I dove into
Heart Gold immediatly after wrapping up my
Purrloin solo run of
Black and was treated to a pleasantly different experience.
Heart Gold and
Black may belong to the same franchise and be hosted by the same console, but they are far from being similar games. As a matter of fact, although
Heart Gold looks every bit like a DS
Pokemon entry, it takes only a little playing to realize that it actually hails from an older and less sophisticated gaming era.
Indeed,
Heart Gold is a enhanced remake of Gameboy Color instalment
Pokemon Gold, and this antiquity shows quite vividly despite the brilliant revamping and rehauling that the game went through. The major difference that immediatly struck me is how tinier the Johto region is compared to Sinnoh and Unova. Not only that, but it's also incredibly cosier and more homely. Johto treated me to the most mellow, friendly and heartwarming atmosphere I ever basked in in a
Pokemon game. In fact, cruising around Johto feels more like taking a stroll in a glorified backyard than like roaming a vast unknown world in which adventure and excitement await at every corner. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you: I love the series first and foremost for its sweet and comforting vibe, and
Heart Gold sure has that vibe in spades.
The progression in
Heart Gold is also considerably less linear and streamlined than in DS and 3DS instalments. Not only is it mandatory to backtrack a number of times, but there are less clues regarding where the player is supposed to head to after clearing a given task. I found myself at a loss and fumbling around a couple of times—something I never experienced before in any
Pokemon entry. The approach to HMs is also notably different: not only does Johto sport decidedly more HMs-restricted areas than Sinnoh&co, but its fauna is also much more reluctant to learn HM moves. HM slaves are nowhere to be found in Johto and I had to capture and release a good number of 'Mons before I finally got my paws on HM wielders. Playing
Heart Gold is like sneaking a peek at the early stages of the series, when Game Freak was still experimenting to find the perfect
Pokemon formula; it shows beautifully how much the series has evolved over time despite repeated accusations of the contrary.
Here's a quick digest of my run—which, as the title abundantly implies, was yet another solo run. I chose Cyndaquil solely for his looks, and his evolutions didn't dissapoint me. To see him trail behind me as I was roaming Johto made my heart melt, so much so that I wish this feature were available in more
Pokemon entries. And taking about melting heart, there were so many adorable 'Mons cruising Johto that I was constantly itching to throw Pokeballs around—before remembering that I was supposed to run solo. (Well, at least I spotted a couple of fitting candidates for future solo runs.) My run went quite smoothly and without a hitch, to the point of qualifying as my Easiest
Pokemon Run Ever by the time I was done with the Elite Four. My Cyndaquil leveled up at the speed of light and I don't remember struggling against any trainer or Gym Leader, let alone against the Champion. Maybe postgame revamped Kanto would have proven more of a challenge, but I decided not to explore it and put an end to my playthrough instead. The reason for this untimely demission is simple: I yet have to play the Gameboy instalments and I don't want to spoil myself. Once I'm done discovering Kanto in its original monochromatic guise, I'll go back to
Heart Gold and roam colourful revamped Kanto. In the meantime, Trainer Gold and his faithful Typhlosion will have to lounge about in Vermilion City, where I left them after 15:30 hours of fulfilling play.
Cruising Johto was so delightful that I'm seriously tempted to get my paws on a
Pokemon Crystal cartridge to discover the original version of that lovely region. Let's see what Amazon and Ebay have in store for a Poke-aficionado eager to dive into the retro depths of the series, shall we? Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!
Be careful about buying the old versions; these remakes were made mostly because it was necessary. Because of the day/night system that was in Gold/Silver/Crystal the internal battery of the cartridges were dying, rendering users unable to save. This is why the GBA games that came afterwards did not have a day/night system. Only when the DS came around and was able to track time by itself did the system come back.
ReplyDeleteIf you manage to find a new copy you may be able to enjoy the game for a few years, but it won't last. Unless you want to add the cartridge to your collection or you know how to replace the battery, these games are really better off just being emulated. The original Red/Blue don't have that system though, and my almost 20 year old copy of red still works, so you want to have an old pokémon game on your collection, get one of those (or yellow).
On another topic, these remakes are my favourite pokémon games solely due to the following pokémon feature. I was hoping the feature would make a return in Sun and Moon, since they have all the animations they need thanks to the mystery dungeon games, but alas, gamefreak dropped the ball again. At least there's a Heartgold hack being made that has this feature and all the pokémon from the newer generations, so I can one day have my serperior following me around <3
Thanks a lot for the heads-up! That's really good to know. I wouldn't want to waste money on a cartridge that's depleted or bound to become so sooner or later, so I will probably abstain from purchasing Crystal altogether.
DeleteI can't fathom why they don't integrate the following 'Mon feature in all entries, be it as an option that can be enabled at will. Seeing your main 'Mon trail behind you makes the bond with them so much stronger, all the more so in a solo run!