Pokemon Reborn Review

[Celestial Fire]

Pokemon Reborn takes place in a new region called Reborn, and from the get go it has a different feel to previous games. “Reborn City – Black smog and acidic water garnish the crumbling structures along the skyline. City streets fest like alleys with disaster and crime. But the metropolis stands, a decaying blemish on the once-vibrant region.” This description from the Pokemon Reborn website accurately sums up the vibe – don’t expect to see bright, happy colours as in previous games, because you’re in for a gritty ride. The game opens with a bombing at the Reborn train station that results in several casualties, so the black tone is set from the get go. You quickly get roped into fighting against the evil Team Meteor. This is an incredibly dark game, and not one that should be played by children. Swearing is common, and there are numerous moments that deal with sensitive topics in a way that young children will not be ready for. Attempted suicides and child abuse run rampant in this game; it’s almost a cliché.

Pokémon Reborn is free to donwload and is updated periodically, meaning that the game is a work in progress, and new Pokémon and new chapters of the story are added regularly. That being said, I’ve spent a significant chunk of the past month playing it and I still haven’t finished what’s been released so far, so there’s a good amount of content to sink your teeth into. As for the writing, the story is different and has its moments, and is pretty good. The gameplay is, generally speaking, as solid as you’d get in an official Pokémon game. You’re given the choice between all 21 starters at the beginning of the game, and there are opportunities to gain some of the others as you progress through the story. There are over 800 Pokémon planned to be in the game, so if you have a favourite from past games, chances are it’s there. 

One of the most significant additions to Pokémon Reborn are field effects, which alter depending on what environment you’re battling in. Grass attacks become stronger when fighting in a forest and electric attacks become more powerful if you’re battling in a power plant; the list goes on.  Particularly with gym leaders, you need most of your Pokémon to be at the level cap to defeat them, but this also raises the issue of your Pokémon overlevelling in battle and disobeying you, which is even more frustrating. Especially since not every gym badge will raise the level cap, so you’ll find yourself forced to train your Pokémon to the cap to beat one gym, only to find them overlevelled for the next one. This can be rectified with “Common Candy”, an item introduced by the game to lower the level of your Pokémon, but it feels counter-intuitive doing so when it’s a big grind to level Pokemon up in the first place.

So what else is different? Reborn boasts jumping puzzles, riddles, and other challenges you need to complete to progress through the story, but unfortunately does not continue the tradition of the Pokémon beauty pageant. I know, it’s terrible. But not to worry, you can still get their… hair cut? The biggest difference, and one that will be welcomed by fans of the series, is the ability to have more than one save file. No more will you need to delete your old save to start again with different Pokémon, and instead you can now hop between the two! Overall Pokemon Reborn is an amazing game! It has an amazing story keeping me excited for every episode. The game is difficult making you actually think.

Edited August 16, 2018 by Celestial Fire

[The Swordsman]

This was a OKish reivew, as someone who plays games for their characters and plot, I highly disagree that Reborn is not written well and the field effects are currently balanced but the game is meant to be hard, if you read the field notes you will see that there is alot of thought put into them.

[Celestial Fire]

9 minutes ago, The Swordsman said:

This was a OKish reivew, as someone who plays games for their characters and plot, I highly disagree that Reborn is not written well and the field effects are currently balanced but the game is meant to be hard, if you read the field notes you will see that there is alot of thought put into them.

I forgot about that, I edited it. I apologize and when I meant the story is bad I meant the choices that create different paths. Anyone I deleted that part so it didn't confuse some people. 

[Tacos]

Just a quick critique:

1. There are 21 starter choices actually, 3 for each generation.
2. There actually are a few legendary pokemon available, though they're not the one that exactly come to mind when you think legendary.  Phione, Type:Null, Silvally, and most recently with the episode 18 community release, Poipole and Naganadel.
3. Team Aqua and Magma aren't the ones that make cameos, but rather they're gangs with similar types and names to pay homage to the Hoenn villains.  They are not in any way affiliated with the original teams, however.
4. I guess I'm just a little confused about the way this is written.  The writing style is by no means poor, but it feels strange that for a review written on Reborn's own forums, that the review reads as if it's introducing the game to someone unfamiliar with it entirely.
5. This is just nitpicking on my end and I guess could be considered more of a counter-opinion, but to compare the storytelling of this game to the Hunger Games Trilogy feels... misplaced I guess.  While there are some themes that some people would consider "edgy" or things you might see in something like a young adult novel, I feel like the depth of the issues brought to light in this game go beyond the scope of what any young adult novel would normally be able to distribute for a reader's digestion.  While themes of death run throughout both Reborn and the aforementioned Hunger Games Trilogy, I feel Reborn does, for the most part, an excellent job of portraying a diverse cast of characters boasting different themes in regards to gender, sexuality, mental illness, religious affiliations, and racial diversity (though this could still be stronger in my opinion; aside from playable character options, there are only two characters, Samson and Arclight, who represent PoC).  

Overall the review is by no means bad, but I'd consider polishing it based on my first 4 points (the 5th one is simply my own thoughts and for no reason should make you feel as if you should change your own personal review).

[Celestial Fire]

14 minutes ago, Tacos said:

Just a quick critique:

1. There are 21 starter choices actually, 3 for each generation.
2. There actually are a few legendary pokemon available, though they're not the one that exactly come to mind when you think legendary.  Phione, Type:Null, Silvally, and most recently with the episode 18 community release, Poipole and Naganadel.
3. Team Aqua and Magma aren't the ones that make cameos, but rather they're gangs with similar types and names to pay homage to the Hoenn villains.  They are not in any way affiliated with the original teams, however.
4. I guess I'm just a little confused about the way this is written.  The writing style is by no means poor, but it feels strange that for a review written on Reborn's own forums, that the review reads as if it's introducing the game to someone unfamiliar with it entirely.
5. This is just nitpicking on my end and I guess could be considered more of a counter-opinion, but to compare the storytelling of this game to the Hunger Games Trilogy feels... misplaced I guess.  While there are some themes that some people would consider "edgy" or things you might see in something like a young adult novel, I feel like the depth of the issues brought to light in this game go beyond the scope of what any young adult novel would normally be able to distribute for a reader's digestion.  While themes of death run throughout both Reborn and the aforementioned Hunger Games Trilogy, I feel Reborn does, for the most part, an excellent job of portraying a diverse cast of characters boasting different themes in regards to gender, sexuality, mental illness, religious affiliations, and racial diversity (though this could still be stronger in my opinion; aside from playable character options, there are only two characters, Samson and Arclight, who represent PoC).  

Overall the review is by no means bad, but I'd consider polishing it based on my first 4 points (the 5th one is simply my own thoughts and for no reason should make you feel as if you should change your own personal review).

Thanks for the helpful feedback and also this was made awhile back when it was kind of new. I fixed some of the problems

Edited August 16, 2018 by Celestial Fire