Pokémon Gold is the counterpart of Pokémon Silver, and the first game of the second generation of the Pokémon main series. This version of Pokémon includes many of the classic Pokémon from the first generation, and includes 100 new Pokémon to catch, train, and collect. If you didn’t know, Pokémon is a turn-by-turn RPG. Every Pokémon has different pros and cons, whether it be their element type, or the moves that they learn. And with a total of 251 Pokémon, there are many different ways you can go with your strategy. But really, all you need is a Typhlosion.
Graphics 9.5 – The graphics in this game are great. The Pokémon sprites are vastly improved from B/R/Y, and the shiny sprites are really nice. And maybe this is just my personal opinion, but the Gold sprites seem to be better than Silver 80% of the time. Really, the only problem with the graphics is that during the battles, the background is just plain white. It just seems bland. You will get used to it, but it just seems unfinished. However, what I thought was the biggest upgrade from the original Pokémon games, was the new night and day cycle. In this game, there is a timer to keep track of what time of day it is. At around 6:00, the sky will change to a darker color, making it look like night. It looks so great. Sound 9 – It’s pretty hard for me to rate this, since the nostalgia is so high for this game for me. But either way, this game’s music is amazing. The music in the gyms, the first route, and the Pokécenters are some of the best songs in Pokémon history. Then there are some good sounds too, The Pokémon cries, although they don’t say their names like I feel they should, do sound good. Very few of them sound repeated, and those that are were done that way on purpose. Even the small sounds like the Pokeball shaking sound nice. It seems like Nintendo really pushed the limits of the Game Boy’s music abilities with this game.Depth / addictiveness 10 – With a total of 251 Pokémon, and about 220 that you are able to catch in the game, there is HUGE replay ability in this game. And the fact that you can go back to Kanto, the region from R/B/Y, and collect the 8 gym badges from it, adds even more hours of exploring. However, the Kanto region has changed. It’s not really as detailed, with it being more of an extra, and the biggest thing is that Lavender Town, the creepy town that was rumored make kids suicidal (which is a myth), is now mellowed down. You can get over 150 hours pretty easily, but if you don’t like all the extras of catching all the Pokémon, getting to level 100, and things like that, it would be more like 60 hours of playtime. Especially for a Game Boy Color game, this is amazing. And you will enjoy almost every minute of it. Traveling through the world of Pokémon gets very addicting very quickly. Although there is the usual grinding that comes from most turn-by-turn RPGs, you will be able to get through this, and continue to enjoy the game. Story 6.5 – Originally looking at a Pokémon game, you don’t see a very complex story. “A kid going on an adventure to become a Pokémon master, and defeat bad guys along the way”, may not be the most interesting or original story, but it’s enough to keep you playing. But looking at it again, I see much more than I ever thought was in a Pokémon game. So the story, more in depth, is this: You are a kid living in the little village of the New Bark Town. Then Professor Elm calls you over to his lab, to figure out about a weird discovery that Mr. Pokémon has made. This discovery is basically Pokémon eggs. So you get a Pokémon to get to where he is. But some stupid kid, while you are gone, steals a Pokémon, the one that has a type advantage against you. So Prof. Elm finds out that you are good at Pokémon training when you return to the lab, and he sends you out on your Pokémon journey, to try to become the Pokémon champion, and catch as many Pokémon doing so. So as you go trying to collect gym badges, you will find that Team Rocket has returned. They are again trying to again cause havoc by stealing Pokémon, and trying to make a profit off of them. However, this time, they are without their leader. This kind of bugged me, since this leaves the game’s story involving Team Rocket lacking a little. And through this all, you will meet that trainer that stole a Pokémon, stating that he will become the world’s greatest Pokémon trainer, while not caring about the wimps. He is probably my favorite rival in the Pokémon series, but the fact that he never ends up really being ahead of you, like Gary was being the champion, was a disappointing.Difficulty 6 – As most games in this genre, the game isn’t really hard, if you grind enough. But it you could always try to make it hard for yourself, in order to make the game more about strategy. You could do this by using weaker Pokémon, trying to win with one type of Pokémon, or even trying a Nuzlocke game. And another reason I rated the difficulty higher than most people do, is it’s very hard to find all of the obtainable Pokémon. It seems most people don’t take this into consideration, but the game is still not too hard. It’s pretty rare that you will get stuck, but there are some puzzles that are pretty tough.Gameplay 9 – The gameplay in Pokémon Gold is absolutely amazing. I think this is the best game of its genre in its time, and still can match up to current games. There are also some upgrades from the first generation that may be small, but are great improvements. First off, there are now pockets in the bag, getting rid of the terrible bag from R/B/Y, where every item you own is jumbled up into one big mess. Now, you have a separate place for your TMs and HMs, one for Pokeballs, and one for key items, which are the ones that can’t be thrown away. You can also make it so you can easily use one of these items. This makes it much better when you like using the bike a lot. And another one is when you want to use an HM; you don’t always have to go to the menu. You can now go up to the edge of the water, for instance, and press A, and you will start surfing. And now the Pokémon can even hold items. Some items can heal them when they are weak, some can make your Pokémon stronger, and some won’t do a thing, such as a potion.Overall 9.7 – This game is phenomenal. Its simplistic gameplay makes it a perfect pick-up-and-play game that absolutely anyone can play. Its great soundtrack will have you humming the tunes, and you will be addicted to it as well. With great graphics, and a story that will at least keep you motivated to continue your journey this game is a must play for all RPG fans, and really anybody who had or has a Game Boy Color.
And if you liked this review, be sure to rate it! And if you didn't, well, then don't rate it. Pokémon Gold is the counterpart of Pokémon Silver, and the first game of the second generation of the Pokémon main series. This version of Pokémon includes many of the classic Pokémon from the first generation, and includes 100 new Pokémon to catch, train, and collect.
If you didn’t know, Pokémon is a turn-by-turn RPG. Every Pokémon has different pros and cons, whether it be their element type, or the moves that they learn. And with a total of 251 Pokémon, there are many different ways you can go with your strategy. But really, all you need is a Typhlosion.
Graphics 9.5 – The graphics in this game are great. The Pokémon sprites are vastly improved from B/R/Y, and the shiny sprites are really nice. And maybe this is just my personal opinion, but the Gold sprites seem to be better than Silver 80% of the time. Really, the only problem with the graphics is that during the battles, the background is just plain white. It just seems bland. You will get used to it, but it just seems unfinished.
However, what I thought was the biggest upgrade from the original Pokémon games, was the new night and day cycle. In this game, there is a timer to keep track of what time of day it is. At around 6:00, the sky will change to a darker color, making it look like night. It looks so great.
Sound 9 – It’s pretty hard for me to rate this, since the nostalgia is so high for this game for me. But either way, this game’s music is amazing. The music in the gyms, the first route, and the Pokécenters are some of the best songs in Pokémon history. Then there are some good sounds too, The Pokémon cries, although they don’t say their names like I feel they should, do sound good. Very few of them sound repeated, and those that are were done that way on purpose. Even the small sounds like the Pokeball shaking sound nice. It seems like Nintendo really pushed the limits of the Game Boy’s music abilities with this game.
Depth / addictiveness 10 – With a total of 251 Pokémon, and about 220 that you are able to catch in the game, there is HUGE replay ability in this game. And the fact that you can go back to Kanto, the region from R/B/Y, and collect the 8 gym badges from it, adds even more hours of exploring. However, the Kanto region has changed. It’s not really as detailed, with it being more of an extra, and the biggest thing is that Lavender Town, the creepy town that was rumored make kids suicidal (which is a myth), is now mellowed down. You can get over 150 hours pretty easily, but if you don’t like all the extras of catching all the Pokémon, getting to level 100, and things like that, it would be more like 60 hours of playtime. Especially for a Game Boy Color game, this is amazing. And you will enjoy almost every minute of it. Traveling through the world of Pokémon gets very addicting very quickly. Although there is the usual grinding that comes from most turn-by-turn RPGs, you will be able to get through this, and continue to enjoy the game.
Story 6.5 – Originally looking at a Pokémon game, you don’t see a very complex story. “A kid going on an adventure to become a Pokémon master, and defeat bad guys along the way”, may not be the most interesting or original story, but it’s enough to keep you playing. But looking at it again, I see much more than I ever thought was in a Pokémon game.
So the story, more in depth, is this: You are a kid living in the little village of the New Bark Town. Then Professor Elm calls you over to his lab, to figure out about a weird discovery that Mr. Pokémon has made. This discovery is basically Pokémon eggs. So you get a Pokémon to get to where he is. But some stupid kid, while you are gone, steals a Pokémon, the one that has a type advantage against you. So Prof. Elm finds out that you are good at Pokémon training when you return to the lab, and he sends you out on your Pokémon journey, to try to become the Pokémon champion, and catch as many Pokémon doing so. So as you go trying to collect gym badges, you will find that Team Rocket has returned. They are again trying to again cause havoc by stealing Pokémon, and trying to make a profit off of them. However, this time, they are without their leader. This kind of bugged me, since this leaves the game’s story involving Team Rocket lacking a little.
And through this all, you will meet that trainer that stole a Pokémon, stating that he will become the world’s greatest Pokémon trainer, while not caring about the wimps. He is probably my favorite rival in the Pokémon series, but the fact that he never ends up really being ahead of you, like Gary was being the champion, was a disappointing.
Difficulty 6 – As most games in this genre, the game isn’t really hard, if you grind enough. But it you could always try to make it hard for yourself, in order to make the game more about strategy. You could do this by using weaker Pokémon, trying to win with one type of Pokémon, or even trying a Nuzlocke game. And another reason I rated the difficulty higher than most people do, is it’s very hard to find all of the obtainable Pokémon. It seems most people don’t take this into consideration, but the game is still not too hard. It’s pretty rare that you will get stuck, but there are some puzzles that are pretty tough.
Gameplay 9 – The gameplay in Pokémon Gold is absolutely amazing. I think this is the best game of its genre in its time, and still can match up to current games. There are also some upgrades from the first generation that may be small, but are great improvements. First off, there are now pockets in the bag, getting rid of the terrible bag from R/B/Y, where every item you own is jumbled up into one big mess. Now, you have a separate place for your TMs and HMs, one for Pokeballs, and one for key items, which are the ones that can’t be thrown away. You can also make it so you can easily use one of these items. This makes it much better when you like using the bike a lot. And another one is when you want to use an HM; you don’t always have to go to the menu. You can now go up to the edge of the water, for instance, and press A, and you will start surfing. And now the Pokémon can even hold items. Some items can heal them when they are weak, some can make your Pokémon stronger, and some won’t do a thing, such as a potion.
Overall 9.7 – This game is phenomenal. Its simplistic gameplay makes it a perfect pick-up-and-play game that absolutely anyone can play. Its great soundtrack will have you humming the tunes, and you will be addicted to it as well. With great graphics, and a story that will at least keep you motivated to continue your journey this game is a must play for all RPG fans, and really anybody who had or has a Game Boy Color.
And if you liked this review, be sure to rate it! And if you didn't, well, then don't rate it. |