Pokemon HeartGold Version is a Role-Playing (RPG) game developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo in 2010 for the DS.

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Overall 9.5    Graphics 9.7    Sound 9.3    Addictive 9.7    Story 8.7    Depth 10    Difficulty 4.7


Dun Dun Dun! Heart Gold   zanderlex

Ever since Pokemon had first began all those years ago, a total of 22 main games have been released. That is definitely a lot of games, especially when you are not including the many spinoff games such as Pokemon Ranger and Rescue Team, which would very easily double that total. There are so many games out there that if you were to ask me to make a list of all the games in order of how much I like them, it would be impossible because there would be way too many games to choose from. However, if you were to ask me a simple question such as what is my favorite of the games, then I would not hesitate and I would answer that question with no problem at all.

My favorite game is not Red, Blue, or Yellow, the first generation games that first kicked off the series. My favorite game is not going to be either X or Y, the sixth generation games that pretty much altered everything we knew about Pokemon games. My favorite game isn't even one of the third generation games that people all over the world are asking for remakes of. They are all great, but they don't even come close to my favorite game which is none other than the simple second generation masterpiece known as Pokemon Gold.

Why would I pick such a basic game to be my favorite game when there are so many other games to choose from, most of which are much better? Well, there are actually a ton of reasons as to why I like this game as much as I do and why it means so much to me. The first reason would have to be the Pokemon, I feel that the Pokemon of this region are the best. In my opinion, this generation had the second best starters behind the Kanto ones and my favorite had to be Totodile. I always picked Totodile because I felt it looked the coolest and that it was the most energetic of them all.

Once you get past the starters and the new basic Pokemon added to the game, then you have to look at the legendary Pokemon because they are simply amazing. I remember one day I was walking around and I was attacked by a Suicine. Of course it ran away at first and every time after that, but I kept chasing it down and eventually I had managed to catch it. The remaining two of these legendary Pokemon are Entei and Raikou, which I have never encountered. Then on top of that, you have the two big ones in Ho-oh and Lugia which are equally amazing. Lastly, the coolest Pokemon in my opinion had to be the Red Gyrados because it was so awesome and could not be beat.

The next great aspect of the game in my opinion had to be the region. When it came to regions, I would have to say that Johto had to be my favorite. I remember I used to always hang out in Goldenrod city because there was so much to do there. Then of course, you can't forget the fact that this region is connected to Kanto and that you can fully explore that region. To me, that was the greatest positive of the game because it allowed for many more hours of playing and a ton of events that take place once you beat the champion.

Then there is going to be nostalgia of course. When I was young, my dad bought two Game Boy Colors at a yard sale and we went to GameStop and I picked out this game. It had been my very first Pokemon game and for years, it had been the only game that I had for the system because for a while, that had been the only game that I had been willing to play. Just that makes the game special and leaves a place in my heart for it, and I am sure that the generation two games had been the first Pokemon game for many fans.

Naturally, when it was announced that there was going to be a remake for this game, I could not contain my excitement. Ever since Fire Red and Leaf Green were released, I had been hoping that they would do the same for Gold and Silver. Unfortunately, I did not have a DS at the time so I had to wait a few years before I could get the game, but once I did get it, I spent many hours playing it and I found it to be almost as special as the original game.

GRAPHICS 10/10

First of all, we are going to have to go over the graphics of the game because lets face it, as the years pass us by, the enhancement of the graphics is one of the main reasons that the games keep getting better and better. Of course, the graphics are not as good as some of the newer games such as Black, Black 2, and X, however I find it to be impossible for somebody to deny that the graphics are much better than the original game because they are. As a matter of fact, I would go as far as to say that the enhancement between Gold and Heart Gold is better than the enhancement between Red and Fire Red. Sure, you can argue that this game is a whole generation ahead of Fire Red, but I feel the developers did a better job with this game when it comes to bringing out the best of their respective generation.

The graphics for the original game were made using simple tiles that had just enough detail to know what's going on and to have a good time playing the game. However, like today's graphics, the ones of the original were considered to be amazing for the series because they were much better than the first generation games which were much less detailed. Then the developers take those graphics multiple levels ahead with the new remake. The character sprites are way more detailed and colored, the buildings and maps are more defined, and the Pokemon and battles are more animated and energetic than the original.

There is much more to the graphics then what I just mentioned. Let's look at the perspective of the game. The perspective has veered away from the more birds eye view of the original game in order to better display the characters and buildings. All these changes greatly enhance the overall feel of the game and for the graphics portion of the game, I feel obligated to give it a perfect score.

SOUND 10/10

Then we talk about the sound which is the same as any other Pokemon game, awesome. Pokemon music is unique and every song in the soundtrack has its own mood. Some songs feel dark as you are walking through a cave while some feel energetic when you are battling the champion. The music plays a crucial role in the Pokemon games and I give this game a 9 out of 10.

STORY 10/10

Next is the story, which is the same as the previous game, but that is fine because the original game was a nostalgic game that along with the 1st generation games, is what led to the Pokemon games becoming so popular. The story takes place in the Jhoto League as you beat all the gyms and attempt to stop Team Rocket. Then of course, you can travel back to Kanto to challenges all of those gyms as well as Red and you can even battle legendaries from generation 3 and 4. I give the story section a perfect score.

ADDICVENESS 10/10

As for the addictiveness, there is nothing better. Usually, if I beat a Pokemon game to its fullest, I usually liked it so much that I start the game over. That is not necessary in this game because there is still so much more to do once you beat the first champion that it will take you forever to become bored. My grade for addictiveness is a perfect 10.

DEPTH 10/10

As for the depth, there is so much to do. There are 2 whole regions so just that doubles the depth of the game. Then, on top of all that, there are Pokemon from all 4 regions that you can catch. For the depth, the game is great and I give a perfect score.

DIFFICULTY 4

As for the difficulty, the game is easy. There might be so much for you to do, but none of these challenges are exactly tough. The game is easy to learn and for this I will give the difficulty a rating of 4.

OVERALL 9.4/19

As for an overall grade, one of the 5 best Pokemon games in my opinion and it is really a one of a kind game that you will not want to give up. My overall grade for this game is 9.5.

  Graphics 10   Sound 9   Addictive 10   Story 10   Depth 10   Difficulty 4
      Review Rating: 5/5     Submitted: 03-05-14     Updated: 07-10-14     Review Replies: 1


Aureo Animo   Furret
It’s your boy back in the house with another epic gamer review. Nah I’m just joking but welcome any potential readers to my Pokemon HeartGold review! This is a game that I’ve held dear ever since it was announced (yes, before I even played it, don’t judge me :P) Growing up gen 2 was always my favorite generation of Pokemon as it was the one to get me hooked in the first place, and when these sequels were announced to release for the Nintendo DS back in 2010 I just knew I had to get my hands on them. Infact to this day, Pokemon HeartGold is the only game I have ever pre-ordered. I was always taught to be careful with money and to never spend too much of it but the minute I saw a commercial or something, I can’t remember what exactly, I begged and begged to get permission to pre-order it. And the hype definitely didn’t disappoint. To this day Pokemon HeartGold remains my favorite main series Pokemon game of all time and definitely sits within the top 5 of the overall franchise. That’s enough about me, on with the review. Graphics - 9/10 This game was released midway through the Nintendo DS era and it definitely shows. The graphics are a direct increase of quality compared to earlier DS titles like Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and you can see the developers had a better understanding of what the system was capable of. The pokemon and trainer sprites look great as usual and in this game pokemon even have a cute little overworld sprite that follows you around the region if it’s in the first slot of your party! Overall the routes just look more polished than before and the few cutscenes in the game like Ho-Oh appearing on top of the tower look phenomenal. Sound - 10/10 The soundtrack for Pokemon has always been fantastic and this game is no exception. I love all the remastered Johto and Kanto themes, and there’s even the option to go back to the Game Boy Color sounds in the post game. The new Kanto gym leader theme for example is my absolute favorite gym leader theme in all of Pokemon (though I also love the new Sword & Shield one) Story - 6/10 The Pokemon games aren’t known for having great stories and you can easily tell this by playing through the game. Just like any game you become a Pokemon trainer and aim to win the Pokemon League Challenge by winning 8 gym badges and then defeating the elite four and champion. Along the way you meet the newly organised Team Rocket in search of their old leader Giovanni as well as a wide variety of oddball characters like the Kimono girls and Mr. Pokemon. Your rival is a thug who stole his first pokemon, and while he is my favorite rival he really doesn’t do much to the plot unless you play through a certain event in which his backstory and ties to team rocket are revealed. I won’t score the games too low as they are remakes of Pokemon Gold & Silver, and those were released back in 1999 when a big story wasn’t really all that common in video games in the first place. Depth - 10/10 Pokemon HeartGold offers probably the biggest variety of things to do within a pokemon game. You’ve got your starter region Johto, which admittedly is a bit on the small side but for good reason. After you get done with the 8 Johto gyms you go to the Indigo Plateau to challenge the league and- wait what? Yes, the same league you challenged in the original games. Which means you currently find yourself in Kanto, the second region in the game. There was even an NPC who told you this, how did you not know? Anyway jestering aside, after beating the league you get to now fully explore Kanto and challenge their gyms in pretty much any order you’d like! After which you challenge the league … again. But then you are able to climb this random mountain that wasn’t here before to challenge the ultimate trainer, Red! Other fun stuff you can do include the Pokeathlon, Voltorb Flip as well as the Battle Frontier! Any game with a Battle Frontier is a good game, and I believe this is the last game to have one. Addictiveness - 9/10 This game is probably one of the most addictive main series pokemon games out there. The pacing just feels right. There’s no huge gap between each gym so you always have your next goal within sight, but it’s not like you can just do them back to back. I mean, with the exception of gyms 5, 6 and 7. But my point still stands, you can start your adventure and when you look at the clock you realize you’ve been playing for hours upon end. Difficulty - 7/10 Pokemon games for the most part aren’t that difficult for the veteran trainer and this one is no different. The levels in this game are fairly low, with the champion only having a level 50 as his highest pokemon, and especially around the 7th gym the trainers still use level 20s. There are a couple spots where you can get destroyed if you’re not prepared (*cough*kimono girls) but for the most part you should be okay. Red is of course no joke as his levels are in the 80s but he is the ultimate challenge for a reason. There’s also the Battle Frontier like I said, which can always be a good challenge to complete 100%. Overall - 8.5/10 Like I said this game is fantastic. It’s one of my go to recommendations for people trying to get into the series as the roster of available pokemon isn’t that big at first due to it being a remake of the second generation, and it’s a little more modern so more people will have access to it in some way shape or form. I’ve had countless of adventures through this game and its little brother SoulSilver and I hope I get to have many more. Recommendation - this is one of my favorite games to do a nuzlocke challenge on. I don’t know why but I find it one of the hardest games to nuzlocke. Anyway, that’s enough from me, cya!
  Graphics 9   Sound 10   Addictive 9   Story 6   Depth 10   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 07-06-19     Updated: 07-16-19     Review Replies: 0


Awesome   TristanTehGamer1
Pokemon Heartgold was released in 2010 and is the remake of Pokemon Gold which was originally released on Game Boy Color; there is also a remake of Pokemon Silver called Soul Silver as well. Pokemon Heartgold was the last good pokemon game released on the Nintendo DS (in my opinion) because Black and White 1 and 2 were a disappointment and the first pokemon game i own that i never beat. Graphics: A pokemon game with bad graphics is impossible because pokemon has its own unique art style and has an awesome graphics engine which works very well for pokemon. Sound: The sound is awesome, the original soundtrack was remade and later on in the game you can get a "Game Boy Pocket" item that lets you switch to the original soundtrack. Pokemon games always have a unique sound but can feel repetitive after heard for the millionth time Addictiveness: Pokemon is like a drug once you play it, you cant put it down and the end of the game will leave you wanting more. Story: You start in the Johto Region and its like any other pokemon game, Battle through the regions gym leaders, stop the evil organization in the region (in this game you fight Team Rocket) and go to the Pokemon League to be the pokemon champion. Even though the story seems the same in every Pokemon it seems as if each story is unique in its own way Depth: The game comes with a pokemon themed pedometer called a Pokewalker where you download your pokemon to it and the way it works is that as you walk your pokemon levels up and the pokewalker if im not mistaken has an app where you can catch pokemon and an app where you can get items. The game connects Johto and Kanto together allowing you to journey to both regions. The game has a new thing called the Pokemon triathlon kinda like a Pokemon Olympics :P The game has 451 Pokemon but 42 can only be gotten if you trade pokemon from the past games and some special legendary pokemon from wi fi events. You can get the following legendaries in this game: Ho-Oh, Lugia, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo (must get by trading in soul silver), Kyogre, Groudon (only by trading in Soul Silver), Raquaza, Arceus (only obtainable by trading now), Diagl,Palkia,Giratina (must have arceus for these 3) Raikou,Entei and Latios and Latias Overall:This game is great, there is a lot to do, many pokemon to catch and a great story. If you dont have this game i will have to question your thinking
  Graphics 10   Sound 9   Addictive 10   Story 10   Depth 10   Difficulty 3
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 09-24-15     Review Replies: 3

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