Crystal is a special version of Gold and Silver, much like Yellow was a
special version of Red and Blue, only that Crystal isn't based on the
animé. Most of the changes, in the version released outside Japan, are
minor, yet it still has significant improvements over the previous
versions.
If you already have Gold or Silver, and you're not overly involved in
Pokémon games, then this probably isn't for you. However strategists,
perfectionists or just obsessed people (like me) should consider
purchasing the game. If, for some reason, you don't already have either
Gold or Silver, then rush out and buy this now, for it is the best version
on sale. The new sub plot and graphical improvements, as well as a few
extra challenges, make the game better than the original release, but that
is to be expected.
Changes
and Improvements
The first difference you will notice is that you now have the option to
choose between a male and a female character. Although this has no noticeable
effect on game play, it is something that many people where unhappy to see
missing from Gold and Silver. A nice feature of this is that your
Pokégear and bag will change style depending on which character you
choose.
When each Pokémon goes in to battle it will be animated for a few
seconds. Not much, but it's little touches like this that add up to a
great game. Also, each Pokémon now has a new Pokédex entry, adding the
amount of information available to fans.
There have been many minor graphical improvements to the game, such as the
animated fountain in the National Park, the flowers outside Goldenrod
Flower Shop and the now burnt Burnt Tower
The phone conversations with trainers have been noticeably improved,
although they will still get boring after a few dozen calls. Also, the
trainers who ring you can now give you items, including evolution stones
(no more long waits until you get to Bill's house in Kanto).
Goldenrod Department Store now has a new roof, normally it is little more
than an empty room with a few non-important characters, but every once in
a while there will be a special discount sale there, giving you the chance
to get a few select items significantly cheaper.
To help your sanity survive the paper thin plot of the game, there is now
a new sub-plot focusing around the legendary beast Suicune. After you
awaken the three sleeping beasts, a man by the name of Eusine will tell
you of his dreams to catch Suicune.
Suicune will appear in several places where you can actually see it moving
around on the map. Eusine is usually soon to follow and you may end up
battling him. Eventually, once you reach Tin Tower you will face up
against Suicun in a battle where the beast will not run away. This makes
one capture that much easier, but still leaves Entie and Raikou out there.
Another storyline addition is the improvement of the Dragon's Den quest.
When you travel down there you will be able to enter the small hut inside
the den, where you will find a clan of Dragon Users. You will be quizzed,
and if you answer correctly you can win a Dratini with Extreme Speed (a
move it does not normally learn).
Another chance for a Pokémon with a special move is the Odd Egg. The
first time you travel to the Daycare you will be given an egg which can
hatch into any of the pre-evolutionary Pokémon and will know Dizzy Punch.
The Ruins Of Alph have been expanded. Each puzzle room has a hidden back
door which you must trigger to enter a new room with four items in it and
a 'secret message'.
Some wild Pokémon locations have been changed, allowing you to catch
Hoppip on Route 1, and Growlithe from the Violet City end of Route 36
amongst others. Also, the wild Pokémon available are different from those
in Gold or Silver, so you will have to trade with Red, Blue, Gold and
Silver in order to complete your Pokédex.
Several Pokémon have had their naturally learnt moves changed, such as
Cloyster and Qwilfish which now learn Spikes. Then there are other
Pokémon who can learn more moves through breeding and there is also the
Move Tutor. For a price in game coins, you can teach Pokémon the moves
Thunderbolt, Ice Beam and Flamethrower, popular choices in link battles.
The Battle Tower is for those people who have always found the games just
a little too easy. With the odds stacked against you, you are put up
against a series of opponents using Pokémon of set levels. You can choose
to battle using Pokémon of levels in any multiple of ten, and your
opponents will use the same. From then you choose three Pokémon. The
battles here are fierce, with opponents having wisely chosen move sets, a
touch of strategy and held items.
The Pokéseer who lives above Cianwood City will tell you the happiness of
any of your Pokémon as well as when and where they were caught.
What
we miss out on...
Well, whilst what we got from Crystal was good, Japan got a great game out
of it. The biggest of all the new features of Pokémon Crystal was it's
ability to connect to a mobile phone, allowing you to trade and battle
people remotely. Unfortunately, this was not enabled in any releases
outside of Japan.
In Goldenrod City there was a larger building replacing the Pokécenter,
the PPC, or Pokémon Communications Center. This could be used to do all
sorts of things including gets Pokémon related news downloaded to the
cartridge. It was also where you got your Odd Egg from in the Japanese
version, using an Egg Ticket from the Daycare, you could download the Odd
Egg here.
The feature was expanded further by use of Pokémon Stadium 2 (or 3 in
Japan) which you could use to hold 3D battles with someone miles away from
you via mobile phone.
Additionally there was a chance to capture Celebi honestly without a
download machine. When you visited the PPC you would be given the GS Ball,
which must be taken to Kurt and left with him for a day. After you get it
back you can travel to the Ilex Forest Shrine and fight a Level 30 Celibi.
Whereas Nintendo may have taken out the mobile features because they
believed there wasn't enough profit to be made from a Mobile GB system in
America, the Celibi sequence was more than likely removed just to make
people attend tournaments (which sucks if you live miles away from
tournament sites, like me...).
