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Pokemon SoulSilver DS

User Reviews about Pokemon SoulSilver Version

I purchased this game for my 11 yr. old daughter. She can't stop playing it so I assume it is a lot of fun. The pokewalker works quite well, and as a parent, it is also good to see physical activity incorporated in a video game. She took the unit on vacation, and as we did a lot of walking she took the pokewalker along. Good game to get the kids out and motivated! -- Pokemon soul silver

To explain the gameplay is great, I will simply say that it is a remake of a great and classic game.

I am writing this review just to state how the two screens were used versus Diamond/Pearl versions. The bottom screen controls PC operations and moving monsters from party to box or box to box has never been easier. A lot of things have been moved to the touch screen which is really intuitive. The Poketch has been replaced by PokeGear which has only 4 functions instead of many. It's simpler to use, and you can select any single one from any single page. The Poketch in Diamond/Pearl required users to tap a button over and over to rotate to the "application" they wanted to use. If you miss it, have fun going around all over again. Managing items in the backpack is also much better. Although there's a lot of room for improvement, it's more than simply text based on the top screen. Now you can see a picture of each item and a description of 6 (or is it 8? I don't remember) at a time. You can scroll through pages easily to view your 30+ or whatever items many at a time. In D/P, you could highlight one at a time only on the top screen.

Simply put, playing Diamond after Soul Silver, I was almost frustrated with the Diamond user-interface after Soul Silver's improvements. -- Great game w/ superior user interface.

Even though this is only the a remake of the games I thought it was a great game. I played Pokemon Silver when it came out and I loved it. Now ten years later with the remake it is better than the original. I've played the games since Pokemon Red and Blue. I think I will play these games as long as they come out. -- Best Remake

Actual Score- 3.5/5
WARNING- THIS REVIEW HAS MINOR SPOILERS. This is a LONG review, but I want to make my point clear so that there is no confusion. SS stands for Soul Silver.

Short Review- Pokemon Soul Silver is a good and addicting RPG, but when compared to its predecessor, it falls back on a lot of things. Changes are not exemplary as they replace another change in the franchise. All in all, this game is a disappointment as the flaws that existed in the original game were not fixed at all this game.

Long Review-
Let me begin with this, I love Pokemon games. I've played one game of every generation(Gold/FR/Emerald/Platinum). As a result I was super hyped for this one. My last Pokemon game was Platinum, which to this day remains my favorite DS game, and after doing a little research for this game, I came to the conclusion that I MUST get this game. And so I did..

The box came in by mail. I didn't even take a glance at it. I ripped it up, took the game, and jammed it into my DS slot, eager for a Pokemon adventure that would even top the already amazing Platinum. After 300 hours of gameplay, it didn't.

First impressions started out good. Lugia screamed out "Bring it!" in the title. New Bark Town was a homely, scenic city that reminded me of home, especially with the beautiful windmills in the city. Already, the game was looking a lot better than Platinum. And after these 300 hours of game play, it remains one of the few things Soul Silver exceeds Platinum in. Other than Platinum's darker overtones(which I prefer), Soul Silver has better looking cities, better looking water, better looking trainers, and better Pokemon sprites. The 3D parts of Soul Silver are a thrill to the eye.
(Visual Score- Platinum: 8/10 Pokemon SS: 9.5/10)

Now let's begin with story. Platinum is probably the only Pokemon game I've played that has a cohesive plot. I love the mythological ties with the legendary Pokemon. Cyrus, the villain of the game, is cliche, but not personality-nonexistant like the villains of this game. See, the original Pokemon Gold didn't even have unique characters(they were all called TEAM ROCKET ADMIN). This game gave them names like Petral, Proton, and Apollo, but they remained just as vapid as before. There are only 2 BIG storyline elements in this game, and one of those is an unreleased US event(Mahogany Town Incident/Giovanni Event). The Lugia plot was tacked on and rushed, and Suicune's encounter is exactly the same as before. They could have at least given some more dimension to Eusine, but since they didn't, he isn't memorable at all. I acknowledge Pokemon isn't really about story, but if Platinum could do it, why couldn't this game? They added Groudon/Rayquaza/Latios/Latias to this game, but there was no reason to WHY they existed. This was a missed opportunity in which they could have created another mythical tie to the game. Next, after you beat the Elite 4, you can travel to Kanto, the first generation region. Guess what? KANTO HAS NO PLOT. NONE AT ALL. It is a region devoid of any interest, and as a result doesn't last more than 2 hours. These shortcomings in the original game had the chance of being fixed, but GameFreak didn't fix it. And I'm willing to bet if they had, no one would complain about it.
(Story Score- Platinum: 9/10 SS: 2/10)

Next we go to the regions themselves. THIS GAME HAS 2 REGIONS! SO IT MUST BE BETTER THAN PLATINUM! you say. Guess what? Ironically, those two regions COMBINED are still shorter than Sinnoh, both literally and psychologically. Each city in KanJoh(Kanto+Johto), save Goldenrod, is short and boring(well, OK I make an exception for Ecruteak City). KanJoh is bland: no different climates(except for ONE route with rain), no differing layout, just the same average plain weather. Sinnoh on the other hand has different climates: rain, snow, muck, sandstorms.. everything is different, and this makes it refreshing. Another ironic fact is that the best routes in this game are the newly added ones(route 47/48). The old routes remain as universally boring as ever, while Platinum had deserts..snow covered routes..flower covered routes..swampy routes...you name it. There is no heart or soul to this game's regions. It lacks passion..it lacks effort.. and for me it was very blatant when I was playing this game. OH- one more thing. Johto Pokemon are for the most part extremely hard to find. Kanto Pokemon are scattered around the area, and you WILL see more Kanto Pokemon than Johto Pokemon in this game. Which brings another point- why couldn't the developers have made the game a little more unique?
(Region Score- Platinum: 9/10 SS: 5.5/10)

Now let's get down to the bulk of the game- gameplay. Both games have the amazingly strategic and addicting battle style, so I can't fault this one for that. What I can fault for it is based on enjoyment. First of all- no one enjoys grinding. In any RPG, grinding is loathed and usually nets a game bad reviews. Platinum had no such issues- the game was naturally designed to accommodate to your Pokemon's levels. The wild Pokemon levels' increased as your Pokemons' did, so finding a leveling hotspot wasn't difficult at all. The original Gold had these issues though. First- after you beat the main game and went to Kanto, the Pokemon remained at LV 5 AND 6, while yours were around the 50 benchmark. And since the last challenge of the game has Pokemon around level 80, there is NO place to grind to other than the trainers themselves. The VS Seeker in Platinum was a much more efficient and enjoyable factor than was the phone in the original(more on that later). And I was hoping they would fix the original games' grinding flaws...

They didn't.
Yes- go to Kanto, and the wild Pokemon are still at a pathetic level 5 or 6. The phone is STILL a hassle to use, and it is so annoying(most trainers don't call you to REMATCH, but rather to inform you about their pointless lives) that I don't even care for the function any more. The gym leader rematches are too time specific for me to even attempt a go at them. Even before you go to Kanto, there are only a few trainers in Johto, and a limited amount of experience to distribute around your party of 6, if you, like me, detest grinding. How could they have fixed this? They could have given us a VS Seeker. They could have balanced the level system out in your favor. They could have made the phoning rematch system easier to use. They could have..but they DIDN'T. This one factor ALONE makes SS a lot less enjoyable than Platinum.

Next, let's compare some other gameplay elements, starting with the good. I loved the following Pokemon in this game. It was enjoyable, and I hope to see it in upcoming Pokemon games. I loved the Pokewalker- limited as it was, it was a unique way to play the game. I enjoyed the fact you weren't limited to migrating only 6 pokemon a day like in Platinum. What didn't I like? Replacements. See- the good things of Platinum were simply replaced by another thing in SS or gone forever. They could have kept the same amazing Platinum features, but NO! It must be replaced/gone forever! Examples below-

+Pokeathalon for Pokemon contests. I like Pokeathalon more, my sister likes Pokemon Contests more. Why not keep both?
+With the Poketch of Platinum, you could check your Pokemon's happiness, it's breeding compatibility, check the time, use a memo pad, use a step counter(useful for egg hatching), find items, look for berries, use a click counter(useful for EV's), find the roaming Pokemon, use a type chart, have a calender, and have a kitchen timer. This game took out ALL those features in replacement for a radio that has NO point to the game at all. Why not keep both the Poketch and the Pokegear?
+Pokeradar in Platinum could be used to find rare/shiny Pokemon. This game took out the feature entirely.
+Underground from Platinum was gone forever in this game. Say goodbye to flag capturing and mining for rare stones/fossils. It was replaced by rock-smash, which is boring unlike Underground.
+Honey trees in Platinum were replaced by Headbutt Trees in this game.
+Secret bases/Pokemon villa in Platinum were gone forever in Soul Silver.
+The slots in Platinum were replaced by Voltorb Flip in SS.
+The Great Marsh of Platinum was replaced by the Safari Zone. Why couldn't they have kept both?
+Amity Square from Platinum was gone forever in SS.
+Menu screen compatibility of Platinum was replaced by touch screen compatibility of SS. Why not keep an option for both? (I prefer the menu system myself)

As a game that came after Platinum, the gameplay of Soul Silver has NO excuse to avoid the amazing elements of the past. This shows laziness on the part of GameFreak, who could have updated the beauty of GSC with the awesomeness of Platinum.
(Gameplay Score- Platinum: 10/10 HGSS: 4/10)

Next factor is music. Both games have astounding soundtracks that rank among the best in videogame history. The styles are different- Platinum's music is cleaner and bouncier, while HGSS's is darker and more epic, but they both sound amazing to my ears. GameFreak did a wonderful time remaking the original tracks, and I applaud their time in putting the old 8-bit tracks as well. However, the pokemon screeches of the old games remain as annoying as ever. I really hope they update them.
(Music Score- Platinum: 10/10 HGSS: 10/10)

Replayability is also no issue, though I must say SS has a longer post-game, while Platinum has a better and longer pre-game. It is easier to restart Platinum, and the main adventure lasts much longer than SS. But SS has all of the legends to capture at the end and a chance to face the ultimate trainer(no spoilers). With both games, you can battle multiplayer, trade with anyone in the world, and test your skills at the long Battle Frontier. Expect an easy 80+ hour quest from both games.
(Replay Score- Platinum: 10/10 HGSS: 10/10)

Our last factor is significance. And honestly? Heart Gold and Soul Silver add barely anything to the series that Platinum has already done. Platinum introduced a new battle frontier(different from Emerald's), and HGSS copied it point blank. The NPCs of Platinum that were your partners(Marley/Cheryl) in that game make a return in this game, rather than people like Lyra, showing laziness on the part of GameFreak. Wi-Fi Plaza? Platinum introduced it first. A toy attachment along with a game? Pokemon Yellow did that first. The lack of effort on the part of this game make this one a disappointment. Platinum actually made efforts to make Diamond/Pearl better, such as improved speed, better story, more Pokemon, the Wifi plaza, and the battle frontier. Pokemon Soul Silver did nothing one can call revolutionary. OK fine- they added following Pokemon and Pokeathalon. Is it that important though? And I shall never consider a remake to satisfy nostalgic fans' heart as "revolutionary".
(Significance Score- Platinum: 8/10 HGSS: 3/10)

In conclusion, these games were just released at the wrong time. Had they been released before Platinum/Diamond/Pearl, they would have easily received a 5 star from me. But the truth is simple. Not enough effort was put in these games as compared to Platinum. They are a step back to the series, and despite being extremely fun, can not match the completeness of Platinum. Was this a clever marketing ploy so that people would buy both this and Platinum? Was this an easy project in order to attract people by the masses under the scent of "NEW and IMPROVED" nostalgia? Yes, it's a remake, but aren't remakes supposed to be ENHANCED versions of the original that retain the original's charm? The only enhancement the games got were a few gimmicks and improved graphics/sound. They could have been so much better, but playing them only make me realize how nostalgia can get in the way of calling this game the best Pokemon game yet(that title belongs to Platinum). It isn't. It is good, but its flaws have no reason to exist after 10 YEARS.

Other flaws I did not mention above-
+ Getting rare stones and items are extremely hard to get. Even with the Pokeathalon, it takes 5 to 6 rounds of mini-games to get the item you are looking for.
+ Safari Zone has been made a hassle. Why should I wait 90 days for a Bagon to show up? Again, I prefer Platinum's Pokeradar a lot more.
+ There is no way to obtain Glaceon/Leafeon/Magnezone.
+ No more shards make movetutor moves a lot harder. In Platinum you could dig/hunt for them.
+ No trophy garden either. Good luck finding baby Pokemon in this game!


Good things about the game I did not mention above-
+ IV Training is a lot easier due to Power Items. New egg moves have been added. If you are competitive player and were to choose between this and Platinum, I'd suggest this.
+ Arceus event is amazing
+ Trainer House is a nice way to scrape a few battle points.
+ Feebas evo made easier by massages.
+ Loads of photo taking opportunities. It was a nice touch. -- Basically, it should have been released before Pokemon Platinum.

Pokemon has done it again! new pokemon catching abilities and so much more fun than the original...well at least i think so... the pokemon walker is a nice plus too. however i think it is a rip off of the digivice from digimon... -- Great For All