Pokemon Crystal, the little sister of the undisputed king and queen of Pokemon Games, Gold and Silver. While it had all the gimmicks of a third version, Crystal is a gem in its own right.

.:Story:.
Pokemon Crystal's story is pretty much identical to that of Gold and Silver. You are a young trainer starting off from Newbark Town to compete in the Pokemon League. To do this, you must battle eight gym leaders in cities and towns across the region of Johto, and later Kanto. However, the remnants of Team Rocket are reforming in an attempt to lure back their old leader - Giovanni.

You must conquer Team Rocket and drive them out of Johto for good, all while training and battling your way to the league.

The main differences in story that Crystal presents is the way you obtain Legendaries. Suicune is much more prominent and no longer roams, being available for capture in the Tin Tower after seeing it in various locations. It introduces a new character, Eusine, who is racing against you to capture the North Wind Pokemon.

Despite it being the usual Pokemon formula, and only minorly different from Gold & Silver, like its big brothers Crystal manages to keep it engaging without being repetitive, and the storyline is rarely disrupted by grinding. Though Team Rocket loses their darkness somewhat from Generation 1 (after all, they did kill a Marowak), and their actions don't provoke as much emotion in the player, they are still decent, if petty, villians. When I first played Crystal in my younger days, there was a definite sense of accomplishment when you freed Goldenrod from takeover.

The story is a strong point of the game, and while predictable, is charming and a refreshing change from the storylines of later Pokemon games, where the evil team seeks a legendary Pokemon to cause great disaster.

I give the story 6/10. More differences from Gold and Silver were needed.

.:Graphics:.
As a Gameboy Colour cartridge, Crystal got a graphical upgrade from Gold and Silver. Sprites were improved (for example, errors in Raikou's and Suicune's sprites were fixed), the National Park's pond gained fountains, and the colours were brighter than ever. Though they definitely could've improved Crystal's graphics more, they are clear, cheerful and colourful, whether you're crossing the ocean, traversing a forest, climbing a mountain or shopping in a city. Johto remains fresh and new, and Kanto is brought to life with the Gameboy Colour's full capabilities. Despite its age, Crystal's graphics are still decent, and keeps the game enjoyable today. Johto is diverse and the new pokemon are many; Crystal's exclusively coloured graphics show them off.

I give graphics 6.5/10. They definitely could've done more improvements from Gold and Silver.

.:Gameplay:.
Control wise, Crystal is identical to Gold and Silver in every way. You open the menu with start, assign a key item to Select, and use the d-pad to move around, select items, pokemon, ect, from a list, A to confirm and B to cancel. Basic controls, but very easy to get the hang of. However, because of select and start being at the bottom of the gameboy, it can be aggravating sometimes, but this is a minor annoyance, and certainly not one detrimental to gameplay or exclusive to Crystal.

One big difference Crystal has is the option to choose your gender. Yes, for the first time in a Pokemon game, you can run around in all your girly glory. The female avatar is the blue pigtailed heroine Kris (sometimes called Crystal, Crys or Krys). This was the huge selling point of Crystal for me - I could be a girl. And while I had no problems with playing as a male avatar, and I still don't, it was nice to be given that option, and Kris was an awesome looking character. It recognized that Pokemon had female fans and thus should have a female avatar too. Something that Harvest Moon didn't bring till More Friends of Mineral Town and Another Wonderful Life (I may be wrong there) for GBA and GCN, and even longer for both avatars to be on one game (Island of Happiness for DS).

There's also the addition of a Battle Tower in Olivine City, the first of many in the series, and a definite bonus for the hardcore battlers.

Of course, if you were in Japan, there was the ability to connect Crystal to your Mobile/Cell phone, and recieve gifts and even the ability to unlock Celebi. This service was short lived, but should be mentioned all the same.

Like Gold and Silver, Johto's gym leaders and E4 are lower leveled to make way for Kanto. While this is a bonus for a while, as it means less grinding and a smoother story, you will quickly find your party overleveled for Kanto, or underleveled for Red. Or both. This can be aggravating and takes the fun from the game a little. They definitely should've bumped up Kanto's levels. It's a huge jump from Blue to Red, level wise, and it's difficult to grind.

Gold/Kris's walking speed can be painfully slow till you get the bike, and the running shoes hadn't been implemented. This is a minor annoyance, but can make some areas, especially caves, tedious.

The battle system has been given the Move Tutor, another first for the series and a feature that would be carried into later games. For a price, the tutor could teach certain Pokemon moves they wouldn't be able to learn any other way. Otherwise, little has been changed from Gold and Silver. The battle system remains simple, turn-based, and easy to grasp.

Crystal has oodles of other little features -  a new radio show called Buena's Password, where you can collect points to exchange for prizes, a new Dragon Shrine in Dragon's Den, where you can win a special Dratini, and some version exclusive Pokemon you may not have been able to get before.

Gameplay gets a 8/10. Virtually identical to Gold and Silver, but the female avatar is a big plus.

.:Sound:.
Crystal's music, like Gold and Silver's, is absolutely brilliant. As classic and timeless as Generation 1's, but with enough variety and flair to keep you humming them for days. From the upbeat music of the cities, to the gentle, relaxing music of the sleepy towns, parks and surfing, the menacing caves and mountains to the fast-paced battles, the music suits each area perfectly and really makes an atmosphere. The caves sound dark, eerie and deep, the roads sound full of adventure and promise, and the evil bases of Team Rocket sound sinister and menacing. The music of Generation 2 will stick with you for years to come. The only thing I can say is that Cinnabar Island should've been more soft and quiet, and have the tune of the original music, like in HG/SS, than Saffron's music.

The sound effects in battle are varied and pretty damn cool.

I give sound 10/10. Everything a Pokemon game's soundtrack should be.

.:Overall:.
I love this game. While it may not have enough differences from Gold and Silver to make anyone other than diehard fans to pick it up, it's still a charming little game, and if you want to experience the golden age of Pokemon, Crystal is the way to go.

Story: 6/10
Graphics: 6.5/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Sound: 10/10

Total: 30.5/40