Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver game review
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver are the remakes of the Pokémon Gold and Silver games. Many fans enjoyed these games, and were excited after hearing the news about the remakes. But did the remakes live up to their expectations? Does this Pokémon game continue to deliver? The short answer is yes.
Story: 4/10
Pokémon has never been about the story and since this is a remake it is one we have seen before with slight changes. The story is simple: You’re a young Pokémon trainer who is given a Pokémon by your neighbor to run an errand. As soon as you finish, you suddenly have wishes to beat the 8 gym leaders of Johto and the Elite 4. Along the way, you encounter legendary Pokémon and have to thwart the nefarious plans of Team Rocket, an evil syndicate that uses Pokémon to achieve their grand plans of world domination.
Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay is also simple and has not changed since the original: You train your Pokémon by battling other Pokémon. In battle, you pick one of four moves your Pokémon knows to fight. These moves vary from damaging the opponent, giving your opponent a debilitating effect, healing yourself, boosting your own stat points, etc. The 1st Pokémon in your party now follows you around and you can talk to it when you feel like it.
The largest new attraction to the Pokémon universe is the addition of the Pokéthalon Dome, which allows you to pick a variety of Pokémon to use in mini-games that make use of the DS touch screen. While you can still use the D-pad and buttons, you can also control the menu using the touch screen.
Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are the best to date in a Pokémon game. The graphics are just about the same as in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum; though there is a lot more detail throughout the environment. The colors are more vibrant, and all the cities are quite distinctive from one another in layout and building architecture. The sprites used for the Pokémon battles themselves are all bright, colorful, and crisp.
Music: 9/10
The music in the game is almost all remixes of the music from the original Gold and Silver versions, which help add a nostalgic feel to the game for all those that played those versions. For those that haven’t, the music is still good and catchy. The sound effects of the Pokémon and their moves are all fairly basic, but memorable. For anyone who desires, there is also an item in the game called the GB Changer, which lets the player choose to switch to the original Gold and Silver music tracks.
Overall: 8/10
Personally, I am biased, and would rate every Gameboy version of Pokémon 10/10 if I could. I started playing with the original Red and clocked in about eight thousand hours on that version alone. As a reviewer, I have to admit that there is not much of a story and that the graphics, while great for a Pokémon game, still lack in comparison to a number of DS titles out there. Any Pokémon fan or RPG gamer should definitely pick this up. I also recommend that anyone who has never played a Pokémon game before at least give it a try.
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