Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver were released as the sequels to Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue. Gold and Silver released onto the Game Boy Color in the year 2000, starting the 2nd Generation of the series. Pokemon Gold was the first game I ever played, not just in the Pokemon series, but in gaming as a whole. But how does Pokemon Gold and Silver stand up from a critical viewpoint? Let's find out.

Graphics - 9

The graphics in this game are a huge step up from the graphics in Pokemon Red and Blue. Just look at now compared to last generation!



He doesn't look disgustingly terrifying anymore! I think that every single Pokemon in this game has a great design that represents them well, even Ditto. A new feature was added to the series starting with Pokemon Gold and Silver called Shiny Pokemon. Shiny Pokemon are INCREDIBLY rare. They appear in the wild at random. Basically, Shiny Pokemon are just regular Pokemon with a different color scheme. However, they are still incredibly rare, and if you ever see one, be sure to catch it, as you may never see one again.

Sound - 9

The sounds in this game have gotten an upgrade compared to Pokemon Red and Blue as well. Each Pokemon has gotten a distinct cry, and even the cries from Generation 1 were slightly edited to sound better. The overworld sounds are pretty much the same, though. Besides the remixed Kanto music. Every area in the Kanto region in the game has had a musical remake and I love it. Besides the Lavender Town music, I kind of miss that old, creepy vibe it gave me....

Addictiveness - 10

Like the last generation, these games are highly addicting, especially when you have a family member or a friend to play the games with. The connectivity hasn't changed at all from last Generation, but it's still fun to battle and trade nonetheless. This Generation has much more to offer than last generation, but we'll get into more detail about that in the Depth section of this review.

Story - 8

The story isn't anything all that great, but it works for what it is. Team Rocket is back after 2 year absence, but their former leader, Giovanni, has gone missing. They are trying to look for their former leader using the Radio Tower in Goldenrod City to revive Team Rocket. Again, the story isn't much, unless you go into the lore between the legendary Pokemon of Johto. The legend is as follows -

In Ecruteak City, there used to be 2 towers standing tall. The tower in the northwest corner of the city is home to the Legendary Pokemon, Lugia. The tower standing in the northeast corner of the city is home to the Legendary Pokemon, Ho-oh. One day, a lightning bolt struck the tower that Lugia resides in, and the tower burnt down. Lugia fled to the Whirl Islands and now resides there. 3 Pokemon were inside the burning tower, and those Pokemon were Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon, the 3 evolutions of Eevee from Generation 1. Ho-oh took pity on them, and they were filled with great strength and power, restoring them and turning them into what is known as the 3 Legendary Beasts. Raikou (Jolteon), Entei (Flareon) and Suicune (Vaporeon).

Other than that, the story remains the same until you go to the Kanto Region. Once you collect all the badges in both Johto and Kanto, you have permission to climb Mt. Silver, and at the top you will meet a familiar face...

It's you from Generation 1, although his canon name is Red. This is one of my favorite parts in the game, which really does tell you that these are great sequels.

Depth - 10

Generation 2 has even more things to do than Generation 1 had. Generation 2 adds 100 Pokemon to the list, making the total 251. What's even better? 2 regions to explore, 16 badges in the game, so much! You know the developers tried their best when they had to fit all of that stuff into a Game Boy Color cartridge. (RIP Satoru Iwata). Again, this is a Pokemon game, so go and Catch em' All!

Difficulty - 8

Since this IS a Pokemon game, the difficulty varies depending on which Pokemon you have. I will admit that some of the Gym Leaders gave me trouble, like Whitney and Morty to name some. Lance can sometimes be difficult, and Red is sure to give you a difficult time beating him. Other than that, as long as you have a well thought out team, then you should be able to finish the game, no matter the challenges that you may come across.

Overall - 9.5

Pokemon Gold and Silver marked the beginning of the second Generation of Pokemon, and many prefer the second Generation over the first. However, like me, many people feel that later generations surpass this one. Generation 2 is my second to least favorite Generation, but that doesn't mean it's bad. I just prefer other generations over this one. I hope you enjoyed this review.

Summons -

Eniitan :

I remembered to summon you this time. XD

LunarDarkness2 : This is yet another wonderful review done here. Crisp clean and fun to read that is what reviews are all about! What's the point if reading a review when the person didn't put his/her soul into it like you did? You have a wonderful gift here lunar. Its really fun reading your reviews and I enjoy doing so. If I didn't I wouldn't be posting or liking them.

Eniitan :

I really wish I still had more likes to give out because this is one of the nicest posts I have ever gotten. ;w;

Thank you so much! Maybe when the time comes, maybe late this year, I could even become a Staff Member. Just maybe, you never know. x3

Another good review of yours! Since this is a sequel, I appreciate that you compare the game to its predecessors, showing what changed (or not). This was very masterful.

However I'm confused; are the Shiny Pokémons valuable/stronger in some way or it's just a feature to try and catch the gamer's interest?

janus :

Nah, it's just a thing added to make people get their attention. The only difference is the color change, it doesn't make them any more powerful.

LunarDarkness2 : Yeah, I gotta agree with others in the thread, this is a pretty good review. There's more than enough detail to go around here. You also did a decent job detailing the differences between this generation and the 1st generation of Pokemon games. This review really makes me want to go and play this game.