Hello everyone, Tyranit here with another Retro Game Review! Today I am going to be reviewing my favorite Game Boy Color game of all time, Pokemon Silver! There will be spoilers in the Story section of the review, so if you haven't heard the story for a Pokemon game, skip it if you want to experience it for yourself.
Graphics - 9 - I give the graphics a 9 out of 10 because equivalent to other games on this handheld console, this game has more vibrant and vivid colors than the likes of Mega Man Xtreme or Pokemon Trading Card Game. I do think this holds up well compared to other consoles of this time such as the Sega Game Gear, Sega Nomad, Wonderswan Color, etc, as those consoles wished they could get a game half as good looking as Pokemon Silver. Sonic Blast for the Game Gear does come close to beating this in graphics though.
Sound - 9 - I give the sounds and music a 9 out of 10 because the music never gets repetitive, it is upbeat when it needs to be, spooky when it needs to be, and overall just makes you feel good. I also like the sound effects such as getting an item, but of course, we have the annoying health warning whenever you have your Hit Points in the red, it beeps and beeps and does not let you hear how good the battle music is. My favorite song in this game has to go the the Champion Lance/ Pokemon Trainer Red Theme because it is the most upbeat, fast song in the game.
Addictiveness & Replay Value - 8 - I give the addictive part of the game an 8 out of 10 because you can battle friends with a link cable, and that is insanely fun if you are the competitive type of person like me. I also appreciate the ability to fight trainers over and over again by them calling you with the Poke Gear. I think this game also has a very high replay value, as you can go through the game with different teams, or not using your starter. You can even do self imposed challenges like the beloved Nuzlocke run, which is basically, if your Pokemon faints, it is considered dead and must be released as soon as possible, or put into a dead box in the PC. There are other challenges too, such as the Wedlocke, which means it is the same as the Nuzlocke, but you have to have 3 males, 3 females, and you must put them into pairs or 1 male and 1 female Pokemon. These are only meant for a challenge, as you don't have to play the game that way.
Story - 7 - The story has never really been a big part of Pokemon games because it is usually 
1. Get Pokemon from Professor Oak, Elm, Birch, etc.
2. Challenge Pokemon Gyms and get Gym Badges
3. Challenge Elite Four and Champion, and become the region's Pokemon Master.
This game has more than that though, that is why it is scored higher than what I would score normal Pokemon games. It has a side plot of Team Rocket trying to find Giovanni, the previous leader of the evil organization, and take over the Johto AND Kanto regions, yeah you heard me, TWO REGIONS! So you get an added two steps in the regular storyline
4. Challenge Kanto Pokemon Gyms and get another 8 Gym Badges
5. Challenge Elite Four and Champion again, with higher leveled Pokemon, to become League Champion again.
This is where it gets interesting though, as Professor Oak calls you and tells you to go to Mt. Silver. Here, you can fight the strongest trainer in all of Pokemon history (besides his level buff in Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver) Red. He has over Level 80 Pokemon! Yeah, Level 80! You have to spend hours of grinding to get to that level, but luckily, if you are good enough, you can overcome him with Level 60 Pokemon, and complete the whole game. It takes me at least 10 to 15 hours just to beat this whole Game Boy Color game, not even console games were this long at the time, and some games now are not even that long! That just tells you how good this game really is.
Depth - 10 - I think we know how the depth is at a perfect 10, now do we! I think that it makes sense that it took a whole year to make this game because it is so, so darn long. I really appreciate long games, as I get my money's worth, well, viz's worth. I just wish the Pokemon games would do this again, but with being able to visit all of the regions, but now I am getting sidetracked.
Difficulty - Varies - This game is not difficult at all if you know what level you need to be at the correct time, but in the later half in Kanto, the difficulty is spiked with Level 50+ Pokemon, which you haven't seen before. As I have stated clearly in the review previously, you can do challenges to increase the difficulty like Nuzlockes, Wedlockes, Solo Runs, One type Runs, One Generation Runs, and so much more.
Overall - 9.5 - I think this game has been called one of the best Pokemon games right up there with the likes of Pokemon Red and Blue, X and Y, and others I have neglected to mention.

Pokemon Gold is the other game that was released along with Pokemon Silver, but does that make it the same? A little, but not actually! Pokemon Gold has version specific Pokemon, as does Pokemon Silver, and it has Ho-Oh as the catchable legendary Pokemon instead of Lugia. It doesn't have that many differences though.

There was also another thing I would like to mention, which would be the actual Pokemon that were introduced in this generation. Legendary Pokemon such as Lugia, Ho-Oh, Entei, Suicune, Raikou, and Celebi were all introduced in this generation. Not very many over powered Pokemon came from this generation, but this generation definitely had some walls such as Umbreon, Shuckle, and Steelix. The starter Pokemon, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile are all good Pokemon in the game too. Cyndaquil is the easy mode of the game, Totodile is the normal mode, and Chikorita is the hard mode in terms of how powerful the Pokemon actually are. None of the starters' evolutions are dual typed, unlike Venusaur and Charizard from Generation 1. I also appreciate some other regular Pokemon that were introduced in this generation, such as Ampharos being a powerful electric type Pokemon, Steelix being the hard hitting but wall of Steel type Pokemon. That is yet another thing I have neglected to mention, two new types were added to the game to balance the Pokemon out. Dark type was so Psychic could not kill everything, and Steel was to have something defensive that was not weak to Ground, Water, or Grass. The Special stat was also split into Special Attack and Special Defense, which nerfed some Pokemon, but made some other ones stronger, such as Alakazam could do more damage, but take less Special hits, and Hypno became a Special Defensive wall, making it useless compared to himself in Pokemon Red and Blue. 

These games were also remade into the Generation 4 family with Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, which added new game play mechanics to the mix, such as EV's, IV's, Pokemon Olympics or Pokeathalon (I do not know how it is spelled) It also added the ability to get Generation 3 and 4 Pokemon, such as the catchable Groudon and Kyogre, and if you get both, Rayquaza. You can also catch Latios or Latias as a roaming legendary Pokemon. The Johto Leaders, Elite Four, Champion Lance, Kanto Leaders, Red, and just about every other trainer in the game got a level boost. Introduced in Generation 4 was the Physical Special split that caused moves that a Pokemon had to approach the other Pokemon and attack was a physical attack, and something with projectiles or psychic abilities was a special attack, which made the Generation 1 and 2 Pokemon in the first half of the game have to be careful about what moves that they had on their Pokemon, as each is either more physical or more special, but sometimes both. You can also port over your Generation 3 Pokemon to Heart Gold and Soul Silver because a Pal Park was added to the map, making it easier to obtain missing Generation 1, 2, and 3 Pokemon that you have not added to your Pokedex, but you can only do this after you beat the Elite Four and Champion for the first time. The Battle Frontier was also added into the game, making more challenges to extend the replay value and fun of the game, as they are hard and take some time to win. You can also trade between Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum to obtain Generation 4 Pokemon easier, and this also requires you to have beaten the Elite Four and Champion at least once.

Anyway, I hope you have read me ramble on about things that probably don't have anything to do with this review, but I would not expect you to read the whole thing, as it is over 1500 words long. I am Tyranit, and I will see you next review!