User:Thanatous/Sandbox
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| Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver | |
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| Developer(s) | Game Freak |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo / The Pokémon Company |
| Designer(s) | Satoshi Tajiri (director) Junichi Masuda (sub-director) Ken Sugimori (artist) |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy (with SGB and GBC support) |
| Release date | JP November 21, 1999 AUS September 4, 2000 NA October 15, 2000 EUR April 6, 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Console role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E USK: Unrestricted OFLC: G |
| Media | Cartridge |
Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver, released in Japan as Pocket Monsters Kin and Pocket Monsters Gin (ポケットモンスター 金・銀 Poketto Monsutā Kin, Gin?, lit. "Pocket Monsters Gold, Silver"), are two Game Boy video games. Released in 2000, these games started the second generation of the vastly popular Pokémon video game series. These games feature a new region called Johto, 100 new Pokémon and many more additions. They are also backward compatible with the first generation of games (Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow).
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[edit] Setting and plot
- See also: Johto
The storyline of Gold and Silver takes place three years after the events of Pokémon Red and Blue in Johto,[1] a region connected to Kanto through Mt. Silver.[2] The game the adventures of a new Pokémon trainer who collects and trains various species of Pokemon as he strives to become the Pokémon League Champion. As is the case with Red and Blue, the objective of the game can only be reached by defeating eight Gym Leaders and obtaining their respective badges.
The game begins in New Bark Town, where the protagonist is sent by Professor Elm to deliver a Pokémon egg to Mr. Pokémon. Upon leaving the professor's laboratory, the player sees a boy hanging around outside the building; on the route back to New Leaf after delivering the egg, the player runs into the boy, whereupon he discovers that the boy stole a Pokemon from the professor. This boy (whom the player is able to choose a name for) becomes the player's rival and one of the two main antagonists (the other being Team Rocket.)
Team Rocket's presence is not felt in the game until just before obtaining the seventh Gym badge, when the player is called by Lance to assist in thwarting Team Rocket's plan to bombard the Magikarp in the Lake of Rage with high-frequency sounds to induce evolution. After obtaining the seventh Gym badge, Team Rocket takes over the Radio Tower in Goldenrod City in an attempt to locate their missing leader, Giovanni.
[edit] Kanto
After defeating the Elite Four, the player is able to travel to the Kanto region via the S.S. Aqua, a ship docked in Olivine City. As the events of Gold and Silver take place three years after the events of Red and Blue, the region is notably different: areas such as Mt. Moon and the Viridian Forest have undergone structural changes, while old venues as the Safari Zone are no longer available. However, the Gyms are still open; the player can challenge the eight Kanto Gym Leaders for badges as well.
[edit] Gameplay
- See also: Pokemon game mechanics
Though the basic gameplay of Gold and Silver is unchanged from Red and Blue, a number of new features have been added. In addition to the Pokedex, the protagonist is equipped with the Pokégear, a multipurpose device that includes a radio, a watch, and cell phone for receiving calls from trainers and other non-player characters.[3][4] The Pokedex itself is upgraded—players are now able to search for Pokémon by type as well as display the list of Pokémon alphabetically.[5]
In addition to stats such as Attack and Defense, Pokémon in Gold and Silver have a new stat, Friendship. Friendship is the level of attachment a Pokémon has to its trainer, measured on a scale from one to six. (A Pokémon with level-one Friendship is the most friendly, while a Pokémon with level-six Friendship is the least friendly.)[6] Generally, Pokémon become friendlier if they are kept in the trainer's active party;[6] other factors that influence a Pokémon's attitude toward its trainer include the trainer's use of items on his Pokémon, whether or not he keeps his Pokémon healthy, and whether or not he grooms his Pokémon.[6] Friendship affects two areas—the evolution of certain Pokémon[7] and the effectiveness of certain attacks.[8][9]
The item storage has been compartmentalized; the four divisions are Usable Items (which contain items such as Potions), Pokeballs, TMs and HMs, and Key items.[4] Also, Pokémon are now able to hold items. Some items, such as berries, restore the holder's HP or heal status anomalies; other items affect status, such as the power of certain types of moves or the happiness of the holder; still others cause the holder to evolve when traded.[7]
Unlike their predecessors, Gold and Silver keep track of time as well as days of the week. Time is kept in accordance with real time; that is, time passes even while the game is off. Days are divided into three periods—Morning, Day, and Nite.[sic] The time of day affects the availability of certain Pokémon; nocturnal Pokémon such as Hoothoot can only be found in the wild at Nite, while diurnal Pokémon as Hoppip can only be found in the Morning. The time of day, however, does not affect a Pokémon's viability in battle: a Hoothoot would be just as effective in battle during the Day as at Nite.[10] Certain events also, such as the appearance of certain Pokémon or the appearance of certain non-player characters, occur only during certain times of the day or on certain days of the week.
Another new feature that was introduced with Gold and Silver is breeding. Breeding is the mating of two Pokémon, one male and one female, to produce an egg, which upon hatching becomes a level-five version of the mother's lowest evolutionary stage.[11] Two factors affect a couple's ability to produce eggs—whether the two Pokémon are of compatible groups and whether one of the Pokémon is the offspring of the other.[12] There are Pokémon who are unable to breed using the above method—Pokémon who are genderless or Pokémon who are exclusively of one gender (such as Tauros).[12][a] In such cases, these Pokémon are able to breed with a Ditto; in this case, the egg will hatch into the lowest evolutionary stage of the Pokémon other than Ditto.[12][b]
[edit] Mystery Gift and attached items
The Mystery Gift, a feature first introduced with Gold and Silver, uses the IR ports on Game Boys to transfer items between other players. The items sent are not taken from the respective users' inventories; rather, the "gifts" are randomly generated and include decorations for the player's in-game room as well as usable items. Additionally, items can be transferred from a Pokémon Pikachu 2 to a Game Boy, also via the IR ports.[13][14] Items can also be obtained through Pokémon: items can be attached to Pokémon in the wild and are at the player's disposal when he catches the Pokémon; additionally, Pokémon traded from Red, Blue, and Yellow to Gold or Silver may arrive with items attached.[15]
[edit] Development
[edit] Sales and reception
Gold and Silver debuted with impressive first-week sales of 1.4 million, more than that of predecessor Yellow (which had previously held the record for fastest-selling video game with first-week sales of 600,000 units).[16] The first-week sales figures of Gold and Silver along with the commercial success of Yellow and Pokemon Stadium, led Peter Main, the executive vice president of marketing for the American arm of Nintendo, to predict sales of 10 million units within six months.[16] Gold and Silver were unable to match the success of Red and Blue, however: Gold and Silver sold around 3.75 million and 3.85 million copies, respectively, while Red and Blue sold 4.83 million and 5.02 million copies, respectively.[17]
The games garnered positive reviews from the critics: GameSpot praised the gameplay as "solid,"[18] while Craig Harris of IGN declared the games "[some] of the deepest and most well-designed Game Boy Color game[s] created yet."[19][20]
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
^ a. It is possible to mate a male-only species; however, as the egg created will always be the lowest evolutionary stage of the mother, it is impossible to create an egg of a male-only species of Pokémon through the "normal" (male-female) method.
^ b. It is possible to breed two Ditto; in this case, the egg will hatch into a Ditto.
[edit] References
- Game Freak. Pokemon Gold. Nintendo. (in English). (October 15, 2000)
- Game Freak. Pokemon Silver. Nintendo. (in English). (October 15, 2000)
- Marcus, Phillip (2001). Pokemon Gold Version and Silver Version Official Trainer's Guide. USA: Brady Publishing.
- Hollinger, Elizabeth M. (2001). Pokemon Crystal: Prima's Official Strategy Guide. USA: Prima Games.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Pokémon Gold reviews and resources. Neoseeker. Retrieved on April 25, 2008.
- ^ Hollinger, p.76. (Map of the Johto and Kanto regions)
- ^ Marcus, p. 16
- ^ a b Hollinger, p.5
- ^ Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver - Pokédex
- ^ a b c Hollinger, p. 13
- ^ a b Pokemon (sic) Gold and Silver Strategy Guide at IGN.com. IGN.com. Retrieved on April 25, 2008.
- ^ Marcus, p.167. "Return — Power depends on how much your Pokémon likes you, up to a maximum power of 102."
- ^ Marcus, p.167. "Frustration — Power depends on how much your Pokémon dislikes you, up to a maximum power of 102."
- ^ Hollinger, p. 10
- ^ Pokemon (sic) Gold and Silver Strategy Guide (Breeding section) at IGN.com. IGN.com. Retrieved on April 25, 2008.
- ^ a b c Hollinger, p.14
- ^ Hollinger, p. 139
- ^ Pokemon (sic) Gold and Silver Strategy Guide at IGN.com (Trading section). IGN. Retrieved on May 7, 2008.
- ^ Hollinger, p. 138
- ^ a b Latest Pokemon(sic) Games Surpass One Million Sales in First Week; Pokemon Gold And Silver Sales For Game Boy Color Break U.S. Video Game Sales Record. Business Wire (October 23, 2000). Retrieved on May 7, 2008.
- ^ US Platinum Chart Games. The Magic Box. Retrieved on May 7, 2008.
- ^ You really can't go wrong with 251 monsters, two main adventures, countless side quests, and a baseline of 60 hours of gameplay.. GameSpot. Retrieved on May 7, 2008.
- ^ Harris, Craig. Pokemon Gold: The next generation of Pokemon is finally here in the states, and boy, was it worth the wait.. IGN. Retrieved on May 7, 2000.
- ^ Harris, Craig. Pokemon Gold: The next generation of Pokemon is finally here in the states, and boy, was it worth the wait.. IGN. Retrieved on May 7, 2000.
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