Introduction
Pokemon was a huge franchise in the late nineties. Pokemon
had its own T.V. series, cards, movies and games. After Pokemon Red and Blue
came out on the Game Boy in 1996/97, Nintendo had its most successful
money-maker since Super Mario. The Game Boy was probably the oldest game system
that was STILL selling games over ten years later. However the Game Boy had to
meet its end someday, and a new Game Boy came out. The Game Boy Color came out
in 1998/99, along with new games now in colour. As Pokemon was possibly the
best selling Game Boy game ever, colour versions were made for the new game
system. The games were called Pokemon Gold and Silver.
Before I begin, Pokemon Gold and Silver (along with Red and
Blue) are two games that are generally the same. The only difference between
the two is that certain Pokemon (mystical creatures that can be used as pets or
for duelling) can only be found on one game. Certain Pokemon from the Gold
version cannot be caught on the Silver version, and vice versa.
Gameplay
Pretty much exactly the same as the Red and Blue versions.
Gold and Silver (now being abbreviated to GnS), basically concentrates on one
person, a little boy of your choice in name who is starting his journey to
become the Pokemon master. You go around from city to city, battling Pokemon
trainers and villains and getting gym badges from eight (or sixteen) major
cities around the world. After getting all eight gym badges, your little fellow
can challenge the Elite Four, the apparent test to prove if you are the best
Pokemon trainer in the world.
Each Pokemon (a total of over 250, a bigger number from the
original Red and Blue versions, which only had 151) has its own moves, types
and advantages as well as disadvantages. You can carry a total of six Pokemon
at a time, so considering there is a huge choice of over 250 Pokemon, there is
also a good strategy involved in what Pokemon to bring. The strategies don't
just end there, as each Pokemon can only carry up to four moves, and a good
selection of moves can be learnt as your Pokemon grows stronger. Also HMs and
TMs (items that can automatically teach Pokemon moves) are featured in the
game, and certain HMs and TMs can only be used on a certain fraction of the
Pokemon in the game. So there is a lot of planning involved in this game, and it's
fun choosing what Pokemon to use and what moves to give them. Also like the
majority of RPGs, Pokemon uses the experience system to level up their Pokemon.
As previously mentioned, the gameplay is pretty much the
same as Red and Blue. However it's the same thing, and a little more. There are
a few new features involved in the game. The first and most important is the
time. You can actually set a time to the game, and set it exactly to the time
in your part of the world, and play the game in time with your environment. Or
you can set the time to a different time to the real time, it's up to you. The
time in the game affects the gameplay a lot, there are secrets and special
events that only occur on certain days or/and at certain times. Different
Pokemon are around at different times, for example, a HootHoot is an owl
Pokemon, and can only be caught at the night time. The time makes the gameplay
that much more exciting and strategic.
Another addition to the game is the Pokegear system. Your
Pokegear is basically everything you own, in Red and Blue you had your backpack
which could hold up to twenty items (if I'm correct… I might need to check into
that) which includes Pokeballs, HMs, TMs, and items. Your Pokegear however
splits this up into different parts of the backpack, so there is a section for
Pokeballs, a section for HMs and TMs, a section for key items and a section for
your normal use items. This is a nice little improvement to the game, which
helps cure for the limited item storage that was a pain in the previous games.
Also featured is a Phone book, which can store numbers of important people and
Pokemon trainers you have previously fought. Sometimes old trainers might want
to have a rematch, or they might want to just have a chat. Also sometimes if a
rare Pokemon appears around their area in a swarm, they will tell you about it,
which can be helpful for catching a Pokemon that was not easy to find in that
area previously.
To conclude the review on the gameplay, the gameplay is
great on GnS, and a large improvement has been made from the previous series.
There isn't much bad to say about the gameplay, other than it may become rather
tedious after a while. Gameplay: 9/10
Story
The main disadvantage of the Pokemon games is exactly this.
There is NO story involved. There is a storyline, but no story, there is no
filler involved. Basically you control a boy who wants to become the Pokemon
master, catching all the Pokemon, defeat your rival and eliminate Team Rocket.
Other than that, there is nothing surrounding the storyline at all. However, to
be fair the game does succeed without a story. The fact that there is very
little story around makes the game a lot more for kids rather than adults,
which is a good thing. A story can put the little kids off, as it may become
too complicated to follow for someone at such a young age. It's hard to rate
the story, but this is the best I can rate. Story: 7/10
Graphics
2D Game Boy graphics is what Pokemon suits best. The
graphics are far from amazing, the Game Boy Color is no computer console, it's
a handheld system. For Game Boy Color graphics, the graphics in GnS are top
notch. However if you compare them to a game that came out at a similar time,
(for instance, Final Fantasy IX) the graphics are terrible. For what it's
worth, I will rate the graphics in between the two points above. In a positive
way of reviewing, the colour use in the game is used well, and adding colour to
a Pokemon game was well worth it. Graphics: 8/10
The sound in the game is very similar to the previous games.
The sound of the Game Boy and Game Boy Color games can be very irritating, as
the music is very high pitched, simple, and repetitive. There are a few decent
tunes in GnS, and for a GBC game, it's decent. Sound: 8/10
Controls
There are only four buttons involved on a GBC system, and
GnS uses the buttons well. The controls are simple and easy to use. There are
no flaws involved with the controls for the game. Controls: 10/10
The best thing about a Pokemon game is the rush to “Catch
‘em all”. Catching all the Pokemon in the game is an extremely long and fun
journey to do. The fact that there is about 100 more Pokemon to catch in the
game makes the game all that better. My proper opinion on the increasing number
of Pokemon in the series, is positive, but goes no further from here. In the
first two games, Red and Blue had 151 Pokemon, and the game was great. In this
set of games, an extra 100ish Pokemon were added, and this was also good.
However Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire (the two games for the next handheld Game
Boy) added an extra 130ish, making the total to 380 or so. This in my opinion
is going too far, and makes the game a lot more tedious. However back onto GnS,
the main extra involved is catching all the Pokemon, and is a great side-quest
to conquer. Also battling your Pokemon with other players (via Link Cable) is
always fun, as well as trading Pokemon. There is a lot going on in the game
that will keep you playing for hours. Extras: 10/10
Challenge
The Pokemon games are generally rather easy, if you know
what you're doing. There are no limits to the difficulty however, as the
Pokemon you decide to use can either “suck” or “rule”. The difficulty is
completely up to you, depending on what Pokemon you use and how well you can
use them. The challenge is varied so there is nothing wrong with that.
Challenge: 10/10
Well you might play this once, and keep the game saved. Once
you have everything done, the best thing to do then is most definitely battling
your Pokemon with your friends. I have mixed feelings other than the point
above about the replay value. You might want to play through the game again, or
you might want to keep your game once in completion. The game is great, but
after going through it once there is not much filler involved that will
definitely make you want to play through the game again. Still you might want
to, it depends on the person really. Replay: 8/10
Overall
This is a great set of games, and probably my favourite of
the three sets Nintendo have brought out. If the games came out in the early
nineties, the games would mean perfection. However the games came out in 1999,
and there are far bigger and better games to play out there. If they somehow could
make a decent 3D version for the Gamecube or something, then this game would be
amazing. However, Nintendo generally fail to produce a good 3D Pokemon game, as
in my opinion Pokemon Stadium and others were nowhere near as good as the Game
Boy games, despite the 2D blocked graphics that are involved. Pokemon GnS are
great games to play if you are on the road with your Game Boy Color, with no
console around. At home however there are better RPGs around that can outdo the
Pokemon games. On the whole the games are great, but not the best. Overall:
70/80 = 88% = 9/10
Obviously it's not the best review in the world, I think if
I were to re-review the game it would be a much crisper review. But I was
sixteen at the time. Any compliments or criticism are appreciated. I'd also
like to say please vote on my poll, I'd like a bit of feedback. Have a good
day.
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