JiggyJay's Full Review: Pokemon Gold for Game Boy Color
Pokemon is one of my favorite series, video game wise. I’ve never watched the shows, movies, or any of the N64 games and I never plan to. The Game Boy games are so fun. They are the reason why I got hooked on Pokemon in the first place. I bought that cards and everything because I used (“used” being the key word) love them all. I don’t collect the cards anymore, but I still have them. I also still have their wonderful GBC games. Pokemon Gold/Silver is probably the best in the whole Pokemon series and I will tell you why…
The thing that drew me to the Pokemon games was the RPG experience. As you may already know, RPG is my favorite genre. Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, Diablo 2, I love them all. They are all great. What I loved most about Pokemon Gold is that you can fight with Pokemon. This is the key to beating the game. You must catch Pokemon (creatures that are basically animals that you train to fight) and train them to fight against other trainers. Every Pokemon has their weakness and their strongest side. For example, Squirtles (water-type Pokemon) are good against Charmanders (fire-type Pokemon) because their element can weaken and cause more damage to the other creature. This is a great strategy in Pokemon.
In Pokemon Gold/Silver, there are 100 some new Pokemon. This extends the fun of the Pokemon games because then you try to collect them all. I have never collected all of them. It is hard especially when you can “set the clock”. Kind of like in Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, instead you set the time that it is at YOUR house. So if it’s 8:00 PM at your house, it’s 8:00 PM in the game. You also tell the day that it is because some events in Pokemon Gold/Silver can only be gone to once a week. It works with Pokemon, too. Some types of Pokemon can only be found at night. I think this is one of the many reasons why this game is RPG like.
THE BATTLE SYSTEM
This game sort of hints on slavery, with the Pokemon being the slaves. Sure, the cartoon (I’ve seen it a couple of times) says “I love you, Onix! Now go beat up that Magmar or I’ll be mad at you forever and you’ll be sleeping outside.”. The cartoon sucks and that’s what I think they’re trying to say. I saw something VERY weird when I lived in California. I saw a little kid playing with his dog as if it was a Pokemon. Seriously, he was saying all these weird things like “Go, Pikachu! Gotta Catch ‘em All!!!!” He repeated this SO many times. I think that Nintendo is brainwashing kids so that they and their pets can take over the world. We’re all doomed! Now on to the Battle System…if you are still reading my review…
I have got to salute Nintendo on their battle system. You can carry six Pokemon at the same time and you can only battle with one at a time. Each Pokemon can have four moves that they can use and as you progress and level up your Pokemon, they learn more but you have to delete one move that you already have in order to get it. In order to use these commands, each Pokemon has a certain amount of PP (Power Points) and if they run out of it, they can’t do any moves, thus, you are screwed.
In order to catch a Pokemon, you weaken them first, and then you throw a Poke Ball at then. Poke Balls are sort of like traps that can suck up Pokemon into them (a la Ghost Busters except that once you catch them, you can open them and the Pokemon comes out, battles for you, then they go back into the Poke Ball). When you get to a certain place in the game, a guy will make special Poke Balls out of rare berries that you find throughout your journey.
(*TIP* Like in Diablo 2 (for PC. Read my review!) I level up my Pokemon to a certain level before I go to a new area of the game or if there is a big battle next. Also, level up all your Pokemon at the same level. For example, when I first started Pokemon Gold/Silver, I had a level 87 Maganium and had all my other Pokemon at level 40.)
STORYLINE: 2/5
All the storylines in all of the Pokemon games are they same. It’s not even a storyline either. Basically, you pick one out of three Pokemon (in the old Pokemon games you had to pick from Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasuar. Now in Gold/Silver you have to pick from Chickorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile.) and go on a quest to become a Pokemon master. There isn’t really a storyline, but there are a lot of side quests. Team Rocket is back and they always get in the way also. Another thing is your rival. You encounter a rival (like in all the Pokemon games) and you have to fight him a couple of times to get through the game. The storyline, if there is one, is weaker than a Resident Evil storyline.
In order to get far in the game to face the Elite Four (the strongest of all of the Pokemon trainers), you need to beat Gym Leaders. Gym Leaders are moderately easy and don’t take that long to beat. You have to face a couple trainers in order to get to them, but it’s worth it. You get a Gym Badge (to prove that you have beaten a Gym Leader) and a Move (there are TMs and HMs. Technical Machines are moves that can only be used once to train a Pokemon how to use a move and Hidden Machines are moves that can help you get to certain areas that you can’t get to regularly, like Surfing where the Pokemon can swim across the water to get to an item, and they can be used as many times as you want. The only down to that is that, it stays in your Moves List. It can’t be deleted. Be careful or what you use it on!).
A new thing to the Pokemon games is the Daycare service. Okay, so there was one in the old ones, but that was expensive and a waste of time. This new one is where Gold/Silver shines brightly. I spent HOURS with this. Okay, there is an old couple that will raise Pokemon for you. Every level up is one hundred…money or gold or whatever. That is pretty darn cheap. Anyway, let’s say you put a female and a male Pikachu in the Daycare service. If you leave them in there for a while, they will become interested in each other and have an egg…There are a couple of different Pokemon that can do this—can you find them all?
The AI, as always in the Pokemon games, is VERY easy. The Pokemon that you go up against in battles are easy and swift to beat. Battling can sometimes get tiring and old. It just gets boring, just like with Breath of Fire 3.
THE GRADING: 1-5
THE SOUND: 3/5
The sound is delightful, but can get repetitive and annoying after you play it for a while. When a Pokemon appears in battle, they make a little squawk or sound and that can get sort of nails-on-a-chalkboard-like. Every time I play Pokemon Gold/Silver (I don’t play it that much anymore because I have beaten both versions), I always find myself turning the sound off and listening to Presidents of the United States of America.
THE GRAPHICS: 3/5
The graphics aren’t brilliant, but utterly satisfying for a puny Gameboy Color. All of the character animations are done OK and the new Pokemon look great for another chapter of the Pokemon Universe. Sometimes when a battle breaks, the patterns and blinking lights make me dizzy though…
THE CONTROL: 5/5
All of the Pokemon are easy to handle. I would think that all Gameboy games were easy to control because you only have to use two buttons, but surprisingly the controls weren’t bad at all. It’s a blast when you get the Bicycle and cruise around town!
REPLAY VALUE: 4/5
After you beat the 8 Gym Leaders and the Elite Four, you can go back to Kanto (where the old Pokemon games take place) and beat the Gym Leaders and Elite Four there. It’s like two games in one. Also, with the link cable, you can trade Pokemon with friends. Some Pokemon can only level up if they’re traded…
OVERALL:
Pokemon Gold/Silver is a great experience if you are a Pokemon Fan or if you’re an RPG gamer (me). You don’t have to like Pokemon to play this game; you only have to like RPG games. This game is worth it to rent, if not buy. You’d think that Gold and Silver were different games, but overall, they aren’t really. Just like Red was to Blue. Yellow was just out there by itself… I hope in the future if they make a Pokemon Purple/Green, that they are two different games so that people like me don’t buy both games to have one gaming experience.
If you are a gamer, you know and I know that the Pokemon games are getting sort of old. I mean how many are there including the ones for N64? Come on, Nintendo! Get a new franchise! Jeez, dude! Enough's enough!
If you try this game and like it, I suggest that you play Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow/Silver. If you are a hardcore Pokemon gamer you should also try the Pokemon Stadium games. I myself have not tried them, but I have heard good things about them.
Anyway, I liked this game, and so will you.
collect 250 Pokemon each Pokemon has unique skills collect badges to enter the Pokemon League trade Pokemon via link cable, Platforms: Game Boy Color,...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.