Just bought Black yesterday. Passed the first gym, trying to find a Blitzle on route 3. So far Oshawott, Pansear, and Munna are kicking ass and taking names.
Already I really like how:
-the battle screen has finally improved beyond "Your pokemon stay still and bounce or something when they attack."
-The overworld is more 3-D than usual.
-All new pokemon. This is a great idea.
-The question that NO ONE HAS EVER THOUGHT TO ASK IN A POKEMON GAME BEFORE: Are they really happy with us forcing them into slavery and battling for our own amusement? Of course, I have a feeling it'll be resolved with "nice trainers do this to form bonds with pokemon!" and it'll be all right. That and Team Plasma are already proving themselves to be massive dicks despite their noble intentions.
However, I have already found myself grinding endlessly. That's to be expected at this point. Just wait until endgame content Matt...
Yep, love every single detail that you've picked up on. All new pokemon was a
perfect idea. I want the next region to be based in Europe, and go 100% brand new again. (England would be ideal thanks please Game Freak thanks.) This is absolutely the single best Pokemon game. Everything that could've been bettered has been bettered, and everything that was perhaps starting to get formulaic is exciting-once-more. It feels truly brand new, for the first time since Red and Blue.
Endgame content, however, is the only thing that's disappointed me. Finished the game a little while ago, and it all gets a bit... flimsy, after the credits roll. There's not much worth doing. Getting an unbreakable Ice Beam TM is nice, and there are a handful of legendaries, but I'm kind of just sat around kicking my heels, a bit.
Oh, and it turns out that some of the old-school pokemon were hiding in Unova all along, which totally undermines the concept of all the Pokemon being new and the region being this massive new frontier. Some of them make sense - you can get Kabuto fossils and resurrect them for instance, and there'll eventually be a dream world, so I'm not against the idea of being able to use old school pokemon. It's just the fact that it makes no sense, and really saps away the charm of how wonderful and new everything was. And, on that note, why - if wild Drifblim have been native to one of the routes in eastern Unova all this time - are they not in the Unova Pokedex? I love Drifblim - it's one of my favourite pokemon - but it's got no business being in Unova whatsoever.
Everything else is perfect, though. 10/10 for the plot. Closer to a five for the aftermath. Maybe even four if I'm being harsh. There's nothing wrong with it, though. Just a tad on the barren side, and not entirely sensibly thought out.