Pokemon Silver Version

"Orangio rants about his favorite Pokemon generation."

First off, let me say this. Pokemon Silver is one of my favorite games of all time, despite having several glaring, gameplay-hindering flaws. I think this says a lot.

Gameplay: *curses and swears at the ingame clock*

Pokemon Silver utilizes the tried-and-true formula of Pokemon games. Collect a team of six monsters and try to become the Champion trainer by defeating wild Pokemon, rival trainers, Gym Leaders and criminal organizations in turn-based, strategic battle. There are 100 new Pokemon this time around, and the old continent of Kanto is replaced by the new continent of Johto (however, Kanto still exists and is accessible). This game presents many new concepts from the days of Red/Blue/Yellow versions, such as Pokemon holding items, two new Pokemon types (Dark and Steel), a slew of new attacks, and Pokemon breeding. That's right, put a male and a female pogey together and they make an egg. This can be used to acquire multiples of rare Pokemon (like Eevee) or pass on certain Egg Moves to Pokemon that otherwise would not learn those moves naturally.

Pokemon Silver has an in-game clock. It keeps track of time, and day of the week. This is important, because (especially in the early game) some Pokemon only come out at certain times of the day (for example, Ledyba only comes out in the morning, Hoothoot appears only at night, and Pidgey doesn't appear at night at al), and some only come out on certain days of the week O_O This is frustrating in the early game if you obsessively and compulsively try to catch every pogey in an area before moving on to the next one, since if you start your Silver version at night, you'll have to wake up before 10:00 (the transition from Morning to Day) the next day to catch Ledyba. And if you're an unlucky soul who obtains your Surf HM on a Saturday, you're going to have to wait until the next Friday to have a shot at Lapras :[ Luckily, this clock does not affect too many aspects of the game, and once you get past the first few areas the Pokemon aren't so restricted.

One of the reasons I love this game is because it has the best selection of Pokemon. When I play one of the other generations, I trouble myself with planning a team before I start playing. I go through every area and try to pick out certain Pokemon that fit my needs, and often find myself coming up short. I get frustrated. In Pokemon Silver, I still get frustrated, but for a different reason. There's so many appealing Pokemon to choose from, I have trouble picking six! They're all so cool ^_^;;;;;;

Atmosphere: This game has a STORY???

As usual, you're trying to collect eight badges from Gym Leaders and defeat the Elite Four to prove your worth as the Pokemon Champion! That's all fine and dandy, but Team Rocket is back in action after three years of inactivity, and they will indirectly lead you off your initial path and on a quest to stop their evil plans. Those evil plans consist of taking over the Johto radio and using it to transmit waves that induce quickened evolution in Pokemon. OH NOS SOMEONE SAVE ME!!! Despite the poor evil plot section of the storyline (which at least leads up to some pretty interesting confrontations), the game's atmosphere is cool. Nothing really... stands out about it, it just feels more... quest-y than the other Pokemon games. And since a quest is exactly what you're doing, that's a very good thing.

Sound: *hums Kanto Gym Leader theme*

Pokemon games have average sound quality with catchy tunes. Pokemon Silver is no exception. There will be songs that get nestled in the back of your brain, stuck in your head for a while but then you won't remember them. I noticed just a few days ago that the wild Pokemon battle music changes from day to night O_o So yeah, the music's not fantastic, but the Johto Trainer Battle theme and the Kanto Gym Leader theme are pretty fun to listen to.

Graphics: What would you expect?

As for overworld graphics, Pokemon is average at best, but that's perfectly fine with me. It really shines during a battle. The Pokemon sprites are bold and colorful (just how I like it) and the flashy move animations are fun to watch.

Buy or Rent?: Buy

Renting Pokemon games is absolutely pointless, I'm sorry to say. A few days to finish the game, and it probably won't happen, and even if it does there's still so much more of an experience and so much more replay value that can be gotten out of this game. Pokemon Silver is a game that should be bought and played repeatedly.

Also, make sure to catch a Swinub. Swinub is so cool <_<

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/02/04