10 Problems With Pokémon Gold & Silver Nobody Wants To Admit

There's a rather lovely fan theory on the internet that the Pokémon world is one post-war, hence why the cities of Kanto are so sparse and devoid of hustle and bustle. Somehow, three years later, this feels even more true, as if the despair and suffering has spread and festered in to every corner of the region like The Black Eyed Peas did in 2008.

The main lure of returning to the region was to relive its eight exciting gym battles. But the gyms seemed stripped down, absent of the puzzles that help escalate the stakes for the battle with the gym leader. As much as I loathed Lt. Surge's Switch-In-A-Bin puzzle, to the point I would actively put off playing any Kanto based games once I reached Vermillion City, at least it lent an element of suspense to proceedings.

The rest of the region is equally decimated; the Safari Zone, though a problematic concept, is shut down with little reason, the Celadon Department Store offers little extra than its sister in Goldenrod, and no longer sells evolution items. Viridian Forest is now Viridian Nature Trail, the Seafoam Islands have no depth and serve only as a cosy spot for Blaine to tell kids to get off his property . Other areas are slashed too, and routes felt shorter or at least less populated. For all there should be to do in Kanto, the exploration value feels vastly diminished and the region comes across as hollow, the echoes of nostalgia the only thing disturbing the sound of silence.