Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Allen ARIAS, Gaming Editor
April 11, 2010
Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Gaming
Pokemon HeartGold Version and SoulSilver Version for the Nintendo DS, released March 14, are complete remakes of the original Gold/Silver/Crystal Versions. Each version follows the storyline and events that took place in Crystal so that neither party is gypped, and both Ho-Oh and Lugia, the featured legendaries in HeartGold and SouldSilver respectively, are both attainable instead of just one.
The game has received a huge aesthetic upgrade, bringing it on par with the most recent 4th Generation of Daimond/Pearl/Platinum releases. The game has also upgraded a few features: all functions from the pause menu are accessible via the touch screen, a more organized bag menu, “Berry Pots” for on the go berry raising, and a more organized Pokedex menu.
Both of these versions allow any Pokemon to follow a person, the idea first introduced then abandoned in Pokemon: Special Yellow Version. Each Pokemon has its respective sprite sheet, size, and the player is able to interact with it to see how it is feeling at the moment.
Aside form the slight changes and upgrades, HeartGold and SoulSilver return the player to the familiar Johto Region, many of the puzzles being tweaked only slightly to provide the same level of challenge they originally did for fans of the original and newcomers alike. There are also more hints to the infamous stuck points from the original, like a hint to grab the “Squirt Bottle” or finding a “Team Rocket Uniform.”
After defeating the entire Johto Region, and the Elite Four atop the Indigo Plateau, the Kanto Region becomes available just like in the first, rebattling each of the original eight gym leaders in any order the player wishes.
As an added bonus this time, the player may receive one starter Pokemon from each generation after meeting certain requirements. The starters being: Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur, from generation one, Cyndaquil, Tododile, and Chikorita from generation two (received at the start of the game), Torchic, Mudkip, and Treeko from generation three, and finally Chimchar, Piplup, and Turtwig from generation four.
Jessica Juhasz, 9, is interested in these and said, “I was so happy when I found out you could get Mudkip, I love Mudkip, I might get Piplup and just keep it from evolving because it’s only cute in its first form. Maybe I’ll get Bulbasaur because I don’t like Charmander, but I can’t just get water pokemon. Anyways, I heard you like Mudkips!”
One of the key new features is the addition of the Pokathlon instead of Contests – the Pokathlons being more interactive than the Contests, and more based on skill and timing rather than praying competitors don’t use a move that renders a turn useless. The Pokathlon also features the Athlete Point System that allows credit earned from participating to be spent on useful items.
The Pokathlon can be done in a head-to-head style, in which the player will put his or her best team against a friend’s to receive more athlete points and bragging rights.
After being replaced by a substitute method that caused loads of frustration, headbutting trees to find Pokemon has returned in place of the more frustrating honey trees. This function allows any Pokemon that knows “headbutt,” to ram into a tree in an attempt to make a Pokemon fall out. Some Pokemon are only attainable by headbutting trees, and some are just there and in the tall grass.
Taylor Stinnett, 10, said, “I hated having to put the honey on the trees, then constantly check it every hour to see if a Combee had found its way there! Sometimes, nothing would even show up, so I’d have to put more honey and wait again! I defintely like headbutting more, it allows you to quickly check every tree multiple times for the Pokemon you’re looking for.”
While third generation and fourth generation Pokemon are available, they do not change the story, whatsoever. Each trainer and leader only has the Pokemon he or she had in the original, and the later generation Pokemon aren’t released into the wild until after the player receives the “National Dex” from Professor Oak after beating the Elite Four.
As a final note, both versions come with an accessory called a “Pokewalker.” This small device works like a pedometer, clipped to the hip, but allows the player to transfer one of his or her Pokemon from the main game into this device to walk around with so it will become more friendly, get stronger, and help by finding items or battling Pokemon only attainable in the pokewalker itself.
While it’s fun to place Pokemon in the pokewalker, walking without it being occupied also holds advantages. The dowsing machine can be used like normal, even if there is no Pokemon in it, and each step has a small chance of having a random Pokemon from that area join the player in their stroll, and allows them to be kept without having to battle and catch them.
Tim Binford, 11, has seen this and said, “Yeah dude, I was just walking, then I got a beep, and when I checked I had a Kangaskhan in there. I don’t even know if you can get one in game, but now I have one and it’s awesome!”
After a thorough playthrough, and lots of evaluation, Pokemon gets an 8 out of 10. It is definitely a buy because it’s such a long adventure, and the replay value is fairly high considering there are so many combinations from which to choose. Also, it’s a DS game, so there really isn’t a place from which to rent it.
Awesome article! I really do love this game
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This game is amazing. Believe it or not but pokemon is one of the deepest RPG’s in the market, I still remember to this day playing the older version of this on my gameboy color using my best pokemon. I still remember them “gengar, blastoise, dragonite, pikachu, and typhlosion. I would go to the park and go play pokemon with my friends. Now i can play with them online against them or we can work together to rule the pokemon world. Now with the ablity to use 6 of the 493 and the amount of held items to either increase your stats or to just heal up AND to be able to get 16 badges again rather than 8. Your going to find yourself playing this game for days, months, maybe YEARS just to do the minor things in this game. “Pokemon isnt dead, your inner child is dead”
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