After the huge success of Red and Blue and all things Pokémon, Game Freak new what had to be done; a sequel was in order. The sequels, labeled Pocket Monsters 2: Gold and Silver were set to be released in late 1997. This did not come to fruition; the game was delayed, and it finally hit Japan in June 1999, and it came to the rest of the world a year later. Does it improve on the last game, or is it a bad case of sequelitis? Let's dig in and find out!

STORY

The basic story is the same: you're a kid, and you've got to catch and battle Pokémon to defeat the gym leaders, the nefarious Team Rocket, and your sinister rival. Team Rocket's a little more fleshed out this time around; instead of trying to get money, (although they do that too) they're trying to get their former leader, Giovanni, to return. The story's nothing special, but it serves it's purpose. 7/10

GAMEPLAY

The core gameplay established Red/Blue/Yellow is largely the same; collect, trade and battle Pokémon. There were some big changes, though. The most notable is the addition of 100 new monsters. Personally, I'm not fond of many of them; they tend to have rather bland designs, especially when compared to Gen 1's rather strange 'mons, and many of them aren't very useful. The good ones, though, are really good. Ampharos, Lanturn, Porygon 2, Heracross, and Sudowoodo are all favorites. The next biggest change is the addition of two brand new types; Dark and Steel. These were needed additions; they helped balance out the overpowered Psychic type, and gave some types, like Fighting and Bug, more uses. The last big change is the split of the Special stat in to two stats; Special Attack and Special Defense. This was also a very welcome a needed change, making certain Pokémon less overpowered. Overall, the gameplay is still a blast. 10/10

DIFFICULTY AND LENGTH

The game can be rather difficult. You see, the levels in this game are rather low - the final boss peaks at Lv. 50. Due to this, you won't get much experience from trainers, so a fair bit of grinding is required. This is one of my least favorite aspects of the game - playing through it can be a chore. I've only beaten it twice, as opposed to every Pokémon game, which I've beaten at least three times (more in most cases). Difficulty gets a 5/10.

The game's a pretty good length, with two regions - Johto and Kanto - to explore, and 16 gym leaders to take down. Neither is very big, though, (Kanto has been noticeably downsized) but it's still a decently lengthy game, with plenty to do. Length gets an 8/10.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

The graphics look good. Each Pokémon has a nice, detailed sprite, the overwold looks good, as do the attack animations. Nothing here looks too bizarre or creepy, (there's no Gen 1 Exeggutor here, folks) and it's good all around. 8/10

The music is great and memorable, beating even Red and Blue's soundtrack for me. Favorite new tracks are Violet City, Azelea Town, Ecruteak City, Vs. Gym Leader, and Vs. Lance/Red. 9/10

FINAL

This is a good game, with the glaring flaw of having too much necessary grinding, making things a chore at times. Still, it's Pokémon, and it's still a lot of fun.

RATING

8/10

Thanks for reading! ^w^

UPCOMING REVIEWS:

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

Super Mario RPG