Today I’m giving you three reasons why you should never ever in a million years play Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver. I hear all the gasps around me but hang on and hear me out. While yes, there are many great reasons to play this game, let me be the devil on your shoulder. I’ll add a bit of chaos while you’re staring at the start screen, wondering if you should press “x”.
Nitty Gritty
Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver were initially released on November 1st, 1999 for the Gameboy Color. It was then re-released on the Nintendo 3DS on September 22, 2017. There are many games in the Pokémon series but none are required to be played first in order to play these games. However, you can play the predecessor of this game Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue to get some background of the game’s universe. However, further down in my lists of complaints you’ll read why it wouldn’t hurt to play the two previous games, regardless if it’s mandatory or not.
Story
Just like most of the Pokémon games, you create your protagonist and journey around the Johto region to become the one and only Pokémon Master! Let’s go! At the beginning of the game, the player acquires one of the three starter Pokémon from Professor Elm. The second gen starters are my favorite of any starters in the entire franchise. I mean come on, Chikorita, Todadole, and the best Pokémon of them all, Cyndaquil! After the player picks one of these three starters, they then start their journey across Johto. The player is then tasked to go to defeat the Elite 4 and Pokémon Master Lance to become the new Champion in the Johto League. Something that the player doesn’t have to do, but completionists love, is to completely fill out the Pokédex.
Gameplay
Just like the story, the gameplay isn’t that much different from most other Pokémon games. Of course, as the franchise expanded the gameplay improved, but you can still see the blueprint with Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver. You are tasked to catch Pokémon, battle said Pokémon, and beat the gym leaders and Team Rocket.
Characters
There are many important and interesting characters that the player will run into in both Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver.
Professor Elm
Professor Elm is the Pokémon professor of New Bark Town. He is proficient in Pokémon evolution as well as Pokémon breeding. He is the professor that gives the player their first Pokémon in the game.
Silver
Silver is the player’s rival in the game. They are also the son of the Team Rocket leader “Giovanni”.
Will
Will is the psychic type Pokémon trainer in the Elite 4.
Koga
Koga is the poison type Pokémon trainer in the Elite 4.
Bruno
Bruno is the fighting type Pokémon trainer in the Elite 4.
Karen
Karen is the dark type Pokémon trainer in the Elite 4.
Lance
Lance is the dragon type Pokémon trainer, and is the Johto region’s Pokémon Master.
Three Reasons Not to Play Pokémon Gold and Silver
After looking at the makeup of this game as a whole, and talking about its highlights and makeup a bit, here are three reasons why you should avoid Pokémon Gold and Silver.
#1. Johto Pokémon
One of the biggest complaints gamers have with the games is that the Johto Pokémon are kind of disappointing, particularly how they were dispersed in the game. A lot of the gym leaders used Kanto region Pokémon and not so much Johto ones. It isn’t fun to wait to see the newer Pokémon in the newest generation. Having to wait to experience most of the Johto Pokémon is a bit of a letdown to say the least.
#2. Game Expansion
Another big complaint is that the game felt like only an expansion to the first game, not the world as a whole. These follow-up games really do feel as though an attempt to build a bigger world but at that point the scope was still small. Additionally, they were too similar to really feel different.
#3. Level Curve
Lastly, the final reason to avoid these games is the level curve in the game. The game was built for the player to use a small group of Pokémon to fight. However, how the game runs is different from how the average Pokémon player goes about said game. Since the level curve is suited for a small percentage of Pokémon (around 3 or 4), the level system isn’t the best when you have more. This makes the game frustrating. Grinding in games can be fun, but there’s a limit, and Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver definitely passed it.
Closing Thoughts
Well there you have it folks, the three reasons why I’d advise you to steer clear from this game. But in all honesty, this game is still fun, and if you’re an avid Pokémon fan, then I’d definitely recommend it. However, if you’re a casual Pokémon fan that doesn’t want to play every game, I’d say that this one is safe to skip out on. Tell me what you all think about these games. Do you agree? If so, what are your biggest gripes with these games? Happy gaming, gamer! Unless you’re playing Pokémon Gold or Pokémon Silver, then based on my reasons I doubt it.
