Expanded Game

Pokémon Crystal Version

2000 · Game Boy Color · Nintendo 3DS · Role-playing (RPG) · Adventure

87IGDB player score
433 ratings

Previously Take

An 87 average from its 433 true believers. This is an RPG first and everything else second. Come for the builds, stay for the fantasy, kids. Come for the campaign, stay because your friends won't let you leave the lobby.

About this game

Pokemon Crystal is an enhanced version of Pokemon Gold and Silver and a role-playing game played from a top-down perspective. As in the earlier versions, the player explores the Johto region, catches and trains Pokemon, and battles other Trainers in turn-based combat while earning Gym Badges and filling out the Pokedex. Crystal keeps the same core adventure while adding refinements, including the option to play as a female character and animated Pokemon sprites. It retains series staples such as a real-time clock, Pokemon breeding, and trading and battling with other games via a link connection.

In Pokemon Crystal, the player begins as a young Trainer in the Johto region, receiving a first partner Pokemon from Professor Elm before setting out on a journey. Traveling through Johto's towns and wilds, the player catches and trains Pokemon while aiming to earn the region's eight Gym Badges and take on its most skilled Trainers. A determined rival, who took one of Professor Elm's Pokemon, resurfaces throughout the adventure to challenge the player, and the criminal organization Team Rocket reappears with plans of its own. The player explores a world full of wild Pokemon while uncovering the region's secrets.