Pokémon HeartGold Version cover art

Game entry

Pokémon HeartGold Version

2009 · JRPG, Action RPG, Action-adventure, Strategy · Nintendo DS · Nintendo

Pokémon HeartGold Version is ranked no. 121 among the best video games of all time by GameForever voters, with an ELO score of 1,829 and 75% of duels won.

World rank

no. 121

ELO score

1,829

Wins

75%

Duels played

265

About Pokémon HeartGold Version

Pokémon HeartGold Version and Pokémon SoulSilver Version are paired Generation IV remakes of the Generation II games Pokémon Gold and Silver.
Much like how Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen revisited the Generation I story of Kanto, HeartGold and SoulSilver retell the story of Johto, with the player's starting town being New Bark Town. While the games feature several expansions in key areas, the overall plot follows the same direction as the original Gold and Silver. Some aspects exclusive to Crystal are also included. Like how FireRed and LeafGreen could link up with Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald to complete the Pokédex by trading regionally exclusive Pokémon, HeartGold and SoulSilver can link up with Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum to obtain Pokémon unavailable in Johto and Kanto (such as the Sinnoh starters) and vice versa.
Kris, despite being the female counterpart of Crystal's player character, is not included as the female player character, with a new character instead taking her place. Whether she is chosen to be the player character or not, this new character will still appear in the game. The unselected protagonist will take a pseudo-rival role similar to the unselected characters of Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.
The games were released on September 12, 2009 in Japan, February 4, 2010 in Korea, March 14, 2010 in North America, March 25, 2010 in Australia and March 26, 2010 in Europe (this excludes the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of Belgium due to an in-game save error, with the patched copies later released on April 2, 2010).

ELO progression

Score moved from 1,500 to 1,829 ELO points over the last 123 days.

Head-to-head

Direct record on the most played match-ups.

In the same genre

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Keep exploring

Around this spot

The games Pokémon HeartGold Version sits between in the world ranking.

  1. 118 Metroid Prime 1,829
  2. 119 Rocket League 1,829
  3. 120 Dead Space 1,829
  4. 121 Pokémon HeartGold Version 1,829
  5. 122 Europa Universalis IV 1,829
  6. 123 Prison Architect 1,829
  7. 124 Grand Theft Auto V 1,828

The community

The debate

19 comments

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  1. Coop_Hagenes

    I picked this up during a slow winter, mostly to see how the region held up compared to what I remembered. It aged better than I expected.

    SilentMaster

    Same here actually, went in expecting it to feel clunky and it mostly didn't, the region layout still works.

  2. NeonMaster51

    It sits comfortably mid table against its usual rivals, which honestly feels about rite for a remake of this generation.

    hamon_dominique

    Le Pokéwalker, oui. Je l'avais toujours sur moi.

  3. BossOwl1995

    man i still remember carrying my crystal team data over lol spent like 40 hours just breeding before i even touched the elite four. the walking pokemon feature was the best thing ever to like 12 year old me. i put probably 200 hours total into this game back then

    CoopRider2008

    Le coup du Pokéwalker c'est TELLEMENT sous-coté quand on en parle aujourd'hui, franchement qui d'autre l'utilisait tous les jours pour faire éclore ses œufs ?

    CosmoFox2

    Was the breeding grind really worth 200 hours though, or does the nostalgia carry more weight than the actual gameplay here?

  4. QuestLegend2

    I keep going back and forth on this one, some days I think the rebuilt Johto is genuinely clever design, other days the whole thing feels like it's coasting on remembering Gold and Silver fondly, and I never quite land on one side.

  5. CoopRider

    What stuck with me most is the Pokéwalker, oddly enough. It turned waiting rooms and bus rides into something productive, which felt genuinely new at the time.

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