Frankly, the Pokémon games have never managed to live up to their core conceit. This series has always been carried by what it could be rather than what it actually is. I don’t think a single one of the games is truly great.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I grew up hyperfixated on Pokémon. Up until my teens, I was a fanboy, plain and simple. I even enjoy the 3DS games to this day.
Thankfully, HeartGold and SoulSilver came out at the perfect time for me to love them, riding off the great wave of Emerald and Platinum in my last years of elementary school. These games were a dream come true to my young self and I treasure that I experienced them when they were brand new.

For as much as Pokémon leaves to be desired, I still hold that HeartGold and SoulSilver represent the peak of the series. This was the last time Pokémon would just iterate on all the features of past games and though sheer scope on its own doesn’t make for a great game, it compliments the core conceit of the series. Monster collecting is so much more fun when the world feels this lived-in and has this many memorable pieces to it and you have something to do with your companions.

There’s an infectious degree of love poured into the detail of HeartGold and SoulSilver that actually makes them pretty fun. I can see so many flaws in these games that I hadn’t as a kid, nostalgia usually makes me more doubtful and critical and despite that, I still think this pair of games is legitimately good.

esse jogo fez parte pra krl da minha infancia, eu quase nunca ia pra kanto mas quando cheguei pela primera vez, eu me senti incrivel, as animações desse jogo, a ost, cara, esse jogo exala carinho, pode não ser minha região favorita, mas ela é tão cheia de tudo, e os lendarios dela mds... o ho-oh de longe é um dos meus lendario favoritos, o jeito que ele aparece é majestoso e realmente da um ar de lendario que ele tem, os tres cães tbm, tudo nessa região é perfeito, literalmente a definição de melhor remake de todos

Como remake es muy bueno, no es de extrañar que la gente lo considere el mejor remake y más visto los remake actuales.

-Contenido de las 3 versiones. (Esto les da alergia actualmente a gf)
-El único juego que te sigue tu Pokémon.
-Pokeatlhon.
-Un tamagochi que venía con el juego.
-eventos por internet, sin necesidad de ir a ningún sitio, y con HISTORIA.

Seguro que me he dejado muchas cosas, hace años que no lo juego, pero se nota cuando gf se esforzaba por hacer juegos.

This is the best Pokemon game in terms of pure vibes. There's so much charm and so much to do outside of playing the main campaign. You can walk around with your Pokemon, play minigames at the Pokeathelon, compete in bug catching contests, explore an entire second region after completing the game, the Battle Frontier, the best Safari Zone the series ever had and a really cool final boss, just so many things to mess around with.
The main campaign is honestly the weakest part. It's pretty fun for a big, but a massive middle chunk of the game has every Pokemon around the same levels for hours and hours. Leveling up is a massive pain because there's nothing high enough level to get EXP from, and the game gets extremely dull fighting the same easy enemies for most of the main game.
Thankfully, all of the side stuff is super memorable and charming, and that's the stuff that really stuck with me. This game's at its best when you're just vibing and exploring Johto and Kanto with your team. Awful leveling, but enough atmosphere and detours to keep me coming back.

The first Pokemon game I ever played, so im super nostalgic for it. I really did everything too, using the Pokewalker when I went to school.

Everything about the presentation is excellent. The music, the visuals, the animations. This was the peak of the franchise, these few years before the 3DS came out.

There is a real magic and charm here. And it was tons of fun. Tons of content too, basically 2 full regions to conquer. So its really like 2 games in one.

I am biased and nostalgic, but it has flaws. Second half of the game is indeed imbalanced. The wild encounters and trainers are too low leveled. It's hard to grind and level up for the harder sections unless you spam call the same trainers for rematches. There also really isnt variety in the Pokemon encounters in Kanto.

But those are really my only gripes. Even the side mode Pokeathelton is a ton of fun and I sunk countless hours into it.

Will always love this game.