Version played: 2.20

So close to perfection but I do have an issue with some of the difficulty balancing, especially in Johto early on. Maybe giving every gym 5 Pokemon isn't always the best idea.

But outside of that the difficulty isn't too crazy. This definitely isn't a difficulty hack. It is, as the name implies, a more polished version of Crystal. You can run, there's extra content, all Pokemon are capturable without trading, the story in Kanto has been GREATLY expanded and almost feels better than how it was done in HGSS even.

In fact Kanto is where this hack really shines. There's a bunch of extra content in it that mostly feels like "oh, well that makes sense" and doesn't feel like something that was just randomly added in. Some of the content ties into Pokemon the Movie 2000, other parts are cameo fights from former Kanto E-4 and characters.

There's also a very nice surprise at the very, very end too but I haven't finished that fight yet. The true final boss is a super boss in every way possible. Nearly lv 100 team and has some legendaries. I still haven't beaten yet and I'm not sure when I will. It's also NOT Red, though that fight is still in this game.

Basically I recommend this to anyone looking for a good Gen 2 hack. It's one of the better ones besides Crystal Clear and it's nice to see a version of Gen that is almost even more enhanced than the Remakes we got in every way except graphics.

500th game finished, woo!
I've played Pokemon since I got Yellow version when I was like, idk 7, and if I had to point at a gen and say "that's my least fave" it has always, even from when I was a child, been gen 2. While Johto boasts immaculate VIBES, we've all heard the complaints. Terrible level curve. New Pokemon not even accessible til post game, when you can't integrate them into your parties in meaningful ways. Very little variety despite an additional 100 added. The immense feat of pulling off two regions, yet having to butcher the second to make it work. A barely there narrative to get you through the Kanto revisit.

Polished Crystal is about as perfect as gen 2 could possibly get. It doesn't have the wonderful Pokemon following of HGSS, and while HGSS > the ogs, Polished Crystal surpasses both.

With added routes that tastefully sprawl the areas of Johto into one cohesive map, new areas, dozens of easter eggs, returning characters spanning new / future gens, abilities, the optional addition of natures, a MUCH better level curve, better Pokemon variety, new moves, fairy typing... the level of care & quality of life added is immense! I was constantly surprised by the things I found. Armored Mewtwo? Jessie / James? Flying, surfing Pika variants? Alolan variants. There are sooo many more things to discover.

There is a RNG based wonder trade with NPCs built into the game, which is nuts to me. The difficulty has been ramped up, in a way that is not really outright cruel, but definitely tougher than the average pokemon game.

There is ONE misstep here. And that's the final post game bit. You eventually hit a point where your Pokemon are prob 70-80, and in order to fight the top trainer (fully kitted with positive natures, comp movesets, and full EV training, which, btw, in this game, you can add 252 to every stat...) it's a brutal grind to the last challenges. Occasionally, I think some of the difficulty is a little whacky. This is largely balanced, but one ex, Falkner having Roost access early game... there is so little you can do to out damage the healing, at that point in the game, it was a little silly. And there's a few other moments where it felt if you didn't do one specific strategy you were in trouble.

Still, this is an absolute masterpiece. It felt like re-experiencing this game for the first time, and it made me like it more than I ever have.

not bad. to note, I am not done with this, but idk, I might be running out of steam for a while and the thoughts I'm noting here don't require me to complete the game. for all the things this mod/hack does right, one that it does wrong is not making grinding better, at least in the current beta. I've heard a previous version allowed you to buy rare candies. but the current beta, which is the version you're encouraged to play for a number of reasons, removed that. the breeder trainers are supposed to be ones you can repeatedly battle, but idk how that works. I've tried interacting with them for more battles, to no avail. eh.
this game requiring you to really keep your team up isn't a terrible thing, but with every trainer in the game having significantly better Pokemon than they do in vanilla Crystal means this mod really keeps you on your toes and it'll take you by surprise for a while. eventually you'll start to at least kind of expect the wild varied movesets, but it's sort of annoying not really knowing exactly what to expect. I dislike that you can come across annoying situations like recover spam. but for the most part, it's not too bad minus the weird surprises that can screw you over.
idk how I feel about the original content and such... it's not that it's super unfitting, but eh. one thing I'm not keen on at all is the trainer sprites from future games that were added to Polished Crystal. for the most part, I don't think they're needed. also several of them look... weird. like they really don't fit, despite the artist's best efforts. or they just feel too recognizable, but clearly from a future game. it just feels off.
a few of the general custom overworld sprites are also awkward looking, like the juggler's. but I do like how those little visual upgrades make this mod feel fresh.
I feel dumb as hell because I can't think of what from HGSS is here in this mod. well, aside from Lyra, I guess. who... I could do without because I don't like her, but whatever.

This game presents a version of Johto that, in my opinion, is better than GSC and HGSS. The level curve is much improved, the spritework is beautiful, and the roster of Pokemon is vast without feeling too contrived. It really feels like an enhanced version of the original game and not your typical unrestrained fan game.

For the last few generations, I've grown used to steamrolling through battles with Pokemon that were either overleveled or able to take advantage of poor AI decision-making. Polished Crystal really highlights how much has been stripped away from the battling part of the game to cater to a younger audience. Held items that are mostly reserved for post-game/competitive play (Focus Sash, Choice Band, etc.) are handed to you early on in Polished Crystal and are instrumental in pushing through the gym league. It was a blast applying strategies from the competitive Pokemon world to in-game trainer battles and STILL having to think about each move.

The most fun I've had with a Pokemon game in years.