I've got a huge backlog of stuff I wanna post about. Guess that's what happens when you leave home for awhile. I'm back and have been catching up on my games, so let's start with yet another Pokemon post! =P I've been taking my sweet time with Pokemon Platinum so I'm not that far, but it already has tons of neat stuff right at the start. Here's what I like so far.
- Faster battles! This is such a god-send. Even with animations off, there were these pauses in Diamond and Pearl's battle system. Now it moves smooth as silk, even with the animations on.
- The story is progressing slightly differently, and there's two new characters too. Looker is hilarious. Charon doesn't really do much for me though, but oh well.
- Tons more stuff to do online. The Global Terminal is completely different, with the best new feature being the ability to watch or download battle videos, and upload your own.
- The Wi-Fi Plaza (pictured above) is totally precious. You can walk up to other players and see their native country's greeting, and ask preset questions to each other, and play mini-games together.
- So many little graphical changes like the new sprites, the extra touches of snow, redesigned buildings and gyms, and animated sprites for gym leaders and other main trainers. All together they give the game a fresh feeling.
I can't wait to get farther into the game, so I can start seeing the later story changes, and the brand spanking new Battle Frontier! Also looking forward to the Battleground, since that's where you can battle gym leaders again, and the tag battle partners for the first time. Anyways... moving on! The first Wi-Fi Mystery Gift event has hit the US, so read on for a far too detailed run-down on what's up.
So with the arrival of Pokemon Platinum in the US, that means we'll finally be getting the Wi-Fi Mystery Gift events! These have been running in Japan for awhile, meanwhile the US has just gotten its first one: the Secret Key giveaway. It runs from April 20th (today!) to May 12th. It's also running at Toys R Us locations like the old events, for those who lack wireless internet. Let's check it out.
First off you'll need Mystery Gift unlocked. Pokemon Platinum comes with an extra sheet with detailed instructions on how to do this, but just in case anyone here wants to know... Head to the Jubilife TV building in Jubilife City, and look for an NPC on the third floor who is doing a survey on TV. Tell him 'EVERYONE HAPPY' and 'Wi-Fi CONNECTION' and then the feature will be unlocked. Save your game and then restart, and look for the Mystery Gift option after the title screen.
Now get in range of your wireless internet, and connect to Nintendo WFC to look for the gift.
There it is! The bottom screen will display an image of the gift you are receiving...
...like so! As usual, here are some pics of the Wonder Card's
front and
back. Now then, let's head to a Poke Mart and pick up the Secret Key.
The deliveryman has a unique sprite that isn't used anywhere else. Pretty cool little touch. So what is this Secret Key actually for?! Hope you've beaten the Eterna Gym by now, because you'll need the ability to use Cut outside of battle for this next part.
Head to the end of Eterna Forest, and you'll see Gardenia standing outside this path. After a little chat with her, you can head on through.
Welcome to the Old Chateau! Don't forget to grab that Ether outside too! Anyways, take your time exploring the place, as there's more items hidden inside, and you might even spot some ghosts. I saw an old guy in the dining hall and expected him to speak, but instead he just flew off to the left and disappeared. @_@;;
Oh, and another thing! Make sure it's past 8pm or else Rotom won't appear. You can only encounter it during night time.
And here's Rotom! In Diamond and Pearl, you could only trigger this encounter after getting the National Dex, but now it's available right from the start. Capture Rotom, and you can move onto the next step.
Haul yourself to the Galactic Eterna Building, and make sure you've got Rotom in your party.
There's a hidden door on the first floor in this corner. Press the A button here to use the Secret Key, and you will unlock the hidden door.
Inside the room you'll see a row of appliances. There's also two diaries with some information about Rotom and its ability to inhabit various appliances.
I decided to pick the microwave oven, which changes Rotom into Heat Rotom. If this is your first time changing Rotom's form, Professor Rowan will walk in and talk for awhile.
Here is Heat Rotom in all of its glory. I'd take pics of all the other forms but this post is already excessive... ^^; With each form change comes improved stats, and a move unique to each form. For example, upon changing to Heat Rotom, it learned the move Overheat.
And so ends this needlessly long ramble about the Secret Key event! Hopefully the future Wi-Fi Mystery Gift events aren't too far off. While nothing has been announced yet, hopefully we can look forward to US versions of the Member's Card, Oak's Letter, and Azure Flute giveaways, which can be used to trigger Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus encounters in Platinum. That's all for now. Later!
