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|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Game Freak |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Director | Satoshi Tajiri |
| Producers |
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| Designers |
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| Programmer | Shigeki Morimoto |
| Artist | Ken Sugimori |
| Writers |
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| Composers |
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| Series | Pokémon |
| Platform | |
| Release | |
| Genre | Role-playing |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Pokémon Gold Version[a] andPokémon Silver Version[b] are 1999role-playing video games developed byGame Freak and published byNintendo for theGame Boy Color. They are the first installments in the second generation of thePokémon video game series. They were released in Japan in 1999, Australia and North America in 2000, and Europe in 2001.
The games introduce100 new species of Pokémon and follow the progress of the player character in their quest to masterPokémon battling. Both games are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot and, while both can be played separately, it is necessary to trade between these games and their predecessors in order to fully complete each games'Pokédex. The Johto Saga of thePokémon anime is based on the new region introduced in the games. A third game in the generation,Pokémon Crystal, was released in 2000.
Pokémon Gold andSilver were critically acclaimed upon release. They are considered by some to be the best games in the entire series,[2][3][4][5] as well as some of the most significant games of thefifth generation of video game consoles.[6] They continued the enormous success ofPokémon Red andBlue asPokémon began to form into a multi-billion dollar franchise. The games almost matched the sales ofRed andBlue and by 2010 had gone on to sell over 23 million units, making themthe best-selling games for the Game Boy Color and the third-best-selling for the Game Boy family of systems.[7]
In 2009, on the 10th anniversary ofGold andSilver,remakes titledPokémon HeartGold andSoulSilver were released for theNintendo DS.
Like previous installments,Pokémon Gold andSilver are played from athird-person, top-down perspective, with players directly navigating the protagonist around the fictional universe, interacting with objects and people. As the player explores this world, they will encounter different terrains, such as grassy fields, forests, caves, and seas in which different Pokémon species reside. As the player randomly encounters one of these creatures, the field switches to aturn-based "battle scene", where the Pokémon will fight.[8]
There are two main goals within the games: following through the main storyline and defeating the Elite Four and Pokémon Master Lance to become the new Champion,[9] and completing thePokédex by capturing, evolving, and trading to obtain all 251 creatures. A major aspect of this is developing and raising the player's Pokémon by battling other Pokémon, which can be found in the wild or owned by other Trainers. This system of accumulatingexperience points (EXP) and leveling up, characteristic and integral to allPokémon video games, controls the physical properties of the Pokémon, such as the battle statistics acquired, and themoves learned.[10]
WhilePokémon Gold andSilver retain the basic mechanics of capturing, battling, and evolving introduced inPokémon Red andBlue, new features were added. A time system was introduced using a real-time internal clock that keeps track of the current time and day of the week. Certain events, including Pokémon appearances, are influenced by this feature.[8] New items were added, with some designed to exploit a new mechanic: Pokémon being able to hold items.[11] A new type of item able to be held was the berry, which comes in varieties and can restore health or cure status effects. Other held items can give boosts to the Pokémon during battle. More specializedPoké Balls were introduced, which make Pokémon catching easier in certain situations.[12] A new item called the Pokégear[c] was introduced, functioning as a watch, map, radio, and phone, allowing the player to call other characters who offer their phone number. Trainers will call for a rematch and others will call about rare Pokémon that can be caught in a certain area.[13]
The games introduceRaikou,Entei, andSuicune, some new types oflegendary Pokémon that wander around Johto, changing locations frequently in a process known as Roaming Pokémon.[14] They can be tracked by thePokédex's habitat feature once encountered, and will always attempt to flee, but will retainHP loss. In addition, there is the possibility of encountering ashiny Pokémon, which have a different coloration than normal Pokémon of their species, and appear very rarely, around 1 in 8192 for games untilPokémon X and Y.[15] Two newPokémon types were added, the Steel-type and the Dark-type.[16] Steel-type Pokémon are immune to Poison-type moves, and they have very high defense and resistance to other types, while Dark-type Pokémon are immune to Psychic-type moves and are strong against Psychic-type Pokémon (which provides an offensive strategy, formerly absent against Psychic-types), as well as having few weaknesses.[10] InGold andSilver, newmoves were added, but Pokémon knowing these moves are not allowed to be traded to the first generation games. To solve this, a move deleter was introduced, capable of erasing moves known by the Pokémon. Another major change was the splitting of the "Special" stat into "Special Attack" and "Special Defense", which increased aspects of strategy.[10]
With the introduction ofPokémon breeding, Pokémon are assigned to one or two breeding groups. When a male and female Pokémon that share at least one breeding group are left at a Pokémon Daycare, they may produce an egg, which will hatch into a young Pokémon. Do note thatDitto can breed with all but the Pokémon in No Eggs Discovered Group, even if the Pokémon other than Ditto is male.[17] The young Pokémon will inherit the species of its mother, and moves from its father. However, legendary and mythical Pokémon, among certain other species, cannot breed.[18]
Pokémon Gold andSilver are set in the region of Johto, situated to the west of the Kanto region from the previousRed andBlue games, and three years after the conclusion of the previous games. The design of Johto was inspired by Japan'sKansai andTōkai regions, with many of the region's temples and more traditional Japanese aesthetics finding their way into Johto.[19]
As with the previous games, the player character receives his first Pokémon, a choice betweenChikorita,Cyndaquil, andTotodile, from the region's local Pokémon scientist, Professor Elm, and then begins his journey to win the eight Gym Badges of the Johto region and then challenge the Elite Four and the Johto League Champion to become a Pokémon Master.[16] Opposing him is his mysterious rival, a boy who stole one of the other Pokémon from Professor Elm and regularly challenges the player to test his strengths.[13] The player also encounters the villainousTeam Rocket, having reunited to seek out their previous leader Giovanni to return the group to their former glory.[12] Eventually, the player thwarts Team Rocket once and for all and defeats the Elite Four and the Johto League Champion on Indigo Plateau. The player can then travel to the Kanto region from the previous games and challenge the Kanto Gym Leaders there, discovering how much has changed in the three years following the events ofRed andBlue. For example, Cinnabar Island has been almost completely taken over by a volcano eruption; only a Pokémon Center remains.[20] After defeating the Gym Leaders of the Kanto Region, the player is allowed to enter the treacherous Mt. Silver area, home to very powerful Pokémon. Deep within Mt. Silver's caves is Red, the main protagonist ofRed,Green,Blue andYellow and Kanto League Champion, whom the player can challenge for the most difficult final battle in the game.[21]
Gold andSilver were first publicly showcased at November 1997,Nintendo Space World Expo in Japan, becoming the most popular exhibit at the program. Unlike the previous game in the series,Pokémon Yellow, the new titles were announced to be more than a small upgrade toPokémon Red andBlue. Instead, they would feature a new storyline, a new world, and new species of Pokémon.Gold andSilver were designed for the Game Boy Color, allowing them full color support and more detailedsprites. Other additions that were shown included Pokémon breeding, held items, an in-game gadget known as the PokéGear, a real-time internal clock, andbackward compatibility with the previous games in the series.[22]
During anABC News interview, president ofCreatures Inc.Tsunekazu Ishihara gave insight into the brainstorming process for developing new Pokémon species. He explained, "The ideas for each of these monsters came from the imagination of the software developers at Game Freak who get these ideas from their childhood experiences, including from readingmanga, a style of Japanese comic books. Ideas come from scary experiences they had as kids, catching insects, and so forth. So from these experiences in childhood, these ideas for Pokémon came out".[23] In the same vein as the PokémonMew ofRed andBlue, the exclusive PokémonCelebi was included in theGold andSilver games but is only accessible after attending a Nintendo promotional event. The first official event offering Celebi wasNintendo Space World 2000 in Japan, in which 100,000 attendees would be awarded the rare Pokémon. In order to be selected, players had to send in a postcard to enter a lottery for one of 100,000 certificates of Celebi, allowing them to enter the event and obtain it.[24]
Ishihara stated thatGold andSilver started development right afterPokémon Red andGreen were released in Japan. The original intention was to release the game in 1998, even synchronizing with the supposed end of theanime'sfirst season. Development issues, worsened by Game Freak being sidetracked withPokémon Stadium and the localization of the first generation, led the game to be postponed, and the original release slate was taken over byPokémon Yellow. Programmer Shigeki Morimoto stated that part of why development took three and a half years was due to being a small team of only four programmers.Satoru Iwata, then the president ofHAL Laboratory who would later become Nintendo's CEO, helped the team by developing new tools for compressing the Pokémon graphic code.[25]
Junichi Masuda composed the game's music on anAmiga computer, converted it to MIDI data and reconverted again for Game Boy Color.[26]
In 2018,ROM images of the early-in-development Japanese-language demo shown during the 1997 Nintendo Space World presentation resurfaced: twodebug versions of the games, and two versions that were modified to work on normalGame Boy hardware and most emulators.[27] These ROM images were only rumored to exist until they were anonymously posted on the "Pokémon Reverse Engineering Tools" (PRET)Discord server in May 2018.[28] The demo was quickly shared with members of the websiteThe Cutting Room Floor. The ROMs were analyzed and translated, andThe Cutting Room Floor went on to release a spreadsheet containing all the information they had discovered, which includes a list of Pokémon species, Pokémon "moves",items,non-playable characters,maps, and music. The ROMs were first released anonymously onto4chan's /vp/ board in May,[29] with a formalThe Cutting Room Floor release coming later that day. The demo has a larger world map than the final game (which itself is based on the entireJapanese archipelago, unlike the final region, which is based on the Kansai region of Japan), and includes around 100 unused and changed Pokémon designs.[27]
Earlier in May 2018,Pokémon artistAtsuko Nishida revealed that the popular creaturePikachu was originally supposed to have a third evolution, named "Gorochu".[30] Additionally,Pokémon creatorSatoshi Tajiri has revealed four unused designs that would have been included in the originalPokémon games.[31]
Whilecut content is not uncommon in video games, the volume of cut content in theGold andSilver demo has been described as "overwhelming". Matthew Byrd, writing forDen of Geek, stated that a lot of design work had gone into the Pokémon that were eventually cut, suggesting that Game Freak might have taken them out during the testing phase due tobalance issues.[32]
In September 1999, the games were announced for release in Japan on November 21, 1999, and a North American release date was estimated for September 2000.[33] Nintendo announced the release of thePocket Pikachu Color, a full-color portabledigital pet similar to the one released the year before. The unit is compatible withGold andSilver, allowing the transfer of in-game currency known as "watt points". Pocket Pikachu Color was slated for release in Japan on November 21, 1999, the same day as the release ofGold andSilver.[34] In addition, an officially licensedPikachu-themedGame Link Cable developed byKemco was set for release in Japan on November 18, 1999. The product functions like a normal Game Link Cable and consists of a yellow cable with a figure of Pikachu on one end, and aPoké Ball on the other.[35]
Anticipating high sales, Nintendo set its first production shipment for the games in Japan at three million, predicting that eventually more than eight million copies would be sold in the country alone.[36] However, they were soon forced to cut the first shipment number in half following an earthquake inTaiwan, which Nintendo claimed had damaged their cartridge manufacturing facilities. Regardless, speculation arose that Nintendo was instead using the event as an excuse to limit shipment and keep the demand high.[37]
As a precursor to the North American release,Gold andSilver were displayed for audiences to interact with at the 2000American International Toy Fair inNew York City.[38] To further promote the games, Nintendo modified fiveChrysler PT Cruisers to resemble the new PokémonLugia and had them driven around the United States. The vehicles had fins and tails attached to them and were painted with logos and images of thePokémon franchise. In addition, they were equipped with a television set hooked up to game consoles which allowed spectators to playPokémon Puzzle League,Hey You, Pikachu!, andPokémon Gold andSilver.[39] The television seriesPokémon GS, based on the games, was announced to be a part of the fall lineup onKids' WB.[40] The show features the same protagonistAsh Ketchum in a new region with different Pokémon species from the games.[41] The localized English names of the 100 new Pokémon were kept confidential by Nintendo, with the company releasing names periodically. The domain names 'pokemongold.com' and 'pokemonsilver.com' were registered for this very purpose,[42] and such names released includedChikorita,Lugia,Ho-Oh,Togepi,Hoothoot, andMarill.[43]
In September 1999, Nintendo announced thatGold andSilver would be released in North America in September 2000.[44] In May 2000, Nintendo announced the official North American release date ofGold andSilver would instead be October 16 of that year.[45] The release date was later changed to October 15.[1][46][47][48] In North America, Nintendo started acceptingpre-orders for the games in August;[49] aCD-ROM was available as a pre-order bonus that included clips and music fromPokémon the Movie 2000, screenshots fromPokémon Gold andSilver, a Pokémon-themed desktop wallpaper, an offer for aNintendo Power Player's Guide, and Pokémon-related trivia.[46] The games had record pre-order sales — approximately 600,000 copies of the games were pre-ordered in just two months, compared to 150,000 copies forPokémon Yellow.[49] As the release date neared and retailers began to receive shipments of the games, some retailers—such asElectronics Boutique—opted to sell them immediately upon receiving the games; first using them to fulfill pre-orders, and then selling the remaining copies to walk-in customers. The games were reportedly obtainable as early as October 11.[50][51]
The games were released in Australia on October 13, 2000[52] and in Europe on April 6, 2001.[53]
Nintendo spent between $12 million and $14 million to market the game in the United States.[54]
Pokémon Crystal Version[d] is a third version afterPokémon Gold andSilver, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on December 14, 2000, North America on July 30, 2001, and in Europe on November 2, 2001.[55] The plot and gameplay ofCrystal is largely the same as inGold andSilver, although it includes several new features.[56]
Pokémon Crystal was received well by critics, although many commented that there were just not enough new additions and features to significantly set it apart fromPokémon Gold andSilver.Pokémon Crystal has sold nearly 6.4 million units worldwide.[57]
In June 2017,The Pokémon Company announced via a Pokémon Direct broadcast that the games would be re-released worldwide via theNintendo 3DS Virtual Console on September 22, 2017.[58]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 89% (Gold)[59] 91% (Silver)[60] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| EP Daily | 9.5/10 (Silver)[64] |
| Famitsu | 33/40[61] |
| GameSpot | 8.8/10 (Gold)[16] |
| IGN | 10/10 (Gold)[8] |
| Nintendo Life |   [62] |
| Nintendo Power | 8.7/10[63] |
Pokémon Gold andSilver were met with critical acclaim, with many saying that the extended length of gameplay and the new features were valued additions that kept the sequels as interesting as the original games. Craig Harris ofIGN gave the games a "masterful" 10 out of 10 rating, stating that: "As awesome as the original Pokémon edition was,Pokémon Gold andSilver blow it away in gameplay elements, features, and goodies. There are so many little additions to the design it's impossible to list them all".[8] There was particular praise given to the innovative internal clock feature, with Frank Povo ofGameSpot, noting: "The first major addition to Pokémon GS is the presence of a time element... Although it may sound like a gimmick, the addition of a clock adds quite a bit of variety to the game". Povo went on to give the games an 8.8 rating of "great".[17]Nintendo Power listedGold andSilver combined as the sixth best Game Boy / Game Boy Color games, praising them for the new Pokémon, features, and full-color graphics.[65]
Overall,Gold andSilver were stated to be solid gaming additions that would please a large audience. "After playing the game dozens of hours, I really can't think of a bad point to make aboutPokémon Gold andSilver. Nintendo and Game Freak have tweaked the original and built a sequel that's long, challenging and tremendous fun to play. There's a reason whyPokémon is so popular, andPokémon Gold andSilver is going to help the series move further into the 21st century", said Harris.[8]
Pokémon Gold andSilver continued the enormous success ofPokémon Red andBlue, beginning the formation ofPokémon into a multi-billion dollar franchise.[66] Upon its first day of release in Japan, the game sold 1,425,768 units.[67] As of April 2000, roughly 6.5 million copies of the games had been sold in Japan.Silver proved to be the slightly more popular version, edging outGold by approximately 100,000 copies.[68]
In the U.S., the game generated1 millionpre-sales about three weeks before release.[69] Upon the first week of release in the U.S., the games had eclipsedPokémon Yellow's previous record sales of a little over 600,000 copies; selling a combined total of 1.4 million copies to become the fastest-selling games ever.[70][71] The commercial success was expected, as Peter Main, the executive vice president of sales and marketing, stated "There's no question about it; kids love to play Pokémon. So far in 2000 the best-selling game in America for any home console is Pokémon Stadium forNintendo 64, and the best-selling game for any handheld video game system is Pokémon Yellow for Game Boy Color, but Pokémon Gold and Silver will eclipse even those impressive sales totals. We project sales of 10 million units total of these two games in less than six months time".[72] The game sold2.9 million copies in the U.S. within a few weeks.[73]
In Germany,Gold andSilver received two Double Platinum awards from theVerband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) for sales above 800,000 copies by 2002.[74] In the United Kingdom,Gold andSilver received two Platinum awards for sales above 600,000 copies.[75] By 2010,Gold andSilver had sold23 million units worldwide.[76]
Pokémon HeartGold Version[e] andPokémon SoulSilver Version[f] areenhanced remakes ofPokémon Gold andSilver, developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for theNintendo DS.[77] First released in Japan on September 12, 2009,[78] the games were later released in North America, Australia, and Europe during March 2010.[79][80]
Game directorShigeki Morimoto aimed to respect the feelings of those who played the previous games, while also ensuring that it felt like a new game to those that were introduced to the series in more recent years.[81] Reception to the games was positive, the two being amongst the highest-rated DS games of all time onMetacritic.[82] Commercially, they are among thebest-selling Nintendo DS games of all time, with combined sales of 10 million units as of July 2010.[83]
The new adventures of the Gold and Silver versions of Pokémon will commence on October 15th when the games are released in North America.
Release October 15, 2000
