With a longer adventure, new characters, two lands and so much more, this is Pokemon at its best!
Then in the year 2000, Pokemon Gold and Silver were released. This game starts you off in New Bark Town, as a 10 year old boy (named by you) and you are assigned by Professor Elm to visit Mr. Pokemon, who lives between Cherrygrove City and Violet City, who has a big surprise for Elm. Here, you choose of of three Pokemon: Chickorta (grass), Cyndaquil (fire)and Tododile (water). But when you leave Mr. Pokemon's house, you are given a call from Professor Elm that his lab has been broken into and he wants you to come quick, and you do it. But along the way, a tempered kid with long red hair comes in your path, and you have a Pokemon duel with him.
When you get back, Elm is speaking with a cop, and it is revealed that the red haired man you fought earlier was indeed the thief. When he leaves, the big surpise is handed to Elm, and he notices your Pokemon's attachment towards you, and then he assigns you as a Pokemon trainer, as you becoming a new trainer wasn't Elm's initial intention for you.
He hands you over a Pokedex, a high tech Pokemon Encycolpedia, in which Pokemon seen or captured will be recorded on. There are many things for you to do now. You have two large lands to explore (you start in the region of Johto, and then Kanto, which was the setting for Red and Blue, later in the game). There are also many trainers to battle along the way. And you also have to become a Pokemon Master by collecting badges from Gym Leaders and eventually battling the Elite Four and their Champion.
Pokemon are creatures which inhabit the Pokemon regions. They all have their own personalities and there are seventeen different types of Pokemon, which all have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, Water Pokemon are good against Fire, Ground and Rock types, while weak against Electric and Grass, while Grass is strong against, Water, Ground and Rock, while weak against Fire, Ice, Flying, Poison and Bug. Some Pokemon are intended to be "cuter" creatures, like Pikachu and Vulpix, while others are intended to be for "cool" and "tough", like Tyranitar, Charizard and Gyrados.
Since Red and Blue, there have been over 100 new Pokemon discovered, over 100 new moves, as well as new trainers, and a new region. There is also a night/day feature which does the time of day. In the beginning of the game you are asked the time, as well as the weekday. There are Pokemon that only appear in day or night, and some events are held on certain days. Your pack is also different, as there are different pockets for different items, instead of one large pocker.
Certain Pokemon get stronger as times go by, and to do this, there is a leveling system. Defeating Pokemon helps you gain experiece. The higher the level the Pokemon that you defeat, the more experience you get, and the more experience earned, the more powerful the Pokemon. Pokemon can also learn new battle moves (such as Flamethrower and Ice Beam) but only four battle moves can be learned at a time. Also, some Pokemon eventually evolve based on the level, in which they change their looks and get higher stats. Other Pokemon evolve in different ways, such as Elemental Stones, hapiness (introduced in G/S) and trading, while some don't evolve at all.
These Gyms are found in most of the towns and cities. Gyms have a specific type of Pokemon being used inside, and you must use your skills to defeat them. Each Gym has its own leader, which is an expert on that type of Pokemon, and are far more powerful than any trainers you have fought to that point. You must defeat the Leader to earn a badge. Earning all eight badges grants you to battle the Elite Four and their Champion (the most powerful trainer in the game, with one or two exceptions), to beat the game.
You can also play with other people via Link cable. You can trade or battle other people across the Link cable. This is a great way to get more Pokemon, or after you've caught them all and have no challenges in the game, fighting others can be a challenge. In fact, since Gold and Siver don't alone hold all 251 Pokemon, trading with the other version is A MUST to complete the Pokedex.
The game's graphics are not stunning, but hold up well. They are improved a bit over Red/Blue. Each of the Pokemon's models look great, and the towns and environments aren't too chabby either. It is just a shate that a lot of the trainers look the same.
The game's sound is also not too bad. Each Pokemon has their own little "cry" when thrown on the battle field. There are also FX sounds in the game which are pretty good. The music is also good and very catchy (I have the tones remembered off by heart) but are also repetative.
The game's value is also extremely good. Since there are two lands, it takes longer to complete the whole game. There are many trainers to defeat on the way. And there is always something to do in the game, wheither it is filling up your Pokedex completely, or getting your Pokemon to level 100.
But then again, the game is also extremely easy, and losses are rare. There is also a lack of challenge throughout most of the game, since the trainers are quite easy to defeat. That is what the Link Cable is for, and also using the N64 Transfer Pack with Pokemon Stadium 2.
But overall, Pokemon Gold and Silver are definetly great games. The long adventure, large amounts of Pokemon, trainers to swat aside, and quests that need to be completed make this game the best Pokemon game ever, including Red and Blue.