Pokemon Soul Silver Review
Some reviews are hard to muster, some take you some time to think about what you are watching/playing and what the positives and negatives are in the media you are reviewing. When reviewing a game like Pokemon Soul Silver, this really isn't a problem considering the history I have with the franchise. I played Pokemon Red/Blue when I was a kid and afterward went on to Gold/Silver, then to Ruby/Sapphire, then to Diamond/Pearl. I have played every main game in the Pokemon.
So from my years of experience with the Pokemon games and the originals that these remakes are based off of, I can tell you that Pokemon Soul Silver is a fine remake of Pokemon Silver. The game designers said when this game came out that they wanted a fresh new way of playing Gold/Silver, but didn't want it to abandon the feel that veteran gamers had when they first played Gold/Silver, I feel like for the most part, this was definitely accomplished in Pokemon Soul Silver. Everything feels new again but at the same time, oddly nostalgic... and the addition of a fantastic design borrowed from Diamond/Pearl helps this game feel like the most streamlined, accessible Pokemon game to date.
Why Pokemon Soul Silver does have some a bit of a design facelift in some places compared to Diamond/Pearl, it's practically the same layout. The backgrounds and designs still have that fake 3D feel about them (not saying this is a bad thing) there is still no voice acting to be found, feeling that text heavy conversations were a better way of playing the game, and to be honest the general feel of the game just has this kind of, Gold/Silver meets Diamond/Pearl thing about it, which is fine by me being that these games in the franchise are some of the high points. The Soundtrack for the game is where my enthusiasm for the game probably stops prematurely. Everything about the Soundtrack feels lazy, the 16-bit Midi sounding Soundtrack just doesn't feel up to date and unfortunately this is one place where I think that the majority is right, they need to change up and update the series in this field.
I think I should go on the level now and express my feelings on this whole "needing to update" malarkey. If you were not a fan of the Pokemon series since Gold/Silver or earlier, you will never understand the reason that I, as a 19 year old male, come back to the Pokemon series at every game they make. Pokemon WAS our era, it shaped the world for many years and I would imagine is one of Nintendo's most popular series internationally to date, but if you weren't into it back then, then you will never understand why this whole change thing people go on about daily, annoys us so. Pokemon for the most part, doesn't need to change. Thing's can be updated, sure the Graphics could have a nice change and the Soundtrack could be better, but the core gameplay, the way the Pokemon fight and such, doesn't need to be changed.
So we have discussed the Graphics to a degree and the Soundtrack more extensively, but what about the core gameplay itself? you remember Pokemon Diamond/Pearl? yeah, if you liked that game you'll definitely enjoy this one. One thing I think everyone knows by now is that if you enjoyed Pokemon in any other generation, you're going to enjoy it now. I think one of my only problems with this game is that you can add your post-Ruby/Sapphire roster into the game, which I feel is kind of a cop out as I wanted a full remake, not a remake you can add later Pokemon into...
Pokemon at this point in time is like Marmite. I'm not going to explain what that means... because everyone already knows. Your decision as to whether you buy this game should rest solely on the question "Have I ever bought a Pokemon game before?" if the answer is yes, buy this game. If it's no... well then you probably shouldn't... go pick up the originals or something, I'm sure you can find them for like $5. Pokemon Soul Silver is a great game for any Pokemon fan.
