Of the many generations of Pokemon games, the 5th generation is the most controversial in the quality of the games. While Pokemon Black and White are generally considered a solid game, the sequel is often up to further debate. 

The game design of Pokemon Black and White 2 closely resembles the prequel and is based on the same region two years after the events of the first game. The game contains the amazing sprites and animations that made the first games so visually appealing to the player while continuing to develop the established story. The game also includes earlier access to many of the Pokemon from older games, giving those fans another chance to use some of their favorites. Overall, the game maintains some of the good aspects, although has some glaring issues in the context of a sequel. 

One major complaint of the game is that it feels too similar to the first. About half of the game has you progressing through the same general locations as the first game, and while some minor changes were made, it still detracts from the experience overall. Another major drop in quality was the integration of the story and evil team. While the prequel had a fleshed out story with interesting ideals, the sequel lacks some of the fundamentals of good lore-building. The story was generally empty and did little to improve or change any of the story that was already established, making the evil team battles and story quests feel completely pointless, leading to a game that doesn’t feel up to par with the previous game. 

In general, I personally feel as if the game isn’t worth playing compared to the prequel. The game, although it is a Pokemon game, still lacks many qualities that make it an enjoyable experience when compared to the first. The game could still be a worthwhile play if you enjoy the outlandish lore of the game but I would personally rather recommend other games such as the prequel or the previous generation of DS games. My rating for this game would be a 6/10 as the game is still very visually appealing and maintains core design concepts. The game had potential but the lapses in story development and similarities to the first significantly worsen the overarching experience.

-Benjamin L.