Starting off just as many Pokemon games before it, I opened the screen to find a basic tutorial. While many hacks do not provide this option, Light Platinum does so and rather than detracting from the value, it makes it feel like a genuine Pokemon game. We are given the standard options for male or female and name selection and an introduction from the Professor. All of these add to the feeling of nostalgia that many older players seek.

Without revealing any spoilers, the plot starts out with our character being one of only two known people able to read a language dubbed "Alpha." The Professor sends for the player to help her decipher a series of ancient texts written in the language. After reading, we are accosted by the newest series of villains that are all essentially copies of Team Rocket. The Professor asks us to dig into her bag to select a Pokemon to defend her with. Lo and behold, our choices are the classic Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. This was a beautiful moment for me and brought back memories of when I had played the original games thirteen years ago.

After defeating our foes, the Professor asks us to go and find Professor Oak for some menial task. This is not the first time Oak has appeared in a Pokemon game, but regardless it felt wonderful to see the old man again. Upon reaching him, we see him explaining a breed of Pokemon to another young trainer shortly before being attacked by them. Our job as guardian is once again called upon and we are forced to defend Professor Oak. Here, we have our first event Pokemon - you can make the target Pokemon faint or capture the rare breed; the choice is yours.

After a few more minutes of fetch-quests, we find Professor Oak in the radio station, giving us and our soon-to-be rival our PokeDex. Now, here's the kicker. Light Platinum makes it clear that if you want to discover everything, you have to talk to the characters present in the game. If you speak to Professor Oak rather than leaving to continue the story, he offers you one of three rare Pokemon that you may recognize from the Second Generation: Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile. Some of the more recent Pokemon games have encouraged exploration via semi-rare items, but Light Platinum actually rewards us with what we all really want.

From there, I took the time to explore Central City rather than choosing to continue the story. The Safari Zone and a competition area were both early surprises, as well as a random man near a random building offering us a free Growlithe. Dozens of Pokemon appear throughout the early areas, offering us our choice of a team. Rather than going with the strongest or the rarest I found, I chose to focus my efforts into a Poison-centered team. Both the male and female Nidorans, found in the Safari Zone, were on my team, as well as a Dustox, Croagunk, and an Oddish. Of course, I also had Charmander, who had been my starter.

I have played hacks of the Pokemon games before, but heretofore I had been largely unimpressed with them. Light Platinum offers a depth and immersion rarely seen in the games, especially in the hacks. One of my biggest complaints about each of the games so far has been that none of my friends play it, so I have never been able to capture every Pokemon.

From the beginning of the game, it is made clear that this is not the case. Having only played for an hour or so, I discovered more Pokemon than I could actually catch. There are even special events where you can capture rare Pokemon and I discovered at least one "free" Pokemon handed to me by an NPC. One of my favorite discoveries was that early in the game, you even have access to the Safari Zone at the cost of 500 PokeCash, wherein I discovered Pokemon from almost every Generation.

One of the biggest selling points of the game, at least in what little experience I had, was the inclusion of characters from past games and the television show. Ash Ketchum makes an appearance, as does my personal favorite character: Red, from Pokemon Red and Blue. Whether or not any of these characters will be present later in the game or included in the plot is up in the air, but at the very least it gave me a warm sensation to see them present at all.

I have but two complaints. In the beginning of the game, we are given the standard 5 PokeBalls. I assumed that upon completion of the beginning of the game, as with all the other Pokemon games, the PokeMarts would offer the option to buy more. I never traveled outside of Central City, but in spite of conquering the early game, the PokeMart never gave me the option to buy more. Whether that is an intentional feature or glitch, I was severely disappointed. Just in the first hour of the game, there are at least a few dozen possible Pokemon to catch. Once you have used up your measly five, you are forced to watch the rest pass you by and hope that you can return at a later date. Not to mention the special Pichu that appeared that I was unable to catch because of that flaw, which only served to add to my frustration. In spite of this, the exploratory options are phenomenal. I can not stress quite enough what a thrill it was to see Pokemon from every Generation in just the small portion of the game that I explored. I admit to be addicted; though I did not save my game, I will absolutely be returning to Light Platinum to explore it at full length when I have more time.

Another surprising feature was the difficulty. Even in the early stages, it quickly becomes clear that you will actually have to take the time to train your Pokemon rather than rushing through in a speed-play. Some of the early trainers knocked out half my party, putting me on the defensive without ever breaking a sweat. If you want to survive the game, you will most definitely have to put some effort into both the game and your Pokemon.

The music was nothing to write home about; standard Pokemon game themes prevailed and annoyed me, leaving me with a very specific headache that I attribute to these games.

Overall, Pokemon Light Platinum was a refreshing change of pace and I recommend it to anyone wanting a different experience.