Pokmon HeartGold and SoulSilver (DS) Review

I used to be a huge Pokémon nut. I had all the Pokémon games, knew the insides and out of the games, collected the cards, watched the TV show religiously, and then some. At the height of my fandom were Pokémon Gold and Silver for the Gameboy Color. Following the excellent Pokémon Red and Blue, the two games were an amazing feat for their time and had to be considering the shoes they had to fill. Game Freak took the original games and did what some thought was impossible: they moved the story line three years into the future, added more Pokémon, day and night cycles, berries, mystery gifts and more. My friends and I sunk more time than we wish to admit into those games. Soon after Pokémon Gold and Silver came out, Ruby and Sapphire were release and to me it felt as if something was missing. It felt like a downgrade despite the inclusion of great new features the franchise now considers staples. Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green were next and were great remakes of the first games in the new engine. However, it brought about the question “where are the remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver?” But we would have to wait until after Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (and then Platinum) to again revisit the land of Johto. Oh, glorious Johto.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver might not have the same impact for you as it did for me; you might have never played Gold or Silver and have those fond memories, you might have joined the Pokémon fun in at a later date and know nothing of Johto, or you might have never played a Pokémon at all. Whatever the reason for your interest in this game, you will get something great from it.

So what exactly are Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver? They’re remakes of the original Gameboy Color games Pokémon Gold and Silver. These remakes are not just the old games with a new lick of paint, though, as Game Freak have gone all out adding in and updating the games with additions and niceties from the later games to bring them up to the modern Pokémon standard. There is also a bunch of new content added to games, so even if you explored every square inch of Johto (and that other region) there are plenty of surprises in store.

If you’re new to Pokémon you’ll fit right in as the game still has usual ’gameplay disguised as tutorial’ that runs for about the first hour of the game. The game begins in New Bark Town where you choose your first Pokémon. These Pokémon, like all of the little critters running around, have strengths and weaknesses against certain types of other Pokémon. Water beats Fire, Electricity beats Flying types, Dark beats Physic, and so on. You’ll have to raise that Pokémon and more that you can catch along the way in order to defeat the 8 gym leaders of Johto and then the Elite Four and Champion. That’s the goal, to become to best Pokémon trainer out there. The game world is a vast one to explore with you visiting huge cities, ports, lakes, along with traversing the ocean and the caves of the Johto region. But once you’re done with Johto the original land of Kanto from Red and Blue unlocks where you can take on 8 more gym leaders. That’s not to say that the entire game is just these gyms, the game is absolutely huge and full of life with many cities full of things to do and people to talk to. Some people have nothing to say, some will want to trade Pokémon with you and some will even become your friends and call you on your PokeGear (more on that later).

The battles, though, are where the game is brought to life with trainer battles and catching Pokémon being the main bulk of the game. Battles are all turn based like the Japanese RPG’s of old, so be patient and pay attention. The story that ties it all together is one of the best, too, it’s set three years after Red and Blue and the throw backs (especially that big one right at the end) are brilliant. However, you won’t have to have played any of the other Pokémon games to enjoy thing one.

The thing with these Pokémon games is that they’re huge, so you will have to invest a whole bunch of hours to get the most of it. Included in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver is the land of Johto but also the original region of Kanto from the original games. This addition basically doubles the length of the game and also adds to the nostalgic feeling it gives. Going back to Kanto and seeing what had changed three years after the events of Red and Blue is great, but even if you haven’t played Red or Blue before you may recognise some of the characters from the anime.

A great addition to the game is the ability to let any Pokémon walk behind you. Born from the ability in Pokémon Yellow in which Pikachu would follow you around, this time you can let any Pokémon in the first slot of your team join you on your adventure. If that Pokémon faints the next one takes its place. This is more than a mere aesthetic addition, though, as you can chat to your Pokémon as you travel, see its feelings and mood and even receive items that some Pokemon pick up along the way.

Speaking of venturing, you may have heard of a little thing called the PokéWalker. This little accessory comes with every copy and is probably the best addition to the game and the best to the entire Pokémon experience. The PokéWalker is sort of the distant cousin to the original Pokémon Pikachu handhelds that came out about the same time as the original Gold and Silver. While they were good in their own way, the PokéWalker takes it a step further and interacts more with your game.

The PokéWalker is a little Pokeball-like disk shaped pedometer with a tiny LCD screen. This little device allows you to select one of your Pokémon from your team in the game and take them out for a stroll. Now, you can walk wherever you want, but there are also different routes to walk on the PokéWalker. As you walk these routes you can catch up to three Pokémon, or use the Dowsing Machine to search for items. To do this, though, you’ll need to store up watts which can only be generated by walking, and don’t think of cheating either as the PokeWalker is pretty good as figuring out if you’re doing so.

So, how does your Pokémon get on the PokeWalker? Well, every cartridge of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver contains a little IR port on it; the card is the same size as a regular DS game so it’s hard to know it’s there, but it is. This little IR port can link up to another port on the walker itself. With this you can walk all day and train your Pokémon up another level max per day. You’ll also be able to use your Pokémon to catch other Pokémon on the various virtual routes on which you unlock the more you walk (or fulfil certain conditions in the game). To me this little accessory takes the game to another dimension: you’re actually a Pokémon Trainer with a Pokémon in your pocket, and you can battle and catch other Pokémon – it’s the fourth dimension broken for sure. All we can hope is that the Pokewalker is included in future games and the idea expanded on even further.

There is simply so much to do and see in these games off the beaten path of the adventure, and additionally there are different events on different days of the week and times of the day. Different Pokémon appear at only certain times of the week and it’s the same for competitions like the Bug Catching Contest, The Safari Zone and the Pokéathlon, which takes advantage of the DS screen for a series of events to put your Pokémon through. In a controversial move, the Goldenrod Game Corner has had the slot machines pulled from the game and replaced with a new game called Voltorb Flip. The game is fun enough, but the gambling was half of the fun for 14 year old me. No real loss, though, considering everything else in the game. Full battle and trading online and off is of course available and will ensure you’re playing and trading for a while yet.

Pokémon Gold and Silver also added the PokéGear to the game and it returns in the remakes. It has, like most other game elements, been given a new paint job with the phone now being able to store unlimited numbers. So, you know, when you’ve finished battling, Joey can call you to say how much he sucks at catching Metapod. Seriously, though, it’s useful but perhaps less ’whoa I have a phone’ than it was in 2000. The map cards and radio return as well. However, PokéTech from the Diamond and Pearl games is missing, which had a few feature nifty features like the Daycare Checker, Dowsing Machine and of course the coin flip.

The game’s presentation basically mimics that of the Diamond and Pearl games, with all the areas and Pokémon from Gold and Silver being updated for the modern era. If you boot up Pokemon Platinum and put it next to HeartGold, you can notice the difference; for some reason it’s just cleaner and the interface is so much better. Oh, yes, the interface for the game this time around can be controlled old school with the D-Pad and buttons, but Game Freak has gone to great lengths to make the touch screen controls work. All the battles and menus can be touch screen controlled, as well as conversations during the game. Battles are still pretty drab, though. While Pokémon animate when they enter the battle, the game is still basically the same in that all the actions of the Pokémon are done with little effects over each other, with the now retro noises the Pokémon make still there too. My kingdom for a Pokémon game in which Pokémon actually say their name like in the Anime! Pokémon battles are still slow as they’ve ever been. Sure, it’s a turned based game so you have to expect to be waiting a fair bit; however, once status effects and things like rain inform you every turn that they’re happening it really bogs things down. Animations can be turned off but seriously, I don’t need to know it’s still raining every turn, just show it!

Apart from the Pokémon calls, though, the sound effects are brilliant; all the Gold and Silver themes have been remixed and updated. The Pokémon games have been home to some of the best new compositions and themes out of Nintendo in recent times, and this game is no exception. This is also complimented by a fair amount of environmental effects, such as that from running through grass.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver prove one thing, though, that it doesn’t matter how a good looks or sounds as long as the core gameplay is up to scratch, and ten years later these games still hold up excellently. That’s not to say there aren’t problems, as the Pokémon RPG formula hasn’t strayed too far from the path. That’s alright, though, since Pokémon is like a pair of comfy shorts (see what I did there?), you’ll wear them for the longest time but eventually they’ll wear out. The overriding sense of nostalgia here is enough to abate that for now, but I don’t think I can take another Pokémon game in this similar vein. The next time needs to shake things up or risk getting stale, and hell you can’t get better than the peak of the series remade for a modern audience.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver will mean something different for everyone, but as a stand alone game it’s still a great Pokémon adventure and a brilliant testimony to the RPG genre. Other video game companies wish they could have this.

Pokémon HeartGold was played for this review, the only difference between the two games is the Pokémon available in the wild.

Graphics 8.0

Beautiful and life filled world to explore let down by drab battles. New touch interface is brilliant and the games just have a nice more clean look compared to Diamond, Pearl or Platinum.

Gameplay 9.9

The Pokmon formula works all these years later and with all the improvements from more recent games put back on the Gold and Silver shell weve reached a peak of where these Pokmon games can go.

Sound 7.0

Remixed soundtrack is brilliant the entire way; however, those Gameboy screeches have to go please. Nostalgia be damned.

Tilt 9.9

Completing the huge story is only one part of Pokmon. You will sink countless hours into these games with the numerous activities and side quests. Afterwards youll find yourself lost with battling and trading online and off. It still amazes me how much is put into these tiny little cartridges.

Value 9.9

This game is like a time machine to myself 10 years ago. For a long while I havent found a game that Ive wanted to be playing all the time and playing constantly. Even though Ive done this adventure before, there is enough new stuff in here for even the oldest Pokmon veteran to have a ball.

Overall

The Pokmon games can go no further with the current engine and technology. These two games are the best Pokemon games out there and one of the crowning achievements of the Nintendo DS library.