4.5/5 ★ – JSheps's review of Pokémon Platinum.

The most accurate quote I’ve seen regarding Pokémon games is that the first game and generation you play is the best. Despite the game’s flaws, your first experience with Pokémon will be your favorite. Whether this is true or not, I see Pokémon Platinum as the ultimate Pokémon experience. To me, Platinum is the highlight of the series because it’s the embodiment of what a Pokémon game is built to be. A journey across the region, catching Pokémon, battling gyms, and working to become the champion. You meet quirky characters, fight an evil team (that’s actually a threat), interact with the world, and become the best trainer there is. It’s the perfected formula of what the original Pokémon games intended to be. My favorite part is that it genuinely feels like you’re going on a Pokémon adventure. You’re going through so many different environments, seeing so many different routes, the cities are all distinct and unique, and the region is centered around a mountain of creation. Reaching the next gym feels like an accomplishment after you went through so many different places. These locations aren’t empty either, there’s always something there that’s of substances of provides something useful. The Pokémon available are also really fun. Sure, everyone has a Staraptor since you need a Pokémon for Fly and Bidoof is usually the HM slave, but for the most part there’s a lot of options for building a team. There’s also incentive to use older Pokémon since they were given new evolutions (though some of them only evolve through trading which is inconvenient). The starters are all solid choices each with their own strengths and weaknesses, you can steamroll the game with Garchomp, Lucario’s iconic, Magnazone is sick, Togakiss is a good evolution, Gliscor is fun to use, Drapion is badass the list goes on. This game also includes the most important change in Pokémon gameplay: the physical special split. Moves are no longer physical or special moves based on their type, but whether they make contact or how they affect the target. This makes Pokémon like Weavile usable as it’s no longer screwed since it has a high attack but ice and dark are special types. It’s the primary reason I struggle to go back to previous generations because the gameplay mechanicals that were ingrained in my head from this game don’t work like they do in older games. To address the obvious flaws, HMs suck. There’s no avoiding it. They’re arguably the worst part in the game and it’s a miracle they get removed in later games. The fact you have to sacrifice a Pokémon’s move for HM5 Strength just so you can travel is really annoying. There’s also the discrimination against fire types where there’s only around 5 of them available with one being the starter. The jump in levels from Victory Road to the Elite Four and Cynthia is also insane where it becomes a pain and you have to grind an excess amount of battle and lose to the Elite Four to level up. These are problems but still, it doesn’t detract from the fact this is what a Pokémon adventure is meant to be. Its highs outweighs its low, to highlight some minor stuff I like: My favorite Pokémon Shieldon is available, the Underground is a fun mini game, the trek in the snow to Snowpoint City feels like an actual journey, the distortion world is trippy as hell, there’s a ton of legendary if you want to go hunting, and some of the music like Eternal Forest, the 3 Lakes, and Team Galatic buildings are phenomenal. I love this game, it’s the Pokémon game I’ve replayed the most and spent the most time with. I’d recommend it to people if they’re okay with a slower paced, journey like Pokémon game. It’s a game where it’s not about rushing to the next gym, but enjoying the places you see along the way.