Pokemon Crystal Version

"The Final Installment of a Great Series"

You read the topic right, pokemon now is not the pokemon I grew with. It's been twisted to suck more money from the wallets of parents than Mario can keep up with. Pokemon is now a series ruined by the greedy bastards at Pokemon Inc. But enough hate for the new pokemon, let's go old school and look at the final installment of a great series.

Story: 1/10

Well, it's pokemon, what do expect? The same rubbish story you get from Mario. You start out to be a pokemon trainer (you may choose for the first time, Male or Female), you fight your way through gyms all across the land of Johto, collect more pokemon and become a Pokemon Master. The concept is good, but there isn't too much of a story, even with the legendary dog Suicune mixed in the storyline. Then again, to most kids the story doesn't matter anyway, and once your done with it, you won't even remember it.

Graphics: 10/10

The graphics are nice and clear, everything looks beautiful, the pokemon also have animated sprites. A large upgrade from Gold and Silver, with every pokemon having it's own personal animation when they enter battle. While it may get on your nerves once you've seen them enough, it's still fairly impressive when you have to animate a grand total of 251 individual pokemon. The sprites when choosing pokemon, could've done it better, it would have been nice to see more individual sprites, but it's hardly significant. Every trainer, gym leader, pokemon, landscape, move, they all look very impressive on this old fossil.

Music: 8/10

There are many catchy tunes to hear in this game, though none are overly impressive, though still nice to hear. For those who have played pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow before this, you may find a slight hint of nostalgia in this game.

Gameplay: 10/10

I think you all saw a 10/10 coming. This game's core gameplay hasn't changed from Red/Blue/Yellow, It is a heated turn based battle between 2 powerful pokemon as they battle to the...faint. Yeah well apparently pokemon are invincible, being hit by flamethrowers, lightning strikes, body slams and explosions, though the worst that can happen apparently is that they can faint.

Anyway, the game is incredibly fun to play, through turn based battle you must strategically take out the others pokemon, or just bash each other with Hyper Beams till someone dies (faints, right, right). Each pokemon is allowed to know 4 moves at a time to keep while using in battle. Each attack either does damage, lower or heighten enemy or own stats, deals a status effect, or in Splash's case, absolutely nothing. While the big picture is complex, it's rather simple. This is one of those games that is easy to do but hard to master.

There are 17 types in the game, 2 new ones added being Steel and Dark. Each attack is one of those types, and each pokemon is one or 2 of these types.Each move affects different pokemon differently, damage varies on a pokemon's attack, special attack (sp atk), speed, and the enemies defense, sp def and the enemies type and the type your attack is using. Even gender plays a part n this, as most pokemon can be of either male or female gender, and certain attacks only work against the opposite sex. The weather plays a part as well, as sunny weather can boost up fire moves and rainy weather can boost water type moves. All of this sounds very hard, but it's very simple the moment you try it out.

As you travel through your pokemon your world, your pokemon goes up levels the more you train it against wild pokemon. It get more powerful, learns new moves and can even evolve into bigger, more powerful and impressive pokemon. You can also challenge trainers anywhere and take them on in a battle, challenge the gym trainers, there are many ways to train up pokemon.

The variety and customisation in this game is astounding. You get to choose from 251 pokemon, in which if your lucky enough, you may find a shiny version of that pokemon, plus a choice between male and female, you have 17 different types, some pokemon are 2 types, pokemon stats that change with your playing style and a gazillion different moves to use and owning 4 of them at a time...It comes down to a grand total of a crap load of customisation options in a game that only weighs a couple of megabytes.

Onto gameplay outside of battle, you run around the land of Johto from a 2D overhead map. Here you can see trainers, buildings, and shops. Since your reading this review, you likely have this game, as this review is nearly a decade too late, but I'll explain many different things that can happen ingame.

There are pokemon centers, where you may stop at to get your pokemon back to full health. There are Shops (Marts) where you can buy poke'balls to capture pokemon, as well as potions, and many, many different things such as accessories or drinks, it just keeps on going. There is a gamecorner where you may spend you coins and see if you're feelin lucky, and earn nifty prizes with your earnings. There is a breeding center, where they keep your pokemon while they train them for you. However, if certain male and female pokemon are left there, you get an egg, from which can hatch a pokemon. You are also given access to a cell phone, in which you may call people to either battle, catch up or find out when certain pokemon are in season. Which brings me to another addition to the pokemon world...

Time. Morning, Day and Night, as well as the day of the week and the actual time are in this game. All sorts of things happen throughout the pokemon even while you not playing. Many things happen at different times, there may bug catching contests, massages, price specials, night and morning time pokemon, there are so many things that can happen with this well accepted addition.

All in all, there are so many features here, it makes The Sims look dull and unimpressive. The gameplay is so easy to do, you just have to pick up and play, but learning all the different strategies of the different pokemon makes it hard to master. The gameplay is top notch and can easily compete with the portables and consoles of today (2008).

Replayability: 10/10

As if this wouldn't get any less. The battle tower is a welcome addition to the game, as you test your skills against the computer's pokemon, however, they are way smarter and more powerful than the ordinary ones in game, you may find yourself losing the first round. There are many secrets, as well as 251 pokemon to capture and master, and the fact that you may battle with a friend makes this experience all worthwhile. You may pour hundreds of hours into this game and you'll barely scratch the surface of how much this game can do.

Final Score: 10/10

If everything was based on averages, then pokemon would never get a perfect 10, it's story is pathetic at best. However, the gameplay is truly ground breaking, an entire region to cross, and many secrets to unlock. You should get this game at all costs. It is the final game, of one of the greatest series ever to grace this earth. Will you rise up from the others. Will you be, a Pokemon Master?

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/26/08

Game Release: Pokemon Crystal Version (US, 07/29/01)