Pokémon Gold & Silver vs. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Full Comparison

Pokémon Gold & Silver are Generation II sequels to Red, Green & Blue, the games that started the entire franchise. Fans were extremely excited about the release, and general interest in Pokémon has arguably never been higher since then.

To compare just how far the series has come, we wanted to take a look back at Pokémon Gold & Silver, and compare them with the newest releases in the franchise: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. We’re covering everything, from main characters, available Pokémon, and even gym leaders!

Pokémon Gold & Silver vs. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Release Year and Platforms

When Pokémon Gold & Silver were released in 1999, they kicked off the brand-new Generation II. It was the first chance that Game Freak had to rectify some of the mistakes from the original games, and fans were really receptive to some of the changes. Using the power of the Game Boy Color gave the developer the chance to render their new world with a fresh burst of vibrancy, helping Pokémon Gold & Silver to become some of the most popular games in the entire series.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet released in 2022 for the Nintendo Switch, in what should have been a triumphant start to Generation IX. The games took some huge risks which could have really reinvented the Pokémon formula as we know it. Unfortunately, not all of them paid off, for reasons we’ll get into soon enough…

Pokémon Gold & Silver vs. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Sales

Across the board, the entire Pokémon franchise boasts impressive sales figures. No matter how popular the series is at that moment, gamers come out in droves to pick up the latest Generation whenever they release.

Pokémon Gold & Silver combined sold a total of 23.7 million copies. This leaves it in third place in the entire franchise, behind Pokémon Sword & Shield and Pokémon Red, Green & Blue. While these are impressive numbers, the age of the games combined with the popularity of emulations means that these are probably close to final.

Meanwhile, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are already sitting at 22.6 million copies sold. Considering the games have only been available for a year, these are remarkable numbers that are sure to pass Pokémon Gold & Silver at some point in the near future. With Pokémon Red, Green & Blue currently sitting at 31 million copies, it isn’t unfathomable to imagine Scarlet & Violet becoming the best-selling games in the series’ history.

Pokémon Gold & Silver vs. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Available Pokémon

When discussing the Pokémon that you can find in these games, Gold & Silver and Scarlet & Violet came to the franchise in different environments.

Pokémon Gold & Silver were released to add to the original 151 Pokémon you could catch in Red, Green & Blue. Naturally, this meant there was still a lot of room for creativity with the designs, which many fans felt was a weak point in many of the later releases.

In comparison, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet arrived at a time when the Pokédex already had over 900 Pokémon to catch. This not only meant considerable bloat, but it was much harder for artists to come up with unique designs as Scarlet & Violet took the total count to over 1000.

Here’s every new Pokémon you’re able to find in the Pokédexes of Gold & Silver and Scarlet & Violet:

Gold & Silver Pokémon

Scarlet & Violet Pokémon

Pokémon Gold & Silver vs. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Main Characters

Looking at the main characters is one area where Pokémon Gold & Silver really begin to show their age at this point, especially when compared to Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. In terms of protagonist, Gold & Silver have you play as Ethan, with no options for customization at all. You get the choice between Juliana and Florian in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, with extensive customization options for their appearance. The choice of outfits here are scaled back when compared to Pokémon Sword & Violet, which is a shame, but it’s still much better than what Gold & Silver have to offer.

You can tell the difference in how characters are prioritized by looking at the side casts. In Pokémon Gold & Silver, you have your rival in Silver, as well as Professor Elm to hand you your starter Pokémon at the beginning of the game. However, beyond those, you really struggle to find many memorable characters. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet have their own equivalents for these roles too, with Nemona as the main rival, as well Professor Turo and Professor Sada in the Elm’s position. These games have three main storylines to follow, which leaves room for even more characters for you to encounter. On top of Nemona, there are two more rivals in Arven and Penny. Mela is one of the main antagonists, in charge of the Team Star Fire Crew. That doesn’t even cover the likes of Jacq and Clavell, who you meet in your adventures at Naranja/Uva Academy.

Our main point is that generally, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet put a much greater focus on their characters than Gold & Silver, and it’s a huge benefit to the experience.

Pokémon Gold & Silver vs. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Pros and Cons

Pokémon Gold & Silver Pros

• Nostalgia
• Faster-paced gameplay due to smaller scale
• Less complex meta than Scarlet & Violet

Pokémon Gold & Silver Cons

• Graphics and gameplay feel very dated in 2023

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Pros

• Pokémon Scarlet & Violet DLC adds a bunch of new content to explore
• Exploring the open world is great fun and an interesting shift in direction for the franchise
• The story is particularly strong for a Pokémon game, with three storylines to tackle
• Introduction of Paradox Pokémon is an interesting mechanic
• Being able to tackle gym leaders in any order changes how the game is played dramatically

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Cons

• Arguably the glitchiest Pokémon games ever released
• Online play is extremely broken
• The 3D graphics aren’t particularly stylized, and look extremely poor even by 2022 standards
• Performance issues make the games borderline unplayable at times
• You can’t enter most buildings like in previous games, and many stores are just menus that open when you interact with the door. It’s a true immersion killer and a huge step backward
• Character customization still exists, but takes a big step back in terms of outfits in these games

Normally, we would instantly recommend the more modern Pokémon game in these comparisons. However, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are a particularly unique case. To get any enjoyment from them, you have to be able to look past an almost impressive amount of technical issues that spoil the experience for even casual players. Pokémon Gold & Silver show their age, sure, but at least they work.

Pokémon Gold & Silver vs. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: The Final Details

We’ve explored lots of the big details about these titles already. However, we’ve still got a few things to cover.

The main detail we’ve not yet discussed is the regions of these games. Pokémon Gold & Silver take place in Johto, as well as giving you the option to travel to the Kanto region in the late-game stages. These are rendered in 2D sprites, but certainly have their own charm inspired by Japanese locations. In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, you explore Paldea instead, which takes inspiration from Spanish culture. The Paldea region is a wide-open world for you to explore, which was new for the franchise at the time. There are definite upsides to this, but there’s no denying that the overall detail took a hit as a result. Many of the buildings were no longer enterable, and it just seemed like there was a lack of care all around. It’s a shame, too, as Pokémon is the perfect base for an open-world game.

Another big detail we can’t ignore is the gym leaders. Across the Pokémon series, gym leader battles are the main way to track your team’s progress throughout the game. With eight Gym Badges to collect, these battles test your team against a bunch of different Pokémon types. Here are all of the gym leaders you’ll battle while playing through Pokémon Gold & Silver and Scarlet & Violet.

Pokémon Gold & Silver Gym Leaders

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Gym Leaders

All of these games offer up one final challenge for you to face: the Elite Four. Most Pokémon games feature the Elite Four to test your full team through a series of battles that serve as the final step between you becoming a Pokémon Master. All of Pokémon Gold & Silver and Scarlet & Violet work in exactly the same way as other games in the franchise.

These are all of the Elite Four battles you’ll face throughout these games:

Pokémon Gold & Silver Elite Four

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Elite Four

That’s all for our full comparison of Pokémon Gold & Silver and Scarlet & Violet. Overall, if we have to choose, we’re going with the older titles in this instance. There are great games in Scarlet & Violet, but Game Freak simply hasn’t managed to get them into an acceptable technical state at the moment. Maybe that’ll change in the future, but for now, it’s better to look in the vault for a functional Pokémon experience.