Pokémon Gold Version

The Good
In the first three Pokemon cartridges, you engaged in a long and enjoyable journey involving catching and training Pokemon in order to defeat hundreds of other trainers as well as gym leaders. That, added to the thrill of trying to catch 'em all, proved to be a great recipe for some awesome gaming. In Gold, that fun is multiplied exponentially. In addition to your world from Red/Blue/Yellow, you now have access to a whole new world, with twice the battles, twice the gym leaders and twice the life span of the game. This is one of the best role-playing game titles on the pocket market, and don't be fooled by those who accuse the series of being too juvenile, because it really isn't.

The Bad
Essentially, your primary focus is battling, and that can get tedious after a while, since most of the trainers are incredibly easy to defeat. Also, the graphics and sound could use some tweaking -- while they're acceptable for the GBC, they could be improved upon. But this game has few negatives.

The Bottom Line
Pokemon Gold is the sequel to the hit games Pokemon Red and Blue (and also Yellow), where you take the role of a budding Pokemon trainer in realizing his dream by traveling through a whole world of cities, seas, caves and the like and catching, raising and battling your "Pokemon" (little creatures that bear similarities to real-life animals.) You train these Pokemon to defeat rival trainers in one-on-one combat with your creatures, including master trainers called gym leaders. One of the main aspects of these older games' enjoyment is the attempt to try to catch all 151 pocket monsters, and now 100 more have been added to your list to try and track down. As your Pokemon grow stronger, the battles get more challenging, and an absorbing story and effective, long-lasting gameplay make this a fantastic role-playing-game.