Pokemon Conquest- Conquest One: Burning and Learning (1/9)

This game begins as do so many other Pokemon games- with the decision of who you are- boy or girl?  The choice doesn’t actually affect your play in the game, so it’s pretty much a cosmetic thing, as usual for Pokemon.  This choice also introduces you to the semi-fanciful designs the Warrior armor uses in this game.  Despite the fancy extra phlanges and headpieces, the overall direction of the art is surprisingly realistic in terms of the appearance of armor- especially given it’s the Pokemon that battle, not the Warriors- one can assume what one likes (I consider it insurance against an inscrupulous Warrior having their Pokemon attack an opposing Warrior rather than the adversary’s Pokemon).

At any rate, now that you’ve chosen between being about to grow more hair and about to grow more curves, it’s time to name yourself.  The name entry space in this game is surprisingly short, especially for those used to the ten-twelve character limit in names in most Pokemon games.  Just make sure you choose something you would like to see ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’ in front of, since you get referred to that way a lot.

Once you’re all setup, you get to watch a short intro movie about the region of Ransei, where the game takes place.  In addition to a few nice panning views of some landscape, you get to see you as a kid (so cute!) meeting an Eevee- who, as it turns out, is your partner at the start of the game. More than that, Eevee is your ideal partner, with a maximum Link of 100%, though that’s getting slightly ahead of ourselves.

The next thing you get to see is the world map- which looks really small, only containing the fortress of Aurora and its environs so far.  This is, of course, because you start in Aurora.  After a brief shot of the area, you get to see you and Eevee hanging out and ellipsis-ing like a pair of big damn silent protagonists.  There’s also a girl here with a Jigglypuff, who only says ‘um’ until there’s a brief screenshake- judging by the following non-dialogue, she’s just run into some strange kid with horns and way, way too much hair.

While the girl, wearing a fanciful kimono, looks more embarrassed and shy than anything else, the Jigglypuff she’s clinging looks angry- probably ready to defend her.  The kid, fortunately, doesn’t really seem to care at all.  Giant-hair does, however, seem to be talking to someone about Aurora’s new Warlord (little do they know).  Some kid with way too much sneer for his face notices that you have an Eevee, seeming a bit surprised.   A third kid shows his face, looking like a punkish kind of boy, with silver hair.  He points out that Eevee is an unusual Pokemon to find in this area.

You don’t really get any more time for exposition yet, though, as a warning blares across the screen- Aurora is under attack!