack for his/her newly trained pokemon.
For them, this is the most fun thing to do with pokemon. Training and battling each other They chat about the team they use, the purpose of this pokemon etc.
And they prefer they don’t get exp. They tend to make their battling team all at lv 50. Because if they do, they might level up, meaning that they aren’t lv 50 anymore.
Well, the thing is, Kree, none of those things you mentioned would be a good replacement for the walking diagonally line.
Sometimes you’ve just got to pass on the more reasonable complaints and go with the more globally recognized one.
You would really prefer diagonal movement over better multiplayer or more dynamic content? Really? Great priorities there.
Diagonal movement is something that requires different design choices, not to mention a completely different underlying game engine. What you’re asking for isn’t some tiny upgrade, you’re asking for a completely different game with Pokemon skinned over the top of it. They’ve already got that in Pokemon Ranger, which was quite obviously designed as a different game.
Look, I’m not saying diagonal movment is a bad thing to have, but it’s also not “wrong” or “broken” to have a grid-based game engine.
Btw, sorry if I’m coming off as harsh, I’m not hating on the comic or anything (NCG! :P), it’s just… to me it feels like asking for diagonals is the same kind of random retooling like when Sonic Team designed the Werehog.
I mean, out of the two engines in Pokemon, the battle engine is waaaay more ripe for a retooling than the overworld engine.
No. You’re overthinking it.
This a comic. It has a joke to tell. So it should have a punchline, which should be quick, easy and streamlined. Because if your final line takes even a few words too long, the entire thing falls apart.
Your three examples are all flawed as a punchline, because they’re either not instantly recognizable enough to everyone, or take more than a short sentence to get out there.
This is why the lack of diagonal movement is the best complaint to make in this particular scenario. It’s simply the easiest flaw to turn into a quick, simple jab at the outdated nature of the Pokémon engine.
Woah hey I wasn’t trying to rewrite the punchline! :0
I actually found it amusing that they used an inside joke. It was mentioned on one of the podcasts. But as actual criticism it’s not the best.
And I still say it’s not “outdated”. If we decided to abandon every “old” game engine just because it doesn’t have one feature, we’d miss out on a lot of good games. Would you call a sidescroller engine “outdated” because you can’t move on the Z axis?
It’s the same game over and over and over again. I liked Pokemon Red. Everything after that has been a pointless rehash.
I shouldn’t be surprised though. Only EA Sports are better at milking a game series than Nintendo.
Guitar Hero and Call of Duty would like a word.
Diagonal movement is definately a doable feature. Especially since RPGs had grown out of the “lazy coding” phase a long time ago. Now the only people using this movement are dungeon crawlers and roguelikes. As for the Zelda compare, Zelda is grid based too.
Pokemon is not designed like a Roguelike and even many of those (Shiron the Wanderer) support this movement.
Uhh, Mystery Dungeon (aka pokemon: the rougelike) has diagonal movements. So does, as I mentioned, Pokemon Ranger. There is no bias against diagonal movement, it’s a design choice for them to stick with the same type of overworld engine that was chosen for the original game.
I believe the main reason why the “diagonal movement” punchline was used (other than Ray/Tim’s personal preference) is because of the fact that the same thing was mentioned on a podcast dealing with a pokemon-based comic (Biblical Proportions Edition). Or maybe it wasn’t that one… I dunno. I just woke up and am too tired to argue.
Anyway, sweet comic this week guys! I really liked the redesign of Ray’s clothes. Might we be expecting an update on Tim as well in the future? I’m not sure if you made any changes to the character Ray elsewhere (face/hair/etc), but the change does make him seem more mature.
To add to your point, they should do what they did in the original Gold/Silver, which was have an input system where you got to say whatever you wanted using the Mail. Also, lighten up on the 7-character limit for trainer names. Why do trainers only get 7 characters when Pokemon get 10?
Because it’s Pokemon world.
Trainers are inferior.
So pokemon got to walk diagonally, but trainers don’t.
Pokemon can have a name up to ten letters, but trainers can only have seven letters.
I hate the input system. Instead of marking areas on my map with my own words, like “Seals”, “Apricorns”, or “Loser” (I have to mark Joey and his Rattata somehow!), I have a limited selection.
And as blaster said, humans are inferior. Kadabras have an IQ of 500; you’d think they’d be in charge.
Also, Ray’s elbows just get more and more extreme every time.
So, Sky Fish, you finally decided to join the insanity…
Yeah, they are… at this rate, they’ll be arms of their own… o_O
@goldensmash128:
Hey, don’t mess with Joey. His Rattata is in the top percentage of Rattata.
@ckCheeseboy: Not after Feraligatr got through with it. His Rattata is now in the top percentage of hot dog meat.
@Mirby: You mean, he’ll have four arms? Sweet! Ray will look like a very skinny Machamp!!
Wow. You guys really THAT hate pokemon, don’t you.
I remember you said don’t poke fun of games that hasn’t been released
Ugh… this site used to be consistent…
Uhm…can we get a word fail in the first sentence? Really? I don’t even understand how you make that mistake.
Well, sometimes it is hard to translate to english from other languages, so the occasional (and sometimes funny) mis-translation is bound to happen.
Plus, I’m originally from the south (Kentucky), and have seen much MUCH worse on papers written by people that have been speaking and writing english for most of their lives.
That’s just because I was half asleep when I type this comment…
I’ll just redo it.
Wow. You guys really THAT hate pokemon, don’t you…
I remember you said that you don’t poke fun of games that hasn’t been released
Ugh… this site used to be consistent…
LOL… um… we were kind of referring to the misplaced “THAT” in the phrase “You guys really THAT hate pokemon”
Do you mean “You guys really DO hate Pokemon”?
NCG.
I can’t believe I didn’t even think of that… “Black and white”… It’s so obvious now.
Even if pokemon never changes it’ll still always be one of Nintendo’s best selling franchises. :/
Also, Ray, you really need to do something about that chronic bursitis.
*Facepalm* I can’t believe I never once thought of that. :l
NCG.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but is Ray now wearing a new collared Raybob shirt instead of the old t-shirt? Clearly my time here has turn me into a deluded fan if I notice such things in the minutes I have before rushing to work.
Heh, the new/different t-shirt was the first thing I noticed as well. NCG
Also, I still want a 2P Start beanie.
Oh wow. I was too busy trying to identify the game Ray was holding to even notice the visual upgrade.
(Still don’t know what game that is…)
I’ve been trying to find that out too. Maybe it’s some Japanese game, considering Ray’s apparently in japan.
I know. I’ve been trying to figure it out too. I saved it to my desktop, but it’s still too blurry. I even tried typing “Enhance” several times but no luck.
The best I could do to improve the its look was this.
Does that help anyone figure it out?
Well… It’s the back of a wii game…
Sorry to oppose the positive comments so far but this comic is a failure to me and again it comes down to my expectations. I already saw a few gaming sites use this joke when the game was announced and while it was somewhat funny for news sites to make the comparison I am disappointed that 2PStart the site that commonly provides alternative humour unlike that present on other sites had to use such an obvious and now overused joke.
If all else fails, I’m looking forward to the new graphics and camera angles shown in the leaked screenshots. Still, Ray is right in what we want.
lmao…..check out the screenshots XD
Everything that you want to change in Pokemon games is completely unnecessary.
Would fully-animated sprites be cool? Yes but they’re not of utmost importance.
Would it be nice to have less text? At some points, yes, but I like “There’s a time and place for everything” (it’s my life motto).
Does anyone besides you care about walking diagonally? I don’t think so.
If Pokemon were to change anything, it would have to be adding depth to the characters (I want to understand why the dude I’m playing as cares about Team Galactic) and adding more depth to the graphics. Also, adding in some platforming elements like in the Paper Mario series would be cool too.
Also, I rose from my grave, recently but I didn’t get recognised. Why is that?
Probably your screen name, have you heard Ray rant about those recently?
I Typed out a nice long response, BUT internal server error 500 means its all gone. OH WELL.
here’s the abbreviated version (without Yoshi):
Pokemon: Major changes will alienate, if someone could pull it off it’ll be Nintendo. Diagonal walking isn’t necessary.
Comic: Good setup, ‘witty’ joke but in the end not great. sorry. I feel like Ray helped with the writing.
Thanks,
Harley
I doubt that they didn’t recognize me because of my name. Toilet might not be the most mature word around but it’s not profanity.
1) No, fully-animated sprites are not of the utmost importance, but it shows a lot of laziness on the part of those creating the game to have not introduced actual character animation by this point. Keeping it simple when it first came out (when I was in high school) was understandable because all we had was the standard Game Boy. There is no excuse for it today.
2) They’re referring to there being too much text during battles. This goes along with the animated sprites. If we can SEE what is going on, we don’t need to be told every little thing that happens.
3) Does “anyone” care? YES. Does “everyone” care? No. But therein lies the problem. A multitude of Pokemon generations have come and gone, yet the overall fanbase (the nigh-obsessed fanbase) does not tell Nintendo that they expect more out of these games than simple “2 non-animated front and back sprites for pokemon, and Game Boy restricted game play”.
Truth be told, I thought this one was kinda average.
Its not that it wasn’t funny, it was. But the joke was pretty predictable. The little added punchline about walking diagonally was nice but the baseline joke was pretty “meh”
Ray’s new shirt is spiffy and I’m racking my brain to figure out what game he’s holding but overall its just kind of a bland comic this week.
To put it in Smash Bros. terms, it wasn’t a failure but it wasn’t really a success. You got to all the targets but your past record was 1:15 and this time you did it in 3:46.
Wait, Japanese writing on the displays? Is Ray in Japan in this one? 🙂
As usual, NCG.
It was a predictable joke in the comic. Thought it would be something like this (not in Japan, but the last panel) when I saw the teaser but overall, nice comic guys on both the clean writing (clean as in.. crisp.. not ‘doesn’t involve sex’) and crisp graphics. Simple, tasteful, and very rant-worthy.. goes right along with your previous rants on Pokemon. =)
The problem with good writing is the ending is predictable. :/
—
Oddly enough, my DS has Diamond in it right now. Been playing it off and on for the last two weeks. Even odder, I’m enjoying getting back to the same point in the game I once was at. :/ Girlfriend killed my old save and started playing. Not that I cared. So now, on a different cart, I’m working towards restoring myself to my former lackluster glory.. and having a blast. =) It may be a glorified text adventure game.. but it’s still fun.
Loved the comic this week. It feels like pokemon is still good because of the formula, but needs to change some stuff, such as not being able to get certian legendaries without and event, they should have it so after a certian date, you can recive these things in-game. I also miss having the item storage in Heart Gold, I hope they bring it back. By the way, I like the new polo shirt.
That’s the first thing I thought when I heard the names for the new games. Also the elbows do look “knubbier” than usual, pretty soon Tim and Ray won’t have arms and they will just have really knubby elbows. Anyway, I think it is definitly time for a change to the gameplay mechanic, there are so many things that really need to be improved or just taken out. But I am definitly excited to see what new Pokemon we get for the next game.
All in all good comic you two, made me chuckle quite a bit.
Maybe they’ll follow the trend in FF13 and the one with MegaMan 9 and 10. At first, it’s back to old school pokémon games, first generation graphics (the Megaman part) removing all changes they made so far (even if it’s not much), then, after 30 hours of playing it, the legendary pokémons send you through a random non-sens portal, where everything’s in 3D, including movement, and pokémons actually does sounds that don’t sound like some wires aren’t connected or your game’s about to freeze.
Or the alternative… same thing, with more colors, and whoever is the new rattata.
Pretty good comic. My problem with Pokemon is that it’s basically the same game each time. Yeah, there’s different landscapes, pokemon, and gyms, but when you think about it, one’s not so different from the next. That’s pretty much what stopped me from playing anything past Yellow…
Also, nifty new shirt, Ray
NCG!
Wow Ray, have your arms always been so muscular, or is it just me?
I think it might be the shirt collar that gives that effect, better ask Tim though (sure of an unbiased answer)
and really off topic but… THAT TRIBONIOPHORUS TYRANNUS IS A SPY!
I at first thought the same thing, that he was kind of a beef cake now.. but once you look closer you see his arms are just as scrawny as ever. The shirt gives the appearance of athleticism. 🙂
I was half expecting a joke about there names being racest. But this was also awsom.
Ever notice that the acronym for Gamecube backwards is NCG? ebucemaG!
Tim would definitely only buy pokemon white…
Lol. or so the raypublicans would have us think.
since the game isn’t out and Ray is wearing a collared shirt is this…FUTURE RAY? I for one could go for a little more freedom in the overworld, but the battle system is definitely the thing that needs to get a little reworked somehow, but about the overworld: the darn hms, just give my trainer an ability to do all these things after I beat the elite four or something, item alternatives that do the same function as pokemon with hm’s. Like an inflatable raft (surf), a flashlight (flash), a boat engine (waterfall?lol), a climbing rope (rock climb), a hammer (rock smash), and some…steroids (strength)… But yeah, the comic was ok, it definitely went in a direction I wasn’t expecting. But I’m also excited for these games, so mixed bag for me.
not the greatest comic, but not the worst comic.
also, i don’t get why you want it to be diagonal, it works fine the way it is in the overworld.
the battles could use some fine tuning though.
IT’S RAINING.
X FLINCHED.
GYARADOS’ INTIMIDATE LOWERED X’S ATTACK.
note: i heartgold and soulsilver your pokemon follow you around and you can interact with them.
this has nothing to do with the comic but you guys should at least research the games you’re complaining about.
Well I have to admit, I really didn’t laugh much. Instead, I sat here nodding my head thinking, it would be funny if it wasn’t so true. Now before everyone chases me with torches and pitchforks, let me explain. I enjoyed the first Pokemon games on the GameBoy. Everything after the first several games suddenly became a rehash with very few changes. The expression “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind, but in this case, you almost seem to pay for the same thing over and over. I’ve seen numerous series slammed against the wall for doing the same thing Pokemon does. Only, Pokemon gets away with it since the basic formula is still good. Not only this, but everytime two new games are released, you can surely expect a remake to be released relatively soon. It’s like the time I purchased Fallout 3 when it came out, only to have the Game of the Year edition come out right afterwards; waiting could have proved beneficial. Summing it up, it’s great to stick to a tried and true forumula, but sometimes developers need to make changes to push the series foward.
So, great comic in the fact that it strikes a good point.
hah hah hah that what i was thinking
The comments spent so much time focusing on the “diagonal walking” aspect that I completely missed the actual joke: the graphics are black & white because it’s the “all-new Black & White ediion” A-ha! Well, at least ha.
The art style…Very Nice! Love the new shirt and the store background. The joke… I was hoping for a bit more. I did just get the “It’s new black and white” meaning it literally is an old school black and white. That makes it a bit funnier. I just wanted one more panel or something to lengthen out the joke. It ended too abruptly for me.
Wow, Ray. I didn’t realize you liked Hannah Montana so muh. I mean, you went allthe way to Japan just to get her game (if you really are in Japan, that is.).
http://www.covershut.com/covers/Hannah-Montana-Spotlight-World-Tour-Front-Cover-542.jpg
You know, I’m almost ashamed of myself that I figured that out…
XD Glad you went through the trouble figuring that out so I didn’t have too. :p That’s funnier than the actual comic! Not saying the comic wasn’t good.
Dang, nice job. It does match up with my “enhanced” picture. That’s super funny that Ray would travel 1200 miles just to not be seen buying that game. 🙂
Wow. I have no idea how you figured that out, but it was pretty darn funny.
Nice punchline. The fact that there’s already screenshots that say otherwise kind-of kills it, but good punchline never less. 🙂
Not bad guys, it uttered a chuckle. XD Come to think of it, that IS something they’d do isn’t it? Also, you guys need to talk about the game Ray’s holding in comic talk. I can’t figure it out…
the tile system that pokemon has in place is good gameplay-wise
it can be used to get around trainers when you are low on hp, and its just how the games have always played, so it feels naturals to those who have played since blue version. I cannot imagine the game with diagonal movements
I do like your joke about how pokemon blue all the walls were blue and red all the walls were red, so in black all the walls were black
In case you haven’t heard… The Pokemart and the Pokemon Center have been combined… 3 evolutions have been commented upon (whether or not this means a fourth evolution or three new things to evolve the series, I don’t know), backgrounds are *slightly* more detailed… and no, nothing on diagonal walking as of yet. Great comic though! Even though it makes me sad that the DS can’t play original Game Boy games… I NEED MAH BACKLIGHT!
I just noticed this… what game is Ray holding there?
Hannah Montana, apparently 🙂
The punchline wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny, but good nonetheless. Feels like the last bubble takes away from the joke though (as hinted a bit by earlier commenters).
I suspect that Ray is wearing a polo shirt because he’s in Japan on a business trip of some sort?
Also, to all who say that diagonal movement would break the game (which I totally can side with for the reasons given), there is one simple way they could implement it without giving up the grid system and all that comes with it. When wanting to go down-left, for example, the game would test if there’s any barrier in the grid boxes to the direct bottom, direct left, and bottom-left of the character. If all are clear, the character moves diagonally to the bottom-left grid in one move (rather than down one left one, or left one down one). Simple as that, and we still have the grid system that makes Pokemon what it is.
As for sprite animations, I thought two frames per front-view and rear-view was enough for each Pokemon. I mean, how many hundred Pokemon will there be by this generation, and multiply that number by how many frames you’d like to see? That’s a ton of sprite frames.
Aside from the diagonal movement system I mentioned above, about all I can see Pokemon really needing is more streamlined in-battle text (as Ray previously mentioned), and an area for MMO.
Well they did say that the new versions will do things differently than before, but what? I hope they make it look more like a 3d game in places, since that had potential that was wasted.
Ncg, What I’m really hoping is that Pokemon “black” doesn’t be seen as accidentally racist. 😉
*insert Tim’s racist speech here*
nice going Ray(/Tim)! I really liked it.
It made me lol twice.
First at the comic itself, then at the fact that Ray is getting a Hanna montanna game.
i rate this comic a…..SUCCESS!!
Thx for making my day. 🙂
Mmm. i just noticed that Ray didn’t sign this one. I think it’s fairly obvious, but it means a lot of copy pasta.
I just got a 500 error. Browser is Firefox and it was about 5 minutes ago, and 5 minutes before that was fine.
*Sigh*
Personally, I feel it wasn’t very good.
Well… in defense of Pokemon, many games that are grid-based doesn’t have diagonal movements (Final Fantasy comes to my mind). The only exception to this rule I can find is A Link to the Past, but that’s more action based compared to Pokemon.
And the changes that are made are based in the battle system that are not so obvious at first, but it changes the gameplay drastically (the split of normal and special attacks was a blessing for many players in the fourth generation, for example).
But other than that… yeah, there are many places where Pokemon needs to change. I think if the game could be based in the manga of Pokemon Special, it could be an improvement.
Now that I got the time to comic on the comic, I didn’t think the joke was funny, but that’s only because I’ve already thought about that very same black-white graphical situation when I first heard of the Black and White Pokemon game.
But on the subject of Ray in Japan, I propose that the next comic will be a multipart series about the revenge of Miyamoto. After hearing about Ray’s scathing review of Mario Galaxy and “horrible” Yoshi comic, Miyamoto dispatches a gang of Nintendo fanboys, preferably shouting “I know you have homebrew!”, to do Ray in. While Ray runs for his life, Tim meets his Japanese doppelganger as depicted in one of D3vin’s fan comic and trains in the ancient samurai way. This follows with a tearful reunion for the two in which Tim dispatches the Nintendo fanboys with a cane.
Sorry for my low expectations in you guys, but I thought this might be relating to the racist controversy over the two games. At least we know who DIDN’T have the comic idea…
And if these games are satisfactory to you, Ray, then will we see 2Pikachu anytime soon? Or manly Pikachu like BitF did just two days ago?
I liked the comic, but I really don’t understand people’s problems with Pokemon. Everyone complains that the games are to similar, and need to add these extraneous features to be better (Sorry guys, but I’ve never once played a Pokemon game and gotten angry that I can’t go diagonal, but maybe that’s just me). The games do add some changes, in the part that matters, the battle system. I will concede that the text is kind of ridiculous at this point, but I don’t see how this is a make or break feature. Each game adds a new layer of depth to the battle system, and for players who are interested, each game plays like a new edition in a series, but many of the changes are under the hood.
You know what the demand for new features on a tried-and-true gaming formula reminds me of? Sonic the Hedgehog. What you’re essentially asking for is stuff like the Werehog. It could come out really cool, but most of the time it just ends up being detrimental. If I have to choose between a fate like Sonic, or smaller updates to one of my favorite series that never give me as much as I really want, I’d pick Pokemon’s dilemma anytime. There’s no Omichao this way.
I kind of agree with most of your points. While I think diagonal movement would be OK, I don’t think it’s necessary. If they do add it, though, I would prefer it to be Mystery Dungeon style (still confined to a grid) rather than free-style (like the handheld Zeldas), since I like the line-of-sight thing trainers have now. It was a bit sketchy in Colosseum, so I would prefer if they kept things like that the way they are.
While battle animations would be nice, the thing to keep in mind is that by then they will probably have over 600 Pokemon and who knows how many hundreds of attacks. Yes, it would still be doable, but I’d rather a lot of other things before that. I will agree on the text, though, although I have a bigger problem with the fact that some of it auto-advances. I don’t like attacking somebody, looking away to something else, and looking back to see the opponent dead and “Will you change Pokemon?” I’d like to know who they were going to send out, but apparently the game thinks I’m too slow. Attack text auto-advancing is OK, but not something important. Maybe that’s just me though.
But yeah, they’re kind of in a bind now anyway. If they don’t change enough, people complain. But since one of the big things about the series is the interconnectivity between generations, if they change too much things won’t be compatible anymore. Sure, they could force a restart to all that a la GSC–>RSE, but I’d imagine a lot of complaints if they did that, too. While I would love to see some new changes for the better, I’d much rather smaller yet still impactful changes instead of an overhaul that ruins everything.
Actually, I’m hoping for a rehaul now ala RSE. If you let a trainer from Diamond trade with one from Black, you could have the possibility of playing with a Pokemon caught in 2002. If the next Wii has a game with connectivity feature ala Coliseum, we’re talking three generations of consoles being covered here. It’s getting ridiculous.
I’d like to see a couple new types, a new status maybe, and a mechanics change on the level of the Physical/Special split of Diamond/Pearl. That’s enough. No unlimited number of moves (which removes all strategy of picking the four moves you want, though I’ve heard it suggested way too many times)
Well, personally, I don’t think I’d mind if they did a complete restart like that with no connectivity. At least if they, you know, actually let you catch them all between the two. That’s probably my biggest annoyance with the series at this point.
But I’m just saying a lot of people would probably complain if they did that, not necessarily that I would.
Meh, alright comic guys. Not your best joke, but the black and white graphics detail was pretty neat. Quite different from the “black n’ white OMG razists” joke most people (including me) made the moment they saw the titles.
That’s been done already.
Nice getup Ray, though I couldn’t figure out what anything in the background was.
Those graphics are AMAZING! Man I can’t wait to ditch those red graphics from my virtual boy.
Lol, Black and White. It’s the simple jokes like this that no one realizes until the joke is done (Mega Man’s Heart Attack, for example) that are the best. Great job! 😀
Definitely better than some kind of racism joke. Those are old already, and the game’s only been announced for a week.
This comic would be funny, short of the 5th image shown here, were the girl is shown having a choice of walking diagonally.
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/04/15/pokemon-black-and-white-screenshots-appear/
Meh, I still don’t see it, it still looks like she can’t move diagonally. It’s just the 3D effects.. :/
Eheheh. I’d laugh my butt off if the game were actually like that (at any point during gameplay). Then buy both versions and a new DS.
I think that was a great gag.
I like how the gradiated dithering in the batter actually somewhat forshadows the joke, too.
It seems like removing Yoshi from my icon has protected 2PStart from certain immediate doom. I guess I ought to make a more permanent icon, then. I’m thinking either something Megaman related, SSB Related, or Ray related.
Thank you Ray, you are so right. I still love the pokemon series but for heaven’s sakes now; we’re on the DS. It’s way more powerful then they’re giving it credit for. I’ve even enjoyed the Gold/Silver remakes but I can’t help feeling the series gameplay is starting to get a little stale. I mean, it’s a good, fairly intricate system, but there’s no susprises anymore. More in battle animations and a larger spectrum of movement would definitely go a long way.
Great comic too as usual 🙂
Oh I should add, thanks for not going for the obvious racist joke like I’m sure most others will
LOL
i was hoping i would’ve been first…. 🙁 shouldnt have gone to work
This being my first comment on the site (Grave Rising? It’s been a good 3 months of reading the comics and loving the podcasts) I figure this would be the perfect place to make my first comment since I was in the middle of playing my copy of Pokemon HeartGold when I first checked the site and saw the comic. When I first heard the names “Black and White” I was confused; I thought Nintendo just couldn’t think of more extravagant colors, metals or jewels than “Pearl” and “Diamond” so they just gave up and went with the two dullest colors possible.
Anywho, as for the comic, I thought it was done extremely well- Ray always does a great job with all of the art and such, and It didn’t feel like the joke was forced or anything, so yeah, nice job with all that. And of course, nice job of throwing in a reference to the podcast there with the diagonal walking joke. I’ll be honest, I lol’d quite a bit there.
And I know you two aren’t big fans of the series, but to someone like me who’s been following it since Red and Blue and has loved the series since, if they actually just ported red and blue on the DS like in the comic, it’d actually be a much larger improvement over Diamond and Pearl- with the original 151 still in tact, the simple gameplay, and the simple storyline. In my opinion, Heartgold and Soulsilver were are the best pokemon games made in the past ten years- and ten years ago, they made the original Gold and Silver.
Great job with the comic guys. Keep up the great work as usual. I don’t know about you two, but I’ll be looking forward to “Pokemon Gray”; my guess as to what the third game in the 5th pokemon generation will be.
I still don’t have a problem with not being able to walk diagonally, but the comic is pretty good anyway.
Something about that name seems wrong to me…
You’re right Ray, if they are going to make a new generation, they should improve more than just the the Pokemon. It should be and feel just like Red and Blue. I really don’t care about the walking really. The game should similar too HeartGold and SoulSilver. Simple and sweet. Not too complicated and whatnot with minigames and whatnot. The battling is the whole point of the game for pete’s sake!
As usual, great comic.
I couldn’t be happier about how Pokemon Black and White looks in this comic! It’s been a while, and I think we can all agree that going back to the old graphics would be quite satisfying to play on once again. The dialouge looks top-notch, and whether or not this one will be a remake, the nostalgia of playing the first games will be back, with a brighter, shinier logo to look at pleasantly on the top screen. This game will break all sales, and redeem Nintendo from their phase of selling Hannah Montana JP-only games and into the future!!!
hey guys I am posting from my wii now and listened to almost all of the podcasts now and just want to say ncg. off to play megaman!
I was sure it would be said eventually, but i am very glad it was you guys, just seems to be a very 2p start thing to do!
Hey, guys, I thought that I’d FINALLY “Wise fwom my gwave.” after lurking for so long.
I’m not exactly sure when I started reading the comic regularly, though I remember my first comic was the one about Chun-Li’s hands.
At any rate, one of my favorite types of comic is when you use the detailed sprite comic look for the Megaman and ValentiNES comics. I hope that you use it more, since I’m a big fan of sprite works, being an artist in that field.
As for this comic, black and white does invoke a feeling of the old gameboy games, maybe they’ll make the Legendary Pokemon with the old pallet. or better yet, make Missingno an official Pokemon! Anything is possible now that we’ve stuffed god into our little ball.
Despite all the
off topicvarious discussion going on in the comments bawks so far, good comic we have here. I cannot tell a lie, it is not as funny as past ones I have read, and it DID take me a bit to get the joke, but the joke did tie in pretty nicely. Keep up the good work.Hey guys. First of all, I’d like to say that your webcomic is one of the funniest I’ve ever read. I love the art style, the jokes are hilarious, and I appreciate the clean humor. And with that, I have decided to finally rise from my grave.
I discovered 2P START! through the guest strip on Brawl in The Family, and have since read every comic about 10 times each. I told almost every single one of my friends about it. The other day, I finally got the nerves to friend Tim on Playstation Network, and was surprised when he accepted my friend request. 😀 I started listening to the poscast since about episode 118, and within minutes I’m laughing my head off during every episode. You guys earned yourself another fan.
Thanks for the laughs and yet another site on my bookmarks bar!
Hey guys. First of all, I’d like to say that your webcomic is one of the funniest I’ve ever read. I love the art style, the jokes are hilarious, and I appreciate the clean humor. And with that, I have decided to finally rise from my grave.
I discovered 2P START! through the guest strip on Brawl in The Family, and have since read every comic about 10 times each. I told almost every single one of my friends about it. The other day, I finally got the nerves to friend Tim on Playstation Network, and was surprised when he accepted my friend request. 😀 I started listening to the poscast since about episode 118, and within minutes I’m laughing my head off during every episode. You guys earned yourself another fan.
Thanks for the laughs and yet another site on my bookmarks bar!
Heh. Sorry for the doublepost. The PS3’s internet browser is really bad.
I always seem late to this parade, but whatevs. Anyway, I’ve noticed a trend since I’ve been reading comments again lately (I hadn’t before since like January to February.) It just seems like, lately, the comment section has gone from good, constructive criticism to unnecessary harshness. I don’t know if it’s just the over trend right now (people have been complaining about new games of a series being horrible like GOW 3 or MW2), or something that just started here recently. Either way, it just seems like the fans (I’ve seen this more out of newer readers) here can’t really be pleased lately or take things a tad too far.
Take Kree for instance. He kind of just jumped straight on with criticizing the joke, then going on about how the punch is the wrong one to go with. Or last weeks comic where most of you freaked out because there was a woman (covered in clothes) doing a seductive pose, which is still family friendly enough (a kid’s not goin’ know what she’s doin’) and there’s worse things shown in pg movies anyway.
But then there was the Yoshi comic, which ended up being changed even though the first one was funny. Idk, I just feel like the old spirit of the 2pstart fans have just kind of…died.
I didn’t mean to rain on the 2PStart parade. I’ve had my chuckles, smiles, and laughs, so I’m fine with how things have been going recently.
http://www.destructoid.com/hot-new-pokemon-black-white-details–171001.phtml
“The battles themselves will be more “intense” as well, presumably boasting more animations and special effects. ” Christmas already?
Aaaaaand new Robotnik moves? (unrelated)
http://www.destructoid.com/new-sonic-4-screens-let-robotnik-show-his-moves-170813.phtml
Well actually the graphics are really good. Like awesome good
what game r u holding?
http://twitter.com/Ray2P
http://bit.ly/cFPTo9
Black and White first video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kUMxLIOwuk
Why is the game in English if the title and stuff are in Japanese?
I really liked the comic..possibly even more so because i’m on a pokemon kick right now playing heartgold and taking my bayleaf out for pokewalks. It’s kind of weird because when the first generation pokemon were popular I actually was the appropriate age to collect em all and had no desire to. But now at 22 I really like the series. hmmm weird..Anyway funny comic.. you guys also do an awesome podcast, I listen to a couple different podcasts and you guys are by and far the funniest!
I’m no expert in the languages of Japanese or Chinese, but I took Chinese for 2 years, and I am 99.999% sure that those characters at the top of the billboard are Chinese characters, not Japanese ones. Just sayin’.
A lot of Japanese characters have originated from Chinese. I know that because when I read Japanese (which I know nothing about), I can read a few characters, because I know a bit of Chinese. 😀
Those characters are called kanji, which both Chinese and Japanese use — Chinese uses solely kanji, while Japanese uses a mixture of kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Just sayin’ 😛
Why is the game in English if the Logo’s are Japanese?
This is ironic. It turns out there will be full 3D movement in Black and White.
I agree with this comic, not much progress has been made in the Pokemon games other than some features. I think they’re some of the most overrated games in existence.
Couldn’t help but come back here to this comic. It’s the future now, Pokémon X and Y are out…and…WE HAVE DIAGONAL WALKING WOO! 🙂