| Pokémon Crystal | |
|---|---|
 Box art forPokémon Crystal, depicting thelegendary PokémonSuicune | |
| Developer | Game Freak |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Directors | |
| Producers |
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| Designers |
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| Programmers |
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| Artist | Ken Sugimori |
| Writers |
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| Composers |
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| Series | Pokémon |
| Platform | Game Boy Color |
| Release | |
| Genre | Role-playing |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Pokémon Crystal Version[a] is arole-playing video game developed byGame Freak and published byNintendo for theGame Boy Color, released in Japan in December 2000 and internationally throughout 2001. Serving as an enhanced edition of the 1999 titlesPokémon Gold andSilver, it is the final entry in the second generation of thePokémon game series. The game introduced several new features, including additional story elements, a Battle Tower area, the option to play as a female protagonist, animated Pokémonsprites during battles, and various minor improvements. The Japanese version of the game also utilized the capabilities of theMobile Adapter GB, aperipheral that allowed players to trade and battle over cell phones and a paid subscription service called "Mobile System GB". These enhancements were made possible by the Game Boy Color's improved hardware, makingCrystal the first game in the series to be incompatible with the originalGame Boy.
AlthoughPokémon Crystal is the lowest-selling main series Pokémon game to date, it stillranks among the top ten best-selling Game Boy titles. Critics praisedCrystal for its additional features and improvements but noted that many of these features were less significant in the non-Japanese versions, which lacked Mobile Adapter GB support. Retrospective reviews have been highly positive, with many acknowledgingCrystal's introduction of features that would become commonplace in later iterations of the Pokémon series, and its role in maintaining interest during a waning period for the franchise.
Similar toPokémon Gold andSilver,Pokémon Crystal is arole-playing video game where players navigate a fictional world by capturing, training, and battling with Pokémon. In addition,Crystal enhances aspects ofGold andSilver, providing cosmetic and gameplay improvements. The visual presentation ofCrystal is enhanced through the animation of Pokémonsprites when first encountered in battle, the inclusion of signposts appearing on the screen when entering a new area, and a range of minor graphical enhancements to various locations in the game.[1] It includes the ability to select one of two player characters, adding Kris, a female trainer, with a unique sprite.[2] The game introduces a Battle Tower, a new stadium that allows players to battle a series of seven trainers with three Pokémon set at customizable maximum levels to win prizes.[2]
The Japanese release ofPokémon Crystal supported the Mobile Adapter GB, a peripheral device enabling wireless connectivity between aGame Boy Color orGame Boy Advance and a mobile phone for online interactions using the Mobile System GB service.[3]Pokémon Crystal players were provided with various interactive features, including the ability to battle and trade online, access news updates, participate in quizzes, and engage in minigames. Players could also create or download battle replays, which could be transferred toPokémon Stadium 2 on theNintendo 64 using aTransfer Pak.[4][5][6] A special item was also distributed via Mobile System GB that allowed players to catch the rare PokémonCelebi.[7] Users were charged a per-minute connection fee, with additional charges ranging from¥10 to 100 for accessing specific online features, such as battling, trading, and downloading content.[6][8]
Nintendo had planned to release the Mobile Adapter GB and launch the Mobile System GB service alongsidePokémon Crystal in December,[9] but delays establishing the service pushed the launch back to 27 January 2001.[10][11] The online interactions ofPokémon Crystal were highly promoted and the game was expected to be the "killer app" for the service.[12][13]
However, Mobile Adapter GB would not prove to be a commercial success, selling 80,000 units in its first year on the market.[14] Nintendo opted against an international release of the accessory.[15] The Mobile System GB service was discontinued after less than two years on 18 December 2002.[16] Users could continue to use thepeer-to-peer functions of game enabled by the Mobile Adapter GB that did not require connecting to the Mobile System GB service.[17]
The setting and story ofCrystal remains largely the same as inGold andSilver, with the player seeking to raise and battle Pokémon to defeat the Gym Leaders of Johto andElite Four to be the Johto League Champion. However, several encounters and additional characters are introduced to the overarching narrative.Crystal features a greater role for legendary Pokémon, with the player awakeningSuicune,Entei, andRaikou, and encountering them at various stages of the game. The plotline features a new character, Eusine, who has been searching for Suicune, providing the player with a more direct and narrative pathway to battling and capturing Suicune and the remainder of the game's legendary Pokémon.[2]Crystal also includes minor changes to how the player encounters the Gym Leader Clair, and additions to the role of the PokémonUnown in the Ruins of Alph, with players able to complete additional puzzles to receive rewards and messages from the Unown.[1]
Crystal was developed byGame Freak in 1999 following the release ofPokémon Gold andSilver.[18]Crystal was the first Pokémon game to featureJunichi Masuda as a lead director, who had previously been a composer for the Pokémon franchise and sub-director forGold andSilver.[19] Nintendo initially announced development ofCrystal and the Mobile Adapter GB in December 1999, with the game developed under the working title ofPokémon X. ArtistKen Sugimori stated thatCrystal was primarily developed to supportNintendo's launch of the Mobile System GB service. Masuda noted that the title of the game was intended to be associated with the "crystals used in electronic transmissions".[20]Nintendo presidentHiroshi Yamauchi stated that "Pokémon, which incorporates elements of exchange and 'collection', would be the best way to get people to understand the new genre of games that use mobile phones."[21]
Nintendo first previewedCrystal and the Mobile Adapter GB atSpace World in August 2000.[22]Crystal was released in Japan on 14 December 2000.[23] Nintendo previewed the release of Crystal for North America atE3 in May 2001,[24] and released the game in North America on 30 July 2001,[25] Australia on 30 September 2001, and Europe on 2 November 2001.[26] Promotional releases of Crystal inNorth America included packaging of the game with lime green models of theGame Boy Color, sold as the Pokémon Crystal Bundle.[27]
Crystal was made available on theNintendo eShop for theNintendo 3DS line of handheld consoles on 28 January 2018.[28]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 80%[29] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.0 / 7.5 / 3.5[30] |
| Famitsu | 34/40[31] |
| GameSpot | 8.4/10[32] |
| IGN | 9/10[33] |
| Nintendo Life | 9/10[34] |
| Nintendo Power | 4/5[35] |
| RPGFan | 70%[36] |
| Game Boy Xtreme | 80%[37] |
| Nintendo Gamer | 88%[38] |
| Pocket Games | 8/10[39] |
Critical reception toPokémon Crystal upon release was generally positive, with reviewers praising the variety of additional features added to the game. Writing forGameSpot, Frank Provo stated that the game's additions provide "a great deal of value", highlighting the features that "enhance and broaden the game's overall variety", including timed events, quality of life improvements and visual embellishments.[32]Nintendo Power highlighted the addition of the Battle Tower, finding the feature a "truly challenging" addition that would appeal to "hard-core fans".[35] Kelly Starr ofNintendo Gamer found "enough little differences" to make the game a "worthwhile addition," directing praise at the ability to play as a female trainer, the inclusion of location signs, and the enhanced animations.[38]
Many critics considered the additions toCrystal insubstantial and difficult to distinguish fromGold andSilver. Craig Harris ofIGN noted the game featured improvements to the overall design," but found the cosmetic changes to be "very little", expressing frustration that the title was the "same game engine" that had been used for several years.[33] Simon Brew ofGame Boy Xtreme found "little else on offer" for long-time players,[37] remarking that the game "stretched the traditional formula as far as it could go".[40] Chris Johnston forElectronic Gaming Monthly stated the additions "don't alter the game-playing experience at all," suggesting the changes should have been part of the original game.[30] Chris Thompson ofPocket Games conceded that the game was an "excellent" introduction for new players, but its additions were insufficient to justify a repeat purchase.[39]
AlthoughPokémon Crystal was not as commercially successful asGold andSilver and remains the lowest-selling main series Pokémon game to date, partly due to reduced interest in enhanced versions,[41] it still achieved notable sales, ranking amongthe top ten best-selling Game Boy titles. Across all markets,Crystal sold 6.3 million units compared to the 23.7 million copies ofGold and Silver.[42]
Upon its release in Japan, the game topped weekly sales charts[43] and sold a total of 1,871,307 copies, making it the second-best-sellingGame Boy Color game in the country.[44] Internationally,Crystal was the best-selling Nintendo title for Game Boy consoles in January 2002,[45] and remained inNintendo Power top ten charts throughout the year.[46] In the United States, it reportedly sold 600,000 units within the first two weeks of release.[47]
Retrospective reviews ofCrystal have praised the game as one of the best titles in the Pokémon franchise. Darryn Bonthuys ofGameSpot statedCrystal was "the definitive Pokémon game of the Game Boy era" and one of the best Game Boy Color titles, highlighting its "revolutionary" animations and story.[48] Chris Tapsell ofEurogamer praisedCrystal as "the best Pokémon game" due to its "peerless artistry", the and "quaint, restricted painterly presentation" of its animations.[49] Arjun Joshi ofNintendo Life remarked thatCrystal "(added) even more life to an already vibrant game", praising the game's animations and "captivating and memorable" additions to the game's plot.[50]
Many reviewers have also observed thatCrystal pioneered features that would become standard in successive Pokémon games, including the pattern of an enhanced version following the release of the primary games in a generation,[51] the selection of the player character's gender,[52] an overarching narrative featuringchosen one themes,[49][53] and the inclusion of a Battle Tower feature.[50] Tomas Franzese ofDual Shockers notes that the game was important in establishing "multiple precedents" for the series and its future direction.[53]Nintendo Power commented that whilst the innovation of the Mobile Adapter GB was confined to the Japanese market, its design also served as a major influence for portable networking features of laterNintendo products, including the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter andNintendo DS.[54]
Some writers have also expressed thatCrystal assisted the franchise to maintain appeal during a transitional period. Arana Judith ofWell Played characterisedCrystal as the end point of the original vision and design for the franchise due the end of theGame Boy Color life cycle and the increasing fatigue with Pokémon in popular culture.[55] This fatigue was reflected by contemporary critics who had predicted thatCrystal arrived at a waning point of interest in the franchise.[30][37][39] Judith wrote that whilstRuby andSapphire would reinforce the longevity of the series, the game was released in the context of the general public "seeing Pokémon merchandise fade from shelves" suggesting that "the Pokémania that had swept those last years of the 20th century was truly on its way out".[55] Rhiannon Bevan ofTechRaptor considered the game's additions were bold and laid the groundwork for what allowed the series to retain enduring popularity.[56]
Crystal has received retrospective praise for the inclusive impact of a player character with a selectable gender. Writing forPolygon, Juno Stump statedPokémon Crystal and Kris "impacted [girls] greatly, allowing us to finally see ourselves in a video game and on our very own Pokémon adventure."[57] Clare McBride ofSyfy Wire believed the game was impactful for women, stating "Instead of having to name a clearly male character our names and just roll with it, we got explicitly invited into the Pokémon space we'd already been inhabiting."[58] Although the intent of the feature was to "appeal tocisgender girls", Anya Archer ofWired commented on the appeal totransgender audiences of being able to play as a character whose gender does not reflect the one assigned at birth.[59]
On 2 March 2014,Crystal was played byTwitch PlaysPokémon, an interactive experience allowing users of thevideo game live streaming serviceTwitch to influence the play of the game through input commands in the chat box.[60] The game featured the same protagonist and Pokémon to develop a continuity with the previous stream. The stream experienced criticism due to the involvement of players attempting to imitate high-stakes moments in the first stream, such as the release of Pokémon using the PC, as well as the temporary introduction of features that were abandoned, including changes to the "Democracy" and "Anarchy" modes.[61] The stream ofCrystal was completed in 13 days and 2 hours.[62]
You then get the option of choosing your main character's gender, just like in Pokémon Crystal.
