Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal: Which one should I get?

[michealsmells]

So I got myself a GBA for Christmas, so I can finally go back and play the old GB and GBC games. I'm on a quest to get every Pokemon game. I get closer every year, and at this rate, I'm gonna be able to have one from every generation at the least right after the new year begins.

I'm going to a convention, and knowing the con since I go every year, I'll find at least one of Gen 2, but if I find more than one of it, which one should I get?

I'm biased for Gold, since I played HeartGold and love Ho-Oh and the theme of Ecruteak City. I've never much cared for Lugia, and I have very little idea what Crystal has to offer. I want other people's opinions! I mean I'm gonna get them all eventually, but which one do you think I should really sit down and play the most? I know they're all Pokemon games but it really does matter to me.

 

[Midoriya]

I would go for Crystal. From what I’ve heard from others it has the most to offer out of the three, and Suicune is the mascot of it, which is pretty cool. Though it’s entirely up to you which one you decide to go for. That’s awesome that you got a GBA for Christmas though!

 

[xSuperMario64x]

Get it solely for the fact that the beautiful Suicune is the mascot. That's what I would do anyways

 

[Halloqueen]

Crystal is the definitive Generation II game to experience. It was the first game in the series that allowed people to choose a female trainer with Kris, the sprites are more lively, and you can catch both Ho-Oh and Lugia in the one game. Suicune plays a more important part than in Gold or Silver and is made less of a hassle to catch since it will eventually become stationary instead of running around the region like Raikou and Entei. To tie in with Suicune's more prominent part in Crystal, there is a character named Eusine that shows up in Crystal and adds a bit more story. Kurt can make more than one Apricorn Ball per day if you have more than one Apricorn of the same color that you want to use, whereas you can only use one and receive one Ball per day in Gold and Silver. You can also get a Dratini with the move ExtremeSpeed.

Crystal is just way better than Gold and Silver, and it was my favorite game in the series for years up until they got remade with HeartGold and SoulSilver for the DS since those took Crystal's improvements and made it even better. I'd sooner recommend HG or SS for a bunch of reasons, but they're way more expensive and stray a bit from what you're looking to do.

I wouldn't really recommend playing Pok?mon games on an actual Game Boy at this point though. The better option would be to play them on the 3DS since Gold, Silver, and Crystal are all available via the Virtual Console from the eShop. You'd probably be spending less money than buying physical copies, plus you'd actually be able to trade with other people and get to do the Celebi event that wasn't possible in the Game Boy releases without hacking since it wasn't released outside of Japan.

Reason why I'm suggesting this alternative is because the way saves are handled on the Generation II Game Boy cartridges puts your game(s) in a somewhat precarious position. From Bulbapedia:

Cartridges of the Generation II games typically lose the ability to save in a shorter time frame than copies of other Pok?mon games due to the battery maintaining both the saved game and real-time clock data, causing it to drain quicker. A symptom of a battery running dry is the game's inability to keep track of the time correctly and the error message TIME NOT SET may also appear on the title screen.

The cartridge memory is powered by a CR2025 or a CR2032 battery. Since it powers the memory containing the save file, the battery running out or interrupting the power by removing the battery will cause any current save file to be erased and internal clock to be reset. External power sources and third party devices have been used to maintain or backup and restore the save file to and from an external memory or a personal computer.

 

[pumpkinpuppy]

Absolutely Crystal. G&S are great, but Crystal is basically the same game with more features, including little things like Buena's Password radio show and the Suicune hunt. You won't miss out anything from G&S by getting C, but you'll miss out some great bits of C by getting G or S!

 

[jefflomacy]

Crystal, but good luck finding a genuine copy if you don't already own one. So many of the copies for sale online are hilariously fake, but if you want help identifying a genuine one, I have a genuine cartridge here and can help you identify if one is likely genuine. Mine needs a new battery as it will no longer keep time or saves.

My advice is to experience it on the 3DS Virtual Console. It synchronizes with the 3DS clock, and they implemented actual online trading. If you need someone to trade with, you are welcome to contact me.

Crystal is not like Gold and Silver. It is an actual GameBoy Color-only game, which means it has vastly superior sprites, animations and tiles. It is lacking some wild encounters like Mareep, so your team building options are more limited if you don't have Gold and Silver to trade from.

I currently own Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal day one launch cartridges, all purchased on North American launch days. I can't emphasize enough that obtaining physical cartridges of this game is not worth your time. Once you obtain them, you have to open them and replace the batteries before you can even use them. The emulation on the 3DS Virtual Console is flawless and in fact superior to the genuine hardware. It also does not allow cheating, if you are a purist, so don't worry about that. Finding a physical copy of this game that is genuine, in stellar condition, and has the original packaging will cost you a comical amount of money. But the Virtual Console ports are $5 and a superior experience! My copies are gently used but even so have noticeable label fading. I would be extremely wary of any copies that do show signs of wear, as they are either collector's items (which will be very expensive), or fake.

 

[michealsmells]

I'm actually really surprised seeing the response to this! You see, I wanna own every single physical copy of the Pokemon games. I know it's a little bit extra and ridiculous, but it's just... I dunno. It's one of the things I wanna collect because simply having them will make me happy.
That being said, looking at all your advice, maybe I will instead buy Crystal on the 3DS virtual console as opposed to playing the physical copy. If I really feel like it, I'll buy it (but bring my gameboy and try to test it if I'm allowed), but maybe not play it unless I can replace the battery almost immediately. So maybe I should make that more of a long-term thing than the other games?

I mean I own both HG and SS, but I just... like the charm of the older games, and I've always wanted to collect em all. But I suppose with the price and stuff, it wouldn't hurt to wait and just get it on the virtual console if I wanna play it that much.

 

[jefflomacy]

I do like the fact that I own original cartridges of the game. If you want to own them for the sake of owning them that is pretty cool. Do you currently own any? I just wouldn’t really play them on original hardware, ownership at this point is more of a novelty.

This listing appears to contain all genuine copies. The wear looks exactly like my collection, so I’m inclined to believe all the carts are real: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pokemon-Cr...rentrq:56d0e4d816f0aadad8ac8cffffa6056c|iid:1

 

[michealsmells]

I own Yellow and Yellow only in terms of the original GB games, which is why I got my GBA, so that I could play it genuinely. It's a perfectly working cartridge and one of the few I wouldn't mind wearing out, unlike Gen 2, which I love so much I'd be afraid of wearing out the battery.

I go to a convention that has booths that tend to sell the cartridges, so I can worry far less about damages and fakes. It's actually how I got my copies of Sapphire and Ruby (which work wonderfully, may I add). I'm super-duper nervous about buying online just cause of fakes.

 

[jefflomacy]

Don’t worry too much about the batteries. You will find someone who can install a new battery for you. It requires only basic soldering skills. The only annoying part is the screwdriver which is a specialized security bit.

 

[Giddy]

You see, I wanna own every single physical copy of the Pokemon games. I know it's a little bit extra and ridiculous, but it's just... I dunno. It's one of the things I wanna collect because simply having them will make me happy.

I mean I own both HG and SS, but I just... like the charm of the older games, and I've always wanted to collect em all. But I suppose with the price and stuff, it wouldn't hurt to wait and just get it on the virtual console if I wanna play it that much.

I know what you mean about the older games, I just love going back and playing them and so far actually been playing through the story again.
I've also been wanted to own all the pokemon games as well! So I know the struggle! I've gotten Crystal downloaded as well, and hadn't known that you had to change the battery so it's good to know if I ever get it myself.

 

[jefflomacy]

So as I mentioned in my previous post I was in the process of getting Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal delivered to me when I first posted. They finally arrived here. Despite my claims about virtual console, I decided I would go ahead and try to play Pokemon Blue on the GameBoy Color that just arrived from my house. This is the same GameBoy Color I played when I was a kid.

It is absolutely dreadful. I am convinced that we don't keep our houses as bright as we used to, or something. I am constantly seeking more light to play this game and having a miserable time trying to see this screen. Unless I go sit in direct sunlight, there is never enough light to enjoy playing the game.

So I'm probably going to buy Pokemon Blue on Virtual Console now, just to scratch this itch of playing Generation 1 again. The screen is simply too painful to use!

Edit: Apparently, you cannot play these on virtual console with the GameBoy Color monochrome palette of predominantly blue or red. That is a huge let down and I definitely don't want to play them in black and white. Oh well. I'm going to look into playing them on my Gamecube instead.

EDIT 2: Just wanted it to be clear also, that Crystal is just fine on Virtual Console. My complaint is strictly with Red and Blue.

 

[Blood Eclipse]

No surprise that Pokemon Crystal has all the votes.

I think Pokemon Crystal had a lot more content--being the definitive version of gen 2, and it was the first Pokemon game to include a playable female character, if you care about what character you play as. Crystal also had moving sprites (which I think Gold/Silver didn't have) and an unown cave.