Pokemon Gold & Silver - Video Game Review

Welcome to my very first video game review, and yes, I love to game as well, if some of you haven’t noticed.

I really enjoy video games for what they are; an important art form made by game designers and storytellers that attempt to induce you, as the audience, to join and interact with the stories they wanted to tell. Video Games, Anime and Movies all have 1 thing in common: visual storytelling. They all present the story unfolding in front of your screen, unlike books, which requires your mind to process imagination.

Now, watching a lot of television shows and movies can really dumb down the imagination. For me, it’s not happening as much because I delve deep into those movies and attempt to rip those movies apart for any pros and cons. So, my mind is still working and processing, so it’s still thinking, and talking about movies are good practice into analyzing and being a critical thinker in an art form.

Video games are special, because it’s between books and movies. You interact around people and places while still having everything being presented to you on the screen. You’re still thinking about what to do in the game, for example dangerous situations and where to go. Video games are amazing, and a really special art form. We’ve definitely saw how video games have changed and evolved over the past few decades.

There’s a lot of video games that are important, and I, as a person, loved to play a wide variety of genres, and replaying old school games that are important for its time. I don’t just play one type of game, I play a huge variety of them. Ironically, I’m about to review a game that is also a bit like that. On that note, let me begin my review on a very important role-playing video game, Pokémon Gold and Silver. (and I'll mention Crystal, because it's technically an upgrade to the previous games)  

(Coincidentally, 2016 is also the 20th anniversary of Pokémon)

Pokémon is possibly one of Nintendo’s most important video game franchise for hand-held consoles. Everything about the franchise is amazing, and from each Generation that enters the video game market, there’s always something new and creative that innovates the entire Pokémon Universe. From the Pokémon creature designs, from the battle mechanics, from the type advantages and disadvantages, from battling Gym Leaders, from entering a region we’ve never experienced before, the adventure that unfolds ahead of us, battling annoying Rivals, catching individual kinds of Pokémon… as a child, I was blown away from the sheer inventiveness Pokémon has offered.

Before the review, let me tell you something…

This is kind of a funny story, because as a child, the only thing I’ve gotten close to with Pokémon is the anime. I loved the original anime as a child, the one where Ash’s counterparts are Brock and Misty, and I loved almost every episode of the anime. Now, looking back, ever since the anime landed on Generation III, the series just went slightly downhill. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did with Generation I and II. Now, I don’t even know where the series went! Have not been keeping up with the series for such a long time. Hey, I’ve got things to do!

Alright, so going back to watching the original anime, I found the original Pokémon Yellow video game while surfing on the internet, and boy, how bad was I? I was awful at the game. I captured 3 Metapods because, well, for a kid that’s like around four years old, and I was so confused when I realized the 7^th or 8^th Pokémon I’ve captured just disappeared, just gone (I didn’t know they were transported to the PC in the Pokémon Center). Oh, and what can I say about fighting Brock, my first gym leader in the video game series? Well, I failed miserably. Mainly because Pikachu’s not good with ground type; I was confused when it had no effect on Geodudes, Sandshrew and Onix. Bug types and flying types (my Caterpies, Metapods and Pidgeys) all had the same type disadvantage against rock type. That’s how I came to give up Pokémon for a while, it’s much more complex than I’ve thought.

So I grew up, realizing that something’s not right. Maybe I was too immature to understand the basis of the game. Maybe I should have trained my Pokémon. Maybe I should have captured the right kind of Pokémon, not Metapods. So, I decided to take research on those games. And I decided to get back to Pokémon Yellow, but my friends did not recommend that game, because they believed it is the worse of the Generation I games, so they dragged me to the Gold, Silver and Crystal series. You have no idea how much I adored those games, because I did!

You have no idea how much I loved Gold (I was playing Gold back then, even though I know Silver’s the popular of the bunch). It was everything a Pokémon game should have been. Not only was it one of the best sequels ever made, it is one of the most important video games ever made. No other Pokémon games after Gold, Silver and Crystal has captured, or even went up to what Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal has achieved in role-playing and hand-held console video games.

Before I start this review, I’m just going to answer a few of your questions that you guys might have asked me. Did this game age well? First of all, after 17 years, of course it hasn’t. The games ran on the type of engine that is available for its time, and technology hasn’t been advancing back then in the 90’s. It’s appropriate to think that the games are substantial for its time, and Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal exist to tell us those were the only available technology Nintendo had. As a reviewer, I can’t be biased about the graphics, you can’t give that as a con for a game made in 1999. I am judging the game as it is back then, so bear with me.

Second of all, I am not going to deny this, but I would have thought Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver would have been better games than Gold, Silver and Crystal. It’s, of course, a newer game, at least 2 generations above what Gold, Silver and Crystal has stood upon. But saying that it’s a better game is a bit unfair, since you can’t really compare. In fact, it’s impossible to compare. Heartgold and Soulsilver are remakes of really important video games. Without them, HG and SS will not exist. That is why I decided to review G, S and C, because they came out first.

So, without further ado, let’s dig deep into this game!

Story (no synopsis this time)

As with the previous games, the player character (only a boy in Gold and Silver, the option to play as a girl player character was added in Crystal) receives his first Pokémon, a choice between Cyndaquil, Totodile and Chikorita, and then begins his journey to win the eight Gym Badges of the Johto region and then challenge the Elite Four and Champion to become the region's new Pokémon Master. The story then continues to unfold in front of you as you get into the society and the world of Pokémon.

The Pros

More Pokémon?? – The thing that hooks us up the most with each generation are new Pokémon. My god, I love the designs for the new 100 Pokémon introduced in the game. From electric sheep like Mareep, from teddy bears like Teddiursa, from the aquatic mouse Marill. In fact, Pokémon designs have always been great, except ever since Generation V has started, it really started faltering.

However, in all honesty, the designs are great. There’s not much follow-up to other Pokémon evolution, keeping original designs and new evolution lines, while also introducing you to baby Pokémon, giving you a bit of a sweet side of Pokémon when they were born. Although I will say they are a bit useless. Their stats are pretty low for a normal Pokémon. 

Not too many, not too little, just right

Other than that, they’re still great. I adore most of the new Pokémon in Generation II, but what G, S and C did well was mixing the Pokémon from the 1^st Generation along with the new. So yeah, you’ll still see Ratatas and Pidgeys, except they’re now mixed with Hoot-hoots.

Having exactly 251 Pokémon is actually perfect with me. It’s like Goldilocks. Not too little, but not too much. Ever since Generation III and beyond came by Nintendo decided to throw in too much new Pokémon, and now it’s almost impossible to take the tagline “Gotta Catch ‘em all!” seriously anymore. Let’s face it, catching and evolving 495 Pokémon for the Pokédex? You’re not being serious, are you? It’s too much to handle, and the challenge is long gone ever since Generation III started.

For Generation II, it’s still possible. 251 Pokémon is the entirety of the National Pokédex. You can take the tagline’s challenge seriously, and man is it still hard to achieve.

Steel Types and Dark Types – Two new Pokémon types in the game, and decent ones. Not those fairy types. It’s weird, a Dragonite gets defeated by a Clefairy.

Anyway, back to Steel and Dark types. I think they are pretty cool additions to the game, introducing more Pokémon species and types. Steel’s a good addition, as it as the type advantage on the defense mechanism, while Dark type balances out the matchup against Psychic, to which the last time I checked the only weakness Psychic has is the Bug type, nothing else. This started out kind of unfair for non-psychic type users, but ever since Dark type came along, it made more sense and balances general gameplay.

Graphics of the game – There’s finally colors in the game! Finally!

Seriously though, the game looked so much better than Pokémon Yellow, Red and Blue. The thing is, it’s only been a few years since those games came out, and they’re still using the same hand-held console. There’s colors in the game’s environment, the restyled Pokémon designs looked grand and colorful in almost every way, the designs of the Pokémon during the battle, and it looked almost too good to be true for a sequel to the 1^st Generation.

The game does look very beautiful compared to a lot of role-playing games released on the Gameboy Color Consoles. There’s more detail and color on the buildings, the water effects looked great, the Pokémon attack and defense moves looked like a major step-up compared to the 1^st Generation. Everything for a game that's for Gameboy Color is amazing already, alright?

Storyline features

Johto Region - In my opinion, The Johto region is actually a lot more interesting than the Kanto Region from the 1^st Generation. Even though a lot of that goes to the storytelling as you progress through the game, it’s mainly because you can just tell from the Region’s city and town aesthetics and design is the fact that Johto does have a long history with legends and myths of legendary Pokémon. 

 Basically, the Johto Region is based off Japan’s Kansai and Tokai Regions, with temple designs and more traditional Japanese aesthetics found in the region’s game. It almost felt like Johto has been around for a really long time, and does have a long history, and has been around much longer than the Kanto region, which almost felt more related to the modern society. 

Storyline – The story is undeniably better than Generation I. Not only is there more story behind the region, but there’s also story of how some characters from the previous Generation has been getting along after approximately 2 or 3 years after the first game. In fact, the story regarding to the rampage Team Rocket has been doing to the city of Johto is way more fleshed out than Generation I. In Generation I, they are basically a group of people dedicating to do bad things, but really they haven’t done significant damage to the game. In Pokémon G, S and C though, they felt bigger and more dangerous than people have realized. They are resurrecting back to the surface and are reviving themselves. They felt like an actual group, with better leadership. Don’t get me wrong, Giovanni from the last game is a cool leader, but to be honest, the commanders in this game did a way better job than Giovanni.

Next up, even after you defeated the Pokémon League, comes the longest post-game story you will ever experience; you will go back to the Kanto Region, and see how things have changed or shaped up for the past two or three years. It’s an interesting nostalgia trip going back to the things you loved about Generation I, see how the places have changed, and see how the Gym Leaders are doing. It’s pretty awesome, and one of the best side-quest you’ve got from a role-playing game. It’s like an honor, you know. You’ve started playing our first game, we’ll let you revisit it in an upgraded version.

This proves that G, S and C is the longest Pokémon game ever made. The storyline is long and linear as well. It’s pretty cool for a Pokémon game, because no other games in the franchise had struck the gamers as deep as this one.

Rival – My god, this trainer is dark. Rival Silver is undeniably one of the darkest Rivals to ever come by to existence. In fact, no other rivals after him has ever landed on to the lowest low a Pokémon trainer can get. They’re all a bunch of sweethearts after this one. 

He’s a cold and mean person, way worse than Blue/ Gary from the first Pokémon game. Blue/Gary is like a douchebag, but he’s not too bad, he’s just cocky and unlikable. Silver though? He’s just bad. In just possibly ever way. He’s a thief, and he basically stole a Pokémon from Professor Elm’s office.

He pushes you out of the way, call you and your Pokémon weak, He doesn’t treat his Pokémon with love and care. He treated them like weapons of war. He is a cruel person that doesn’t love them. Silver is the definition of how dark and scary Pokémon trainers can get, treating their Pokémon like this.

The story basically develops his character at the last parts of the game, and for once he will rethink that he doesn’t treat his Pokémon with love and care. The whole point of Pokémon is basically to treat your Pokémon with love and care, and always have faith in them to win, and in return the Pokémon will have faith in their master. You don’t see that in the other Pokémon games, because the rivals are too nice, and with them losing you can’t blame them, it’s just type advantages. Silver is the kind of rival that gives you time to think that defeating him was probably because Silver doesn’t treat his Pokémon the same way as you did. Maybe his Pokémon didn’t like him or respect him. Maybe that’s why he lost. Silver has been fighting for exactly jackshit. All he cares for is power and being the best trainer out of everyone, and for a heart like him, that will never happen.

Major Gameplay Features

Day and Night Cycle – Yeah, the game finally supports Day and Night Cycle. The game runs based on your console’s time, and it’s really cool. When you’re playing G, S and C at night, the atmosphere in the game also suits the time when you’re playing, because it’s nighttime for the game as well. Also, Pokémon appear at different time of the day. Nocturnal Pokémon like Hoot-hoot appear during the night, while day-time Pokémon like Pidgeys sleeps during that time. It added more frustration and variety to when you can meet that Pokémon, making it more challenging but fun at the same time. In all honesty, it’s a letdown why Generation III doesn’t have that kind of gameplay anymore, it’s almost a shame for the game developers to do that. The game just feels more alive with the day and night cycle.

Pokégear – A new and improved item system. This thing is pretty damn cool. You now have yourself a digitized map, something that resembles an early GPS, a major step-up from the original games, where you use a real-life map. You can now make phone calls to keep in touch with people in the game and ask for Pokédex evaluation and player rematches, or have your mom call you saying she used your money you fought for during Pokémon battles. You can now listen to the radio for ingame entertainment purposes, which also tells you where to catch some specific Pokémon species, a very redeeming quality of this gadget which helps you complete the Pokédex. It’s kind of a step-up to the technology between Generation I and Generation II, where technology has indeed advanced, adding to a radio station, making phone calls to keep you and your family and friends in contact with each other, it’s proof that using the Pokégear is very enjoyable and a device that’s important for future Pokémon games.

The backpack is great as well. There are multiple pockets: one for adventure items, one for Pokéballs, one for unlimited TMs and HMs, and one for key items such as bicycles and fishing rods. The organization behind it is extremely nice, but the thing which made it even better is that you can carry more items. In the first few Pokémon games, you get to carry a maximum number of 20 out of everything in your bag. It’s a colossal mess with everything all mashed in together, and you can carry very little items. Now, you can carry a maximum of 20 in each individual pockets, except you can carry unlimited amounts of TMs and HMs.

Gender and Breeding – With a few notable exceptions like Legendary Pokémon that don’t have a gender, every Pokémon comes in male and female varieties. When you start off in the game, gender’s not all that important. For me, I guess Gender’s important because some Pokémon look feminist and I would catch that kind of Pokémon with that kind of gender. For example, Eevee just reminds me of a 100% female Pokémon. Although I am familiar the chance of an Eevee being more male than female, Eevee just looks more like a female to me. 

However, that all changes when you get to the Pokémon Daycare. By leaving compatible male and female Pokémon with the daycare people, you may later return to find a Pokémon egg. The egg will then hatch into a Pokémon. If you're actually intending on catching all 251 Pokémon, like how I usually do, you're going to need to breed for at least 6 of them. Honestly, I think this is a great idea, mainly because it encourages you to catch more Pokémon, but more than that, find a reasonable couple to produce an egg, which makes a baby Pokémon, which adds more to the game’s Pokédex. 

All in all, breeding is a fun experience to be had in such an early Pokémon franchise’ phase.

Minor Gameplay Features

Improved Pokédex - A new and improved model of the Pokédex lets you sort out your Pokémon by either type or number and also includes a search-by-type feature. I mean, makes sense, it’s been 2 or 3 years after the first game, of course they’re going to let that happen. It boosts the game’s comfort, and it tries not to make your lives difficult playing the game. 

New movesets – Dragon breath, bite, crunch, and Dynamic punch…tons of new moves for each individual Pokémon proves to have a wider variety of moves than the 1^st game. Always a great way to re-introduce a new Generation for Pokémon fans.

Evolve by Friendship – Yeah, you finally get to bond with your Pokémon. Even though it’s not as idealistic as saying nice things to your Pokémon to make them happier, you basically have your Pokémon that needs maximum happiness to evolve to another Pokémon to fight in battles without dying. That’s a good way to really spend a lot of time with a certain Pokémon. It’s not annoying, I thought it’s a great idea. How much effort you put in evolving your Pokémon that doesn’t just have numbers (levels) next to them, it’s about friendship and happiness.

Conclusion

This game is indescribably great. It’s an amazing game. It is the best game of all time? Well no, I’ve definitely seen better, but it’s definitely up there, along with other important games. Its top tier compared to a lot of games these days. It’s as flawless as it could be, and I seriously suggest having you play Pokémon G, S and C. If you have problems with really old video games with bad graphics though, then you can try out its remake, HG and SS. You'll want to plan and start wasting a good chunk of time though, because capturing 251 Pokémon for the Pokédex, fighting against 16 gym leaders and earning 16 badges, battling against 500 trainers, have your Pokémon learn at least 100 new moves, and over 60 hours of gaming awaits (yeah, that includes training and gearing up your Pokémon). I might have missed out a few Pros that you guys have noticed as well, but there’s just too many good things. I’ve spent a long time on this, it’s an absolutely brilliant game. In fact, this game is the reason why I’m good at Pokémon now. I’ve never lost to a trainer’s battle before, so that’s awesome.

The Pros – 12

Neutral – 0

The Cons – 0

Rating: 64 BIT EXCELLENCY

Of course, I’ll be having a few things to do, since I’m back. I’m thinking of doing a Batman and Superman movie series review, while also keeping my video game reviews in touch, because playing my favorite video games again can accumulate a lot of my time. That’s why I was gone, off playing Pokémon Gold. My next video game review is… Ocarina of Time. You guys are going to love it.

What is your favorite Generation II game? Please do comment, thank you!