Friday, March 12, 2010
Day 7: 2nd Most Awaited Element! The Pokewalker!
So one of the things I'm most excited for in the new game is... the Pokewalker! It's a pedometer... It's a pokemon extension... It's something that will actually make me do something! Here are the main features I'm waiting for:
You can level-up your pokemon!
By walking around in the real world, your pokemon gain experience points. Useful for leveling up a back up pokemon in case your main one just isn't enough.
You can find items!
Get 3 watts (1 watt per every 20 steps), and you can look for items in the pokewalker. Items differ among the course you're walking on.
You can get pokemon!
Get three watts and try your hand at capturing a pokemon!
I know the entry today wasn't very descriptive... but you'll be happy to know this: After the Most Awaited Element is done, I'm going to talk about my pokemon experiences on Monday! Yes, get a peek into my insane mind!
Day 6: 3rd Most Awaited Element: Legendary Pokemon!
Every Pokemon game always has its trademark legendary pokemon. Here's a list of pokemon you can find in HeartGold and SoulSilver:
The three legendary dog pokemon: Raikou, Suicune, and Entei. They roam around Johto randomly appearing to battle. Suicune, however, must be chased, but doesn't roam around the region.
Lugia is the trademark pokemon for SoulSilver, but can also be captured in HeartGold after the Elite Four is beaten.
Ho-Oh is the trademark pokemon for HeartGold. Like Lugia, it can be also be captured in SoulSilver, but after the Elite Four is beaten.
Articuno can be captured after obtaining 16 badges. One of the three legendary bird pokemon.
Zapdos can be captured after obtaining 16 badges. One of the three legendary bird pokemon.
Moltres can be captured after obtaining 16 badges. One of the three legendary bird pokemon.
Moltres can be captured after obtaining 16 badges.
Kyogre can only be captured if you have a Red Orb in HeartGold.
Groudon can only be captured if you have a Blue Orb in Soul Silver.
Rayquaza only appears after you have Kyogre and Groudon. This means you need to trade with SoulSilver or HeartGold depending on your version.
Pictures from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/ and http://www.serebii.net/ !
Day 5: 4th Most Awaited Element: Kanto Gyms!
Even though they were visited in generation 3, (The game boy advanced games.) it's still interesting to see all of the aesthetic differences when comparing the oldest region with the newest version. All of the old gym images are from Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow.
/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/
The Pewter city gym.
Like most supposed-to-be-first gyms... two trainers. Battle them or walk around them. Design definately got an upgrade.
/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/
The Cerulean city gym.
The gym is still a swimming pool of avoidable trainers.
/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/
The Vermillion city gym.
Like other games, there are switches you need to trigger to challenge the leader, Lt. Surge.
/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/
The Celadon city gym.
A small "maze" to the gym leader. Different in design, but not in concept.
/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/
The Fuchsia city gym.
As annoying as always in the way that it's fun. There are invisable walls, and all of the trainers are disguised as the leader, so you never know what's about to hit you in the face.
/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/
The Saffron city gym.
Same warp panel puzzle, completely revamped design.
/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/
The Seafoam Islands gym.
In Gold, the whole thing was wiped out and you only had the leader. Now, there's a maze of trainers who either make new paths or block some.
/\R/B/Y and HeartGold \/
The Viridian city gym.
More moving paths. Blue has taken charge here, so beat him and you get the GB Player! Looks a bit different from before...
Images from http://vgmaps.com/ and http://www.serebii.net/
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Day 4: 5th Most Awaited Element: Johto Gyms!
/\Gold and HeartGold \/
The Violet city gym.
The gym now has a lift instead of just getting to the "S" on the floor.
/\Gold and HeartGold \/
The Azalea town gym.
Instead of a simple flower maze, the Azalea town gym has been completely revamped with karts that take you from section to section.
/\Gold and HeartGold\/
The Goldenrod city gym.
The clefairy design has been elevated so the gym is a little more... sophisticated? Definately more complicated.
/\Gold and HeartGold\/
The Ecruteak city gym.
As expected from an ancient town, the local gym is based on ghosts. This time, the gym is completely dark except with lights from trainers.
/\Gold and HeartGold\/
The Cianwood city gym.
This place now is a maze of ledges instead of just a maze of trainers and rocks.
/\Gold and HeartGold\/
The Olivine city gym.
The place is just prettied up. No extra trainers, just Jasmine.
/\Gold and HeartGold\/
The Mahogany town gym.
The gym now has several rooms filled with ice puzzles. The ice also isn't just little white-silver panels, just plain ice.
/\Gold and HeartGold\/
The Blackthorn city gym.
Instead of a rock puzzle, there's a floor puzzle similar to the Distortion world. Step on something, the floor whizzes somewhere else.
Images are from the following websites: http://pokedream.com/, http://www.serebii.net/,
http://www.strategywiki.org/, http://www.vgmaps.com/, and http://bulbapedia.bulbagardens.net/.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Day 3: 6th Most Awaited Element: Pokemon Bonding!
Yes, I did say the sixth Most Awaited Element is bonding with digital "magical" creatures, but you can do so many more things other than battle with your pokemon!
/\ Gold walking around with Typhlosion.
Your pokemon don't stay in their pokemon forever. With Gold, it's like Yellow; except not only Pikachu, but any of your pokemon can travel with you, any time and most anywhere!
There are different stations set up in Johto and Kanto for you to take pictures with you and your team of pokemon. sometimes you can even take pictures with gym leaders!
Pictures from http://www.serebii.net/
Day 2: 7th Most Awaited Element: Opening Sequences!
So the seventh most awaited element for me is the opening sequences.
Pokemon Gold:
Pokemon Silver:
Pokemon HeartGold:
Pokemon SoulSilver:
The two openings have drastically improved. Ho-oh and Lugia both do something other than float around in silhouette, and the "movie" itself is more like Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum with the overview of the towns.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Day 1: 8th Most Awaited Element: Graphics!
I feel so inspired! I pre-ordered a copy of Pokemon HeartGold, and the release date is in 8 days! (So I'll probably get it in 9.) For the next 8 days, I'll highlight the aspects of the game that I'm most awaiting.
Graphics
The graphics transition from Pokemon Emerald to Pokemon Diamond were amazing, but Pokemon Platinum to Pokemon HeartGold looks awesome as well! Of course, since it's a remake of an old game, the graphic jump is incredible.
Here are some examples:
/\ Gold and HeartGold \/
Going to the Tin Tower to face off with Ho-oh. In the original version, Ho-oh was just a small, innocent sprite. In the new version, Ho-oh looks much more powerful with a background to match.
Image 1 from: http://pokedream.com/, Image 2 from: http://serebii.net/
/\ Gold and SoulSilver \/
Going inside the Whirlwind Islands to find Lugia. Same comment as my Ho-oh comment.
Image 1 from: http://pokedream.com/, Image 2 from: http://serebii.net/
/\ Gold and HeartGold \/
These pics are both the interior of the Tin Tower where the 3 legendary dog pokemon (Raiko, Suicune and Entei) sleep. In the new version, you can actually see the pokemon in the basement. In the old one... well... there isn't even a hole. Just a laddar.
Image 1 from: http://strategywiki.org/ Image 2 from: http://serebii.net/
/\ Gold and HeartGold \/
This is the starting town in the Johto region, New Bark Town. The old version had generic "house sprites", but the new version has shadows, even down to the mailbox! Lots of extra embellishment was well, fences and a windmill. The trees are also attractive.
Image 1 from http://www.pokemonaus24.com/ Image 2 from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/
/\ Red and HeartGold\/
Ah, Pallet Town. The first city in Pokemon history [Begin the nostalgia] ! I compared HeartGold and Red this time to show you the first game in Pokemon history and the latest. The layout has changed, but the aesthetics have improved greatly! The trees make the place much more friendly, and the water looks good enough to surf in.
Images 1 and 2 from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/
/\ Gold and HeartGold \/
Here is a cover art comparison. On the left, you can see the different system identification. The Nintendo logo has seemed to change, or at least just morph for the cover. For Gold, we still have the "Gotta catch 'em all!" slogan, but in the new version, it's been replaced by "HeartGold Verion". The new versions of both games both have their trademark legendary pokemon facing to the side.
Image 1 from http://downloadpokemongames.com/ Image 2 from http://image3.examiner.com/
/\ Silver and SoulSilver \/
Other than that this game is Pokemon Silver and Soul Silver, I have no different comments from the ones above.
Image 1 from http://ecx.images-amazon.com/ Image 2 from http://www.kotowari.org/
So that's the 8th Most Awaited Element in Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver! Stay tuned tomorrow to find out #7!