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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) |
| Artist(s) | Ken Sugimori |
| Series | Pokémon series |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy (with SGB and GBC support) |
| Release date(s) | JP november 211999 AUS september 42000 NA october 152000[1][2] EUR april 62001 |
| Genre(s) | Console role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E OFLC: G |
| Media | Cartridge |
Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver, released in Japan as Pocket Monsters Gold and Pocket Monsters Silver (ポケットモンスター 金・銀 Poketto Monsutā Kin, Gin?, lit. "Pocket Monsters Gold, Silver"), are both the second installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, succeeding Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow. They were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld video game console, and first released in Japan in 1999. They were later released to the rest of the world in 2000 (Australia and North America) and 2001 (Europe). Pokémon Crystal, a special edition version, was released for the Game Boy Color one year later in each region. These three games (Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal) form the second generation of the Pokémon video game series.
The games are set in the fantasy world of Johto, which is the habitat for 100 new and exclusive species of Pokémon, and follow the progress of the central character, Gold, in his quest to master Pokémon battling. Both games are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot and, while both can be played separately, it is necessary to trade between them and their backward compatible predecessors in order to fully complete the games' Pokédexes. The Johto Saga of the Pokémon anime is based on the games' plots.
Pokémon Gold and Silver continued the enormous success of its predecessors as the Pokémon franchise began to form into a multi-billion dollar company. The games almost matched the sales Pokémon Red and Blue and went on to jointly sell millions of copies worldwide.
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Pokémon Gold and Silver take place in Johto,[3] a fictional region modeled after the Kansai and Tokai regions of Japan. This is one distinct region of many shown in the various Pokémon video games. It features a total of seven cities and three towns, along with different geographical locations and Routes connecting most locations to one another. Some areas are only accessible once the player learns a special ability or gains a special item; for instance, the player must acquire the HM Surf, which allows the character to ride certain Pokémon across the sea, in order to reach Cianwood City.[4]
The silent protagonist of Pokémon Gold and Silver, called Gold, is a young boy who lives in New Bark Town. At the beginning of the games, players may choose either Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile as their starter Pokémon from Professor Elm.[5] In addition, his rival Silver will steal a Pokémon from Professor Elm and become the protagonist's rival, battling the player at certain points in the game to test the player's Pokémon.[6]
The basic goal of the game is to become the best trainer in all of Johto and Kanto; which is done by raising Pokémon, completing the Pokédex, defeating the eight Gym Leaders in Johto for Gym Badges, and challenging the Elite Four and the Champion, and then defeating the eight Gym Leaders in Kanto. Finally, the player may face off against Red atop of Mt. Silver.[7] Also throughout the game, the player will have to battle against the forces of Team Rocket, a criminal organization that abuses Pokémon.[8]
Like Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, and many other console role-playing games, Pokémon Gold and Silver are in third-person perspective, with players directly navigating the protagonist around the fictional universe, interacting with objects and people. As the player explores this world he or she will encounter different terrains, such as grassy fields, forests, caves, and seas; in which different Pokémon species reside. As the player randomly encounters one of these creatures, the field switches to a turn-based "battle scene," where the Pokémon will fight.[9]
There are two main goals within the games: following through the main storyline and defeating the Elite Four and Red to become the new Champion,[10] and completing the Pokédex by capturing, evolving, and trading to obtain all 251 creatures. A major aspect of this is developing and raising the player's Pokémon by battling other Pokémon, which can be found in the wild or owned by other Trainers. This system of accumulating experience points and leveling up, characteristic and integral to all Pokémon video games, controls the physical properties of the Pokémon, such as the battle statistics acquired, and the moves learned.[11]
While Pokémon Gold and Silver retain the basic mechanics of capturing, battling, and evolving introduced in Pokémon Red and Blue, many new features were added. For instance, a time system was introduced, which makes use of a real-time internal clock. At the beginning of the game, the player inputs the time of day, the day of the week, and whether it is daylight saving time. Certain events, like Pokémon appearances, are influenced by time of day: Morning, Day, and Nite. [sic][9] For example, the owl Pokémon Hoothoot will only appear at night. Special events are also determined by the day of the week, such as the bug catching contest, which is held in Goldenrod City's national park on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
A variety of new items were also introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Some are designed to exploit a new mechanic, Pokémon being able to hold items.[12] Berries, a new set of items introduced in these games, can restore health or cure status effects. Other held items can give boosts to the Pokémon during battle. More specialized Poké Balls were also introduced, such as the Lure Ball, which is more effective if used against a Pokémon encountered with a fishing rod. To obtain these, Apricorns must be picked from special plants found throughout Johto, and a man in Azalea Town will fashion these into the different balls based on their color.[8] A new item called the Pokégear was introduced, functioning as a watch, map, radio, and phone, allowing the player to call other characters who offer their phone number. Some trainers will call for a rematch and a few will call about rare Pokémon that can be caught in a certain area.
The games also introduce Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, a new type of legendary Pokémon that wander around Johto,[13] changing locations frequently. They can be tracked by the Pokédex once encountered, and will always attempt to flee, but will retain any HP loss and status effects. In addition, shiny Pokémon are first introduced in these games. These Pokémon have a different coloration than normal Pokémon of their species, and appear very rarely.[14]
Two new Pokémon types were introduced, the Steel-type and the Dark-type.[5] Steel-type Pokémon have very high defense and resistance to many other types, while Dark-type Pokémon are immune to Psychic-type moves and are strong against Psychic-type Pokémon.[11] These two types serve to balance the Psychic-type, which lacked significant weaknesses in the first generation games. In Pokémon Gold and Silver, many new moves were added, but Pokémon knowing the new moves are not allowed to be traded to the first generation games. To solve this, a move deleter was introduced, capable of erasing any move known by the Pokémon, including HM moves, which previously could not be unlearned once taught to a Pokémon. In addition, several moves had their types changed, and some type match-ups were changed as well. For example, Ice-type moves were made ineffective against Fire-type Pokémon, when they previously did normal damage. Another major change was the splitting of the Special stat into Special Attack and Special Defense, which increased aspects of strategy.[11]
With the introduction of Pokémon breeding, all Pokémon are assigned to one or two breeding groups. When a male and female Pokémon that share at least one breeding group are left at a Pokémon Daycare, they may produce an egg, which will hatch into a young Pokémon.[15] Another way to produce an egg is by breeding any Pokémon with a Ditto, which is genderless and will mate with any Pokémon capable of breeding. The young Pokémon will inherit the species of its mother (or non-Ditto parent in the case of Ditto breeding), and moves from its father, which can be inherited in a variety of ways. Legendary Pokémon, among certain other species, cannot breed.[16]
In 1997 Nintendo put the first details and screenshots of their next Pocket Monsters game online. It was initially named Pocket Monsters 2 Gold and Silver, and was developed for Game Boy and Super Game Boy and planned for release at the end of the year.[17] However, no more news was heard, and the game was not released at the end of the year. However, following a year without press releases, the official Nintendo site was updated with new information on Pokémon Gold and Silver. It gave information on the revised release date, June 1999, and it was stated to be compatible with the then-unreleased Game Boy Color.
As in Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, Ken Sugimori was once again almost fully responsible for creating the artwork and designs of the 100 new Pokémon.[18] Junichi Masuda and Go Ichinose composed the original score for the games' music.[19]
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Pokémon Gold and Silver continued the enormous success of its predecessors as the Pokémon franchise began forming into a multi-billion dollar company.[21] Combined, the games sold 1.4 million units in just their first week in the US, breaking Pokémon Yellow's previous record of a little over 600,000 copies.[22] Pokémon Gold and Silver went on to sell a combined total of sold 6.91 million copies in Japan.[23] While in the United States, Pokémon Gold and Silver sold 7.6 million copies.[24] The games' success was expected:
There's no question about it; kids love to play Pokemon. So far in 2000 the best-selling game in America for any home console is Pokemon Stadium(TM) for Nintendo(R) 64, and the best-selling game for any handheld video game system is Pokemon Yellow for Game Boy Color, but Pokemon Gold and Silver will eclipse even those impressive sales totals. We project sales of 10 million units total of these two games in less than six months time.
—Peter Main, Nintendo executive vice president of sales and marketing[22]
Reviews from critics were mostly strong, with many saying that the extended length of gameplay and the new features were valued additions that kept the sequels as interesting as the original games. Craig Harris of IGN gave the games a "masterful" 10 out of 10 rating, stating that "As awesome as the original Pokémon edition was, Pokémon Gold and Silver blow it away in gameplay elements, features, and goodies. There are so many little additions to the design it's impossible to list them all"[9] There was particular praise given to the innovative internal clock feature, with Frank Povo of GameSpot, noting "The first major addition to Pokémon GS is the presence of a time element... Although it may sound like a gimmick, the addition of a clock adds quite a bit of variety to the game." Povo went on to give the games a "great" 8.8 rating.[15]
In the end, Pokémon Gold and Silver were stated to be solid gaming additions that would please a large audience. "After playing the game dozens of hours, I really can't think of a bad point to make about Pokémon Gold and Silver. Nintendo and Game Freak have tweaked the original and built a sequel that's long, challenging and tremendous fun to play. There's a reason why Pokémon is so popular, and Pokémon Gold and Silver is going to help the series move further into the 21st century" said Harris.[9]
Pokémon Crystal is the seventh game in the Pokémon video game series in Japan, and the sixth in North America and Europe. The game is an enhanced remake of the previous two versions, Pokémon Gold and Silver, and was released in Japan on december 142000 as Pocket Monsters Crystal (ポケットモンスター クリスタル Poketto Monsutā Kurisutaru?). It was released in North America on july 292001 and in Europe on november 12001.[25] Pokémon Crystal was the first and only Pokémon video game to be released exclusively for the Game Boy Color.[26]
The plot and gameplay of Pokémon Crystal is largely the same as in Gold and Silver, although it holds a variety of new features. It is the first game to allow players to choose the sex of their character, while previously the character was always male. Also, all Pokémon have animated sprites; for example, when a Cyndaquil enters battle, the flames on its back flicker. This feature returned in Pokémon Emerald, Diamond and Pearl. In addition, a couple of subplots were added, one involving the legendary Pokémon Suicune, featured on the front cover of the game,[27] and the other involving the Unown. However, the game's biggest addition was the Battle Tower, a new building which allows players to participate in Pokémon Stadium-like fights.[26] A feature exclusive to the Japanese version of Crystal allows the player to link up with others through the use of a mobile phone.[28]
Pokémon Crystal was less successful than the previous Pokémon games, but still sold quite well, with a total of 2.10 million copies in Japan,[23] and 1.65 million in the US.[24] It was received fairly well by critics, but most commented that there were just not enough new additions and features to significantly set it apart from Pokémon Gold and Silver. "The final (hopefully) Game Boy Color edition is definitely the version to get if you aren't already one of the upteenth billion owners of Pokemon Red, Pokemon Blue, Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon Gold, or Pokemon Silver, with Crystal's slight updates to the design and graphics. But there's not much in this edition that makes it a "must buy" for folks who already own a copy or two of the previous editions." said Craig Harris of IGN who still gave the game an "outstanding" 9 out of 10.[26] It received an aggregate score of 80% on Game Rankings.[29]
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