The review's in video form; link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=228Yg67C8rg Lemme know what you think of the review and the game.
I liked your review very much! You were concise and expressed your opinions well. I just can't relate to everything because I haven't played the original Gold and Silver (people will sue me for this). And about the polemic topic of "controlling with the stylus", it would've been really nice to have that option. In some games it just fails - in Ragnarok DS, for instance, the zoom is too close for my taste. Also, because there is no other way to make the characters move around and because I sometimes play lying down, it makes my arm somewhat tired - but being able to control with the touchscreen TOO would've been a nice change. Plus, the way you speak is cute.
Very good review. This is the first Video Review I've seen and I hope that yours sets the bar on what other Video Reviews should be like. I somewhat agree, yet disagree on the movement method. There are times that I wish that I could move using the stylus, but since the entire menu takes the bottom screen, moving and giving menu commands would be in the same place. It is either put in stylus movement (and God forbid, make that the only way to move like Zelda The Phantom Hourglass), get rid of the very convenient stylus-based menu on the bottom, or have it the way they have it. Final Fantasy IV has either method to move, but the traditional style is still easier. It would be difficult to implement in this game because the sprites move in 4 directions, not 8, or infinite. Even if it succeeded in implementing stylus movement, it wouldn't fit well with being a remade classic. I do use the touchscreen for combat though, since it is easier to just press the move I want with my index finger. You mentioned the new areas, but didn't show them in the video... In the little segment just before the Pokewalker, you said Pokemon Pearl and Silver. I think that was meant to say Diamond and Pearl, or Gold and Silver. I'm not sure. You mentioned that these particular games target the older audience who have played the originals that they are based off of. Interesting thought. These games are targeted toward the younger crowd, but I would have to say that the nostalgia is a secondary effect. Compatibility is a big concern and you're right about the graphics. Had they improved them over the current graphics, they wouldn't be compatible with the rest of the 4th gen games. In a link battle, the sprites wouldn't match up, and this is why the Spiky-eared Pichu isn't tradeable, and the Rotom/Shaymin/Giratina forms revert back to their originals when the games connect. As far as the game goes, I find that it is very difficult finding Evolutionary Stones since they're not purchasable in Goldenrod or even Celadon Department stores. At least in D/P/Pt, the Underground had the 5 basic evolutionary stones, as well as fossils, Heart Scales, Arceus Plates, etc. These were attainable as soon as you got the Drill, which was very early in the game as opposed to here where a Fire Stone is attainable from Bill's Grandpa, which is 9 badges away. The Fire Stone is also attainable by Schoolboy Alan near Sudowoodo, but that's completely random and you have to wait for the little bastard to call. At least with the Underground you could mine until you actually get one. The Game Corners in both Goldenrod and Celadon have been replaced, which I was surprised to not find that in your review. To me, this is a big deal since Coins are no longer purchasable. The new movesets gets the metagame moving again, many pokemon moving back and forth between tiers. They've also made obtaining a Milotic MUCH easier by having Blue's sister give massages to the pokemon. I noticed they changed the little segment with the Rocket Grunt and the Machine Part. In the original, if you knew where to find the Machine Part, you could grab it after the Rocket Grunt runs out of the gym. I've tried getting the Machine Part after he runs out, but they changed it so you need him to tell you where it is in order to find it. I never noticed that there was a Round 2 with the Elite Four until I went on Bulbapedia one day and stumbled across it. It is nice to know that they carried that over as well, since there is a big gap between Blue's level 70 pokemon and Red's level 85 Volt Tackling little bastard... One of the best parts about this game is that you are not required to go into any large caves, unlike D/P/Pt where that mountain is one big maze. I hate caves. I hated them ever since the first generation when I had to use Flash for the first time. Those were the days when I was too cheap to teach one of my pokemon Flash and just traverse the cave without it...sad that I knew all of the caves by heart...
