The Cinnabar Journal | Opinion. Uncensored.

Coordinates or Chromosomes?: Pokemon X/Y Trailer Analysis

There’s no doubt that the Pokemon series has evolved (pun intended) vastly since its initial release back in 1996. From the worlds and gameplay to the Pokemon themselves, the world of Pocket Monsters have come a long way since the days of Red and Blue. And never has this been more apparent than in the newly introduced Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, also known as “Generation VI”. Coming hot off the heels of Generation V (the Black and White series), so far we only have a trailer and few factoids here and there about this next-gen experience, but that’s certainly enough to figure out both what’s true about the new games and speculate about things Nintendo has yet to reveal…. Read More →

Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice Movie Review

The Pokemon anime is easily one of the most odorless and unexciting video game-based cartoons of all time. From stale characters to boring storylines, it simply lacks the bite of other animes or even other Pokemon properties. Every once in a while, however, a feature film based off the show is released that tweaks the formula in such a way that the subject matter actually becomes enjoyable to watch. Though not every Pokemon movie gets it right, many do and each new release warrants excitement. The latest of these is Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice, a fresh take on the tired formula of “follow Ash and his stupid friends” that shows just what Pokemon movies should be: about Pokemon…. Read More →

Consolation Prize: Pokemon and Wii U

Though many spectacular-looking first-party Nintendo titles have already been announced or are on everybody’s mind, there’s no doubt that Pokemon is among those left to speculate over. Following the track record of previous home consoles, Pokemon games that aren’t on a handheld have been vastly hit or miss. And, unlike their portable counterparts (Ranger and Mystery Dungeon included), some of them don’t follow a formula at all. So what does this mean for the upcoming Wii U and it’s relationship with Pokemon? Let’s start off with the elephant in the room and, coincidentally, what I don’t want to see on the WiiU: a main series Pokemon title following the recently-released Black Version 2 and White Version 2. While it may be a… Read More →

Issues with Indigo: Why Pokémon Season One Sucks

The first season of the Pokémon anime, later dubbed “Pokémon: Indigo League” by fans and the distributors of the DVD box sets, follows amateur Pokémon Trainer Ash Ketchum, his first Pokémon Pikachu, and his friends and part-time Gym Leaders Misty and Brock as they travel across the world’s Kanto region As I already covered in my first Pokémon article about the Generation I games for the Game Boy, there are a lot of things wrong with the original series from the get-go. The anime series follows suit and, honestly, the best way I could describe the Indigo League is in-house fan fiction gone horribly wrong. One thing I heartily dislike about video games in general are non-player characters that don’t… Read More →

Black N’ Blue: The Improvements of Gen II

Now that we’re in the second week of this project, I will continue with the logical next step in the main series Pokémon games. As stated before, the point of these articles is to rank each of the main series Pokémon games (that have been released in North America) against one another in order to aid people with understanding that the nostalgia and bias that makes a game their favorite does not make it the best game ever created. If you’re new to the series, you can find the first article here. If the Pokémon franchise began with this Generation instead of Red and Blue, I feel as though the series would be ever better than it is now. Aside… Read More →

Black N’ Blue: A Critical Hit On Pokémon

One of the most common questions I get asked is, “What is the best Generation of Pokémon?” To which I respond, “Now, do you mean which Generation is the ‘best.’ Or which Generation is my ‘favorite’?” I usually get a confounded look in response before shaking my head and answering both of my questions. I feel as though the issue is that people don’t understand the difference between “best” — which is meant to be objective; that is, not met by the judgment of a conscious entity or subject — and “favorite,” which is meant to be subjective; that is, individual interpretations of experiences consisting of emotional, intellectual, and spiritual perceptions and misperceptions. Basically, it comes down to people melding… Read More →