In 1999, Game Freak released the second generation of pokemon games – Pokemon Gold and Silver. These games were set in the fictional region of Johto which was stylized after the real life Japanese regions of Kansai and Tokai. They followed the massively successful Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow and the pressure was there to deliver. And they did with style!!
The Gen 2 games were critically acclaimed on release and are considered the best games in the series. The traditional gym and elite four formula from the first gen was retained while there was an expansive post game storyline which saw the player return to Kanto. If you have never played the games, I would suggest playing the Gen 4 remakes to account for the graphic style.
While the Kanto games have gone on to get several remakes and even various callbacks, for some reason the Johto games never got the love they deserved apart from the mandatory remakes. However, I feel Pokemon should revisit the region, preferably set up an open world experience with additional pokemon. Here are three reasons why Pokemon Gold and Silver need an open world remake –
- Larger Map – The map of the games combines both the Johto and the Kanto regions to make it double the size of the gen 1 games. This allows for more storyline opportunities and immersive gameplay.
- Best postgame – After conquering the Johto gyms and defeating the elite four, the player can challenge the gym leaders from Kanto as well as take part in additional storylines resulting from that. After defeating the elite four for a second time, the player can challenge the protagonist from the first game – Red in one of the toughest and most epic showdowns in the game series.
- Leveling up is tough – These games make it especially hard to level up pokemon which adds to the excitement. Grinding your pokemon’s level through constant battles is one of the things that defined pokemon prior to gen 6. Even with the exp share mechanism, expect leveling up to be a challenge.
I have just given 3 of my reasons. Lets hope Pokemon fans can unite to get the long awaited Johto remake.
