Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal versions were released with much anticipation and were received with critical acclaim; many heralded the second generation Pokemon games as the best in the series. Now it’s 11 years later and Nintendo has finally remade these popular titles for the DS in the form of Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, both of which are already available in Japan and will hit NA and EU regions in Spring of this year. Are these remakes straight forward reincarnations of the Gameboy and Gameboy Color classics, or have Nintendo added enough to the old Johto formula to make them feel fresh and new?
As we’ve come to expect from Pokemon and know from the older games, the narratives aren’t gripping or particularly interesting by any means. The basic rundown is that you, an average teenager with a spiffy hat who happens to live in a small town, have received a Pokemon from Johto’s resident Professor, Prof. Elm. With this Pokemon, Prof. Elm suggests you go on an adventure to collect the region’s eight gym badges to take the Pokemon League challenge.
Since HeartGold and SoulSilver are remakes, this means that every moment from the original hand held classics are still intact, except for a few subtle changes here and there. The starters? Cyndaquil, Totodile and Chikorita are all present. Your rival is still as insecure as ever. Does your mom still bug you about letting her save your money? Well, no. Aside from these things and the big changes we’ll get to later, you’ll be going from city to city leveling up your Pokemon, catching new ones to further strengthen your party, and tackle the next gym leader. Of course, this all sounds familiar; every Pokemon game runs off this idea. For people who are looking for the re-imagining of the Pokemon game play, they won’t be finding it here. What is present, however, are the greatest Pokemon remakes ever conceived.
My current play time on the Japanese SoulSilver is just over 16 hours, and I had just beaten the Pokemon League. So essentially, the game is only halfway done. Where the last few generations of Pokemon have baffled us by not including multiple regions, HeartGold and SoulSilver deliver. Upon completion of the Pokemon League, you’ll receive a ticket from Prof. Elm allowing you to travel by boat to the Kanto region. That’s right, the region where the original Pokemon games took place. This feature was in the original Gold, Silver and Crystal versions, so not incorporating it into these remakes would have been a poor move by Nintendo. The best part about adventuring through Kanto is collecting the original eight gym badges, and then traveling to Mount Silver to take on Red (Ash).
The Pokemon League and overall difficulty of each gym is basically the same as the original versions, just with a few new Pokemon types thrown in. I’ve noticed a few levels rising here and there though, such as with the first gym: the leader’s Pidgeotto is no longer a meager level nine, but a level 13. The gyms themselves have been remodeled to fit the more “modern” gym puzzles. I blasted through the Pokemon League with relative ease, save for Lance who is even tougher to take down now that Dragons have their own type. My highest level was a Typhlosion at 50, with my next highest being a 46 Lugia. The other three were a Noctowl at 41, a Gyarados at 43 and a Raikou at 42. So as you can probably tell, intense level grinding really isn’t necessary as long as you have a few consistently leveled Pokemon.
HeartGold and SoulSilver wouldn’t be so good if it wasn’t for the good number of new additions to the games. Cianwood City now has a Safari Zone, the Global Trading Network is in for Wifi trades and a new take on contests is present in the form of the Pokelethon. But the best new feature of all is that the first Pokemon in your party follows you around, ala Pikachu from Yellow version. Another cool little piece of information: When the Team Rocket Radio Tower event rolls around, you actually have to get the character outfitted in Team Rocket attire. It’s only for a few minutes, but it looks really cool.
Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver are looking to be great remakes of the original second generation Pokemon classics. The only problem I had wasn’t with the game play itself, but with the fact that the Japanese language barrier is hard to come across to a person unfamiliar with the language. Thankfully, these titles will be hitting NA and EU shelves in spring of 2010.
