Pokémon is a sequence constructed on remakes and remasters. Just eight years after Red and Blue made an enormous splash on the Game Boy, Nintendo launched HearthRed and LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance, which gave gamers an opportunity to expertise the enjoyable of the unique titles in a extra accessible format (no extra overpowered Psychic-types). Many of the newest Pokémon releases have been remakes, like final 12 months’s Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, which was a remake of 2005’s Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red/Blue Rescue Team.
Some of those remakes are higher regarded than others. After followers clamored for Ruby and Sapphire remakes for years, the 3DS launch of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire landed with a thud, largely on account of their poor graphics and lack of postgame content material. On the flip facet, Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver, the 2009 remakes of 1999’s Gold and Silver, are extensively thought of the most effective remakes that the sequence has ever seen. While the unique video games do nonetheless maintain up, Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver made them even higher with lovely landscapes, a number of content material, nice music, and, after all, the flexibility to have your Pokémon stroll behind you in-game.
Based on what we’ve seen up to now of the upcoming Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, remakes of 2006’s Diamond and Pearl, it seems as if these video games are taking cues from Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver as to learn how to arrange their adventures — and it’s a step in the correct path for a sequence outlined by remakes.
A robust basis
Much of Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver‘s success comes from its excellent source material. Gold and Silver, and Crystal to an even greater extent, fixed a lot of the series’ early issues. While Red and Blue ended reasonably abruptly after the participant grew to become the Pokémon League champion, Gold and Silver had unbelievable postgame content material. After gamers defeated the Johto champion, they might revisit a modified Kanto and beat all of its gymnasium leaders the second time round. Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver saved all of this, making them a number of the longest main-series Pokémon video games. Players have come to anticipate what occurs through the story in a Pokémon recreation; what units every recreation aside is its potential for distinctive postgame content material or longevity of play.
Gold and Silver have been the primary Pokémon video games to incorporate a day-night cycle. Landscapes would really change when the hour grew to become late, and sure Pokémon might solely be caught at evening. Building on this, there have been additionally a wide range of occasions that solely occurred on sure days of the week. Different non-player characters appeared on completely different days, like hairdressers who might minimize your Pokémon’s hair to extend their friendship stage, and occasions just like the bug-catching event solely occurred on sure days. It was a system that made the video games really feel like a residing, respiratory world, extra akin to Animal Crossing than the relative stagnation of the primary video games within the sequence.
Acting as the beginning of the second Pokémon era, Gold and Silver launched a number of recent catchable creatures, a lot of whom have gone on to be a number of the most-loved in sequence historical past. Many a participant has a fond reminiscence of utilizing their Typhlosion, Feraligatr, or Meganium in battle. These Pokémon would later be included in a wide range of sequence spin-offs, together with Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, which elevated their visibility to followers. The video games additionally included two brand-new sorts, Dark and Steel, which shored up a few of Red and Blue’s stability points.
Building on the most effective
Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver saved all of those components and made them really feel simply as revolutionary as once they first appeared. The recreation occasion went as far as to construct on many of those novel mechanics: there’s a fair better number of NPCs who can present up on completely different days of the week, together with a photographer who will take an image of your workforce. The day/evening cycle was expanded to incorporate morning, day, night, and evening, with wild Pokémon appearances unfold all through all 4 occasions. Dark- and Steel-type Pokémon have been standbys by the point the video games have been launched in 2009, however the restricted pool of era 2 Pokémon that gamers have to select from within the first half of the sport nonetheless makes them really feel novel.
The remakes didn’t cease there, although. The video games additionally acquired a wide range of trendy minigames and communication options, just like the Pokéathalon competitors, the Voltorb Flip minigame on the Goldenrod Game Corner, and the Global Trade System, which allowed gamers to commerce Pokémon with others world wide. Players might stroll with the Pokémon on the entrance of their social gathering, which many discovered to be one of the crucial endearing issues in regards to the video games. The remakes additionally included new trials, new trainers, and new objects to discover, all of which made it really feel like gamers have been each visiting an previous good friend and experiencing one thing new on the similar time. It was a successful mixture.
Entering new territory
During final month’s Pokémon Presents, followers received an in-depth have a look at the upcoming Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, that are aiming to emulate most of the similar issues that made Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver such famend remakes. It is sensible, in spite of everything: Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver have been probably the most lauded remakes of their era, and of your entire sequence, so it is sensible that Nintendo would need to comply with a successful system.
The best and most crowd-pleasing characteristic to deliver again was strolling together with your Pokémon, which the brand new video games will embrace. Being capable of see a wholly new era of Pokemon made up in 3D is a really cute concept. Beyond that, the sport will characteristic new communication alternatives within the Grand Underground, although I fear that the entire preservation of the Union Room isn’t the path Nintendo needs to be getting into. We haven’t seen an prolonged have a look at the story, however it’s doubtless that the sport will embrace a few new tidbits with a purpose to maintain issues contemporary, and the day-night cycle will nearly actually be making a return as properly, contemplating it was included within the unique Diamond and Pearl. The hope is that Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl can have a number of new issues to do, like Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver‘s Pokéathalon. If they’re aiming for the greatness of these video games, they nearly actually will.
The massive query is whether or not Diamond and Pearl‘s postgame will be preserved. After beating Sinnoh’s Pokémon League champion, there’s an space that gamers can journey to that features three new land routes, new legendary Pokémon, and a number of powerful Trainers. It pales compared to Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver‘s postgame, but it did keep things interesting for a little while after finishing the main quest. There’s no phrase on whether or not Nintendo can be recreating this space, making one thing solely new, or scrapping it, like Emerald‘s Battle Frontier was unceremoniously ditched in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. My hope is that we get an enlargement of the unique postgame routes, which would offer nostalgia worth whereas additionally including to the unique. That was the Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver means.
There are just a few months till the discharge of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and it’s doubtless that we all know every thing we’re going to know pr-launch by this level. While it’s essential for these remakes to have their very own spirit and produce again the allure of Diamond and Pearl, it’s additionally essential that they study their classes from remakes earlier than them. If Nintendo desires the Pokémon sequence to proceed its popularity for making trendy, participating remakes that aren’t solely pushed by nostalgia, it could do properly to comply with within the footsteps of Coronary heartGold and SoulSilver — or danger by no means difficult these video games’ place on the prime of the totem pole.

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