Looking for more Pokémon to catch? Look no further, trainers.
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the 2010 remakes of their predecessors Gold and Silver from 2000, were released this March for the Nintendo DS and proved, once again, that Pokémon is still alive and kicking. HG and SS once again send trainers to the Johto region to set out on their very own Pokémon adventure. While much of the content of these games is a straight up remake of the old Game Boy Color versions, improved graphics, revamped environments and more Pokémon make these titles just different enough to warrant a re-release.
HG and SS start out much as you would expect; you are a young, promising Pokémon trainer who is gifted their first Pokémon and sent on a quest to fill up your Pokémon encyclopedia (Pokédex) with every one of the 493 Pokémon while at the same time making your Pokémon stronger by battling trainers and gym leaders on the way to becoming Pokémon League Champion. The story rarely varies between Pokémon titles, if it does at all, so the premise should come as no surprise to Pokéveterans. Newcomers will soon find that this is a perfect time to jump into the series as this is possibly the most complete Pokémon game ever made.
Not only do HG and SS contain every last bit of the old Gold and Silver versions, including the Johto and Kanto regions, but they feature bits from all the other Pokémon versions that came before. Every legendary Pokémon from Red, Blue, Silver, Gold, Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald are obtainable in HG and SS, as well as Pokémon from the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions featured in Sapphire, Ruby, Diamond and Pearl. HG and SS also feature the double battle system introduced in Ruby and Sapphire, where a team of two Pokémon battle another team of two, and also the Suicune storyline featured in Pokémon Crystal. Sadly, though, none of the legendaries from Diamond, Pearl or Platinum are available outside of special Nintendo giveaway events or an Action Replay.
HG and SS also gave the Johto and Kanto regions a complete makeover. The layout of the regions remains the same, but the appearance of the landscapes and environments has improved drastically and take full advantage of the DS’s improved capabilities. Buildings, trees and other structures are in 3D, colors are much more vibrant, Pokémon battle animations are fluid and worth watching rather than skipping and the music, while the same from before, received a remix of sorts and sounds better than ever. Gym leaders from both regions had their teams slightly altered and updated, upping the difficulty ever so slightly, and more Pokémon have been made available to the player. HG and SS feature the usual version excusive formula where certain Pokémon can only be caught in one version, encouraging trainers to trade with someone who has the opposite version to complete their Pokédex.
It’s hard for me to find anything wrong with these games, but I’m not about to say they’re perfect. I’m not going to sit here and say these are new games because, as remakes, that would be impossible. I did find myself level grinding from time to time as the difficulty from one gym leader to the next tends to jump and provides few trainers between leaders to level up on. Beyond those few negatives, I completely enjoyed my experience.
Longtime Pokémon fans may be disappointed that HeartGold and SoulSilver do little to change the usual formula of catch ‘em, train ‘em, battle ‘em that has been featured in every handheld Pokémon to date and those looking for drastic change may need to set their sights elsewhere. For me, the Silver version was always my favorite in the series and to see it get such a terrific remake was very fulfilling. As I said before, these games are perhaps the two most complete Pokémon games to ever exist and do well to bring everything together. I’m not sold on the idea that they added very much to the series and at times they felt more like fan service rather than actual franchise progression, but I can’t say I didn’t have a blast playing SoulSilver. If you like Pokémon or are looking to give it a try, I would absolutely recommend these two.
