Manhattan Digest

All you need to know about Manhattan culture and so much more...

pokemon

Japan Names Mascot for 2014 World Cup

by

Japan is channeling the Pika-power.

What’s cuter than Pokemon? Dressing the lovable monsters up in soccer uniforms and having them represent your country as its mascots. Never one to shy away from shameless cuteness, Japan has named Pikachu as its national soccer team’s mascot for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. Pikachu won’t be going alone, though; it seems that he’ll also be bringing along some of his friends to join in on the fun (from Pikachu, clockwise: Squirtle, Litleo, Helioptile, Charmander, Fennekin, Meowth, Froakie, Pancham, Bulbasaur, and Chespin). Clearly the Japanese are capitalizing on their hottest commodity right now, even more so than the famous Mario.

However, I can’t help feeling like they’ve dropped the ball in a couple of instances here. First, it’s obvious that the choices shown in the above picture are meant to plug the most recent releases, X and Y. Of the eleven selections, six of them are those who made their debut in the newest generation of games. Oddly enough, the other five were part of the original 151. While it’s great for Nintendo that this is a sales-driven approach, I would’ve liked to see Jigglypuff (because it’s one of the most iconic Pokemon) and Voltorb (because it’s a ball) used instead of, say, Meowth and Helioptile… and yes, I realize how ridiculous I sound nitpicking this.

This is going to sound like wishful thinking here, but I could potentially see this springboarding the franchise into some sports titles down the road. Who wouldn’t want to play a Pokemon-based soccer video game? Or basketball? Or perhaps even football? I’d buy any of those games in a heartbeat with no regrets whatsoever. Whatever happens in the future of the series, this latest endeavor is sure to be memorable and I salute Japan for doing it.

Twitch Plays Pokemon – More Than Just A Game

by

Twitch, Manhattan Digest, Pokemon
Copyright Game Freak
Source: Reddit

Thousands of heads aren’t necessarily better than one.

How do you turn a groundbreaking classic into a massive social experiment? Allow tens of thousands of people to play the same instance at once. Using a ROM of Pokemon Red Version, the popular streaming website Twitch, and some clever mechanics, Twitch Plays Pokemon has taken the entire internet by storm. In nearly eleven days’ worth of play time, droves of people have entered the stream to participate, troll, or simply watch the madness unfold.

The idea for this undertaking came from an Australian person who chooses to remain anonymous. By entering the stream, people worldwide can take part in playing the game by entering any of the buttons that exist on the old-school Game Boy: A, B, Select, Start, Up, Down, Left, and Right. This, in turn, will make the Red character perform the corresponding action. However, since anyone can do this, the result is pretty much what you’d expect: chaos of epic proportions. It often takes hours to achieve anything significant in-game

While the creator has mostly been hands-off when it comes to moderating the action, they did institute a small feature to help the process along when the populace became stuck inside the Rocket Game Corner dungeon for over 24 hours. By typing either “anarchy” or “democracy” into the chat, players can move the needle towards whatever they choose. If the bar becomes 75% full (meaning towards the democracy side) the Red character will only perform the most requested action at predetermined intervals. Once the chat activated democracy mode, they were able to pass the floor puzzle and proceed.

Naturally, many memes and other wacky internet claims have already surfaced as a result of Twitch Plays Pokemon. The current team features a level 60 Pidgeot and five other Pokemon who are much weaker by comparison. As a result, Pidgeot has since been dubbed “Bird Jesus” by the inhabitants of the stream. The in-game item called the Helix Fossil, which normally would be resurrected into an Omanyte, has become something of a deity to the players involved. A simple Google image search of “Twitch Plays Pokemon” will yield some hilarious results.

If you’d like to watch this project in action, all you have to do is click here. In order to participate, you’ll need to make a free account on Twitch first, but once you’ve done that you can help or troll to your heart’s consent!

It’s Clear: Gamefreak Has Reignited Pokemon’s Flame

by

Pokémon-X-and-Y

Let me get something out of the way before I get into the meat of this article:

I have not played Pokemon X or Y yet.

I know, I know, it’s sacrilege for me to say that. However, my retail job and general lack of hours there prevent me from getting a 3DS or 2DS and the game. Simply not enough money to go around. Anyway, having talked to friends and family members about the recent installments in the Pokemon franchise it’s obvious to me that the buzz that surrounded the games way back in 1998 has finally returned 15 years later.

Everything I’ve heard about the general storyline of X and Y seems like typical Pokemon fare; you’re a new trainer embarking on your journey to become a Pokemon master, there’s an evil team wanting to change the world in some form for their benefit, you take on gym leaders and the Elite Four, and there are many legendary Pokemon, whether related to the story or not, to capture. The standard endgame is there, with more challenging battles to take on and side quests to complete. However, that’s where the similarities to the last three generations end.

The features that Gamefreak has added to X and Y are things that match the spirit of the game perfectly. Gamefreak has finally added full character customization, allowing you to buy outfits and change your trainer’s hair with in-game currency. You can now use the game’s Wonder Trade function to instantly send one of your Pokemon to another trainer anywhere in the world. While you have no control over the Pokemon you receive in return, it’s perfect for those who don’t have friends to play and trade with. You can also use the Player Search System to battle other trainers worldwide. For the hardcore gamers, you can now “Super Train” your Pokemon to max their EVs (effort values) quicker, gaining bigger stat boosts in a short period of time. The new Pokemon-Amie (pictured below) allows you to develop stronger bonds with your Pokemon, using the bottom touchscreen to pet, feed, and play with them. You can benefit in battle by raising your Pokemon’s affection, as another new feature involves your Pokemon trying harder in battle for you. They can gain a higher critical-hit ratio, dodge attacks, and gain more experience. Gamefreak even added a chance that your Pokemon will shake off status ailments or endure attacks that would otherwise knock them out because they don’t want to disappoint you. As someone who always ends up developing emotional bonds with his team, I can say that for me, these features are very much welcome.

The new Amie function allows you to pet your Pokemon to raise their affection level.

These changes are a breath of fresh air that has been sorely needed as the last few generations of games have felt flat, in my opinion. I recently played through Pokemon Black 2 and felt that there was no challenge to the game at all; I played from start to finish without losing a single battle. Also, the new Pokemon introduced ranged from somewhat refreshing to completely moronic in terms of design. There were new Pokemon in that generation based on ice cream and piles of garbage; the mark of a company that had run out of ideas. This time around, I’m glad that the lion’s share of the effort went to adding cogs and gears as opposed to flashy new Pokemon. Pokemon X and Y marks the fewest additions to the series in terms of number of Pokemon, with only 69 newbies bringing the overall total to 718 species of catchable allies.

I’m sure that come Christmas time, I’ll be able to get my hands on this game, and I can safely say that this is the first time I’ve badly wanted a Pokemon game since Pokemon Crystal came out in 2001. Until then, I’ll be forced to listen to my friends proclaim that this new batch of Pokemon games is the best in a long time, and wind up jealous of them as a result. However, one thing is clear: this franchise is back, and it’s back in a big way. Gamefreak has proven that you can indeed catch lightning in a bottle twice with the same IP.