Pokémon Gold Version

The Good
The original games introduced an easy to master but hard to put down RPG experience. You started out with nothing but would soon get a pokémon. Pokémon are strange creatures that use different types of powers to battle each other. You were a trainer and had to collect these creatures and become the pokémon training champion. At first glance it was a simple RPG, but you would soon discover the complex rock/paper/scissors battle system that had you thinking what characters and moves had to be used in battle. Searching out all pokémon wasn't easy and you had to trade with the other versions to get all of them. Some evolve from others, too.

This game vastly improved upon the original games. It is displayed in colours, has a new world to explore making the map twice as big and adds 100 new pokémon.

But apart from those obvious additions there are also a lot of other things the new versions of pokémon added. This game made all those little issues from Red, Blue and Yellow history by making the gameplay much more accessible. For example, items are organized in categories, pokémon are healed when stored in the PC etc.

There are also bigger gameplay additions, many of which are now common sense to fans. Pokémon can now hold items and new obstacles such as waterfalls and whirlpools will have you looking for new abilities to tackle them. There is also a neat little item called the pokegear which has a map, a radio and a phone. It will be vital to get certain pokémon. Two new types of pokémon, the metal-body Steel-type and the nocturnal Dark-type, add new strengths and weaknesses to the mix. The pokédex, the digital pokémon collectors encyclopedia is much more user-friendly and vastly improved.

The new Johto region expands the landmass of the original Kanto region. Off course there are new towns and new bosses to challenge. It houses many new pokémon and you will also discover some pokémon that evolve from older ones or into them. For example Onix can now evolve into Steelix and Pichu evolves in the well-known Pikachu.

You will be playing for quite a while. You will have to link with the other versions to get all pokémon including the original Game Boy versions. The total of 251 unique characters, the ability to play through the classic Kanto world after playing through the main quest and the ability to battle friends via link cable all add up to a lengthy adventure that still stands as one of the best in the series.

Not only the fact that it adds colours to the pokémon universe adds up to the graphics. The pokémon look much better than they did in Red/Blue/Yellow. The world is slightly more detailed.

Sound is great. Some of the catchiest tunes on the Game Boy Color can be found here and every pokémon has its own distinct cry.

The Bad
It may fall a bit short when compared to recent titles in the series. Nowadays, pokémon can be played online over the internet. Many layers of battling that refined the battle system over the years are not yet present in this game.

Also the storage system for pokémon can be really inconvenient at times. You have to save all the time and when a box in it is full, you can't capture any pokémon. This is really annoying when you finally run into that rare pokémon that you've been looking for for a long time.

The Bottom Line
A great update to the original games. It stays true to the original formula while updating it in many great ways.