As I mentioned in my unboxing video, my original Pokemon Silver game got the dreaded save glitch so I was really looking forward to this version. I pre-ordered my copy a few weeks before the release and it came out to around $45.00 CA. That's a normal price for a big title new release but the great thing is you're getting not only the game but the pokewalker and if you pre-ordered you also get the limited edition Ho-oh or Lugia figurine. That's a pretty decent deal in my opinion! I'll talk about the pokewalker in more detail later but basically it's similar to the Pokemon Pikachu's. It's a pedometer (a step-counter) but also serves as a way to level up your pokemon outside of the game as well as catch new pokemon and get items. The figurines come in a very nice box and then sealed in a bag inside of that box. I'm not sure if this was like this for everyone but when I opened up the bag to the figurine it smelled REALLY bad. I just got this big whiff of chemicals and ugh, it was just gross. Haha, but besides that, the figurine was very nice and for those who have asked, it doesn't cost extra. But here’s what they look like:
The story remains pretty much the same. You’re a young trainer who goes on a journey to train and catch all the Pokemon, defeat gym leaders and beat the elite four to become a Pokemon master. Team Rocket has also come out of retirement and is wreaking havoc among the Johto and Kanto regions. There really isn’t very much change in the story in these versions. The only thing that comes to mind is that you now have a neighbor/friend from your home town that will occasionally show up to help you out on your way, similar to the Pearl/Diamond versions. To be honest, I’m glad they didn’t mess with the storyline. It keeps the nostalgia factor strong when you play because as things happen, you remember back to the original versions.
The gameplay is in basically the same format as any other version so if you’ve ever played Pokemon before then this is nothing new to you. The battles and free-roam is again, very similar to the style of Pearl/Diamond. The one main change they made that I found a lot more useful is the bottom screen. Since the gameplay and controls are very simple and oldschool, there really wasn’t much of a use for the 2nd screen of the DS in Pearl/Diamond. They had some kind of device thing where you could have the time or status of your party but honestly, it was really useless. In Heart Gold/Soul Silver your bottom screen is your menu bar. I just find it a lot more useful than what they did with Pearl/Diamond. I’ll put 2 screenshots comparing below and you’ll see what I mean.
The free-roam is definitely an improvement from Silver/Gold. You get the running shoes pretty early in the game which come in handy basically everywhere you go whereas in the original versions you have to walk everywhere at snails pace until you get your bike. And even then, you can only ride it outside. The great thing about the running shoes is that you can use them both inside and outside and you don’t need to go to your bag or have them registered. You just hold the B button while walking and that’s it! Simple, but a huge time saver.
Another neat little add-on in these versions is the first Pokemon in your party will follow behind you when you’re walking around. This is similar to what they did in Yellow version with Pikachu. You can also talk to your Pokemon any time to see their mood. The thing that I found interesting about this is they actually took into account the size of the different Pokemon compared to your character. So for example: the sprite for a Totodile would be much smaller compared to your character rather than a Feraligatr which would be larger. It’s a small detail but I appreciated the fact that they thought about it.
The battle system is the exact same (I’m pretty sure) as Pearl/Diamond. It’s a bit weird at first if you’re used to the original style but I find it a lot more organized and useful. Since there are two screens this version instead of one, the bottom screen is used as your battle menu. It’s still split off into: battle, item, run or Pokemon like in the original but the biggest change is the item menu. Instead of having to scroll through a giant list of ites to find the one you want, they organize everything for you so it’s quick and easy. It’s split off into: HP/PP healers, Pokeballs, status healers and battle items.
Graphics are something that I normally don’t care so much about in a game. If the game is good then that’s all that really matters but the graphics and all-around look of this game is phenomenal. They still kept with the 3D/2D mixture as they did with Pearl/Diamond but really stepped it up a notch. The time of the day effects how light/dark it is outside and in Silver/Gold they basically just put a translucent black layer over everything to make it look like night. However in Heart Gold/Soul Silver they took a different and much more effective approach. Yes, everything gets darker when it turns to night but I felt they captured the right atmosphere of night much better in these versions.
The first time I played the game after my unboxing video and I went into Violet City it was nighttime and I was just blown away with how it looked. It was the glowing of the lanterns and the shadow casts and you could just imagine yourself being there if it were real. In this instance, I can say that the graphics did add something extra to the game and my playing experience. Everything just looks so crisp and vivid and detailed. They really put a lot more time and thought into this version and you won’t have any troubles noticing.
Where do I even get started on the music, oh man. It is fantastic. They kept all of the same songs from the original game but improved them and I can’t even begin to describe the rush of excitement I felt the first time I started up the game and heard the theme. It’s nostalgia overload. So good. In my video review I have some sound clips to compare, I guess I can’t really show you on here but you just have to believe me, it’s wonderful.
One thing that really impressed me was the gyms. Each one goes well with the gym type, the puzzles are fun and it’s just plain cool! When I went to the first gym ,which was the flying type gym, it just looked like an empty, dark room and I was like, wtf? But then you walk forward and floor raises you way up into the air and it was just cool! Most of the old versions had little mazes or puzzles to get through to get to the gym leader but this went above and beyond. You just have to play it to see, it’s really effing cool.
Something new they’ve added to the game that isn’t in the originals is the Pokeathalon Dome. It’s sort of the same idea as the Pokemon Contests from Ruby/Sapphire only fun and not a pain in the ass. If you ever get tired of battling or training you can just head over to the dome and play some fun mini games! I thought it was going to be kind of stupid but they’re actually pretty fun. It reminded me of the mini games from the Pokemon Stadium games. Most, if not all of the mini games take full use of your touch screen and stylus. The competition isn’t terribly easy but they didn’t make it impossible either. A pretty good balance of challenge I’d say, considering it’s meant to be a children’s game. The game corner games are really fun too. The one in Goldenrod is sort of like minesweeper but a Pokemon version. It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it and definitely addictive!
Now for my one complaint and if you have played the game already, or even the original versions, you could probably guess what I’m about to say. NEVER, I MEAN NEVER, GIVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER TO TRAINERS! You will regret it, trust me, just don’t do it! They will call you every 5 minutes to tell you about how bad they fail at catching Pokemon or how awesome their Pokemon is and then they just hang up on you! How rude is that!? If you’re going to give someone your phone number, only do it for the trainers who say they will give you items they pick up if they find any. They’re normally useless but you can sell them if you don’t want them I guess. Your mom also calls you often to tell you she bought something with your money and you can pick it up at the Pokemart from a delivery man. It’s almost always some type of berry but once and a while you get a hold-item that will boost an attack-type or something. There’s no way you can keep your mom from calling you but it does come in handy, although annoying.
The one thing that I can’t talk much about is the wifi battles. I know that’s something most people would be curious about but for some reason, my DS refuses to connect to my wifi. It REALLY sucks so for those who have asked me for my friend code, that is the reason why I haven’t replied back. It just gets annoying to say the same thing to so many people, I’ll mention it in the video review. Anyway, I’m sorry about that.
Ok! Last thing I’m going to talk about before I wrap this up is the Pokewalker! I wasn’t expecting much from it when I got it but was excited anyway. If you know me, you’d know I love any type of virtual pet things! Unlike the Pokemon Pikachu, you can transfer ANY Pokemon you have in your PC to the Pokewalker. It’s essentially a pedometer so it will count your steps as you walk. The more steps you gain, the more experience your Pokemon will get after you transfer it back to the game. There are different paths you can walk on and depending on which you pick, there are different types of Pokemon/items you can find. Catching Pokemon on the Pokewalker is different than in the game. You can choose either attack or defend and try to get the opponent’s HP low without killing yourself at the same time. I can’t exactly remember how many Pokemon you can hold at once but I think it’s 3 and you can hold 5 items. If I’m wrong, correct me and I can edit this but to be honest, I’m too lazy to refer the instructions.
It comes with an extra backing piece with a clamp on it so you can hook it on your jeans or a bag but you have to unscrew the one that comes on there already. This could be annoying for you because the screw is pretty small. Personally, I wish they could just have the clamp on there but make it detachable but whatever, not a big deal.
You can also connect your Pokewalker with other people’s Pokewalkers. This is another cool little addition and would be useful if you have friends with the game or say if you go to a gaming convention. The actual pedometer part of the Pokewalker is pretty sensitive so sometimes if you’re going down stairs or taking hard steps it either won’t count it as a step or it goes nuts and counts it as like 5. To be honest, I never carry it around with me. I use the gool ol’ method of just shaking it a crap load and getting a massive amount of steps fast. I suppose though if you take it with you to school or something, you could rack up a decent amount of points too.
So! Overall I say this is a great game and could even go so far as to saying it’s my favorite version of the entire series. Nintendo really made an effort with this one and it shows! It’s so addicting, fun and very nostalgic. Instead of taking something old and making it newer like they did with Fire Red and Leaf Green, they took something old and actually improved it. I would highly recommend getting this version if you’re a fan of the Pokemon series. I know I’ve already racked up a good 30+ hours of play time on mine and I’m sure there will be so much more time spent on it in the future.
Thanks so much for reading this monster of a review and let me know what you think! Once I finish my video review, I’ll post it below or at least have a link to it. If there are any errors, feel free to point them out to me and I can make changes to the post. Also, if you have any requests of reviews you’d like me to do, leave a comment!
Later gamers!
