Unless you’ve been living under a rock since 1996, you’ve probably heard of the juggernaut that is Pokémon. From its humble beginnings on the Game Boy, to the more recent adventures on the Nintendo DS, Pokémon (along with its apparent mascot, Pikachu) is one of the most recognizable names in gaming. Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, enhanced remakes of the critically acclaimed Gold and Silver on the Game Boy Colour, are the latest offerings of the series.
If you’ve ever played a Pokémon game before you
can skip this paragraph, but for those few people who haven’t then you should probably read on. Pokémon are creatures found all over the Pokémon world that can be caught and kept in small capsules known as Pokéballs. These ‘Pocket Monsters’ can be used to battle other trainers’ Pokémon or capture wild Pokémon. Man, that’s a lot of Pokémon. Anyway, the battles play out in a turn-based format, with you instructing your Pokémon on what moves to use. You receive your first Pokémon from the local professor (in this case, Professor Elm) and then you are released into the Pokémon world to wreak Poké-havoc on everybody else. Well, not entirely. Your real task is to capture all the Pokémon so you can become the Pokémon Master and at the same time also become the Pokémon League Champion. In order to fulfil the professor’s second requirement, you must travel around the Pokémon world; defeat the eight Gym leaders and eventually, the Elite Four and then you’ll become the Pokémon League Champion. After this you can basically just spend your life visiting the new areas of the game (which are unlocked after defeating the Elite Four) and capturing and training Pokémon until your cartridge explodes.
The foundation of every Pokémon game, a part of what makes them so addictive, is the surprisingly deep battle system. Each Pokémon has a type, and certain type attacks do extra damage against certain type Pokémon, while other kinds of attacks do half damage against certain type Pokémon. For example; water attacks do double damage against fire Pokémon, but only half damage against grass Pokémon. Each Pokémon can only know four different moves, which is where a lot of the strategy comes from. Each move is of a certain type, so you might have to decide between a stronger move of a type you might already have a move of, or a weaker move of a type you might not have a move of. Other things that come into consideration are the attack and special attack stats of your Pokémon, whether the move is physical or special, and the attack bonus you get if the move you use is the same type as your Pokémon. All this is played out in a turn-based format, with the Pokémon with the highest speed stat attacking first. This is the basis of the entire game, the solution to most things in the Pokémon world is a battle, and it’s really what makes the game so addictive and enjoyable. If not for the strong battle system, the game would easily fall on its own face. If not for this tried and true formula, perfected over the course of over a decade, the franchise would have failed.
A travelling hobo walks his pet dog.
Certainly, the graphics would do nothing to redeem it. The weak overworld 3D engine, carried on from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, does its job adequately, but not particularly well. It certainly isn’t horrible, but there have been worse DS games with much better graphics. The battle graphics leave a little something to be desired, too. Battles look much the same as in the original Game Boy Pokémon games, just in colour and with more detail in the sprites, though this may be on purpose. There are some nice effects for certain moves, but this really isn’t a game for visual buffs.
On the other hand, the BGM, while still sounding like it belongs on a Game Boy, is extremely catchy, in a retro, stick-in-your-head kind of way. Most of it is remixed from the original tunes, and as such are very nostalgic in certain areas. Though I, personally, never played the original Gold or Silver, the tunes from Red and Blue are still present in the Kanto region, all still as memorable as they were in their original context. One large complaint I have about the sound is the various growls and rumblings each Pokémon makes as they enter a battle. They’re still the old 8-bit style sounds from the GameBoy, even with the Pokémon from the more recent generations. Would it really be that hard, Nintendo, to include one voice clip of each Pokémon saying their name, like they do in the anime? Actually, since there is 493 of the suckers now, it might be a challenge to fit one for each into the tiny DS cartridge.
Gyms attract some unsavoury types. Check out shades behind the pillar.
Also included in the HeartGold and SoulSilver packages is the Pokéwalker, a pedometer that tracks the steps you take each day, and gives you ‘watts,’ the currency used by the gadget, which let you catch Pokémon while not technically in the game. It’s a fun distraction, and a worthwhile extra if you want to catch some rare Pokémon you can’t find in game, but it is just an extra, and, as such, is in no way a requirement to complete the game. Like in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, you can import Pokémon from your GBA games to use in HeartGold and SoulSilver, provided you have an original DS or a DS Lite. This is also not a requirement, but it’s still a very cool extra.
Really, in the end, if you’ve ever played a Pokémon game before, you’ll know exactly what to expect from HeartGold and SoulSilver, and you’ll know whether you’ll enjoy it or not. If you have never played one, this is definitely a good choice to start. While it is only a remake, it is a remake of what is, arguably, the best game in the series, and, in my opinion, it has inherited that title for itself. There’s at least 40 hours to waste here, and that’s just in finishing the main story, so it’s definitely value for money. The Pokéwalker is an awesome extra, which may end up swaying some people who are on the fence about the game, but make no mistake, Pokémon is a great game, and I doubt you’ll ever regret it if you do buy it.
By Ben Hauser
Graphics: B-
The visuals are adequate, and not really much more, even though they should be.
Sound: A-
Classic retro tunes remixed coupled with crappy 8-bit growls.
Gameplay: A
Pokémon has been and will (probably) always be an addictive and brilliant experience.
Overall: A-
Looking for over 40 hours of adventure with addictive game play and some cool extras? You’ll find exactly that here.
a GREAT GAME AS GOOD AS IT GETS
At first i was against getting Lugia – but now i realise that Lugia isnt a water representative, but a water assasin. >:)