Pokemon Black Version 2

 DS
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 656 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 495 out of 656
  2. Mixed: 76 out of 656
  3. Negative: 85 out of 656
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  1. Falcon612
    Mar 16, 2013
    8
    I love Pokemon, but do not let all the new features of the game scare those who have never played Pokemon or stopped after gen 1 or gen 2. The game is easy enough to be welcoming, perhaps too much so for my taste, but there are always ways to make the game harder for yourself. Story does not win any medal though which is a shame because there is so much potential for a good narrativeI love Pokemon, but do not let all the new features of the game scare those who have never played Pokemon or stopped after gen 1 or gen 2. The game is easy enough to be welcoming, perhaps too much so for my taste, but there are always ways to make the game harder for yourself. Story does not win any medal though which is a shame because there is so much potential for a good narrative (read Pokemon Adventures). But the charm of collecting and getting to know your little friends is still there.… Expand
  2. Skullgirlsfan13
    May 12, 2013
    8
    At my age I thought Pokémon was a dying franchise, and was still cramming down as many games and T.V shows; I still think the shows should've stop. With the release of the newest generation of Pokémon I was not interested in buying this game, but I eventually succumbed to curiosity and purchased Pokémon white. I thought that was one of the best ones ever, the gameplay, the strategy, it wasAt my age I thought Pokémon was a dying franchise, and was still cramming down as many games and T.V shows; I still think the shows should've stop. With the release of the newest generation of Pokémon I was not interested in buying this game, but I eventually succumbed to curiosity and purchased Pokémon white. I thought that was one of the best ones ever, the gameplay, the strategy, it was a great experience. When I heard shortly after the release of the first one the was another one coming out: Black & White 2. I thought it was too soon for another one, but I ended up getting it anyways. So I thought it would be another version of the same game but with minor differences. In a way it kind of was, but in another way it improves in many other factors. Like the story has improved, and is more interesting, but like the previous games it just comes and goes. There's actually no giant significant difference from its previous instllment, it's actually the little things that makes this game a bit better. That's what I think of this game: It's a little bit better.… Expand
  3. Jamison12
    Jun 6, 2013
    8
    Pokemon Black 2 far surpasses all of it's predecessors. With what little holes that Black had, Black 2 fills those up nicely. Nintendo and Gamefreak continue to show why they're the best at what they do.
  4. UnplezantFezant
    Jun 15, 2013
    8
    A nice break from the same old formula that Game Freak is (in)famous for. Rather than the third updated version, this is a sequel. Decent story and an easy to learn but hard to master game-play mechanic the series is known for.
  5. rhaynes7
    Dec 28, 2013
    8
    This game takes away some of the best parts about the first entry. It allows you to have Pokemon from other regions, which leaves the experience to be too predictable, and you'll go straight to your favorites. There is new content, but the way it's assembled into the previous entry feels awkward.

    Overall, it's still a great Pokemon game with probably the largest amount of content in    This game takes away some of the best parts about the first entry. It allows you to have Pokemon from other regions, which leaves the experience to be too predictable, and you'll go straight to your favorites. There is new content, but the way it's assembled into the previous entry feels awkward.

    Overall, it's still a great Pokemon game with probably the largest amount of content in any game. For the first time in forever, I was happy to get my Pokemon to level 100     … Expand
  6. Steeldude
    Oct 13, 2014
    8
    This game took what was wrong with the original B/W and brought us an expanded region and the best post-game in the series so far. Even though the main storyline is not that exciting and I still don't like most of the 5-gen Pokémon designs, this game is a solid title indeed.
  7. Captain_Faramir
    Apr 23, 2017
    8
    8.5 - Another well done Pokemon game, as usual. The locations in this were done very nicely, varying a lot. Gameplay is smooth and consistently fun. Not the best of a Gen but regardless still Pokemon.
  8. Diegochocho
    Jul 6, 2018
    8
    Es mas de lo mismo del Negro 2, solo que con una nueva historia y combates, pero sigue estando a la altura de la saga.
  9. ShawnEXE
    May 3, 2019
    8
    Music: 4.5/5
    Game Play: 4/5
    Graphics: 4/5
    Story: 4.5/5
    Time-Value: 5/5
    Overall: 4.0/5
  10. Shwebbles
    Jun 20, 2019
    8
    Pokemon Black Version 2 is the Pokemon game that was the transition game between the DS and the 3DS, it was created in 2012 and with the new console on its way it was only natural for the next new game to be the best in the DS line up from a graphical standpoint. Areas like Castelia City are proof of this alone, but this game shows off more through it's animated cut scenes, which, whilePokemon Black Version 2 is the Pokemon game that was the transition game between the DS and the 3DS, it was created in 2012 and with the new console on its way it was only natural for the next new game to be the best in the DS line up from a graphical standpoint. Areas like Castelia City are proof of this alone, but this game shows off more through it's animated cut scenes, which, while sometimes clunky, keep the pace for the rest of the game. The story of this game is a massive improvement in the context of the Pokemon games, however, when compared to the original black and white games, it only moves slightly forward, but just enough to the point where it is a new and different experience. As for the Pokemon additions, it keeps most of the Pokemon from black and white until the post game with a few exceptions including the new legendary. Overall, this Pokemon game was good for what it was, a transition game. It does have minor flaws which I have mentioned within this review and is what keeps it from a 9 or 10 spot. However I had a great experience with this game and I would not dissuade you from checking this game out.… Expand
  11. twinklyten
    Jan 25, 2020
    8
    Just pokemon whites story continued with a hefty style upgrade. Excellent precursor to tge 3d era
  12. Warbringer
    Feb 21, 2021
    8
    Such a nice sequel to B&W,both games are well made. The last GOOD Pokemon games we have seen.
  13. hector_bcn98
    Nov 7, 2022
    8
    No entendí la necesidad de hacer estas entregas, no sumaban el contenido necesario como para justificar otra compra. No podrían haber optado por la tercera entrega como se hizo siempre?
  14. FireBroFilms
    Aug 15, 2022
    8
    ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎
  15. LillaQwilfish
    Feb 13, 2023
    8
    3D badges are amazing. For real i love them every pokemon fangame i played till the end had them i love 3D badges. Leveling sucks tho, 8/10 no Qwilfish
  16. DarthSidious63
    Oct 14, 2012
    7
    If this is the final Pokemon game for the DS it's going out with a whimper not with a bang. I am not saying that Black and White 2 is a bad game it is the same game all over yet again. You start with the same starter Pokemon from Black and White and build up it stats all over again. What I would have liked to see is that you pick all of the starters Pokemon from all the regions such asIf this is the final Pokemon game for the DS it's going out with a whimper not with a bang. I am not saying that Black and White 2 is a bad game it is the same game all over yet again. You start with the same starter Pokemon from Black and White and build up it stats all over again. What I would have liked to see is that you pick all of the starters Pokemon from all the regions such as Bulbasaur or Charmander. When a new Pokemon game comes out for the 3DS GameFreak needs to totally rebuild this series from top to bottom.… Expand
  17. lordT
    Jul 2, 2014
    7
    As someone who is following the series since the 3th generation i really enjoyed this game, but only if you consider it as a big ass dlc. As you know from my previous reviews I would usually talk a lot about a game but because that i see this game as a dlc, i will only talk about the new content

    The new Pokemon are as always welcomed to the franchise, but actually there is not much    As someone who is following the series since the 3th generation i really enjoyed this game, but only if you consider it as a big ass dlc. As you know from my previous reviews I would usually talk a lot about a game but because that i see this game as a dlc, i will only talk about the new content

    The new Pokemon are as always welcomed to the franchise, but actually there is not much here, just black and white kyurem, keldeo, genesect, and another one that i forgot (you could get the last three in the last games by hacking it with all the move sets so this is also another "Disk Locked Content")

    The new cities and places are my favorite edition to the game, they make unova a whole lot greater

    And finally I actually think that the story is much better here then the previous games but that is just personal

    But overall i recommend you to buy this game only if you are a hardcore Pokemon fan or if you haven't bought the first games    … Expand
  18. ND-Bringer
    Jul 11, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I really wanted to fall in love with this game, I tried really hard. Most call it the Pokemon game that has it all, and they're right, regarding the post game. But much like Heart Gold and Soul Silver, there is little reason to reset this game, and replay the main story. And unlike those games, the grinding mechanics aren't annoying here, I have no trouble beating the game with well thought out strategy, thematically, the levels can feel occasionally stale.

    Cheren for instance, returning as a Gym Leader sounds like an interesting concept, but his team only consists of boring, first stage normal types. It's very odd, you think with all the returning Pokemon from other games being added to the new Unova Pokedex, the Gym Leaders would have more variety in there teams. And I know this game is supposed to be a deluxe version and sequel hybrid of Black and White, but the cheaper designed levels make me wish that Game Freak simply make a Pokemon Grey Version.

    Maybe if story theme had more interesting elements besides Team Plasma just getting revenge and Hugh trying to get his sister's Pokemon back, I would have been able to keep my inspiration fresh. But because this is a game where the only focus is to defeat Pokemon villains that want to take over the world using the Legendary Pokemon and maybe win the Pokemon League, the trope was becoming really tired at this point, and Black and White 2 were failing to breathe any new life into this popular plot point.

    In the last games, Team Plasma was much more interesting. They were trying to take over the region by convincing everyone that Pokemon were treated like slaves and needed to be released into the wild in order to truly be free. With half of the team being made up of people who loved Pokemon while the other half consisting of power hungry villains. And in order to obtain the Legendary Pokemon, their leader recruits N, and trains him to become the fabled hero of Unova, causing the Legendary Pokemon to actually join them willingly.

    And its gets dicier when a much more threatening conflict is introduced with the defeat of the champion followed by a monstrous castle towering over the Pokemon League, as the King of Team Plasma prepares to command everyone to release their Pokémon for good. But here though, I've seen it a hundred times in the both the games and the anime, the cutscenes showing the Legendaries and the airship attack are nice, but it doesn't change the fact that experienced Pokemon players have seen this many times before.

    The post game is still worth checking out though. The Pokemon World Tournament allows you challenge every Gym Leader and Champion from the entire Pokemon series at the time. Iris isn't there though, she's just too busy not stopping the return of Team Plasma. Yeah, fighting her is fun, but she doesn't do that much as a Champion in reality. This battle facility is still a very enjoyable time, it feels like a modern take on Pokemon Stadium on the go.

    Poke Star Studios definitely inspired a great deal of fan fiction. It's incredible to see a Pokemon game that gives you the ability to battle alien battle ships and demons. And the new Black Tower and White Tree Hollow is a real treat for fans of Battle Frontier type facilities. If your interested in taking much longer Pokemon journeys, I recommend you take this game out for a spin.    … Expand
  19. AShinyG1ratina
    Jun 21, 2022
    7
    Some cool features were added in between games (and the UI in this game is by far the best in the series) but much less compelling characters and storylines take this game down a notch from its prequel for me.
  20. Garde_Mystik
    Aug 30, 2023
    7
    Solid game but in retrospect it's overrated. While Generation 5 comes with a lot of PvE battling content, it's ultimate quantity over quality as there's so much that held it back from its full potential. For one, the story is not so great, as the only real direction in narrative was to show Team Plasma off as terrorists. We needed this game to be about Kyurem. We needed the Unova sequelsSolid game but in retrospect it's overrated. While Generation 5 comes with a lot of PvE battling content, it's ultimate quantity over quality as there's so much that held it back from its full potential. For one, the story is not so great, as the only real direction in narrative was to show Team Plasma off as terrorists. We needed this game to be about Kyurem. We needed the Unova sequels to flesh out further on Unova lore and try its best to complete it all the way. In the end, in 2023, Zygarde got more fleshed out without ever having a game than Kyurem did with two games. Kyurem is also still one of the most misunderstood Pokemon to this very day. Black 2 White 2 are good games, they just aren't good sequels. The fact many people are "optimistic about waiting for Unova remakes to complete the set altogether" expresses part of my point. These SHOULD HAVE been the games to give Unova a proper conclusion. We shouldn't have to wait for remakes to come out in an era where Pokemon probably doesn't care anymore. As we've been with BDSP and Scarlet and Violet, I don't even have faith in Unova remakes to be any good anymore.

    Another point I have to make is the content itself. The standout features here are the Battle Subway, the PWT, the Pokestar Studios, the White Treehallow, and the Black Tower. While Generation 5 has a lot of content catering to one aspect of the game, it's not necessarily diverse. This game lacks the external features many other generations have. They have nothing like the Pokeathalon, the Poke Amie, Super Training, the Poke Pelago, Pokemon Contests, or anything where you can really see your Pokemon in a different light and get to connect with them more. They have musicals but that's just watching your Pokemon dance for 1 minute after dressing them up, and it's not necessarily anywhere near the levels of the fleshed out content other Pokemon games have.

    The battles themselves aren't the best of quality in Gen 5, as the critical health theme legitimately holds the quality of each match hostage, and the most you're getting out of these games are repetitive cycles of restricted Champion teams. I remember when playing as a kid, feeling frustrated by how held back the AI trainers were in games as late as Gen 5. Unlike with the 3DS games, there's not really a way for you to get a full 6v6 battle against level 100s at all unless you battled friends in real life. Even then, the overall battle mechanics are much better in the 3DS games, as you don't have to deal with endless weather strategies, sleep counter resets, copycat roar, Sky Drop glitch, etc. It gets boring after battling Cynthia and her level 78 Garchomp all the time for example, without her ever keeping up with my level 100s and legendaries. The 3DS offered a tool within those games to greatly help with this in the Vs. Recorder, an overlooked feature that's essentially a sandbox for how you could set up battles for your game. I can hardly care about facing off against repetitive Champion teams in the overworld or in PWT when I can get so much more off later generations of Pokemon games overall, and with better battling mechanics.

    Black 2 White 2 are also the most money-hungry main series Pokemon games before the Nintendo Switch. Do I even have to explain? They installed a key system, which made the difficulty setting version exclusive. Challenge Mode is exclusive to completed Black 2 saves, Easy Mode is exclusive to completed White 2 saves. If you wanted to Challenge Mode to White 2 you will need to link with a completed Black 2 save. This resets upon resetting the save file. The White Treehallow and the Black Tower were also version exclusive. Many people overlook the severity of this in particular. The White Treehallow had Breeders who often carried Chansey and Blissey, making it the most efficient method of grinding levels in the 2D era of Pokemon games. The Black Tower did not have this, because they made the EV distributions of trainers you fought in Black Tower/White Treehallow version exclusive.(HP/Atk/Def - White Treehallow) (SpA/Spe/Spe - Black Tower). Both the difficulty setting and most efficient grinding methods were version exclusive. You were also required to have Black or White to access unique content via Memory Link, and were required to have Gen 4 games for National Dex completion. Black 2 White 2 are certainly not worth the high price they sell for second-hand today when they're tied in these chains.

    Lastly, I have no clue why people call these the most replayable Pokemon games. The story is lackluster and flooded with missed opportunities, and you lose so much off resetting them. You lose PWT progress (which was annoying to get back, and if you downloaded PWT content, it's now gone forever), you lose Pokestar Studios progress, you lose Medal progress (which you can now never complete), you lose the keys, and you lose Join Avenue progress. All the best things about B2W2 require not resetting them.    … Expand
  21. Lemons
    May 19, 2015
    6
    The game is good but it is just like a DLC to the previous games. They need to think of something new and interesting. The gameplay is great and I love Pokemon but it is hard to stay interested after awhile
  22. MadnessisRising
    Mar 6, 2019
    6
    I really love Pokemon black & white. But this edition was kinda unnecessary. The thing which made b&w so special (at least for me) was the brand new world with ONLY new Pokemon. The few new city's weren't that interesting in my opinion. Anyway it's a good game (i mean it's Pokemon!) and a better "remake" than Pokemon Ultra Sun/Moon.
  23. LordJazbin
    Apr 19, 2021
    6
    The game is good but tutorials are all around this game. Is by far the Pokémon game with the longest tutorials of all time.

    Story is dull and almost nothing happens. But it has good soundtrack, big region and good postgame, main story is pretty short though.
  24. Lokathor
    Jan 19, 2014
    5
    It's a pretty normal pokemon game overall. The 5th generation has scaled EXP so that you can't easily out-level your opponents, which is great for keeping the challenge even, though it's never super hard. There's not too much variety to the post game content, but they did add a pokemon world tourment thing in addition to black/white's battle subway. The story isn't really interesting orIt's a pretty normal pokemon game overall. The 5th generation has scaled EXP so that you can't easily out-level your opponents, which is great for keeping the challenge even, though it's never super hard. There's not too much variety to the post game content, but they did add a pokemon world tourment thing in addition to black/white's battle subway. The story isn't really interesting or anything. You can get more pokemon in-game than you could with the first black/white, but they still expect you to use the stupid dream world for the rest of them, which is an online flash minigame thing that's mostly dumb. It's all sorta just average and "what you'd expect" sort of stuff.… Expand
  25. ZangBang
    Feb 5, 2023
    5
    UPDATE
    Pokémon Black 2 doesn't have a story as thematically rich and thought-provoking as its prequel's, but it's far from bad as it makes the most of its sequel nature, diving deeper into old characters and ideas and taking them in new directions, whilst also introducing a couple of new interesting plotlines. Gameplay-wise, the new PokéStar Studios facility is the endearing side-activity    UPDATE
    Pokémon Black 2 doesn't have a story as thematically rich and thought-provoking as its prequel's, but it's far from bad as it makes the most of its sequel nature, diving deeper into old characters and ideas and taking them in new directions, whilst also introducing a couple of new interesting plotlines. Gameplay-wise, the new PokéStar Studios facility is the endearing side-activity that Musicals failed to be, offering a really fun diversion and hours of hilarious cheesy dialogue, but the real gem of the experience is most definitely the Pokémon World Tournament. Acting both as an incredible treat for hardcore players looking for a challenge and a fanservice bomb, the World Tournament allows us to meet and fight every single Gym Leader and Champion from the entire series with remixed tracks and new teams in a variety of battle modes. It is undoubtably the richest battle-focused postgame content in the history of the main series. A beautiful way to celebrate and end the 2D era of the franchise.    … Expand
  26. sebastianali
    Jul 17, 2021
    4
    While the story is still great, is just a carbon copy of the original Black and White, without any new Pokemon, the same HUD, combat and not even a single flaw of the original was fixed, we have still the same exp system, the slow pacing, excessive grinding, bad level curve for battles, bad designs and repetitive gameplay and overall lack of innovation.
    One of the worst Pokemon games ever    While the story is still great, is just a carbon copy of the original Black and White, without any new Pokemon, the same HUD, combat and not even a single flaw of the original was fixed, we have still the same exp system, the slow pacing, excessive grinding, bad level curve for battles, bad designs and repetitive gameplay and overall lack of innovation.
    One of the worst Pokemon games ever made imo.    … Expand
  27. Yojimbo2015
    Jun 4, 2023
    4
    Beloved by tamagotchi obsessives and those with the collector gene but this combat-based RPG lite bored me to tears. For me, Pokémon is one of those series in the "I don't get it" file.
  28. RavenEyry
    Dec 25, 2012
    3
    This fails horribly as a sequel and as a standalone game has a horrible plot, tacked onto the prequel. Some of the new features are nice and it has a good selection of mons, so it would have worked much better as the usual 'third version'. As it stands you have to deal with the atrocious plot.

    This is the only pokemon game I've ever regretted buying.
  29. supermagikarp
    Dec 16, 2013
    3
    My review on Pokémon Black and White 2
    [Part 1] part one is about battle actions, glitches and bad looking Pokémon.
    If you like Pokémon B.W. you might not like Pokémon Black and White 2.This version isn’t a big improvement. While there are two new forms for Kyurem [Pokémon] it looks dangerous and ugly. In the game the images are the same as in Black and White. Some Pokémon battle    My review on Pokémon Black and White 2
    [Part 1] part one is about battle actions, glitches and bad looking Pokémon.

    If you like Pokémon B.W. you might not like Pokémon Black and White 2.This version isn’t a big improvement. While there are two new forms for Kyurem [Pokémon] it looks dangerous and ugly. In the game the images are the same as in Black and White.
    Some Pokémon battle actions [where they move or look stupid] look like they died. Charizard’s battle action is the worst. In the original games Charizard could never bend his neck but in Black and White 2 his neck is always bent. Why did they ruin it?
    There are a lot of glitches in Pokémon Black and White 2 like Dodrio [normal and flying type Pokémon]. The game allows you to teach it the H.M. [hidden move] Fly which allows you to fly to places you’ve been.
    Dodrio does not have wings and three heads I mean like how does it fly? It’s stupid! Another glitch is Ghost girl. I’m not sure if she’s a glitch, she is a question in the game. If she is not a glitch she is a question left unanswered. No one knows what she is supposed to be for.
    Overall, I would not recommend you to spend any money on this game.    … Expand
  30. Izameme
    Jan 7, 2020
    2
    A fun multiplayer game ruined by the requirement of having to play a dreadfully boring singleplayer experience that can be beaten by mashing A with an overleveled mon of your choice, yet it takes forever to do so because of gamefreak's writers being hacks and padding a 3ish hour campaign with endless cutscenes about cardboard cut outs bleating repetitive drivel.
  31. PokemonConossie
    Nov 17, 2018
    1
    One of the worst pokemon games. Do not play it: nothing to do anywhere, horrible story, ugly even for a handheld game, almost no new content except at the very start that's super slow, less daring than black white 1, nothing new or different, ulgy characters. Now that the game is almost a decade old, you may find younger people pretending otherwise, but those are just blinded by nostalgia,One of the worst pokemon games. Do not play it: nothing to do anywhere, horrible story, ugly even for a handheld game, almost no new content except at the very start that's super slow, less daring than black white 1, nothing new or different, ulgy characters. Now that the game is almost a decade old, you may find younger people pretending otherwise, but those are just blinded by nostalgia, there's at least 15 mainline pokemon games better to play than this one.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best DS Game of 2012
1
#1 Most Discussed DS Game of 2012
1
#1 Most Shared DS Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 56 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 56
  3. Negative: 0 out of 56
  1. RPG Fan
    Mar 20, 2013
    78
    They're still good games, but there's nothing overtly special about them that makes them stand out from the rest of the series or, more importantly, Black and White 1.
    Read full review
  2. Worth Playing
    Jan 10, 2013
    75
    Like the first game, Pokémon Black: Version 2 is a solid title that most fans will enjoy. The addictive qualities remain, and partaking in the quest to meet and capture every Pokémon is still as exciting as it was several handheld generations ago. While the base game is still great, longtime fans will be less enthused by the restrictions, despite the many improvements and included modes. For those looking for their next series fix, this entry will do nicely.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Dec 21, 2012
    70
    Classic collect-them-all RPG offers challenging battles and quite-a-lot Pokémons to train. [Christmas 2012]
See all critic reviews »