Review: Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver (NDS Import)





Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Game Freak
Genre: Turn Based RPG
Release Date: 09/12/2009 (Japan)

As most of our readers here at Diehard GameFAN know, I’ve had copies of Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver for a quite some time before the Japanese release date. I was the first to break the announcement of its release, and by the Japanese launch day I had FAQ’s and Strategy Guides for both sets of Gym Leaders and the Elite Four written up which have since been copied and pasted across the Internet. For those new to the site, I pull in two different Pokemon related paychecks. It’s these personal and professional ties that have allowed me to be an official “leak” for Pokemon information as well as letting me tease my staff here with games months before they’re even announced to the Japanese audience. At the same time though, it means you’re about to read a review of a game that the author in question makes money off of. Although I’ve certainly reviewed Pokemon games in the past and given them less than flattering scores (Emerald, Trozei, Dash), people new to me (or DHGF in general) are definitely welcome to take this review with a grain of salt.

That being said, it’s time to see what a return trip to Johto holds for you. The second generation of Pokemon RPG’s are universally considered the best in the history of the franchise. With the remakes adding a ton of new content, do they manage to surpass the originals?

Let’s Review

1. Story

Pokemon HGSS takes place three years after the events of Pokemon RGBY (Red/Green/Blue/Yellow). Red became the Kanto Pokemon Champion and then quickly disappears. Team Rocket has disbanded and a new day has dawned. To the west of Kanto (the location of Pokemon RGBY) is a land known as Johto. Here you take the part of a tweener about to set out on their own Pokemon journey. You have a choice of three starts: Totodile, Cyndaquil or Chikorita. After you’ve chosen your Pokemon, it’s time to cover the Johto circuit and take down their eight gym leaders. Along the way you’ll discover Apricorns, the return of Team Rocket, Baby Pokemon, the Elite Four and so much more. After you defeat the Johto Pokemon Champion, you get the surprise of a lifetime (unless you’ve played the original): you can travel to Kanto and encounter the eight gym leaders there. After getting all 16 badges, you can encounter Red in a battle of champions.

Besides all of that, there’s also things like the Johto Bug Catching contest and several brand new things added that weren’t in the originals. These include the new Pokethlon that takes the place of Pokemon contests, Gym Leader rematches, radio stations that attract Pokemon from either Hoehn or Sinnoh, the return of Giovanni, a Battle Frontier area, over half a dozen new areas, a Safari Zone, the ability to take commemorative photos of your team, a special new Arceus event, a special new notched-eared Pichu event, the revelation of who your Rival’s father is, and so much more.

Best of all is the fact that the HG and SS remakes contains the Suicune storyline originally only found in Pokemon Crystal. It’s a lot of fun in many ways, HG&SS are more remakes of the Crystal GBC cart than the original GB games. I’m still shocked that neither the Ruby/Sapphire or Diamond/Pearl games offered you the ability to return to the previous game’s region. In this regard, and many other, the little old GBC carts of Pokemon Gold and Silver were far ahead of the GBA and DS games and these remakes make that more apparent than ever.

As the 24/7 function of the original games have almost certainly killed the battery in those original carts, this DS upgrade is well worth it. You’re getting to return to the best generation of Pokemon games, now with even more stuff thrown in and more depth given to the adventure. I’m still ecstatic the game contains the Crystal storyline and this truly makes HG & SS head and shoulders above not only the original versions of these games, but every Pokemon game EVER.

Whether this is your first time playing a Pokemon game, or you’ve done all four regions, the upgrades AND the Fire Red & Leaf Green remakes, you’ll quickly see why Heart Gold and Soul Silver‘s storyline is not only a portable gaming classic, but remembered so fondly by Pokemon fans the world over.

Story Rating: Unparalleled

2. Graphics

You know. I was impressed with the visuals in Pokemon Diamond, Pearl & Platinum, but Game Freak turned it up just a notch. Remember in Pokemon Yellow Pikachu would follow your Trainer around and you could even talk to it to see how it was doing or what it was feeling. Well that aspect is back after three generations of being gone and repeatedly asked for. This time whoever is your lead Pokemon will be following on the field and if you talk to your Pokemon in the right spot, they just might have something for you. This means this new visual effect has an actual in-game application. Nice!

Other than that, the visuals are the same quality as the generation IV games. Pokemon and Trainers are animated when they first show up, but are static for the rest of the battles. Graphics are crisp and clear. I especially love the water in the game. Johto backgrounds and Pokemon have never looked better, but then, is that really hard to believe consider we’ve been through the Game Boy Colour, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS since the original games came out for the old black & white Game Boy.

You should know what to expect by now. The games look great and the graphics are amongst the best for the DS (RPG-wise) due to the sheer variety of what’s stored on that tiny little cart. In this age of console games being filled with little colour and mottled hues, it’s nice to see something this vibrant and detailed on theDS.

Graphics Rating: Classic

3. Sound

Pokemon’s always had a strong record for music, regardless of whether it’s the main RPG series or in one of the many spin-offs. A lot of these tracks are catchy and get stuck in your head for days (or in my case YEARS) after you play it. I’m happy to say that the game features a lot of remixed tunes from both the Johto and Kanto eras, but also some new MIDI’s for the new areas or the mini-games.

There’s still no voice acting, and the Pokemon are still giving out their “classic” sqwarks and shrill little noises meant to be animal noises. I’m still of the frame of mind that it would not be hard to take samples from the anime so that Pikachu actually goes, “Chuuuuuuuuu!” when it faints or “Pika Pika!” when he pops out of the Pokeball. Hell, they did it in Pokemon Yellow, Hey You, Pikachu!, Pokemon Puzzle League and others, so why not do it for your flagship series?

The music is memorable and although it doesn’t rank up there with the original Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda themes, some of them do come close. The Pokemon noises bring the quality of this category down, but at the end of the day, they are kind of timeless is a “so bad, it’s good” sort of way.

Sound Rating: Good

4. Control and Gameplay

For the past decade or so, the Pokemon series has been considered to have one of the best made (and deepest) engines for portable role-playing games. Although each generation appears to have the same engine due to surface similarities, each one has actually been wildly different. For example the Generation IV engine as all new ways of calculating what your Pokemon’s stats will be upon leveling up and which moves use the Attack statistics and which use the Special Attack statistic. This won’t matter to anyone but long time Pokemon fans, but after Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and Pokemon Platinum, they’ll be used to it.

The core of Pokemon is basically a more intense version of Rock, Paper, Scissors but with sixteen different possibilities than can be mixed and matched like a Frankenstein’s Monster. For example Pikachu is an Electric Pokemon, which is weak to Marowak, which is a Ground Pokemon. Marowak in turn, is weak to Water Pokemon like Totodile, which goes full circle in being weak to Electric Pokemon like Pikachu. See, Rock, Paper Scissors. However, just because a Pokemon is of one type, doesn’t mean it can’t learn moves outside its type. Using the Pokemon we’ve already covered, a few rare Pikachu can learn Surf, which is a Water move. This means Pikachu has a move that is strong against Ground type Marowak while still being weak to Marowak’s type and attacks. Each Pokemon can learn four moves or less, so it’s matter of maximizing your Pokemon’s potential with power and statistics.

Like all basic turn based RPG’s, Pokemon has you pick your moves from a menu. Whoever has the highest Speed stat goes first and gets to do their move. Then the slower Pokemon gets to go. Of course there are exceptions to who goes first, but this is basic explanation and not a primer. Find a 13 year old or younger child in your vicinity and ask for more detail. They’ll be happy to help you out.

Besides battling, you’ll be travelling throughout Johto trying to complete a Pokedex, which is a zoological guide to Pokemon. You’ll be able to get more entries by catching Pokemon, which occurs through battling wild, randomly occurring Pokemon. Once you have them, you can either store them, let them go, or add them to your active team of six Pokemon that you carry with you. You’ll also be battling Gym Leaders for their badges and competing in contests like the Pokethlon or the Bug-Catching Contest.

The controls are solid and the menus are easy to navigate through. Even if this is your first video game ever, you’ll get the hang of it in no time. You won’t even need to read the manual, but I suggest holding on to it for the chart showing what is strong/weak against what.

Again, Pokemon offers and engine and gameplay that even the youngest of gamers can understand and become skilled with, but also one deep enough that it takes years to truly master. The game is wonderfully designed that any team can beat any other on any given day. Okay, not a team of Magikarps against Mewtwo, Arceus, Palkia, Dialga, Ho-Oh and Lugia, but most teams offer a decent amount of challenge if we’re talking Player Vs. Player battles.

I simply can’t think of a RPG series that has had different engines with each generation yet made them close enough that it feels like you’re playing the same old thing until you really get into the heart of the beast. It’s one of the reasons I adore this series so.

Control and Gameplay Rating: Unparalleled

5. Replayability

Like all Pokemon games, there is only one save file, which means you have to stick with the same game forever, or decide to start over, losing your hundreds of Pokemon and an equal amount of over to the void. I don’t know anyone that starts over. They generally just have two or three carts and use all of those.

Once you have your game though, you’ll find the game has limitless replay value. There is always a new Pokemon to catch, train or breed. There’s always a rematch battle to have. There’s always the Battle Frontier to try. There’s always the new Pokethlons. Most importantly, there’s the interaction with other gamers.

Long before we had this “online gaming” thing we all take for granted, Pokemon was designed to help gamers meet people outside their usual friend circle. You were encouraged to trade with or battle complete strangers with the hope that by the time you finished, you’d have turned that new acquaintance into a friend.

With the new (well, new to the Johto era) online features like the Pokemon GTS, one Pokemon cart can last you a year and still have things left to do. After all, you’ll always need another cart or some friends to catch ’em all.

Replayability Rating: Unparalleled

6. Balance

One of the nice things about Pokemon is that there is no unbeatable team. There is always a move or type or ability than can counter some other Pokemon, and there is always a counter to the counter. The only real way to assure yourself of an easy win is to run around in the early stages of the game and level up massively so that you can cakewalk against the Computer. However, upon doing this you’ll learn about a little failsafe built into the game. If all you do is fight low level characters. Your Pokemon’s max potential will be limited as well. Meaning if you have a level 50 Pokemon you used munchkin tactics to plow your way through the game (meaning fighting nothing but Pidgeys around, say, New Bark Town), it will be notably weaker than another level 50 Pokemon on the same type that was raised by going through the game and fighting harder challenges and Pokemon with better Effort Value Points. This is perfection in terms of making a balanced game. It all depends on if you’re playing just to beat the main story of the game, or to make some powerful Pokemon to use competitively.

However, that really only matters if you care about PvP. If you’re just looking to get through the story mode of the game, you’ll find that the Johto era is much easier to beat than the other three regions of Pokemon. The Gym Leaders and the Elite Four are lower level than in other games, but once you’ve beaten the game you’ll find that Johto actually offers some pretty strong challenges in the post-game like the Kanto Gyms, Red and Giovanni. In this regard, HG&SS actually gives you a longer experience with less grinding for the sake of getting your Pokemon up a few levels between gym battles. I’d definitely say Heart Gold and Soul Silver are the most balanced Pokemon games in terms of the story mode.

Whether you play competitively or just to beat the Elite Four, Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver will definitely give you a challenge, but not so much of one that you’ll be ripping your hair out in frustration like fighting Nightmare Geese.

Balance Rating: Unparalleled

7. Originality

…and here’s the down side. Not only is this game a remake, but the Pokemon turn based RPG are a bit played out. It’s been four generations/a decade and a half of the same basic plot of “Kid fights eight gym leaders, the Elite Four, the Pokemon Champion and stops an evil ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world.” The game has added some bits that are new to Johto (Like your lead Pokemon following you and the Battle Frontier) and new to Pokemon as a whole (Pokethlon, some new triggered events and areas), but those are only a fraction of the game. For the most part, this is the same game you played back in 2000-2001.

If this game wasn’t being remade because a) the fans clamored for it, b), the batteries in 99.99% of the original carts are long since dead and c) it’s been ten years since the original came out in Japan, I’d want to call this a cash grab ala Sega’s, “How many times can a company re-release Sonic the Hedgehog?/.

Sure it’s a remake, but at least Game Freak’s taken the time to update the game with the new engine, new graphics, all the new Pokemon that have come out since then and give gamers a remake they requested rather than it being about money first. Of course, it’ll make a gazillion dollars anyway but hey, it’s Johto!

HG&SS may be lacking a lot of innovation or originality, but it’s exactly what Pokemon fans asked for and wanted, and that’s what really matters.

Originality Rating: Bad

8. Addictiveness

Pokemon Crystal is pretty much considered the epitome of Pokemon RPG’s, Gold and Silver are only a half step behind them due to the games being so similar. With these remakes containing the best pieces of all three variants, it’s hard to think of anything that anyone could complain about!

I remember back in 2001, I ended up owning two carts of Silver, one of Gold and two of Crystal and I played through every one of them. I loved them. The different Pokemon, the characters, the designing movesets. Everything about the second generation of Pokemon was electronic crack for me. I’m happy to say I felt the same way about these two carts. I ended up playing them in tandem, seeing which team would be the best and I even picked up a second Heart Gold cart out of pocket to use for a interactive column I’ll be doing on the site, where you, the readers, will select my Pokemon and decide for me where to go.

With all the added new pieces, sidequests, mini-games and special events, Heart Gold & Soul Silver feels like the timeless classic Pokemon fans remember it as, in addition to having a visual face lift and feeling brand new in certain areas. Sure, you can basically get through the game with an old Prima strategy guide from a decade ago, but would you really want to track one down?

It’s hard to think of a better Pokemon game than these remakes. It’s simply a reminder of why I feel in love with the franchise, and gaming in general.

Addictiveness Rating: Unparalleled

9. Appeal Factor

Hmmm. Let’s see. Pokemon is the most successful RPG series in history. It actually surpassed the Mario franchise years ago as the most lucrative Nintendo franchise and its most popular. It’s the most successful gaming franchise in terms of mainstream population penetration and it sells like gangbusters even if a game backslides and offers less than the generation before it (I’m looking at YOU Ruby & Sapphire!). When you factor in, the Johto Era of Pokemon was the peak of Pokemon across the board and the one longtime Pokemon fans have the happiest memories of, Heart Gold and Soul Silver are bound to stay in the Japanese top seller category for months to come.

If you got out of Pokemon years ago, this is the came to come back to. If you’ve never played a Pokemon game and are curious, this is the game to start with. Even if you don’t like Pokemon because it’s cute looking and you automatically dismiss it as “for kids,” this game will change your mind if you look at the sheer depth of the engine and all that is tucked away in that little cart. I honestly can’t think of anything else I’d want this cart to contain, save for Pokemon voice acting.

I wouldn’t advise importing this due to the need to be nearly fluent in Japanese to play it, but come April 2010, this is a game that shows off exactly why hundreds of millions of Pokemon games have been sold worldwide.

Appeal Factor: Unparalleled

10. Miscellaneous

Generally I use this space in my Pokemon Reviews to give away little tips and tricks to my readers. As I’ve already done FAQs for the Johto Gym Leaders, Kanto Gym Leaders, and The Elite Four , I’ll give you something else instead. Two actually…



Red’s Pokemon!

Lapras – Level 80 (Ice-Water)
Snorlax – Level 82 (Normal)
Charizard – Level 84 (Flying-Fire)
Blastoise – Level 84 (Water))
Venusaur – Level 84 (Grass-Poison)
Pikachu – Level 88 (Electric)




Giovanni’s Pokemon!

Kangaskahn – Level 40 (Normal)
Nidoking – Level 42 (Poison-Ground)
Honchkrow – Level 43 (Dark-Flying)
Nidoqueen – Level 46 (Poison-Ground)


In short, for your eventual $34.99, you’re getting a game that will give you well over 100 hours of play time, a great way to interact with friends, new downloadable quests and Pokemon, and a chance to see the best the world of Pokemon has to offer. Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are easily the best Pokemon games ever made. You’re getting an amazing amount of content for your dollar and it’ll be hard to find a better deal for your DS.

Miscellaneous Rating: Unparalleled

The Scores
Story: Unparalleled
Graphics: Classic
Sound: Good
Control and Gameplay: Unparalleled
Replayability: Unparalleled
Balance: Unparalleled
Originality: Bad
Addictiveness: Unparalleled
Appeal Factor: Unparalleled
Miscellaneous: Unparalleled
FINAL SCORE: CLASSIC GAME!

Short Attention Span Summary
Here’s the bottom line: the original Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal games were amongst not only the best Pokemon games ever made, but some of the best RPG’s regardless of system. With Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, you’re getting the Crystal storyline, the classic Johto characters, music and environment, and a surprising amount of new content which makes the largest Pokemon games of all time even bigger and deeper than the originals. I honestly can’t think of a handheld RPG I’ve been happier with or more impressed by since the original. Sure it’s no Eternal Punishment, Valkyrie Profile or Sakura Taisen but it’s definitely up there. At the end of the day, even if you can’t get behind the Pokemon visuals or you jump to the erroneous conclusion that Pokemon is “only for kids,” if you love gaming, or RPG’s in particular, you’ll pretty much have to force yourself to hate Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver.


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52 responses to “Review: Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver (NDS Import)”

  1. 1bin Avatar
    1bin

    Do you give scores for ratings? Instead of a word.
    Anyway, nice review.

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Nope. We don’t do numerical scores here. We’ve found that sites that giver numerical scores are far more likely to inflate their numbers or that their readers will only look at the number instead of the content. As such, we give one word descriptors as “scores” as a touch of irony and also a way to make people read the full review rather than go “Oh, seven out of ten.”

  2. dose8 Avatar
    dose8

    i bet now after they make gold and silver they will make one with a new region and then they will remake r/s

  3. Eleven Avatar
    Eleven

    While I am about to cryogenically freeze myself so I don’t have to wait for the English release of these games, I have to say that I am infuriated that they replaced Kris, the female character from Crystal, with a brunette wearing a mushroom on her head. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with brown hair, but this makes three girl characters with brown hair, and what’s up with the weird hat? Kris’s hair was BLUE. How nifty is that? Plus she was my favorite character from Pokemon Special. I realize it’s silly to get so caught up in a cosmetic issue like this one, but seriously, why do all the player characters have to be so bland-looking?

  4. Jyosua Avatar

    Sup Alex, I’m a friend of Chris.

    I have a question, is all the text in this game written in hiragana/katakana? If so, I need to import this – it would be absolutely great practice.

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Jyousa – Here’s the thing. It’s mainly Katakana. Texts in katakana are generally written for younger people and kanji is used for older readers. Due to Pokemon being so popular with kids, Katakana does indeed make up the majority of the text. That doesn’t mean it all is. For example you can use Kanji to name characters.

      However if you’re a big fan of Pokemon, you won’t even need to know Japanese. I’ve given my Japanese beta cart of Pokemon Platinum to little kids here in the states before it even hit Japanese shores and three of them teamed up and played for hours even though they don’t know Japanese.

  5. Jyosua Avatar

    You mean hiragana. Hiragana is the syllabary used for native words. Katakana is used for foreign loanwords and foreign names. I was curious whether kanji was used in the story and dialogue because I can read hiragana, and I have decent knowledge of japanese grammar, I just need a dictionary to lookup words I don’t recognize. That said, if it’s mostly hiragana, that means it’s great practice for those of us still at an elementary level with the language.

    I stopped playing pokemon after Crystal. That was my favorite game, and part of me hopes that they make a remake of that as well, but I know it won’t happen because there’s no real difference to be made. That said, I could probably get along through the game without any knowledge of Japanese, however, I’m highly interested in playing the games, and actually understanding the storyline. The fact it’s in hiragana would make it double as highly needed practice for me.

    Thanks for the answer though, that helps immensely. Do you know a good place to import the game from?

  6. Alex Lucard Avatar

    Actually it really is mainly Katakana. A lot of the game uses Western terms and words. It is a Hiragana-Kana mix, there’s an overabundance of katakana in the game just due to the nature of Pokemon being based off world mythologies and folklore.

    If Crystal is your favourite game, then you’re in luck. Per my review, this game is actually a remake of Crystal’s storyline with the gold/silver Pokemon exclusives.

    As for importing, that’s tough. I’ve had the game for months before the actual Japanese release (as Chris can tell you) You’d probably want to go with play-asia.com, but they’re VERY slow. Still they’re also the cheapest right now when I did a quick price check for you.

    I definitely wouldn’t go with ebay as they tend to be knock-offs.

  7. Jyosua Avatar

    Ah that’s what you meant. I was mainly referring to dailogue, and not names though, which is why I tried to correct you. XD

    In regards to importing, I don’t really care about the speed, because if I don’t import the game, I’ll have to wait until april of next year anyhow to get the localized version. I’ll check out play-asia, thanks. :D

  8. jalil Avatar

    pokemon soul silver and heart gold i wuold like to get it for very cheap

  9. Spanky Avatar
    Spanky

    It would help if you would give actual numerical ratings instead of words for your scores. What does “bad” actually mean? Is “unparalleled” the best rating? It’s kind of relative.

    Anywho, I’m glad you liked the game, it makes me really excited to play it!

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Spanky – numerical scores tend to do a disservice to both the game and the review itself. When a review has numbers, people just look at the numbers and then ignore both context and content. We do have a “Review Standards” link on every page. You can always click on that for more clarification.

  10. Brian Akridge - Foy Avatar
    Brian Akridge – Foy

    This game is going to be a classic
    I can already tell. I remember spending hours on gold version. I like the changes that were made and i like that you can power level yourself against weak pokemon. It adds a “challenge” to the game that wasn’t really their before. In the originals it was easy to come up with the invincible team, but its nice to know that there is a balance factor set up for players. its also nice to know that people cant abuse rare candies like in the past. mainly because i assume its harder to cheat. Either way its nice for some variety in these games to appear and for there to be some depth to the story line, at least more than face value. Over all this remake seems like one of the better ones.

  11. Isabella Avatar
    Isabella

    OMG, your website is the best! I know everything about pokemon even though I hae not played all the pokemon games. So I personally think there’s no difference between the games except there are different pokemon to catch, but you can get them if you have a sibling that wants to get the opposite. And the time you catch Ho-oh and Lugia. What I don’t understand about these games is why do they make you wait so long for the games to come out?! I’ve been waiting forever. All I can say is thank God they’re coming out on March 14. PEACE!

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Isabella –

      Thanks for the compliments about Diehard GameFAN. The reason is took so long for the games to come out is that they needed to be translated into English from Japanese.

  12. Nick Numso Avatar
    Nick Numso

    I’m so exited for the new games! I’ve played everyone so far and the Johtos were the best!

  13. jien Avatar

    im a big fun also just like u….!

  14. Alberto Paco Avatar
    Alberto Paco

    I just have a quick question. Is there more pokemon in heart gold or in soul silver? just wondering and all. Thanks alot for the great reivew on the game by the way!

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Alberto – It’s the same amount of Pokemon. It’s just there will be some Pokemon exclusive to one game and some exclusive to another. You’ll need to trade with a friend to catch ’em all!

  15. nunya buisness Avatar
    nunya buisness

    iv’e know about this game now for about 1 1/2- 2 years now. i found it when looking for gides on how to get some pokemon in diamond/pearl. i read what it was and i was unbeleivably happy. however around 7-8 months ago, i kinda fell out of this whole series. i almost died a little on the inside when i seen the commercial today. this seems like the game that would get me back into the series though, so i cant wait for it to come out. i didn’t really play the johto region games as im only 13. i played them for about 3 days on my comp after downloading one.

  16. Melissa Avatar
    Melissa

    Cant wait for these to come out, they out on 26th march here in uk and iv already preordered them. Iv been a fan for years and always wanted a remake of cystal. Like you said tho, wish they would have proper voices by now, id love them to bring out a pokemon game that was more free, in the sense that you can make more decisions for yourself, do you want to be good or evil? do you want to catch and trade or steal? u want to kick your pikachu or cuddle him? think it would really boost the series

  17. Olivier Avatar
    Olivier

    The 5th gen has been announced. I already reserved a copy of Soul Silver and I’ll HAVE TO buy another one after…Pokémon is so addictive but it’s because it’s so great! I can’t wait for March 14th!

  18. Juice Avatar
    Juice

    i know that this post has been out for a while but do you know if you can trade your pokemon from platinum to hg or ss at the beginning of the game…cuz my game is messed up and i always feel like it is gonna crash

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Juice – Nope. You’re going to have to get quite some ways into the game before you can trade with the older games. You’ll need to have a Pokedex in both games and several Pokemon so you can trade. You can’t just turn on the game and start porting things over.

  19. Juice Avatar
    Juice

    like how far cuz i caught some pokemon in platinum that i want to start off with … like dratini and pupitiar

  20. Juice Avatar
    Juice

    correction not pupitar … larvitar

  21. Bonesxbreakxdanny Avatar

    To Alex Lucard:
    (this will be very long)
    Thanks you so much for this very detailed and honest review!
    It was pretty much my generation who took their GBCs to school, dinner, the bathroom, and sat up in bed until the next morning with maybe a dying flashlight playing nothing but Pokemon; We were the kids blowing off homework and all forms of human contact while simultaneously ruining our eyesight… and that was the life!

    Its happening to me all over again! Just by coincidence, i was reminiscing with a friend about the good ‘ol pkmn days, and he happened to have the original Crystal Version with him in his backpack!!
    I had a seizure and started foaming at the mouth.
    He lent it to me, and told me about the HG/SS remakes.
    By the way, the internal batteries on the original carts are not okay! Lol (on my blue version, ALL pokemon have my Jolteon attacks, health etc.)

    I cried myself unconscious when it became clear that giving the cart its trademark, magic ‘blowjob’ was not going to make it play without shutting off and corrupting the save file (like it did frequently, randomly, and anytime a molecule of air touched the GB too heavily lol) I really wanted that piece of my childhood back, and i actually succeeded in fixing the game to make it playable! (lol in frustration, i rammed a random safety pin in between the cart and game boy, and it plays perfectly now)

    I gave up on Pokemon first after seeing the Hoenn region pokemon (seriously weak and lame compared to kanto and johto species)
    second after actually playing R/S/E without the day/night and return to previous regions features that were amazing in …
    and pokemon completely died to me when the Diamond and Pearl series aired on T.V…. stupid games, stupid pokemon, Ash is perpetually 13 years old and will NEVER become a pokemon master at this rate lol
    HG and SS seem to be the light at the end of the tunnel the pokemon i once knew and loved has been in, and maybe it can return to its former glory.

    One thing i really need to know:
    Do you think i should buy the remakes (and a gameboy D.S as well cuz i only have an Advance and Color lol) even though i now have a working original?
    Rather, are the remakes worth buying the D.S for?

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Bonesxbreakxdanny –

      I would say that yes, Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are worth buying a DS for. Not a DSi or even a DS Lite, but a regular DS would be a great investment as it has a clot of GB Colour games. That way you could play your old titles and new DS games as well. There’s a lot of new content in HG and SS, including downloadable subquests, new pokemon, new battles, the Pokewalker and so much more. It’s easily the best game I’ve played on the DS and if it wasn’t a remake it would be a GOTY contendor for sure.

      You can generally pick up a used, original DS model for less than $100 these days, so that would probably be the best way to go.

  22. Juice Avatar
    Juice

    hey alex,
    i really need to know when i can trade to hg because my game is gonna freeze any day now (platinum)and that 120 hours of game play would be gone .. and i know just dont play it but pokemon is too addictive and am tryin to get my top 6 to level 100 so…if you could let me know that would be great

  23. Juice Avatar
    Juice

    what if it is like lapras, jolteon, or dratini who are part of the johodex

  24. Ryan Avatar

    Please stop spreading misinformation about the game Alex. You can trade over Pokémon from any region as soon as you get the Pokédex from any other 4th generation Pokémon game.

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Ryan – you’re either an idiot or illiterate. That’s exactly what I said.

  25. Alex Lucard Avatar

    Juice – Your game really shouldn’t be dying after 120 hours. Have you been using an Action Replay or similar cheat device?

  26. Wicho Avatar
    Wicho

    Pokemon is the fucking shit. People need to stop hatin!

  27. Mark Evans Avatar
    Mark Evans

    Ah, to see the good old days again! I actually couldn’t wait so I ordered a Japanese Version of Soul Silver (come to find my Japanese is a little rusty) and when I got it almost cried because it’s so great! Tip of the hat to Nintendo. They did great in this remake. Anyone who doesn’t like this remake, doesn’t really love Pokemon. <3<3<3<3

  28. Zack Avatar
    Zack

    This game sounds f*cking awsome sh*t i wanna play it but i dont have a d.s. i burowed one and played pearl for like 50 hours and loved it but if i buy the d.s. and soul silver (cause lugia bitch slaps oh ho any day) it would come out to like 150 $ should i do it, for 1 pokemon game? i dont know please respond. :/

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Zack – if there are no other games for the DS that you want besides Pokemon, then you probably shouldn’t get the system, even though the game is awesome. There’s no point in purchasing any system for just a single game. Just ask Atari Jaguar fans about Aliens Vs. Predator.

  29. Zack Avatar
    Zack

    Meh but it looks so good and they will put out new pokemon games :s

  30. Brad S. Avatar
    Brad S.

    Thanks for the review, got me more excited than I have been. I’m just wondering what you think the learing curve is going to be for someone who hasn’t played Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. Sapphire killed my desire to play these games so I just want to know how long its going to take for me to figure out the changes.

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Brad – you’ll be fine. I really didn’t like Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald either. The thirs generation is nearly everyone’s least favourite Pokemon series, so this should really help you rekindle your love for the franchise.

  31. Juice Avatar
    Juice

    POKEMON A FEW MORE HOURS BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  32. Brad S. Avatar
    Brad S.

    Thats what I wanted to hear. Thanks.

  33. steve Avatar
    steve

    yea its out HO OH yyeeA

  34. denzel Avatar
    denzel

    hey alex thanks for the review. It was amazing. I am a diehard pokemon fan and that was the very first game that i ever played. Everywhere i go i hear some generation is not as good as the other. I played all the games and i liked them all equally but i was shock when they took out the day/night feature, personally i will get any new pokemon game they have. Sorry just rambling i could talk about pokemon forever

  35. Silver Avatar
    Silver

    “Graphics:Graphics”

    LOL

    Awesome game.

  36. Lucario Avatar
    Lucario

    They should just make a version where all regions are acsessable. But to make it fun, make four games that each start In a different region

  37. you Avatar

    pokemon rrfr4rrrrrerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

  38. NovaVortex Avatar
    NovaVortex

    I’ve got a specific question in regards to Diamond & SS…….
    Is it possible to trade between the 2 using 1 DSi at the GTS when I have both carts registered in said DSi?
    I’ve tried many times & can’t seem to get it??

    & I’m looking for some reasonable people to trade with since all I find in the GTS is others making what I call “unreasonable” trades……

    1. Alex Lucard Avatar

      Nova – You should just use 2 DS and put one cart in each and trade that way.

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