Pokémon Silver Version

The Good
Much improved front and back sprites of Pokémon. This generation introduced the Dark and Steel types, which make Psychic-Type Pokémon much less overpowered. In addition, the bug was fixed so that they are no longer immune to Ghost-Type moves. Tons of new moves were introduced that are more varied like an actual useful Ghost-Type move Shadow Ball and the Dragon-Type move Outrage. 100 new Pokémon introduced including new evolutions and baby Pokémon from the previous generation. The battle animations are more varied and look much nicer.

Item management is much better in this game. You no longer have to worry about filling up your inventory if you find an item in the overworld and on top of that, items are also categorized. Introduces breeding and egg moves. Great soundtrack. Experience points are now shown as a blue line that lets you know how much closer you are to gaining a new level instead of pausing the game frequently and checking the status of a Pokémon.

The game not only takes place in the Johto region, but after you complete the Pokémon League, you can explore the Kanto region from the first game, which features most of the original gym leaders to battle to collect an additional 8 badges totaling 16 in all from the first 8 badges from the gym leaders from Johto. You also battle Red, the protagonist from Red, Blue, and Yellow as a superboss! These features haven't been done since with the exception of the remake from generation IV.

You no longer have to pause to use most HM moves in the overworld. You go to a tree, water, whirlpool, boulder, or waterfall and press A and you use the move. The special stat from gen I is now divided to special attack and special defense, which means that Amnesia is less broken in which it raises special defense by 2 stages. The game is less glitchy overall.

Pokémon can now hold items which add more strategy in battles. There is also a new weather mechanic that affect certain moves and types. The game also keeps track of the time and day that affects what Pokémon you find in the wild and what event is being held and even when certain Pokémon evolve. It's still funny to name your rival something like asshole or retard.

The Bad
Some Pokémon still have limited moves that make them less useful. Out of the 100 new Pokémon introduced, there's only 1 new Ghost-Type Pokémon and 1 new Dragon-Type Pokémon. Some Pokémon introduced in this generation for some reason can only be found in Kanto, which makes no since they weren't in Red, Blue, and Yellow.

There are 2 new HM moves to use in the overworld which are required to proceed the game. And the worst part is the 2 new moves are both Water-Type moves which means you probably need a Pokémon in your party that has all HM moves in their moveset. Keep in mind that you can't replace an HM move if a Pokémon is trying to learn a new move. Only three gym leaders from Johto use a Pokémon from generation II, as if Game Freak was afraid that players wouldn't like the new Pokémon and had most of the gym leaders use the old ones to comfort them.

Like before, there are Pokémon who evolve by trading with a different player and there are also Pokémon that will evolve by trading while holding an item. Good luck finding someone to trade with in this day and age. Not many trainers use Pokémon that hold items except for the major trainers and even then it's usually only one Pokémon.

While not nearly as bad as the previous games, there is a glitch that makes some of the new Poké balls introduced not work as intended. For example, the Moon ball is supposed to make it easier to catch a Pokémon that can evolve with a Moon Stone. However, instead it works as a normal Poké ball.

The Bottom Line
This game is mind-blowing. You had to be there when it first came out to know how great it was to play the sequel to the generation I games. In my opinion, Game Freak has not topped Gold and Silver when it comes to new game mechanics and evolving previous mechanics in future Pokémon games. And remember, this is a Game Boy Color game! Hell, both versions have different front sprites for each Pokémon. They didn't need to make 2 different sprites for both versions, but they did.

The Good
Pokemon Silver provides a fun mix of strategic, turn-based combat combined with the fun of collecting new Pokemon. The combat system is easy to understand, and the number of Pokemon available to collect is mind boggling - there are over 200 hundred different types! The real-time in-game clock means that if you go through the same area at 10pm that you did at 10am, the experience may be totally different.

The Bad
Although the real-time clock is interesting, the inability to reset it after the start of the game means the player must play the game during both day and night to capture every Pokemon. Also, some Pokemon will only evolve if they are very happy with their trainer. However, there is no way to gauge a Pokemon's happiness level. This can become very frustrating as the game progresses. Finally, it is impossible to catch all the Pokemon without owning Pokemon Gold as well.

The Bottom Line
A fun hybrid of turn based combat, role-playing, and collecting. Don't ignore this game just because it says Pokemon in the title. You will become addicted.