I have been very entranced for the past few days because my husband bought Pokémon HeartGold for me! ♥

It has been almost ten years since I’ve owned a Pokémon game–the last one I had was Pokémon Yellow! One of the reasons I’m enjoying Pokémon HeartGold so much is that it reminds me very much of Pokémon Yellow. My favourite part of that game was that Pikachu followed your character around and you could talk to it. I like the idea of pokémon–cute wild animals that have special abilities suited to fighting–but I don’t like that the games (unlike the television show) doesn’t allow you to actually interact with the ones you’ve captured. (I have this dream of a game I like to jokingly call “Pokémon Pink” where you can interact using the touchscreen to groom, feed, and talk to your pokémon.)

It’s actually because of Pokémon Yellow that we wound up getting the new games. I gave my GameBoy Color and all of the games to a younger cousin several years ago, so I found an emulator for our computer. (I’m still very tempted to buy a used system and the game, even with a new game to play!) I only played it a bit, but it made my husband really nostalgic. Nostalgic enough that when we passed by a video game store he wanted to browse the used games, intending to pick up a copy of one of the GameBoy Advance Pokémon titles. I planted a few choice hints (I can be very persuasive…), and moved his attention to the new games.

The updated graphics and game play are so much different from what I remember! I love the level of detail.

It’s been particularly fun to use some of the connectivity abilities with the game, since my husband bought himself a copy of Pokémon SoulSilver. We used the Union Room to trade (my Caterpie for his Weedle), then played with some of the other features. When we started to use the “DRAW” feature I sketched a quick scribble of his Bayleef…and at first he didn’t believe I was actually drawing it! We also battled–I lost spectacularly. I used my strongest pokémon and he used his weakest, but the level difference was just too much. Someday we’ll have a rematch!

I wish I had more friends with DS Pokémon games so we could interact, too! (Although it seems that at least two of my friends also own HeartGold, but they bought probably got the game in March when it was new and thus aren’t as enthralled at the moment as I am.) Despite the assured lack of interest, I like to picture a Pokémon meetup where we could sit around, drink tea, and play the game together–wearing lolita fashion, of course. n_~

The gameplay maintains true to the original Pokémon premise of “Gotta Catch ’em All!” but it has new features and is very organized. I like the updated graphics and animations the most–the cuteness is even more overwhelming when the creatures are shown larger and in colour~ I really like that the bottom screen of the DS displays the menu at all times. It’s easy access to viewing the statistics of my current team, checking to see what I still haven’t caught in the Pokédex, reviewing the information on my ID, going through the items that I’ve picked up, altering game options, and saving the game. (Plus I get a lot of use from the equippable running shoes, easily tapped on and off so I don’t have to hold down the B-button!)

Of course, I haven’t played a Pokémon game in nearly a decade (I feel…so old…), so some of the features that really dazzle me might not be impressive to someone who has played more recent editions of Pokémon. One of the other things I like, although it’s very trivial, is the divided portions of the bag the player carries. I like thinking that the Poké Balls aren’t knocking around in one pouch with the Potions and Apricorns, liable to cause breaking or damage. (It’s also easier to review what I’m carrying, since I look at different “pockets” at a time.)

I especially like the ability to choose a girl character. When I showed the game to a friend of mine, he thought I had designed the character’s appearance because she has brown pigtails and a large bow on her head. Honestly, though, I like to picture that the player actually looks like me–even though you can’t represent that kind of detail in the game. I’d want to be wearing lolita fashion, of course, but something simplified to fit in with the general art style of the game.

I came up with a sketch on a whim, but I’m stumped on what to do with the jumperskirt. Maybe if I figure it out, I’ll draw a real picture. I want something that won’t be too elaborate, but also won’t seem underwhelming. I would also like to include pockets, as I imagine they’d be useful for Potions or Poké Balls, but they tend to seem out of place due to the shape of the skirt. I haven’t drawn in a while, but I started feeling inspired since I’m having so much fun with the game and my husband and I have been watching the cartoon. (It just seems like an appropriate thing to have on in the background while playing the game.)

Does anyone else play Pokémon? Do you have a favourite game or favourite character?