By now it’s clear that Pokémon is here to stay. What some once considered to be a fad has proven remarkable staying power, with four generations of games and two remakes over 12 years, each selling huge numbers. And it’s no wonder – the gameplay is accessible but exceptionally deep, the Pokémon themselves are adorable and the meta-game around collecting them leads to the game selling itself by word of mouth. In my very limited experience of the series I have found SoulSilver to be the most enjoyable Pokémon game I’ve played. If you’re a Pokémon fan don’t miss out on these great remakes, and if you’ve never played before, this is a good time to join in the fun.

SoulSilver is a remake (along with HeartGold) of the second generation of Pokémon games, Gold and Silver, which were released for the GameBoy Color 10 years ago. In my sojourning around the web I’ve often heard (that is, read) people say that Gold and Silver were their favourite Pokémon games, mainly because of the Pokémon found in them and the significant enhancements to the original’s gameplay. This review also applies to HeartGold, because the only difference is the slightly different roster of available Pokémon in each game – if you want to catch them all you’ll have to get both, or find someone who has the counterpart to yours.

Battling pocket monsters in breezy Johto

I’m not going to explain too much of the way Pokémon works, other than to say: you collect these monsters which come in various shapes, sizes, types and sexes; have them battle other monsters in a turn-based battle; collect experience and level the monsters up until they evolve into bigger, better monsters. You also breed said monsters with each other to make more monsters (which hatch out of an egg) and so fill up your Pokédex with information about every Pokémon you can beg, borrow or steal your way into finding. As you do this, you make your way across Johto defeating various other Pokémon trainers to earn eight badges until you finally take on the evil Team Rocket. It’s the same in every Pokémon game, but the differences are in the details.

SoulSilver is certainly the best-looking Pokémon game made so far. The beautiful sprites of the Pokémon, other characters and indoor areas are supplemented by some artistically done 3D buildings and trees. The calm, inviting atmosphere created by the graphics and the music is wonderful and draws you into the game. Also improved is the battle speed. There are some nice animations for each Pokémon, but I found I enjoyed things much more when I turned those off and went back to old-school static battles, mainly because the speed of the battles was much more palatable. In Pokémon Diamond I found battles were too slow (considering they happen so ridiculously often), so I’m very glad for the speedup.

A slew of new features, and the ingenious Pokéwalker

A number of other new features are included, such as the Pokéathlon – a whole set of mini-games for your Pokémon to compete in and earn prizes. Your currently selected Pokémon also follows you around on the adventure screen, a nice touch. The whole game is now controllable with the stylus and the D-pad, and although I prefer the buttons, I do find myself touching the screen sometimes to choose menu items, so the combination is appreciated.

But the biggest addition is the Pokéwalker, a small round electronic device (that sort of looks like a Pokéball) that you can use to “walk” you Pokémon in the real world. In a genius bit of electronic engineering, Nintendo have managed to get an infra-red receiver onto the DS cartridge, and through this you can “send” a Pokémon into the walker, select a course they are to walk on, and then carry the walker around with you as you go about your normal business. Each step you take will earn your Pokémon one experience point, so you can use it to level up your Pokémon even when you’re not playing the game. Genius!

The Pokéwalker doesn’t only do this – you can also play some mini-games on its old-school LCD display, and there are even some Pokémon that you can only capture using it. The interface for sending your Pokémon out and receiving them back in is ingenious too because as the little guy (or girl) arrives back at “home” in your DS cartridge the game recounts their adventure in a short montage. Sometimes he (or she) will find an item on their journey, which you can then use in the game. It’s a great addition to the game and well implemented.

A depth nearly unrivalled in games

Pokémon’s main target market might be younger children, but Game Freak has certainly not dumbed anything down – in fact Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver’s game system is incredibly deep. I don’t feel like I’ve even scratched the surface of what the game has to offer – there are always new secrets to discover. Early on in the game you get this piece of equipment called the Pokégear which functions as a cell phone, a GPS and a radio. You also have your bag which has about 10 difference pockets holding everything from berries to key items to Technical Machines (CD-like things which are used to load new moves onto the Pokémon of your choice) to various Pokéballs to battle items to status heal items.

Then there’s the Pokédex with information about hundreds of different Pokémon (once you’ve caught them of course). Finally there’s your six current Pokémon (which can be swapped in and out from your Pokémon storage), who each have four moves (which change as they level up, or can be added with Technical Machines), various statistics, a type, a nature, a special ability, a sex and a level. Some Pokémon evolve in different ways depending on circumstances. The variety and complexity is incredible.

The main quest will take you about 20 to 30 hours to complete, which is sizable already for a handheld title, but the challenge of Pokémon games is to “catch ‘em all.” With over 400 Pokémon available to be caught this could take a huge number of hours, and even then you probably won’t be able to get them all. For some Pokémon you’ll have to connect to Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. To get others you have to use a GBA Pokémon and place it in the DS’ GBA slot. This meta-game, as well as the competitive online Pokémon battling system, is what makes Pokémon so enduring and well-loved. The main plot of the game is simply a skeleton to hang this immensely fleshy world of battling pocket monsters on.

Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver is the pinnacle of Pokémon games thus far in my opinion. I don’t have much of a collector’s gene so I find it difficult to get into the whole “gotta catch ‘em all” metagame, and I’m not one for the competitive battling scene, but I have enjoyed the main quest, leveling up and evolving (even breeding) my favourite Pokémons into powerful creatures and soaking up the wonderfully soulful world that Game Freak and Nintendo have made in this game. For Pokémon fans it doesn’t get better than this (although Black/White are out in just a year), and for newcomers this is the most accessible Pokémon game I’ve played so I highly recommend it.

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