Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver review (part 1)

I’ve finally played through enough of my U.S. copy of Soul Silver to write a proper review. Since Heart Gold and Soul Silver are the longest Pokemon games thus far, I decided to split my review for them into two. The first one here will cover the first half of the game in the Johto region…

As of now, I’ve played my game for roughly nineteen hours, gotten eight badges, and am currently on my way to the Pokemon League.

The first thing that comes to mind when reviewing Heart Gold and Soul Silver is how they’re different from the Game Boy Color games they’re based on, Gold and Silver, which were released ten years before. Bulbapedia has provided a thorough list of all the differences here, so I’ll just discuss some of the important ones.

Obviously, the main noticeable difference is the graphics. The HGSS graphics are gorgeous; I actually think they look better than Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. From gales of wind blowing in New Bark Town, to autumn leaves in Ecruteak City, HGSS makes full use of the DS’ graphical capabilities and the games’ 3D-engine.

Ecruteak City in Gold and Silver

Ecruteak City in Heart Gold and Soul Silver

The Kimono Girls’ summoning dance and Lugia and Ho-oh’s flashy 3D cut-scene entrance are probably the most graphically intense scenes.

The Kimono Girls summoning Ho-oh at Tin Tower

The player encountering Lugia at the Whirl Islands

All of the gyms have been vastly updated too, with new designs and new puzzles to solve.

The elevated Violet City Gym

Another notable change in HGSS is the ability to have the first pokemon in your party follow you around, just like the Pikachu in Yellow version.

Meganium following the player

You can talk to your pokemon and see what it’s doing/thinking – if it’s suffering from a status condition, if it’s nervous or excited, if it’s holding an item, etc,. This is quite a cute, fun addition since any of the 493 pokemon have their own unique sprites for this. Other cute things to note is that you’ll see them go back into their pokeball when being healed at a Pokemon Center and when you use Fly, Surf, or your bicycle. If you have the pokemon following you use an HM like Strength or Rock Smash, you’ll see them do it right on the field.

A few of the pokemon attacks have new graphics as well, Psychic for example, many of which are improvements. All of the Kanto and Johto pokemon have new sprites. Unlike the Platinum sprites, I think the majority of the HGSS pokemon sprites look better. The Hoenn pokemon keep their same sprites from the previous DS games (they really need updated ones) and the Sinnoh pokemon keep their sprites from Platinum.

Fearow’s DPPt sprite (left) and HGSS sprite (right)

Another good update in HGSS is the music. The old tunes are kept in but are vastly improved using the DS’ capabilities. It may be just me but all the music, especially the trainer and wild pokemon battle music, sounds a lot better. Lugia, Ho-oh, and the other legendary pokemon even have their own battle theme music.

In addition to updating the Pokegear, another update in HGSS is the more prominent use of the touch screen. You can now use the touch screen for all things on the menu, including your Bag and pokemon party. You can even select the bicycle with the touch screen and permanently select your Running Shoes. One of the handiest improvements is being able to move your pokemon around the PC boxes by dragging them with the stylus.

It’s been years since I’ve played through the 2nd generation games so playing HGSS was almost like a whole new adventure. It may just be me but these games seem to move along faster than the other games, perhaps because of the inclusion of two regions instead of one. It seems like the beginning of the journey has you with your first pokemon, pokeballs and gym relatively quickly. There also seems to be a better variety of pokemon available early in the game in HGSS than in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.

Pretty much all of the dialogue and events in the original games are kept intact in HGSS. As is typical for Pokemon games, in addition to the main story of catching pokemon and battling the gym leaders, there are many side-quests and subplots along the way – your rival, Team Rocket, the Kimono Girls, the Pokeathalon, the Battle Tower, encountering Suicune and other legendary pokemon, and a number of unlockable events that open up when obtaining event pokemon such as the Pikachu-colored Pichu.

The Hurdle Dash in the Pokeathalon

HGSS is actually more like Crystal because of Eusine and Suicune, and the inclusion of the Battle Frontier instead of the Battle Tower (which is just like the Battle Frontier in Platinum).

Getting through this first part of the game was not too easy or too hard. Most of the trainer battles are pretty easy and I only had trouble with a few of the Johto gym leaders (not sure what the Elite Four and Kanto have in store though). I used a strategy guide to get through the dungeons and map puzzles but I can imagine them being difficult without a guide. One of the funnest ways to play, at least for me, is to trade freshly bred pokemon from Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum into HGSS to raise throughout the game, since most of them won’t be available in HGSS. I kept my starter pokemon (Cyndaquil) and traded in five others from Platinum to be my team in Soul Silver (Squirtle, Treecko, Meowth, Magnemite, and Rhyhorn). You can trade from other games as soon as you get your Poke-Dex and they will obey you up to LV20 as soon as you get your first badge.

In conclusion, Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are all that I expected them to be: excellent graphics and music, addictive gameplay, lots of subplots to keep things interesting, and one of the longest and best storylines amongst old fans.

In part 2 of my HGSS review, I’ll cover the Kanto regions, Pokeathalon, Pokewalker, and any other post-game events after I play through them.

Screen shots on this post are credited to Bulbapedia and fan art credited to this pixiv user.