Below are user reviews of Pokemon Gold and on the right are links to professionally written reviews.
The summary of review scores shows the distribution of scores given by the professional reviewers for Pokemon Gold.
Column height indicates the number of reviews with a score within the range shown at the bottom of the column.
Higher scores (columns further towards the right) are better.
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User Reviews (1 - 11 of 151)
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The best pokémon game EVER!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 208 / 214
Date: May 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User
I've played this game right through to the end (in japanese) and all I can say is WOW! This tops the original in every possible way. The graphics, the sound, the moves and the gameplay in general is simply light years ahead of the original. The battles are simply spectacular! Almost all of the existing moves have been beautifully redesigned and there are an extra forty as well. The otherwise dull Quick Attack for instance looks superb on this game. And to make training even easier, the pokémon have an extra blue "experience meter" which fills up as you gain experience. It's a wonderful innovation and it allows you to more accurately judge when a pokémon is ready to reach the next level. Even pokémon from the red and blue versions can evolve even further!
The story is situated three years after the red/blue versions and you play the role of an ambitious young boy destined to catch all the pokémon. There are initially eight gym leaders to challenge and defeat, then you have to face the Elite Four. When you've defeated them, you get to move on to the "Old World" where the original pokémon game took place and visit all the cities! You can even challenge the old Gym leaders including Brock, Misty and Gary (the new Viridian gym leader) bringing the total amount of badges up to sixteen! Be warned, after three years of experience they have become much tougher than when you last faced them.
I think the games biggest feature is the introduction of a real-time clock. Special built-in batteries allow the cartridge to act like a realistic clock, meaning that if it's one-thirty on Friday in the real world, it's also one-thirty on Friday in the game! It's a revolutionary breakthrough in video game technology! This allows the game to track whether it's day or night and it is reflected in the game. So if you want to find some nocturnal pokémon, you'll probably have to wait until dinnertime to catch them. On a larger scale, there are also some special events or pokémon that appear only on certain days of the week. Lapras for instance only appears in its cave on Saturdays, which means that you'll have to wait until Saturday if you want to catch it.
Another cool feature is that the pokémon can be either male or female (which will undoubtedly lead to outrageously sexist arguments on which is the stronger) and you can get baby pokémon by making them ... er ... "mate". So if you catch a male and female Pikachu and get them to do their thing, you'll get an adorable little Pichu. You can even crossbreed pokémon of the same type to get a new pokémon that is of the mother's specie, but has the father's stats. Just think of the combinations!
The new gadgets available in the game are surprisingly modern: e-mails, cell phones and a realistic radios. The latter is surprisingly fun to use; it sports a tuner than can change its frequency so you can listen to different radio stations and their music, just like in real life. Unfortunately, you won't find anything like Britney Spears. Possibly the coolest items are the "mysterious" ones that you receive by e-mail from time to time. The only way to access them is by trading them to another Gameboy or a Pocket Pickachu Colour game. When you do, you can either receive decorative items for your virtual room like carpets, plants, dolls and consoles or you can receive battle items like potions, evolution stones and even rare candies! No other game in the world has been so universally interactive!
On a side note, the pokémon that cannot be caught in gold or silver are: Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Omanyte, Kabuto, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo, Mew and any of their evolved forms. The reason being that there is only one of each and they were already caught in the red & blue versions three years ago. And finally, when you have finished absolutely everything, there will be one last trainer left for you to face. I won't spoil the surprise, but I think it's pretty obvious who it is.
This is simply the best game on any console! With 251 monsters to catch and an ultra-rare gold or silver version of each one to find, the pokémon relive in this epic adventure that will last for years. So what are you waiting for? Pre-order it NOW!
An improvement on the first games: not yet at the "just cashing in" stage
4
Rating: 4,
Useful: 107 / 125
Date: September 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User
OK, I'm not the world's biggest Pokémon fan. Only ever played the Gameboy games, don't care for the cards or cartoons and I lost interest upon the advent of Ruby and Emerald
cash-ins sequels.
I was impressed with the concept, style and execution of the first games, Red and Blue. Less so with Yellow (for a game which was 99% identical to the first two, it was definitely not worth the price). Having played the Japanese version of Gold and Silver, I am pleased to say that these ARE worth the price - if you are a Pokémon fan and after more of the same.
The basic plot is similar - catch, train and battle your Pokémon ("Pocket Monsters"), solving puzzles and beating the bad guys along the way.
The most notable additions are the superior graphics (the originals were not designed for the Gameboy Color and consequently the display colours were not great), male/female Pokémon and the ability to breed them, 100 new species of Pokémon and the clock feature, all of which have been described numerous times in other reviews.
Other additions which I liked include the ability to "equip" items to your Pokémon for use in battle. There is even a "Mail" item that lets you attach a short message to a Pokémon then trade it to a friend. There are rare Pokémon which are unusual colours.
There are different Pokémon to catch depending on whether it is daytime or night-time in the game. There are also a lot more puzzles to solve (some of which are very frustrating) and a special feature once you complete the game that lets you revisit the world of Red and Blue.
There are numerous improvements to the menu system, including a very handy feature that lets you assign the Select button to one particular item you use a lot - the bicycle, for example.
Before buying Gold or Silver, look at "Pokémon Crystal", which is the same game with a couple of extra features, such as (limited) animation of the Pok?mon and some extra puzzles.
To sum up - the second generation of games has many advantages over the original Red, Blue and Yellow. You may miss some in-jokes or references if you haven't played one of the originals, and will find the learning curve steeper with 250 'species' to memorise.
An exceptional RPG.
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 56 / 63
Date: November 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User
Blue, Red, and Yellow were great, but they just can't compare to Gold and Silver. Full color graphics make the game even better. A whole new world to explore with 8 new cities with gym leaders to defeat and badges to earn. A completely new character. Not Ash this time (Although you do see Ash, or "Red" and Gary, "Blue" later on). Gold and Silver now include male and female Pokemon which can breed and make an egg for a completely different Pokemon. Completely new technology includes the PokeGear which can be expanded into a radio and a telephone. 100 new Pokemon to catch, and new battle animations, and now an experience meter is included in the battle screens to show how high your Pokemon is on his/her current level. The Pokemon Centers now include the Time Capsule, allowing you to trade Pokemon with Red, Blue, and Yellow. And for those who own the Pikachu 2 GS, you can earn more items with watts that you can send to Gold and Silver. And not to mention that a lot has changed in 3 years. A must-have RPG for anyone, even people that aren't interested in Pokemon. Definitely worth buying, no doubt about it.
The Gold in this game is worth more tham $99999999999999999!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 105 / 143
Date: August 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User
This game is awesome! You battle Ash.There are 100 new Pokemon. Making 251 in total. Bug Boy and the Nidorans could use reshaping (Scyther could stand it too) but aside from that the graphics are great! Two new types (steel and evil) make this game even better. 16 gyms,new Pokeballs and items, and new people (some of the same people look different). Now the Elite Four has 5, five, V people and the only one that remained from the original was Lance. There levels are lower, but it is harder to get high levels in here than if Red, Blue or Yellow. With two HM's added, TM's totally new, and new abilities you'll never be bored. The three bad things are the reshaphing, the game ends at a point (wahhhhhhhhhhh! ), and there is a really annoying puzzle to be solved before you get you seventh badge ( don't worry because it take time to get to that point). ...
Disgusted with Pokemon? Read on.
4
Rating: 4,
Useful: 45 / 52
Date: October 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User
Pokemon can be annyoing, I know, but I'm setting out to actually write an intelligent and coherent review of this game, which may be very hard to find ... I'm 16, I'm a nerd for playing Pokemon but I don't care, its fun. I picked up a copy of Pokemon Red last spring, very very skeptical at first. It was from a recommendation from a friend, so I said why not. I discovered that beneath all this media hype and horrible merchandise and television programming was a very good quality game. Based from the solid, standard turn-based RPG format, Gold/Silver and Red/Blue are great games. If you liked any of the Final Fantasy Legend titles for Game Boy, or the Zelda series, consider picking one up. Gold/Silver, like their predacessors Red and Blue, are games presenting you with a seemingly impossible task of catching all 251 types of Pokemon (151 in Red/Blue) and defeating 8 main trainers (someone who raises Pokemon) in the game. There are a large handful of types of Pokemon, from Fire and Ice to Poison and Psychic. Silver and Gold introduced two new types, Steel and Darkness, in addition to 100 new Pokemon, more evolutions of Pokemon, new worlds, maps and characters, and better stats for the Pokemon. I don't consider Pokemon Yellow to be in this category, because it is based from the television program and is no equal to that of Gold, Silver, Red, or Blue. The main difference between Gold and Silver (or Red and Blue) is the variety of Pokemon you find, which means in order to complete your mission of capturing all types you must trade (via a game link cable) with an opposite version owner. You can also take your Pokemon from Blue and Red and put them on you Silver or Gold cartridge, and vice versa. Gold/Silver is surperior to Red/Blue because, aside from being in color, it is somewhat easier and much more flowing - the plot isn't random and choppy like Blue or Red. Although not as addictive as Red or Blue, Silver or Gold are excellent games - and once you clear the Gold or Silver map (Johto) you have access to a slightly altered map from Red or Blue (Kanto). What's more, with the help of Pokemon Stadium and its tranfer pack, you can take your Pokemon from your Game Boy and battle them against the computer or a friend with awesome animation and clarity. Overall, if you have a couple of dull weeks to kill, consider grabbing a copy of Gold or Silver, or even Red or Blue. But, if you find the merchandising, television program, movie, etc. to be bothersome, don't reach for Yellow.
Awesome Game!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 41 / 48
Date: September 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User
This new version of pokemon coming out soon is going to be a hit! I have the Japanese version, and it is awesome! I think that it is way better than the other three versions. For example, the colors on the game are absolutely beautiful! And also, what's really amazing is that there is an internal clock in the game pak. So, if it is 9:00am in the real world, it is 9:00pm in the pokemon world. Of course, you can set the time to anytime you want in the beginning, but after that you can't change it.
In the Silver and Gold versions, you must catch 250 pokemon to complete the game. Now that's a great feat! Something that's interesting about this game is that some pokemon only appear in the wild at certrain times of the day( It turns to night at 6:00pm in the game.). And there are male and female pokemon, so if you want to breed them, you can! That's great. But if you want to collect both male and female pokemon of each specie, you have 500 to collect. Phew!
There are 16 badges in all. The first eight are in the new world, and after you collect all of those, you get to go back to the old world( You know, the Red, Blue, and Yellow version world? ), and get the other eight. That also lets you catch pokemon from the old world. You will also get a chance to fight Ash Ketchum later on in the game. I haven't gotten to him yet, but I've heard that he is EXTREMELY hard to beat! But how hard can it be? You're all pokemon masters, right?
You've just gotta catch this game!
Pokemon Gold and Silver - Review.
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 37 / 45
Date: May 16, 2000
Author: Amazon User
You MUST get this game! It is the long awaited sequel to Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow and Green and it's brilliant! It features 101 new Pokemon all of which learn different and new attacks. The 11 Pokemon you cannot catch are: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Kabuto, Omanyte, Mew and Mewtwo. With 251 Pokemon to catch and a whole new world to explore this is a MUST for all Pok'emon fans. Pre-order NOW!
Pokemon has gone gold!
4
Rating: 4,
Useful: 23 / 25
Date: August 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User
This game is the best Pokemon yet. I have played the Japanese version of this game and I got pretty far. It's really neat. There's 100 new pokemon, and you can only find some pokemon at night, and others at day. Plus, when it's day in the real world, it's day in the game, and the same goes for night. And, you can choose how you want your room to look. You can get different items for your room, like dolls and stuff. There's a new rival. You are no longer ash, (you fight him at the end of the game) you are some cool guy who wears his hat backwards. Everything is in color, too. The best Pokemon game yet! Pokemon silver is equally good, too.
Not for the little ones!
1
Rating: 1,
Useful: 43 / 59
Date: November 17, 2000
Author: Amazon User
I'm sure this is a great game for older kids, but unless your 5 year old can read, try something else. There are a lot of written instructions on screen and the only way the little ones (4, 5, 6 year olds) can play is if you intend to sit side by side and play with him. (Not entirely a bad idea either.) But if you're looking for a game the little ones can play by themselves, look elsewhere.
SWEET!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 34 / 44
Date: May 14, 2000
Author: Amazon User
Man, this is like the best Pokemon game out there! I hardly even like Pokemon and this has got to be one of my favorite games. I like the new breeding feature, the 101 new Pokemon and the special Red and Gold Pokemon that are stronger than usual. And if you have a Pocket Pikachu Color GS there could be a certain 251st Pokemon in your future... This game is a must have! :)
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