Over the years, I have had many debates with fellow Pokemon fans about what the best game in the series is. I’ve heard the tirades of perpetually stubborn genwunners, citing Red & Blue as Pokemon’s joint magnum opuses; I’ve listened as would-be scholars of story and structure touted Black & White as narrative masterpieces; and I have grimaced while stalwart defenders of Kalos claimed that X & Y aren’t the worst Pokemon games ever made.
Through it all, the only comfort I could find lay in my own undying conviction that HeartGold & SoulSilver are not just the best Pokemon games of all time, but are among the elite pantheon of gaming’s greatest triumphs. So what gives, eh? Why aren’t Pokemon’s most excellent games playable on a modern console?
If you haven’t played Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver, I a) feel very sorry for you and b) envy you with a jealousy so ferocious that I am on the verge of spontaneous combustion as I type this. I’ve just had to open a window to cool down. That’s how good these games are - if you haven’t played them yet, I’m not sure whether I should order you to rectify that immediately or warn you that you’d be best off saving something this good for a time when you really needed an infallible pick-me-up. HGSS is the only tangible proof we have of sorcery. I’d say it belongs in the Louvre if not for the fact it deserves better.
For those unacquainted with the best Pokemon games ever made, HeartGold & SoulSilver are remakes of the original Gen 2 entries - Gold, Silver, and Crystal. HGSS launched as part of Gen 4, which most people will remember as the generation with Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. To be honest, the reason I’m writing this is because those Gen 4 games are now being remade as Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl for Gen 8 and are all set to launch in a couple of weeks’ time. This reminded me of HGSS both because a) it came out just after those titles, and b) is the series’ best remake, as well as its best pair of games. I can’t for the life of me stop thinking about the joys of Johto.
This appears to have become a sort of running theme with me. Just last week, I wrote about how 20 years later, Pokemon’s Gen 2 Pokedex is still its best one ever. We’ve also lamented Unite’s lack of love for Johto here at TheGamer and theorised about how cool it would be to see the series’ second region integrated into Pokemon Legends: Arceus via the Sinjoh Ruins. I reckon we’ve got Goldenrod fever - the town named after me can get in the bin, though.
The thing about remakes is that they’re tricky. You need to modernise a game while preserving what made it special in the first place - you can’t excessively alter its identity in terms of story, visual integrity, or just good old-fashioned feel. At the same time, there’s a reason it needs to be remade. On one hand, it’s probably going to earn you lots of cash - you’re not doing this out of the goodness of your hearts. On the other, there’s a demand for this game to be made approachable as per contemporary standards. HeartGold & SoulSilver satisfied all of these conditions a decade ago, and yet still feel as if they could have launched yesterday to unanimous acclaim as benchmarks of modern design.
The fact Pokemon Gold & Silver are already two of the best RPGs ever made obviously helps, although would have been a major hindrance had the remakes not been up to scratch. Imagine Nintendo had spoiled Gen 2 - there would have been Uproar, Outrage, and Clangorous Soulblaze. None of these things happened - I suppose the last one didn’t on account of the fact that Kommo-o didn’t actually exist yet, but still, you get the point.
I haven’t even bothered mentioning any of HGSS’ features here - not the integrated Celebi event, not the Battle Frontier, not the incorporation of illustrious trainers like Cynthia. That’s all stuff you just need to enjoy in the moment. While I usually don’t care about spoilers, especially for games that are 12 years old, HGSS is just different. If you gave me a grand I wouldn’t ruin it. If you gave me a car I wouldn’t ruin it. If you gave me a real, living, breathing Pokemon I wouldn’t ruin it. Well, maybe I would for that last one, but then again so would anyone.
At the time of writing, the Switch isn’t particularly great for Pokemon. I’ve always used mine as a sort of Pokemon machine - when I’m not playing Zelda or indies, I’ve generally got Sword, Snap, Unite, Mystery Dungeon DX, Home, and Let’s Go Eevee all installed at the same time. Aside from Quest, that’s pretty much every Pokemon game you can get on Switch right now. Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl will make for welcome additions to the console in two weeks, and Legends: Arceus is probably my most anticipated game of next year aside from Weird West, but there is always room for HeartGold & SoulSilver on any console Nintendo puts out between now and the nuclear apocalypse.
Just put them on Switch, yeah? Not everybody has a DS and you’re supposedly against emulation, so the onus is kind of on you to support two of the best games you’ve ever made. I’m not arguing for them to be packed in with some overpriced subscription model filled with tanking frame rates and subpar 3DS ports, but in spite of myself I’d take it if it meant being able to witness the Whirl Islands on my telly.
Johto, Kanto, and a host of all-star trainers from across the world all packed into one cartridge? It would be too good to be true if it didn’t already exist. Come on, Nintendo - you know what the right move here is. HGSS could be the heart and soul of the Switch - for that line alone, I deserve to be heard.