DS Pokemon so magic when you don’t have a bitch in your ear saying it’s the last bastion of quality in the series or a contrarian telling you it’s mid and overrated.
For all of HGSS’s flaws, like enemy leveling, several inaccessible gen 4 evos, and HM use (whirlpool dev burn in hell), there’s something so, so peaceful and quaint that I can’t explain it. As a metanarrative, it’s smaller scale because you’re effectively an emulation of Red, you have a region with weaker foes and Pokemon, and that culmination is overcoming everything with the bond you forged. It kicks ass. Johto is a region that feels very lived in, with its own scheduled events and culture, feeling quaint and directly relatable to anyone who grew up in a more rural, laid back area. Pokemon distribution is tinkered with wholly for the better here, as the new Safari Zone and its routes free every gen 2 pokemon that was shackled to postgame in gen 2, barring Houndour and Sneasel, which is GREAT. Pokeathlon remains fun, just amazing side content and an easy resource to grind evolutionary stones as opposed to waiting on those pokegear calls. Minute details like hearing your footsteps (this wouldn’t return till the series went 3D), or the flow of bodies of water when you’re next to them just tie everything together brilliantly. It’s also shaded and sprited phenomenally, with such a cozy feel. I feel the game is experienced best in these daily bursts, ensuring you have a feel of Johto’s events, like the Bug contest, Kurt’s Apricorns, the drained Lake of Rage, meeting the week siblings, and so on. Rematching gym leaders by finding them outside their gyms, indulging in their hobbies is small, but it lets you know these people have lives and aren’t just boss fights, and it’s just, nicely appreciated. Kanto is also just, so, so much better than in Gen 2. No longer compressed, we’re given a world that shows the passage of time, yet has its areas intact, towns with identity, and trainers using Gen 3 and 4 Pokemon to show modernity. It’s small, but it’s stuff that stacks and makes Kanto both distinct from its appearance in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, but also culturally from the Johto you’ve just conquered. Even aspects like its architecture or its tree sprites differ, just to cement that it’s different. There’s a demand for multiple regions in every Pokemon game, and it’s not a demand I endorse, but in the case of Johto’s games, which are direct sequels showcasing a passage of time in a connected world, a union of two smaller regions ties everything together brilliantly, and I love it. Worth mentioning but HeartGold has far better exclusives than SoulSilver. Sad to say this as a Lugia enjoyer, but I must. A replay that made me feel the magic of my countless childhood playthroughs.
For all of HGSS’s flaws, like enemy leveling, several inaccessible gen 4 evos, and HM use (whirlpool dev burn in hell), there’s something so, so peaceful and quaint that I can’t explain it. As a metanarrative, it’s smaller scale because you’re effectively an emulation of Red, you have a region with weaker foes and Pokemon, and that culmination is overcoming everything with the bond you forged. It kicks ass. Johto is a region that feels very lived in, with its own scheduled events and culture, feeling quaint and directly relatable to anyone who grew up in a more rural, laid back area. Pokemon distribution is tinkered with wholly for the better here, as the new Safari Zone and its routes free every gen 2 pokemon that was shackled to postgame in gen 2, barring Houndour and Sneasel, which is GREAT. Pokeathlon remains fun, just amazing side content and an easy resource to grind evolutionary stones as opposed to waiting on those pokegear calls. Minute details like hearing your footsteps (this wouldn’t return till the series went 3D), or the flow of bodies of water when you’re next to them just tie everything together brilliantly. It’s also shaded and sprited phenomenally, with such a cozy feel. I feel the game is experienced best in these daily bursts, ensuring you have a feel of Johto’s events, like the Bug contest, Kurt’s Apricorns, the drained Lake of Rage, meeting the week siblings, and so on. Rematching gym leaders by finding them outside their gyms, indulging in their hobbies is small, but it lets you know these people have lives and aren’t just boss fights, and it’s just, nicely appreciated. Kanto is also just, so, so much better than in Gen 2. No longer compressed, we’re given a world that shows the passage of time, yet has its areas intact, towns with identity, and trainers using Gen 3 and 4 Pokemon to show modernity. It’s small, but it’s stuff that stacks and makes Kanto both distinct from its appearance in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, but also culturally from the Johto you’ve just conquered. Even aspects like its architecture or its tree sprites differ, just to cement that it’s different. There’s a demand for multiple regions in every Pokemon game, and it’s not a demand I endorse, but in the case of Johto’s games, which are direct sequels showcasing a passage of time in a connected world, a union of two smaller regions ties everything together brilliantly, and I love it. Worth mentioning but HeartGold has far better exclusives than SoulSilver. Sad to say this as a Lugia enjoyer, but I must. A replay that made me feel the magic of my countless childhood playthroughs.