Game: Pokemon SoulSilver / Pokemon HeartGold
Platform: DS
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Game Freak
ESRB: E
Genre: Beast fighting fueled JRPG
Players: 1-2
What's Hot: Same deep gameplay as always, Pokewalker is a nice accessory, tons of things to do when not battling
What's Not: You've already played this game, many, many times over, leveling up via Pokewalker has drawbacks
Review by: Brandon "Moon Ball" Cackowski-Schnell
By now the games in the Pokemon series are running out of elements to slap on the end of their name. I shudder to think what Pokemon Barium might look like (Enemaniac, go!) so in the meantime we'll have to do with a simple rebranding of existing Pokemon games, which is what we're getting with the latest releases. Pokemon SoulSilver and Pokemon HeartGold are remakes of Pokemon Silver and Pokemon Gold respectively— however there's plenty added to the games to entice trainers who have already taken a trip or two around the Johto region as well as trainers new to the whole pocket monster phenomenon.
The plot is largely unchanged from the original, and from any other Pokemon game when you get down to it. You play a Pokemon trainer, looking to be the very best Pokemon trainer the world has ever known. Equipped with a Pokemon of your very own, some Pokeballs and a spring in your step you traverse the Johto region capturing other Pokemon and building a collection so that you can battle various gym trainers and earn all of the region's badges. Along the way you'll stop Team Rocket from some nefarious plan or another as well as partake in a bunch of side activities from bike riding to gambling. Once you clear out Johto you can take on all of the trainers in Kanto, the region from Red/Green versions of the game. That's a lot of badges.
As with all of the Pokemon games, having a balanced team of monsters at your disposal is the key to winning. The Pokemon types have grown considerably since the pocket monsters first hit the scene and knowing what is resistant to or weak to what requires an encyclopedic knowledge of Pokemon or at the very least immediate access to the internet. Winning badges also allows you to learn certain moves that allow you to progress in your travels so building a balanced team becomes necessary for progress in the game as well as battlefield prowess.
Combat is largely unchanged save for a visual face lift. You bring up to six Pokemon into battle and duke it out via a turn based system of attacks, buffs, debuffs and item application. As you defeat foes all of the Pokemon involved in the fight go up in level while the layabouts do not, making a constant rotation of Pokemon essential to keeping a team's level progression balanced.
New to the game is the Pokewalker, a Pokeball shaped pedometer that allows you to level up Pokemon by walking around. This isn't the first pedometer to grace the Pokemon universe but it is by far the most useful. By syncing the Pokewalker with the game cartridge any of the Pokemon in your PC box can be transferred to the Pokewalker and leveled up by walking around. As you walk, your steps are converted to Watts and these Watts can be used to battle and capture Pokemon in the Pokewalker as well as find items. Once you're done for the day, syncing the Pokewalker back up with the game will bring all found items and beasties into your game, unlock additional routes and level up whichever monster you brought with you.
It's a great idea, especially for kids who may need some incentive to get moving but the leveling up aspect isn't perfect. Pokemon leveled up via the Pokewalker won't learn moves if they reach the necessary level in the Pokewalker, nor will they evolve in the Pokewalker. Luckily this can be remedied by visiting a character in the game. Also, Pokemon leveled up in the walker won't obtain effort values (EV): stat boosts gained by fighting. None of these omissions make the Pokewalker any less fun, however hardcore Pokatheletes will stick to more traditional means of leveling up their beasties to ensure that the right build is obtained.
Along with the Pokewalker, the game has a new Pokeathelon mode, a selection of Pokemon Olympic events that can net your Pokemon medals for winning as well as points to be spent on items for the trainer. If Olympic style sports aren't your thing the same robust online Pokemon trading and battling system is available should you want to head out over the DS's wireless connection and see how well your collection stands up to the great trainers of the world. If battling isn't your thing you can still go online and check out other trainers' collections as well as videos of their various battles.
Other changes to the game include improved visuals, touch screen integration, the ability to equip more than one quick use item at a time, the ability to hold down a button to run and most importantly, the ability to pick a Pokemon to walk behind you while you're traveling through the game, similar to Pokemon Pikachu Yellow. It's a small detail but one I find completely irresistible. I just wish I didn't feel so guilty about the five other Pokemon that don't get to trail behind me.
As Pokemon games go, it's definitely the most polished version yet and the new additions all add up to make the overall experience even more enjoyable. Unfortunately there is still a lot to the game that has been around for over ten years now and if you've played the game and found it lacking, the improvements aren't enough to bring you back into the fold. If you're looking for the next step in the Pokemon franchise, this isn't it, although as a remake it's not supposed to be. However if you're looking for a successful remake of what was already a rock-solid and completely adorable RPG experience, you can consider this outing super effective.
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