10 Problems With Pokémon Gold & Silver Nobody Wants To Admit
Maybe it's because they're so shiny, but we've been in denial over a few things with these games.
Nostalgia and hype are powerful forces. They skewer our memories, temper our opinions, and blur the line between expectation and reality. How many times in the last few years have we had to wait until months after the release of an overly-hyped title for those firmly aboard the train to finally concede to its faults and shortcomings? How many times have you been that person? Don’t you lie to me, I have a collector’s edition of Watch Dogs and a bank account burdened by disappointment; you’ve been fooled too.
Pokémon is one franchise that thrives on its own nostalgic value. This year alone they were able to port their original games to the Nintendo 3DS and shift half their back catalogue on to the Wii U, all whilst releasing detail ridden hype videos for their next set of games. And we gobbled it all up like a particularly spirited group of Hungry Hippos.
But as
Pokémon constantly builds on the good work of its prior generations, it’s
important we take off those rose-tinted glasses, shoot some whiskey to steel
ourselves for the impending kick to the childhood, go right in to the supposed magnus opus of the franchise, and finally
admit to the problems with Pokémon Gold & Silver.
10. Roaming Pokémon
Now this problem is not exclusive to
Gold & Silver, and it has been written out of the franchise in recent
years, but it started here, and it is important we stare the Legendary Beasts straight in the eye
and let them know that we hate them, we hate what they stand for, and we hate the fact they forced us to venture in to Dark Cave just to find a Zubat we could eventually use to capture them. Anything that makes me go into Dark Cave deserves a spot on the Pokégallows.
In principle, it is not terrible. The idea of a Legendary Pokemon roaming free across the region and forcing you to track it down has an appeal in the exploration it may require. However, tracking it down even once can take up a lot of time, and then it will run as soon as it can and force you to track it down again. The means of trapping it are limited and force you to go out of your way to obtain them, not to mention that even after you’ve tracked it and trapped it, it is still a Legendary Pokémon and a massive ache to capture in the first place.
Gold & Silver made you do this three times.
May Arceus strike thee down.