Presentation
Capturing a unique eastern aesthetic, Gold and Silver’s Jhoto region relies on naturalistic elements to populate its many locales. Whereas in later games players will find cities and towns that rely on technology or large buildings to take up most of its space, each second-generation game seeks to tell you a story through the environment, as oftentimes signs and NPCs tell you tales of legendary Pokemon and other hidden mysteries of the region. This only encourages players to explore further and find out the truth for themselves, making the journey just as noteworthy as the destinations.
Pokemon Gold and Silver ushered in color for the franchise, too, further fleshing out these pocket monsters and making them more real. It’s a great study to witness how Pokemon have evolved in design over time (pun intended) and what features have changed to suit younger demographics. Yes, Pikachu was pretty chubby back in the day.
