Constraints breed creativity.
When it comes to "greatest" games of all time, I've often heard the argument that a game must be considered in terms of the time period it was released in - e.g., Super Mario Bros. or Tetris or Pac-Man are at the top of the pack because of how incredible they seemed upon their initial release.
I think that's kind of dumb. Appreciating what a game did for the industry doesn't make outdated mechanics or controls suddenly become enjoyable. What I DO believe is that a game should be considered in terms of its original hardware. When a simple, old game is updated and ported to new hardware (like Link's Awakening or Pokemon Let's Go), it can feel empty. You've got all that new hardware to take advantage of, but it still feels dated. But when you play a game in the setting it was first meant to be played in, the experience feels more cohesive. And that is where Gold and Silver hold up.
I was really into playing Pokemon competitively for a long time, so I considered Gen II to be some of the worst entries in the franchise. I favored games after the Physical/Special split, and each new generation introduced QOL improvements for breeding, teaching moves, and EV training. To me, the games were only getting better, but after Ultra Sun/Moon, I stopped playing online. It was eating up too much of my time, and there were loads of other games I wanted to get to. So when Sword and Shield hit, I had to re-evaluate how I felt about Pokemon. It turns out, I was completely wrong about the main series games. I had gotten so focused on battle mechanics and team building that I lost sight of the adventure. Since completing Sword, I have replayed a handful of old Pokemon games, and for the first time in my life, I get Gen II. (This feels odd to say because I've been playing Pokemon since '98)
For Pokemon to be a fulfilling adventure, you need a few things.
- You need a plucky team of monsters that you can get attached to. I've noticed that as technology has progressed, I've felt more and more detached from my Pokemon. The sprites and 3D models have entered a sort of Uncanny Valley. It's not that they look wrong as they get more realistic, it's more that there's less room for imagination, and the limited amount of animations programmed into hundreds of mons ends up feeling a bit lifeless. When my Pokemon are simple 8-bit images, I project personalities onto them. I grow fond of them. When they're moving around autonomously, they no longer feel unique to me. It's sort of like a movie portraying your favorite book characters in a way that's different from how you imagined them. I personally think it's easiest to love my team when they're on the GB because they're pretty much blank slates.
- You need a big region that's worth exploring. Johto has always been an undisputed champion in this regard. The region loops around and reconnects in a few places so it doesn't just feel like a circle or a straight path. There are badges you can do out of order based on what direction you decide to go in. And, of course, Kanto's back. My biggest issue initially was that Johto held back some great new Pokemon until VERY late in the game, preventing me from using a Houndour early on in my playthrough. However, I now realize that it's just even more incentive to keep exploring. Johto is the peak of Pokemon exploration. (Though I still wish Houndour was available earlier!!)
- You need serious challenges. Most Pokemon games are easy. You never hear someone talk about how difficult it was to beat Koga in RBY, or the Unova Elite Four. The 3D games have slapped a team-wide Exp. Share into each entry to make sure you're always the strongest trainer in the room. But GSC has Whitney. It has an Elite Four that you're VERY likely to be underlevelled for. And it has that final confrontation with Red. Gen II is one of the only Pokemon generations to really make you work in order to achieve victory.
- You need compelling music. This isn't exactly a hot take, but Johto's OST is the best in the Game Boy's entire library. Nothing comes close. Despite playing Blue in '98 and playing the GBA games as they came out, I didn't actually play Gen II until 2009. Somehow, even without that childhood nostalgia, these earworms have become some of my most cherished tunes of any game. Once again, you've got to hear them in the context of their hardware. Don't think of them as "impressive 20 years ago", think of them as pushing the Game Boy's sound chip to its limits. Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, and Morikazu Aoki SLAY in GSC.
It's really odd for me to be writing a glowing review of Gen II. I've said for ages that it was my least favorite in the franchise, but after Gen VIII disenchanted me with the newer games, I've revisited Gens I, II and III, and plan to tackle IV and V soon. (The 3DS titles are recent enough in my memory that I don't think they need revisiting) And Gen II is the one that really brings back that lost feeling of a Pokemon Adventure. Is the game still full of the flaws I used to criticize it over? Absolutely. But somehow, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts. (Also, there are some INCREDIBLE romhacks of these games that improve Gold & Silver simply by re-distributing the available Pokemon) I love spending time in Johto. This most recent trip through the region has reminded me why I loved Pokemon in the first place. And for that, I can't thank it enough.
When it comes to "greatest" games of all time, I've often heard the argument that a game must be considered in terms of the time period it was released in - e.g., Super Mario Bros. or Tetris or Pac-Man are at the top of the pack because of how incredible they seemed upon their initial release.
I think that's kind of dumb. Appreciating what a game did for the industry doesn't make outdated mechanics or controls suddenly become enjoyable. What I DO believe is that a game should be considered in terms of its original hardware. When a simple, old game is updated and ported to new hardware (like Link's Awakening or Pokemon Let's Go), it can feel empty. You've got all that new hardware to take advantage of, but it still feels dated. But when you play a game in the setting it was first meant to be played in, the experience feels more cohesive. And that is where Gold and Silver hold up.
I was really into playing Pokemon competitively for a long time, so I considered Gen II to be some of the worst entries in the franchise. I favored games after the Physical/Special split, and each new generation introduced QOL improvements for breeding, teaching moves, and EV training. To me, the games were only getting better, but after Ultra Sun/Moon, I stopped playing online. It was eating up too much of my time, and there were loads of other games I wanted to get to. So when Sword and Shield hit, I had to re-evaluate how I felt about Pokemon. It turns out, I was completely wrong about the main series games. I had gotten so focused on battle mechanics and team building that I lost sight of the adventure. Since completing Sword, I have replayed a handful of old Pokemon games, and for the first time in my life, I get Gen II. (This feels odd to say because I've been playing Pokemon since '98)
For Pokemon to be a fulfilling adventure, you need a few things.
- You need a plucky team of monsters that you can get attached to. I've noticed that as technology has progressed, I've felt more and more detached from my Pokemon. The sprites and 3D models have entered a sort of Uncanny Valley. It's not that they look wrong as they get more realistic, it's more that there's less room for imagination, and the limited amount of animations programmed into hundreds of mons ends up feeling a bit lifeless. When my Pokemon are simple 8-bit images, I project personalities onto them. I grow fond of them. When they're moving around autonomously, they no longer feel unique to me. It's sort of like a movie portraying your favorite book characters in a way that's different from how you imagined them. I personally think it's easiest to love my team when they're on the GB because they're pretty much blank slates.
- You need a big region that's worth exploring. Johto has always been an undisputed champion in this regard. The region loops around and reconnects in a few places so it doesn't just feel like a circle or a straight path. There are badges you can do out of order based on what direction you decide to go in. And, of course, Kanto's back. My biggest issue initially was that Johto held back some great new Pokemon until VERY late in the game, preventing me from using a Houndour early on in my playthrough. However, I now realize that it's just even more incentive to keep exploring. Johto is the peak of Pokemon exploration. (Though I still wish Houndour was available earlier!!)
- You need serious challenges. Most Pokemon games are easy. You never hear someone talk about how difficult it was to beat Koga in RBY, or the Unova Elite Four. The 3D games have slapped a team-wide Exp. Share into each entry to make sure you're always the strongest trainer in the room. But GSC has Whitney. It has an Elite Four that you're VERY likely to be underlevelled for. And it has that final confrontation with Red. Gen II is one of the only Pokemon generations to really make you work in order to achieve victory.
- You need compelling music. This isn't exactly a hot take, but Johto's OST is the best in the Game Boy's entire library. Nothing comes close. Despite playing Blue in '98 and playing the GBA games as they came out, I didn't actually play Gen II until 2009. Somehow, even without that childhood nostalgia, these earworms have become some of my most cherished tunes of any game. Once again, you've got to hear them in the context of their hardware. Don't think of them as "impressive 20 years ago", think of them as pushing the Game Boy's sound chip to its limits. Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, and Morikazu Aoki SLAY in GSC.
It's really odd for me to be writing a glowing review of Gen II. I've said for ages that it was my least favorite in the franchise, but after Gen VIII disenchanted me with the newer games, I've revisited Gens I, II and III, and plan to tackle IV and V soon. (The 3DS titles are recent enough in my memory that I don't think they need revisiting) And Gen II is the one that really brings back that lost feeling of a Pokemon Adventure. Is the game still full of the flaws I used to criticize it over? Absolutely. But somehow, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts. (Also, there are some INCREDIBLE romhacks of these games that improve Gold & Silver simply by re-distributing the available Pokemon) I love spending time in Johto. This most recent trip through the region has reminded me why I loved Pokemon in the first place. And for that, I can't thank it enough.