Even in the modern day, Crystal holds up. It was a game that broke the barrier in terms of effort for the first time in Pokemon, excelling on the already great Gold & Silver that it followed. For me, it is still one of the best games ever made, and especially one of the best Pokemon games ever made, and it is something I can really appreciate in the modern day. However, it is still important to consider the fact it has aged, and in comparison to some future Pokemon games, it does fall short.