You thought Kanto was big? You got Johto AND Kanto to explore now with 250 Pokemon to catch.
Wow, where to start with Pokemon. This is easily one of the most successful franchises Nintendo ever made. Ever since it was first debuted back in 1999 in the United States, it was a hit from the start. It's all about 'Gotta Catch 'em All'. Or so the slogan was. I never tried to catch them all; that wasn't half the fun the game was about.
Pokemon Blue version, released on the GameBoy Color back in '99 along with Red version is what started it all. You started as the famous Ash Ketchum from the TV series of Pokemon. Though however you could name him whatever you wanted. You're basically a teenager that's leaving home in order to become the best Pokemon trainer there ever was. Kind of young for a goal like that if you ask me. But you go around the world searching for new Pokemon, basically creatures with special powers and abilities that makes the game so unique since there's never really been anything like it before. You train and fight other people and Pokemon, leveling yours up, learning new moves and getting them stronger. Fight gym leaders to earn badges that can get you respect for the Pokemon League. The ultimate test of skill on how good of a trainer you really are.
Though most of the Pokemon games are the same for the most part, there's always the added extras and new Pokemon that make it that much more exciting to play and raise the best Pokemon you can. Silver and Gold version having over 100 new Pokemon, along with many of the old 150 are catchable as well. New TM's and HM's, a different world to explore with new badges and Pokemon too catch. New items, 'shiny' Pokemon and even berries that can cure alignments. This is all the small portion of what's new in Silver and Gold.
The main difference between Silver and Gold are Pokemon. There's always about a dozen or so Pokemon that aren't obtainable in one version and vis versa. Legendary Pokemon and some in-game differences, that's about it.
Sure it's like playing Blue and Red over again but just enhanced with new Pokemon, but a true RPG never gives you that feeling. That's just what most would probably find repetitive and boring. But Pokemon adds so many extras and continues to change the game in ways most would not expect. And that is the main reason Pokemon is still so popular to this day.
Gameplay - 10/10
Flawless; there is so much to do in this game you'll be playing hundreds of hours, depending on what you want to do. You can raise an infinite amount of Pokemon like usual, feed them special items like protein and calcium to up their stats and make them stronger. They all have their unique list of moves they can learn, along with their type.
Hundreds of items to collect, places to go and things to do. All ranging from day-caring your Pokemon to have them breed to getting your Pokemon's haircut and having others view them differently; possibly acquiring new items in the process. It's like living a real life, just it's not real, haha. Now that doesn't mean you can walk outside and piss on a bush because that's not what this game is about.
New features like berry picking and having custom Poke balls made to make catching certain types of Pokemon easier. Sometimes depending on your Pokemon's stats and or levels. That little lens at the top of the GameBoy Color is actually put to use for once as well. Used to acquire special decoration and items for your room. Which is another new feature that's fun to do whatever you please with.
Multi-player is excellent. Being one of the few RPG's you can actually battle a friend in and not being the same storyline characters makes it a challenge. Test your skill against your opponents Pokemon and see who is the better trainer. You can trade Pokemon from Blue and Red, but under tight circumstances. Silver and Gold being a completely new game, somethings aren't allowed in Blue and Red like the new Pokemon. Random chances you can get items from the Pokemon you trade from Blue and Red will keep you busy transferring if they happen to be items for the Pokemon you're raising.
Control - 10/10
Being a game for a hand-held device, there aren't many buttons to use. Which makes it more the merrier. Directional pad moves you around, a and b are used for action and cancelling, simple as that really. Nothing hard about it.
Story - 9/10
The story is great as ever. Your main goal to becoming a Pokemon master and you encounter enemies and obstacles that you must overcome in order to become the best. The ever so popular Team Rocket of course plays a big role in Silver and Gold with their diabolical plans to conquer the world with their evil Pokemon. Which everyone knows, never works out.
You learn pieces of info as you go. Whether it be about unknown Pokemon being spotted, trainer info of Pokemon weaknesses or just what someone does on a daily basis, it all fits in to one nice Story line that is lush with information.
Graphics - 7/10
Hand-helds do have their limits and it's graphics. The game for the most part is played from a birds eye view. Plenty of color and detail in the buildings and environments of the game. All the Pokemon have their own interesting looks as well as the inventory of some 250+ moves they can learn. But this game wasn't made to stare at a Pokemon's features, so it's not a big deal.
Sound - 8/10
Classic Pokemon tunes and music. Some of it is pretty cheesy though. Kind of reminds me of something kids would sing along too. But then again the main focus of this game was on the younger generation so you can't really argue there. Dungeon and entrance music is pretty soothing.
Pokemon sounds and moves are all pretty unique. You won't find very many moves that look exactly the same, if at all any. Which adds to the flavor of watching a move hit your opponents Pokemon.
Replay Value - 10/10
I don't know if I should even include this section. It's so gargantuan you could play this game for hundreds of hours and not get bored of doing the same thing. It's not a one way RPG like most are. Focused around the Story line which all have huge endings. Pokemon is about catching and raising all the Pokemon. Mastering all types to make an unstoppable team.
I have close to 400 hours logged onto Pokemon Silver and the only real reason I stopped playing it was because I knew someday more versions would come out and that would just mean starting over again. Which is only fun starting over a few times because you won't ever get to use your hard raised Pokemon from previous games.
Overall - 10/10
A great sequel to one of the most popular game franchises ever. This game is for all ages. I don't care what anyone tells you about it being kiddy. That's just their stereotypical view of something they've never played. It's their loss on a great game, not yours.