Final team: Meganium, Gengar, Golem, Politoed, Raikou, and Lugia.
SoulSilver/HeartGold is the most ideal Pokemon game to date, as far as features go. It’s not perfect: the story and characters are barebones; Pokemon move pools are more limited than they are in more recent gens; there are too many water-type HMs; and the level of wild Pokemon is way too low in late-game, forcing you to do things like grind for a level 45-50 battle on level 32 Pokemon.
But, it’s rich in content otherwise:
- There’s a full second region to explore after you complete the game’s home region
- Your lead Pokemon follows you around on the map and has a huge variety of text reactions based on friendship level and location
- Different Pokemon and activities are available based on time of day and day of the week, as opposed to seasons or unpredictable weather variations
- There are interesting places to visit either in every town or nearby (that aren’t just a gym)
- There are fun NPC interactions and rematches through the in-game phone
- Great art direction
- A varied, solid soundtrack only limited by the DS hardware
- Apricorns are available as a method of collecting more Pokeballs without spending money
If they ever combined the better end of modern graphics, characters, storytelling, and movesets with this level of content (and stability), it really would be perfect.
SoulSilver/HeartGold is the most ideal Pokemon game to date, as far as features go. It’s not perfect: the story and characters are barebones; Pokemon move pools are more limited than they are in more recent gens; there are too many water-type HMs; and the level of wild Pokemon is way too low in late-game, forcing you to do things like grind for a level 45-50 battle on level 32 Pokemon.
But, it’s rich in content otherwise:
- There’s a full second region to explore after you complete the game’s home region
- Your lead Pokemon follows you around on the map and has a huge variety of text reactions based on friendship level and location
- Different Pokemon and activities are available based on time of day and day of the week, as opposed to seasons or unpredictable weather variations
- There are interesting places to visit either in every town or nearby (that aren’t just a gym)
- There are fun NPC interactions and rematches through the in-game phone
- Great art direction
- A varied, solid soundtrack only limited by the DS hardware
- Apricorns are available as a method of collecting more Pokeballs without spending money
If they ever combined the better end of modern graphics, characters, storytelling, and movesets with this level of content (and stability), it really would be perfect.