Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver

  Hi, my name is Unseen Grub, and I am a twenty three year old Pokemaniac. My love for the series runs deep. From the classic Red and Blue for the Game Boy, to Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum for the Nintendo DS. Between those games, I bought every add on for the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube that would allow me to import my murderbeasts into the Pokemon Stadium series of games. So if what I write comes off pretty biased, I am not sorry.

At its core Pokemon Soul Silver is a remake of the October 2000 release, Pokemon Silver. Two years removed from Red and Blue the new games brought into play two new Pokemon types, Dark and Steel. To add to the new types the games also introduced new mechanics. For the first time Pokemon had genders. and were able to breed. Breeding allows the passing of traits from both the father and mother. Thus producing a superior offspring. Along with Pokemon breeding, a day night cycle was added. This allowed for Pokemon to have differing evolutionary tracks. For instance Eevee would evolve into the psychic typed Espeon during the day. While at night it would evolve into the dark typed Umbreon. This would also effect they kinds of Pokemon you would encounter in the wild, Pidgy during the day, Hoothoot during the night. The new landmass, Johto, is about the same size as the original games Kanto region. After defeating the Johto league, Kanto is unlocked. Allowing the player to continue their adventure against the gym leaders from Red and Blue.

For the re-release, developer Gamefreak, rebuilt Jhoto from the ground up on the Diamond/Pearl engine. This means full polygonal buildings, weather effects, updated sprite graphics, Nintendo WiFi capability, and animated cut-scenes. The rebuilt game does the originals justice. As a little Easter Egg, once you defeat all the Kanto gym leaders, you unlock the ability to switch the in-game music to the original Game Boy mix. One thing I did notice, when the original music is turned on the sound only comes out of the left speaker. I assume that this is because the Game Boy was only available with a mono speaker. It is a odd quirk but one that brought a grin to my face. Probably the greatest addition to the game is that the first Pokemon in your party now follows you around the game world! While walking around you have the ability to turn around, and converse with your Pokemon. This small addition creates a bit of attachment to your Pokemon, since they actively participate in the game world.

Now for the frustrating bits. One of the largest drawbacks for me is how damn hard certain items are to obtain. For instance, in Diamond/Pearl you could venture into the WiFi Underground. In the underground you could use the touchscreen to break rocks in order to obtain useful items! Heart Scales, Evolution Stones, and Pokemon fossils, items to make your training life complete! Well guess what, all that is out the window! Now you get to experience all the fun that are DS touchscreen based mini games! The Pokeathilon is held in the PokeDome, and contains events based on the new Pokeathilon stats all Pokemon now have. These events are the only way in SS to obtain certain Evolutionary Stones, and Heart Scales outside of random finds in the world. I found the easiest way to get around the mini game tedium was to just trade over items from my Platinum save.

The most intriguing change for these games is the addition of the Pokewalker. As a glorified pedometer with an infrared communications port on top, the Pokewalker is an update on the older Pokemon Pikachu virtual pets. The twist is that you can download a Pokemon from your Soul Silver party into the Pokewalker via the IR port integrated into the top of the DS cartridge. When transferred to the Pokewalker you go for a “walk” with your Pokemon. While on your walk, every 20 steps translates to a Watt. Watts are used a a unit of currency and as a way to unlock other Pokewalker courses. A little fun bonus is that 20 steps is equal to burning one calorie, so the Pokewalker can be a useful companion for your workout! On the Pokewalker itself you can catch up to three extra Pokemon. The type of Pokemon depends on the distance you have walked. The farther you walk the rarer the encounters.

Pokemon Soul Silver is what I want from a nostalgia bomb. It feels familiar and at the same time new. Jumping back into Johto, training the old team again, defeating Team Rocket, defeating the Elite 4 with just a Umbreon. All these events call back to ten years ago. Yet now that Pokemon is in it's fourth generation, the additions of the GBA and DS series turn Soul Silver into something greater than the original. Even being a remake, and with its faults, Pokemon Soul Silver stands as the definitive Pokemon experience.