The Mega Man RPG Prototype has been updated again, and this time a lot has changed! The most obvious change to the game is that it’s an actual game now, meaning that there’s progression and goals and experience points and unlockable characters and abilities and more! You'll also notice that several robots, characters, and players are no longer available. This is due to the recent changes to the structure, which I'm going to tell you about now. :)

Previously, the prototype menu allowed you to select a player and a field and that was it. An eight versus eight battle with the opposite player would automatically start after your selection and that was the only option you really had. The battle itself lasted a long time, and when you completed it you were thrown back to the prototype menu with no feedback and no reward. All characters and abilities were “unlocked” from the beginning and, frankly, it was overwhelming to anyone who wasn't intimately familiar with the game (like me).

Thanks to my recent updates, however, the prototype menu is now like an actual game menu! You select your player, you select your mission, and you choose which robot(s) will fight for you in battle. Your player (Dr. Light) starts with one robot (Mega Man) and is tasked with stopping the eight rampaging robots (Bomb Man, Cut Man, Elec Man, Fire Man, Guts Man, Ice Man, Oil Man, and Time Man) and reprogramming them for good (again) so that they may fight for you rather than against you. When one of these eight robots has been defeated in battle, they will join your team and your player will be able to fight with them for the rest of the game, level-grinding with them and unlocking new abilities!

Once you've liberated your eight Robot Masters, you'll be challenged by a familiar face with questionable intentions. If you survive the encounter, the second phase of the game begins which is slightly harder and really requires you to know your type-matchups (hint: use scan often!) to win. I wont go into the details, but "beating" what exists of the main game will unlock a second mode – one where you play as someone else… (gee, I wonder who?).

In terms of new mechanics, battles now yield a reward in the form of "battle points" – the currency, score, and experience points of this game. Each battle has a preset amount of turns to defeat all of the target robots, and battle points are awarded based on how close you come to that amount. If you come under, you get bonus points, and if you go over you get a penalty. In addition to the player getting battle points (which will later be used as currency in the game), each robot who participated in the battle and is still not disabled receives an equal share of the player's point amount. For every 1000 points a robot collects, that robot will grow 1 "Level". When a robot gains a Level, its stats increase slightly and there's a possibility that the robot will learn a new ability.

In addition to the mechanics above, the menus in battle have also had facelift. The ability, scan, and switch menus have all had their buttons revised to show as much information as possible about the item in question. Abilities now show the type, power, accuracy, and effect – a much needed addition – and all switch/scan buttons now have the energy and stats of the applicable robot. These changes seem small, but they make the battle – and the game, really – much easier to navigate and understand. And remember, hovering your mouse over an ability in the menu will show a short description of its use (does not work on the iPad version)!

I've also gone through great lengths to maintain the weakness cycle from the original MegaMan games so that this game can be played like the classic, but I've also done a lot of work ensuring that these same robots could fit into the weakness cycle of the Mega Man 2 robot masters. I encourage you to use the scan option at the beginning of every battle and retreating if you feel you're at a disadvantage. In my testing I've found that starting with Oil Man is a pretty good start, but please experiment and have fun. :)

Lastly, there is now a "data" option on the main menu. This area contains detailed information robots including their weaknesses, base stats, abilities, and more. At first you have only Mega Man, but robots can be added to the database easily by scanning them in battle (even if you retreat immediately after), defeating them in battle, or by unlocking them as playable characters. This makes it significantly easier to play the game "in order" with the weakness cycles mentioned above.

Much more has changed that I cannot remember, but these are the most obvious additions. Oh, and I implemented a bit of a "autosave" feature (in case your session times out) based on IP address, but please do not rely on it – I update the source code almost daily and I have it coded to reset the game if the modification date has changed. :P It would obviously be better to have an account-based system with usernames and passwords, but this is a prototype and that requires too much commitment from users when frequent testing and feedback are required. It'll definitely come in the future, just not now. :)

I've just completed a fairly large update to the MegaMan RPG Prototype and I've finally added player sprites to the battle field (a-la Pokémon Trainer from Super Smash Bros. Brawl)! I also finally got around to making all the field backgrounds animated so that the environments don't feel so static. Feel free to check out Dr. Light and Dr. Wily's sprite sheets as well as the newly updated sheets for Base Field, Ice Field, Guts Field, and Elec Field. :D

In addition to the bigger updates mentioned above, I also fixed some smaller bugs regarding the ability Super Throw. The first bug would throw the target to the bench and automatically switch in a new robot without giving the player a chance to choose. The second bug was a bit more complicated and happened when a robot was thrown to the bench before they could use their ability – the queued up ability would then be used by the new robot (even if they did not know that ability) which caused some strange scenarios (Crash Man using Leaf Shield, for example). Both of these issues have been fixed, and the ability should function normally now. Another small update I made was to the prototype menu itself – I added a "back" button for the selection screens in case you make a mistake and need to re-select something from the previous step. Nothing special but it makes the menu feel a bit more polished, I think. :)

The last major update I made was to the end-game scenario when you or your opponent have run out of usable robots. Before, it simply said a quick win/loose message and that was it, but now I actually have the players say their little victory/defeat quotes and a theoretical "battle point" bonus is calculated and awarded to both players based on how they did. The mechanics are not hard-coded and will likely change, but at the moment each player gets 10 points per turn they lasted on the field, plus the sum of all remaining active robot's stat points (energy, attack, defense, speed). I want to make sure both players get rewards for fighting, even if they didn’t win. This is mostly because I plan to have a kind of "passive" multiplayer aspect to the game at some point, but I"ll get more into that at a later date. ^_^

Hope you're enjoying the game and if you have any bug reports, questions, concerns, or (even better) ideas for the game, please contact me and I'll be sure to get back to you. :)

It's nothing huge, but the MegaMan RPG Prototype has been updated and the Air Shooter ability now has a slightly different animation. Using the new attachment functionality, I was able to have all three whirlwinds fire separately rather than having all three pan across the target statically. As I said, it's nothing huge but I really think the ability needed the makeover as Air Shooter was one of the stranger looking animations. :P

I really want to add more abilities to AirMan that make use of his fan and "blowing" characteristics, but that'll have to come later. I know for sure I want to have a similar ability to Super Throw where the target is blown to the bench, but there's definitely room for others. So yeah, check out the new Air Shooter animation!

After nearly three weeks of no posts, you'd think I had forgotten about the game. Not true! I just finished a very large update to the MegaMan RPG Prototype that I had been working on for the last few weekends. The update includes plenty of visual tweaks to the menu systems and battle graphics, unique abilities for all sixteen robot masters(!), and a tons of new mechanics to make the game more fun. :D

The prototype menu itself has been updated to include randomized banners for each of the robot masters. At the moment there are only six (AirMan, CutMan, GutsMan, WoodMan, IceMan, and BubbleMan) but I plan to add more as time goes on (they're not that difficult to create). I've also updated the overall engine to dynamically adjust to the browser window size, including a "landscape" mode for wider browsers. The iPad version of the prototype still works in both landscape and portrait, though some positioning tweaks have been made to keep robot placement consistent.

In terms of new mechanics, I've added functionality for (what I call) "attachments". This way, I can attach persistent objects to the robots to allow for a greater sense of realism when using abilities (within 8-bit, browser-based limits of course). For example, the Leaf Shield now stays active after use and continues rotating in the background until thrown at the enemy. Atomic Fire creates a sort of blazing halo effect behind the user while charging to show the building power of the attack. Even BombMan has a Hyper Bomb persistently attached to him until thrown at the enemy. I'm absolutely going to add more abilities that make use of this new feature, and it's very exciting to play with. Because these abilities can be copied by MegaMan or ProtoMan with the Copy Shot, some pretty awesome combinations are possible. At one point I had ProtoMan with a raised Leaf Shield and a charging Atomic Fire simultaneously and it looks pretty cool with the Game Speed turned up. Oh, and that's another thing. If your browser can handle it (or you're using an iPad), you can go into the Options and turn the "Game Speed" up or down to your liking. Having it up really high makes the game pretty fast, and having it low gives it an almost storybook quality. The last new mechanic I can think of would be the change to the "Scan" option. Before, scanning the target required a whole turn, leaving your robot open to attack. Now, scanning can be done as many times as you want without sacrificing a turn and to anyone on the field. Simply tap any sprite on the field during a scan (even your own!) and you can see their entire breakdown – stats, weaknesses, resistances, everything.

In terms of new abilities, I've added Copy Shot (copies target's last used ability), Crash Bomber (higher accuracy, explodes on contact), Hyper Bomb (higher damage, explodes on contact), Leaf Shield (raises shield first use, throws shield the next), Quick Boomerang (always strikes first), Super Arm (changes based on battle field), and Super Throw (throws target to bench, forcing switch).

There are tons more tweaks under the hood that I'm not thinking of, but I invite you to take a look and test the engine out. And if you're still unsure (it's not like you have to sign in or anything…) you can take a look at some screenshots from the game that I took today. Thanks for reading, and take care! :)

Additionally, I've revised the way stat damage/recovery animation is handled. Previously, the +/- background images during stat modifications were part of the abilities causing them. This meant that certain graphics were repeated over and over in different files and caused a lot of unnecessary file size. As a result, some of the attacks look a bit cooler as they have multiple layers of graphics happening at once.

Lastly, I fixed a bug in the "Mega Buster" move, lowered the accuracy of the “Rolling Cutter” move, and created three new moves – "Proto Buster", "Buster Shot", and "Metal Blade". The two buster moves are exact clones of the Mega Buster but with different colours, and the "Metal Blade" move is MetalMan's ability from MegaMan 2.

And…that's it. I think. :P Have a good night!

First and foremost, I've added numeric indicators above the robot's heads when they take damage or recovery to any of their stats, like most RPGs have on-screen (instead of just in text windows). I think that this addition is one of the most important (visually) that I've done in a while. I feel like it really makes the battles feel more finalized (even though they totally aren't). :P

Next, I've added a bit of a dark overlay to the canvas during abilities to fade out the background and non-active robots slightly. This helps to focus on the foreground-action better while making the abilities themselves “pop” a little more than they did before. I also had to add a bit of a pause between abilities so that the screen wouldn't be constantly dimmed, but given that the frames auto-scroll now it shouldn't be too bad.

Small tweaks include making the text in the console a little larger, as well as making the delay between frames a little longer (from 1000ms to 1500ms). This not only allows you to read the text in the console easier, it also gives the game more time to load assets. I plan to eventually add an option to auto-play or manually click-through each frame, but for now this should make the game easier to play.

Lastly, I've added a new ability to the mix for FlashMan – his signature Time Stopper ability (I've always wished it was called "Flash Stopper" instead rather than giving that ability name to FlashMan – they really goofed there in my opinion). The ability lowers the target's speed by 20% of their base, but has a lower accuracy than the typical “Speed Break” ability (80%). Additionally, if used on a robot that is typically weak to “Time” type abilities, they will also receive energy damage in the process, just like in the original games (kind of)!

That's all for today, hope you enjoy!

Overview

MegaMan RPG Prototype is a working prototype and early demo for a potential browser-based role-playing game using the characters from the MegaMan series and mechanics inspired by the Pokémon series. Choose your team of eight robots and defeat your opponent's in classic turn-based battles from your web-browser. As a prototype, this is an unfinished product, but updates are being made all the time and the project is constantly evolving.

You "win" by defeating all eight of your opponent's robots using your own. Robots are defeated when their Energy gauge reaches zero. In addition to Energy, each robot has an Attack, Defense, and Speed stat. Attack and Defense influence the amount of damage inflicted/received and the Speed stat influences turn-order and the accuracy of abilities. Each robot also has their own set of Weaknesses, Resistances, Affinities, and Immunities to specific types of attacks that affect the amount of damage/recovery received. Hover your mouse over abilities in the menu for more information, and use the “Scan” option in battle to see your opponent's stats and other information.

For more information and a detailed breakdown of the game's mechanics, please see the main MegaMan RPG Prototype development page.

Game Screenshots

I had a bit of time last night so I decided to do a small update to the site’s design. I’ve been wanting to do something with the main banner for a while and decided to try using dynamic, rotating background and foreground images based on the time of day and the current season – mirroring some of the features in Pokémon Black & White games (you know, to go with the site’s theme this year).

I’ve yet to implement the seasonal changes, but I did complete the time-of-day based changes and I really like the result. I have the day separated into 6 parts, and each part (based on the current time) has it’s own appropriately coloured sky background, and visiting the website at different points in the day would yield a different background image.

It’s not much, but I still think it turned out pretty neat! I’m probably going to edit the colours a bit, and I plan to eventually create a few different foregrounds (instead of plain old grass) to rotate seasonally, but it certainly adds a bit more flare to the site. :P

Firstly I’d like to apologize for not updating in a while and slowing down on the updates in general. Truth be told, I’ve been very busy in my personal life sorting out employment details and haven’t really had time to write a full post about anything.

Also, as you may have guessed from the abrupt end to the Pokemon White Diary posts, I have discontinued the series. My backlog of events grew faster than I can keep up with writing them, and eventually I stopped keeping track of my progress. I did complete them game, and I definitely have comments, so I will eventually post a more formal end to the series when I have time.

Thank you to anyone who actually reads these postings, and I’ll try to start posting more regular updates again as soon as I can – I already have an idea for a site update…

This is some of the most disappointing news I’ve heard in a while – first Universe, now Legends 3. The MegaMan series is basically dead now, and that’s really sad. I’ve grown up with the blue bomber and followed him through all of his many adventures for so many years, and it’s depressing to see such an iconic character be snuffed out so abruptly and without any real reason. This whole situation feels similar to Nintendo’s treatment of the Mother/Earthbound franchise, and as a big fan of that too, it really stings to see two of my favourite franchises simply vanish because the IP holders no longer wish to support them but legally hold the only rights to use the characters, story, or universe.

The press release doesn’t shed any light on the actual reasons and points to the FAQ for more information, but then the FAQ’s answer to the question of “why” is “it’s in the press release” creating an endless loop of WTF. Does Capcom not realize how much bad PR this is going to create? After SO MUCH involvement from the community and all the contests and promotions and time spent designing characters and assets by the development team, it just seems insane to pull the plug without even letting the demo out. I feel so betrayed as a customer of Capcom, as a long-time supporter of the series even when it was at it’s lowest, and as someone who bought a 3DS full-well expecting to get my MegaMan Legends 3 on after 10 years of waiting for a sequel. It seems like such a ridiculously stupid move. And this is the second time they burned the same group of fans in one year – both times coddling and lying to us for months rather than just letting us know it was doomed.

Or maybe… it wasn’t a stupid move after all? Maybe MegaMan isn’t nearly as popular as the internet would have be believe and Capcom is simply making a defensive financial decision based on current 3DS sales and the vast amount of other 3DS projects getting cancelled lately. It really hurts to think that could be the reality, but it would make sense. The internet has a habit of making us feel bigger than we really are. On the net, an enthusiastic group of 100 fans seems gigantic and influential, but in reality those 100 fans are spread across several continents and in the grand scheme of the world gaming market, 100 isn’t a very large number. Maybe that’s what’s really going on here? Maybe I’ve just been living in a rose-coloured bubble for the last 20 years? Maybe MegaMan really doesn’t matter anymore…

I’d always felt that MegaMan was on of the most amazing franchises in gaming – not necessarily because every game was of the highest quality, but because the characters, universe and lore of the series was so interesting, unique, and so BIG that it was the perfect playground for fun and creative ideas. But I guess the possibilities that I envisioned for the series and what Capcom has actually made the MegaMan brand into in the last 10 years are two very different things. I realize that this specific cancellation might have been a result of Keiji Inafune leaving (despite their protests) but I feel like the franchise’s death was several years in the making – even while Inafune was around.

Who knows? Maybe someday a better company will buy MegaMan off their hands (crossing fingers) or maybe this’ll be the last time he’s ever mentioned again… I just know it’s a very sad day and I feel like crying a bit. :’(

R.I.P. MegaMan, You Will Be Missed

After nearly a year of not having a Wii, we were finally able to play some Mario Kart Wii and were having a blast online, until some douchebags kept repeatedly picking Rainbow Road and winning the “random” vote. We got so fed up, and wanted to quit, but Nintendo doesn’t allow that. The (+) button is completely disabled while racing online, so they actually prevent you from leaving a race, yet there is no system implemented to prevent people from WANTING to rage-quit in the first place – some way to punish or weed out annoying players trolling the course select. We were forced to goof off and race backwards until it kicked us out. (Wouldn’t it have just been easier to let us leave the race, Nintendo?)

Has the Rainbow Road issue affected anyone else? The course is extremely long and painful, and while I can deal with it once… maybe twice… I can't stand when people repeatedly pick it over and over. It’s not like it’s an accident – the game gives you the option to not-vote right up front – so these people are purposefully doing it.

I wish there was some filter/mod to the random vote to insure all other parties have had a chance to vote before letting someone win again. This is just ridiculous… and makes us not want to play the game online at all. :(

</rant>

Pidove, one of the new Pokémon in Black & White, is very obviously based on pigeon or dove. I live in Toronto, Ontario and like pretty much every other large city in North America there are a shitload of pigeons living here. And I mean a shitload – I see at least twenty to thirty pigeons a day on my way to work and I'm only counting the ones I come within arms reach of. As such, I have a pretty good idea of what pigeons look like and I can say with absolute certainty that no two look exactly the same. These things come in variety of colours and patterns in shades of grey, black, white, brown, and sometimes even brilliant purple and green! Also note that I’m only referring to the generic variety found in most cities – the Rock Pigeon – and that other species have even more unique colour combinations and appearances.

Pidove isn’t a terrible looking Pokémon by any means – you might even say it's kind of cute – but every single one of them looks exactly the same. Even when Pidove evolves into its two latter forms, the only differences are those in gender. This is a nice touch, but when compared to earlier, less interesting Pokémon like Spinda (who has over 4 billion possible appearances!) it feels like a missed opportunity. I understand that memory and time are always an issue when developing new games, but even three or four different variations could have made a world of a difference with relatively little effort.

What do you think? Am I being too hard on the developers or do you wish there was a bit more variety too? Are there any other Pokémon that you feel deserved different variations?

Anyway, here is the link to my profile if anyone is interested. Make sure you connect with me if I know you, and I’ll gladly write recommendations for anyone I’ve worked with that wants one. Thanks!

LinkedIn Profile of Adrian Marceau
http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/adrian-marceau/32/785/b16

Adrian Marceau’s Summary

I’m an energetic and dedicated web developer who specializes in code debugging and optimization, usability, and development of content management systems. I am based in Toronto, Ontario and in addition to web design and programming, I do a lot of illustration in my spare time and have a passion for all things videogame and tech-related. If you have any questions about me or my services please feel free to contact me.

Specialties

HTML/XHTML/HTML5, CSS/CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery, PHP, MySQL

Yay!

UPDATE 2011/04/11 : I probably should have posted my 3DS Friend Code here as well, so here it is: 2492-4116-4578. If you add me, please let me know in the comments (with your own Friend Code) so I can add you back!

Upon reaching Accumula Town I quickly headed to the Pokémon Center already knowing it's usefulness in healing tired Pokémon. I'm greeted by Juniper again, as well as Bianca, and the professor reviews the uses of the Pokemon Center. In this game, the Pokémon Center is been expanded to include the Global Trade Center as well as the PokéMart which used to be separate buildings. This change is greatly appreciated and makes the task of preparing for a mission fairly easy as well as mirroring how real-world businesses are becoming more and more multi-purpose.

After healing my Pokémon and having a quick chat with Bianca, I left the Pokémon Center and went to explore the town. My travels were quickly interrupted by a gathering in the middle of the town where the newest crime syndicate – Team Plasma – were staging a rally. The man in charge was a mysterious, cloaked individual named “Ghetsis” and his message was one of liberation. He and Team Plasma as a whole believe that the relationship between humans and Pokémon is one-sided and needs to stop – we take so much from them and command them to do our bidding, but what are they really getting in return? Pokémon should be liberated from their PokéBalls and allowed to roam free without the control and ambitions of their trainers. It's an interesting thought that has surely crossed the minds of fans over the years and it's nice to see them acknowledging it in-game. It will be interesting to see where they go with this – either Team Plasma is "wrong" and our hero will show them that Pokémon do benefit from the partnership of humans… or everyone will agree with Team Plasma and set their Pokémon free. I'm inclined to believe it’s the former.

As soon a Team Plasma's speech was over, the grunts formed a perimeter around Ghetsis and the whole lot of them marched out of town. In their wake a young man that goes by the name "N" introduced himself and claimed that he agrees with Plasma’s message. He then hypocritically challenged me to a battle where I promptly disposed of his single Pokémon – Purrloin. Upon defeat, N rambled on for a bit and then left the scene. His clothing seem to indicate that he's not part of Team Plasma, but his enthusiasm for their cause and general mysterious attitude make me think there&s probably some connection to them. Either way, it&s hard to take him seriously when he keeps his Pokémon in a ball just like everyone else…

I took the opportunity to explore the city and talk to some of the people. Accumula Town is pretty small overall, but I guess that's just how it is this early in the game. One thing I really liked about this city was the music, though not necessarily because of how it sounds. There are two musicians in one of the houses and, if you talk to them, they&ll add their instruments to the town theme. It's a very small detail, but it was nice to be able to influence the game world in a way that wasn&t directly related to battle. I should note that these changes are not permanent though – after leaving the town briefly and then returning the music reverted to it&s previous sound and the two musicians need to be asked again if you want to hear their contributions. It kind of ruins the impact of the feature and I don&t see why they couldn't make the change persistent. Oh well.

After finishing up my tour of the town I headed to Route 2 where I spent the next little while training my Tepig. I caught a Purrloin for my Pokédex, but otherwise this route had the same Pokémon as before and was only useful for level grinding. By this point Wakka was still the only one on my team and his growing level concerned me – if he gets too powerful I wont be able to use him for catching new guys without killing them. I need to find another team member soon…

Adrian's Team So Far

Before starting a new game, I took the opportunity to check my WiFi settings and download the Victini event via Mystery Gift. The process was fairly quick, and I was happy to be able to download the Liberty Ticket now rather than having to wait until later when it’s actually needed as I have a habit of forgetting things. The ticket saved to my cartridge and I selected the "New Game" option.

Professor Juniper – the new regional expert on Pokémon – introduced me to the world much like the many professors before her and then let me choose my gender and name. I'm happy to see the professor this time is female – it doesn't technically change the game in any way, but it’s nice to see that the games are becoming a bit more progressive and open minded with gender roles. Juniper is young and spunky compared to the previous professors, and I look forward to seeing what she adds to the story.

After the introductions were complete, the game faded to my room where a blue present sat on the table. With it, a note from Juniper asking only that we settle our decisions politely. As I head toward the present the nostalgia of the four previous generations wash over me – I’ve done this before and I remember this feeling. Once again, I’m presented with a choice that will shape the rest of my experience with this game. I was both excited and nervous – had my months of deliberation brought me to the right choice or am I making a mistake? Should I really choose the Fire type starter Tepig that I’d settled on weeks earlier? When faced with the decision I froze. Oshawott is was adorable so I wanted to choose him too, but looking Snivy and remembered that I’ve always chosen the Grass type starter before so maybe I should continue the tradition… I didn’t know what to do! And then, suddenly, I remembered the other decision I’d been dreading… the name!

I abruptly closed the DS and took a deep breath. It was just a game, so why was I taking it so seriously? “"Just pick something, and go with it! Stop OCD-ing over every little detail!"

I swallowed my anxiety and made a decision. I picked Tepig and, thankfully, the game did not ask me to nickname it yet. Instead, my in-game friends Cheren and Bianca challenge me to a Pokémon battle and in no time we’re in the heat of things. I immediately noticed how vibrant the game's sprites were on my Nintendo DSi XL and how – even though the sprites were a little blocky at times – they still managed to look fairly smooth in when motion. The way the camera pans around the battlefield now and occasionally zooms in on the Pokémon really make this game feel engaging and visually attractive than the others and I'm happy the series is finally moving away from static battle scenes. I quickly defeat both of my friends and as a result end up trashing my room. That's alright though, because once we head downstairs to tell mom she immediately offers to clean up in that typical motherly way. I may be a veteran to the series, but there are a lot of people who are not and I really liked how these intro battles played out and introduced the game's core mechanics. In a short time, I’d already been introduced to not only how battles and attacks worked but also how experience levels worked along with the increased stats associated with them, and all without any instruction. I think that’s good game design, and I appreciate it.

Our little party heads on over to Juniper's lab where she wastes no time giving us our new mission and sending us off on our journey. Like all games before, the goal this time is to fill the Pokédex by encountering and catching many different types of Pokémon. This task is a daunting one (with well over 600 Pokémon in total now) but at least she’s only talking about creatures native to the Unova region (for now) and that makes it a little more realistic. Juniper also takes this time to let me nickname my Tepig and though I hesitate for a second, I finally settle on the Final Fantasy theme and name my male Tepig after the headband-wearing, easy going Blitzball player from Final Fantasy X, Wakka. For a moment I’m uneasy with the decision, but once I let it wash over me I end up liking it and confirm my selection. Wakka is now an official part of my team, and I’m happy to have him. I will admit that I spent a few minutes just looking at Wakka‘s status screen entry and flipping his sprite over and over – I know it’s just a bunch of pixels, but there’s something almost magical about seeing your Pokémon jump around like that. I’m so happy these games are animated. :)

Our little group exits the lab and heads up Route 1 to watch Juniper show us how to catch a Pokémon. The demonstration is fairly straight-forward and repeats the steps we’ve all seen before – find wild Pokémon, weaken wild Pokémon, throw ball at wild Pokémon. Simple. The professor hands us a few balls and officially sends us on our way – from here we go where we want and do what we want. What more could a new Pokémon Trainer ask for? By this point I'd noticed how quickly events were going by. In previous games you didn’t get to actually choose your starter until much later, let alone have battles with your rivals, but in this game I’d already done that and was about to start the core part of my adventure – it was great.

With my back against the little town of Nuvema I ran toward the tall grass and started searching for potential additions to my team. This area has wild Lillipup (the Puppy Pokémon) and Patrat (the Scout Pokémon) both of which are Normal type and both of which are fairly plain. Don't get me wrong – Lillipup is adorable and I think Patrat could grow on me – but neither of them have anything unique to bring to the table. I know I shouldn’t hate on Normal type Pokemon (they have their uses) but this early in the game it’s all about type-matchups and Normal is the least useful in that department. I decided to catch one of each species for the sake of my Pokédex, but they were otherwise only good for experience points. I relentlessly slaughtered enough Patrat and Lillipup for my Wakka to learn a new move (Ember) and then I headed for the next city.

Adrian’s Team So Far

Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version were released in North American today, and I was there bright and early to pick up my copy of the game. I chose White Version this time mostly because of how badass the version-exclusive legendary "Zekrom" looks, but also because I’d heard that the version-exclusive "White Forest" might be more useful later in the game. All that aside though, I really just wanted to start my adventure!

I admit, I was a little tired going in to get the game. I had obsessed all night trying to settle on a nickname for my starter and a subsequent theme for all the rest. I considered using the names of only Final Fantasy characters, only Mega Man, or Zelda, or Avatar The Last Airbender, and then eventually I moved onto only the names of fruits, then spices, then flowers… needless to say I grew restless settling on a theme. I eventually fell asleep, but my restlessness woke me up early in the morning and the decision racked my brain the entire time I was getting ready to leave the house. Even as I swiftly made my way to EB Games I couldn’t stop thinking about it – I barely remember my trip to the store I was so distracted. I finally reached the steps and cleared my head before opening the door – I needed to stop thinking about it.

At the counter I picked up my copy of White Version as well as a copy of Black Version for my co-worker and friend Kiele. Through some clever bargaining, I’d convinced her to try out the new Pokémon game with me and I offered to pick one up on her behalf come launch day. Kiele has little experience with gaming overall, and none with the Pokémon franchise, but I’m hoping that this game will be fun enough to hook her and bring her the same enjoyment that the series has brought me for so many years. In addition to convincing Kiele to play with me, months of gushing have also persuaded my friend Christine to play too! She’s just as much of a gamer as I am – maybe even more so – but while she has played a Pokémon game in the past (Sapphire, I believe) her experience was only mildly entertaining and she’s since avoided the games (much to the dismay of me and her partner – also a total Pokémaniac). Christine and I plan to recount our experiences and thoughts on our respective blogs, so we’ll see how that goes. :P

After paying for the games and some having a bit of small-talk with the guy behind the counter, I stuck ‘em in my bag and raced out of there. On my way home I made a pit-stop at Tim Hortons to pick up some breakfast and coffee, and while I was there I saw a group of two young men playing the new games together. It’s an interesting feeling seeing strangers playing your favourite game. It’s kind of like hearing someone talk about a TV series that you follow, but better somehow… I managed to pull myself away, remembering that I had my own game to play and the sooner I got home the better, and made my order at the counter. Coffee and donuts in-hand I quickly scurried home and took delight in how quiet the streets were – nothing to slow me down from starting my adventure!

Finally home, I peeled off my winter skin in a hurry and headed for the couch. I tried to focus on the matter at hand – playing the game – but I was starving and figured I should probably fuel up before starting anything. I decided to skim the instruction booklet while I inhaled by breakfast, but only got as far as the "Victini" insert before I finished so the instruction booklet would have to wait for another day. Anxious to start my adventure I grabbed my DSi and went to swap in the new game, but as I pulled HeartGold from my DSi a quiet feeling of closure washed over me – this day officially marked the end of my 100+ hour journey in the Johto region and I decided to take a moment to reflect upon my team and adventures. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in that game and while that story was coming to a close, I was happy that I would be starting a new one with friends to enjoy it with me.

I inserted Pokémon White and turned on the system. The game loaded and the opening cutscenes played. I was finally playing the game after months and months of anxiously waiting and I was loving it. After the opening credits concluded the cameras started swirling around a giant model of Zekrom, the Electric and Dragon type legendary I would eventually be able to encounter. Zekrom’s eyes glowed a bright red as the camera zoomed in and the words “Press Start” appeared on the screen. I paused one last time to smoke-up with my boyfriend and pressed Start (why would't I wanna play Pokémon high?). The journey begins!

The first Pokémon game I ever played was Red Version, and I loved the shit out of it. Unfortunately – because it and the Gameboy itself were borrowed (actually bribed) from a friend – it didn’t feel like a very personal experience. It was more like I was living vicariously through his cartridge or something. As such, I didn’t nickname any of my Pokémon – I just didn’t see the point. Aside from my trainer name, I left everything else untouched and played with the defaults. It was a very fun experience and I liked it enough anticipate the release of Gold & Silver some years later, but I didn’t have any kind of personal connection with my monsters. I mean, they were just little pieces of data so why would I?

When I played Pokémon Silver, it was my game bought with my own money. No one could ever take it away from me and the Pokémon that I caught and raised would not be released or deleted later by someone less invested in them as I was. This connection to them (however ridiculous it may sound) is what prompted me to start nicknaming my Pokémon from that point on. It just made them feel more unique, more like they were my friends or pets and not just random animals fighting each other. It’s been so long that I can’t remember any of the nicknames for my Silver team, sadly, but the tradition has lived on.

From Pokémon Silver onward I’ve always made sure to nickname my Pokémon and I often put a lot of thought into them. I don’t name every Pokémon I catch, but I always nickname the ones I plan to have on my team and I always name my starter. The way I look at it, training a Pokémon without giving it a nickname would be like caring for a dog named “Dog” or a cat named “Cat”. It’s kind of funny at first, but it represents a lack of interest and compassion for your animal and it’s not the way I feel about my Pokémon.

When I start a new Pokémon game, I try to think of some kind of theme to work with. I don’t always follow-through with the theme, but it definitely gives me a starting point. My Pokémon Diamond game, for example, started with a theme of character names from my favourite TV shows and moved on from there. I had an Aerodactyl named “Sylar” (from the TV show Heroes), a Torterra named “Dexter” (from TV show Dexter but also the name of my pet bearded-dragon), a Lumineon named “Lumine” (from game MegaMan X8), a Gallade named “Beryl” (from the anime Sailor Moon), and a Frosslass named “Yuriko” (from the anime RockMan.EXE Stream). Unfortunately I couldn’t think of a character to name my Luxray after so I just used the name “Lynx” and went with that.

In my Pokémon HeartGold game I managed to name all my team after characters from TV shows or video games I liked. We have “Midna” the Honchcrow (Zelda : Twilight Princess), “Crusher” the Golem (Star Trek : The Next Generation), “Tron” the Magnezone (MegaMan Legends), “Hiro” the Starmie (Heroes), “Vanille” the Vileplume (Final Fantasy XIII), and “Sisco” the Blaziken (Star Trek : Deep Space 9). I really liked these names and I’m glad I decided to go with them – they just make the entire experience feel more personal.

I fully intend on nicknaming my Pokémon when Black and White hit store shelves in a few weeks but I have no idea what kind of theme I’m going to use this time. How about you? Do you nickname your Pokémon? Where do you get your inspiration? And if you don’t, why not?

1.  Rental Pokémon
The game needs to have a full library of rental Pokémon, just like the N64 games.  Hardcore fans will no-doubt be able to import their own teams from their DS games, but what about everyone else?  I want my other gamer friends who don’t have the DS game to still be able to battle with me, and I don’t want any of these crappy “Battle Passes” with 6 pre-selected Pokémon and some lame-ass, random trainer.  What fun is that?

2.  Gym Leader Castle
The game should let you battle 3D versions of the Unova Region’s leaders (and possibly other regions’ as well) just like the N64 games.  If the console games had any creativity in their character design I wouldn’t be so harsh, but none of the throwaway characters I’ve seen so far have been anywhere near as interesting or well-designed as those introduced in the main series.  I miss the days when the console games paid tribute to the handheld one – it’s the whole reason I even consider buying the console games in the first place!

3. Trainer School & Battle Lessons
The school / academy aspect of the series needs to return.  There was nothing cooler than being taught advanced combos through live battles rather than just through text-boxes or online message boards.  I still remember the battle with a rental Graveler teaching me the Defense Curl + Rollout combo from Stadium 2.  Such good times…  Hundreds more combos have been introduced since then and with all-new players entering the scene, there’s no reason to leave this feature out again.

4.  Physical Contact
Pokémon should make contact for physical attacks.  I don’t care if the game needs a teen rating.  On the DS they may be able to blame technical limitations, but these weak-sause cut-away attack scenes are pathetic on a 3D console game.  Pikachu is allowed to headbutt other Pokémon in the anime, which is clearly aimed at children, so why can’t he do it in the games?  Fix that shit!

5.  Return of the Battle Frontier
Whether they call it the Battle Frontier or replace it with the new “Battle Subway” doesn’t matter, I just want something similar within the console games and with just as much focus on Triple and Rotation Battles as the other types.  Oh, and there should obviously be multiplayer options – both competitive and co-operative.  Different “cups” or themes would also be appreciated – things like the “Tiny Cup” for physically small monsters of the “Heavy Cup” for big ones.  This would make the aforementioned rental Pokémon even more useful.

6.  Pokémon Box Storage & Transfer
This feature was in the original N64 games and was extremely useful.  As Nintendo is well-aware, fans of the series often purchase more than one version of the game.  I can’t speak for everyone, but when the inevitable Pokémon Grey comes out, I plan to treat it as a replacement for Black/White.  The issue then becomes getting all my monsters from one cartridge into another so I can benifit from all my hard work.  Sure I can manually trade them over, but with 649 different characters available that’s an extremely time consuming investment.  I just don’t understand why this feature has not appeared in any games since the N64, with all console Pokemon games released since explicitly forbidding people from moving monsters between games.  Why Nintendo?  Why?!

7.  Constant Weather Effects
In every single main-series Pokémon game to date, weather effects have not been constant throughout the battle.  Between turns the game will remind you that it’s raining or sunny or snowing and show a quick animation, but that’s it – there is no snow, rain, or sun animation during the actual attacks or character selection phases.  I know that the Wii isn’t as powerful as the PS3 or Xbox 360, but it’s still a very capable system and there is absolutely no reason it can’t display the snow/rain/sandstorm/sun/hail on a consistent basis.  What is this, the original Gameboy?

8.  Actual Wild Pokémon
I want to be able to go into a field or patch of grass, and actually see wild Pokémon running around.  I want to be able to run up to one and initiate a wild Pokémon battle with it.  I want to have double or triple battles occurring automatically based of the proximity of other wild monsters in the area when the battle starts.  I want that wild Caterpie I’m attacking to “call friends” and have other Caterpie (or maybe even a Butterfree!) come to fight by it’s side.  Can you imagine the experience gain from a string of battles this way?  Abilities like “Stench” could prevent such chains, while “Sweet Scent” could increase them (for example).  There are so many mechanics that could come into play, and the thrill of actually seeing a shiny in the wild could not be rivaled.

9.  Safari Zone for DS Games
I think it would be totally awesome if there were a special area in the game only accessibly by connecting your DS to the Wii and importing your trainer.  This area would function like a Safari Zone or Great Marsh but much larger, having several different types of environments and being packed with monsters from the older games.  The Pokémon may have different attacks than they normally would or may be holding rare items, but the point would be that you could catch a large amount of the older Pokémon in a current-gen game – something Black & White do not currently allow.

Those are all my suggestions for this potential new game.  They’ll probably never see the light of day, but it’s fun to dream – no?  What do you think?