Pokemon Crystal

In Japan, Pokemon Crystal was released as the main reason to pick up a Mobile Adapter, the interface between the Game Boy Color/Advance and a Japanese cell-phone. In Crystal, kids can dial up to Nintendo's game server and trade/battle Pokemon with other users in remote locations, as well as attend set events by dialing in at a specific time. The updated title's existence was justified because it incorporated these new elements on top of a slightly updated quest and engine. To keep the Pokemon property going on the Game Boy Color, Nintendo has released Pokemon Crystal to US gamers, but without the element that Nintendo capitalized on in Japan. It's the last hurrah for the engine we've known and loved for almost three years in the US, and more than five years since its inception overseas. The final (hopefully) Game Boy Color edition is definitely the version to get if you aren't already one of the upteenth billion owners of Pokemon Red, Pokemon Blue, Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon Gold, or Pokemon Silver, with Crystal's slight updates to the design and graphics. But there's not much in this edition that makes it a "must buy" for folks who already own a copy or two of the previous editions. I think it's time to say "enough's enough." Granted, there are very few games on the Game Boy Color as good as Nintendo's classic RPG, but it's time to pick up and move on. No, this isn't a knock on the Pokemon license, since the game is still a great one on the handheld. It's just that the mentality that the same game engine can be milked over and over and over, and we've been playing this game for almost three years now in English...and more than five years internationally. We're all ready for the Advance version, guys. And we're sure you are too.Read full review