Okay so last weekend I decided to dig into this Pokémon Gold remake everybody’s buzzing about. Had my morning coffee fired up the emulator ready to see what fresh stuff they cooked up this time.
First Impressions Were Weird
Loaded the ROM expecting classic vibes but BOOM new title screen slapped me right away. Sprite animations were way smoother than the old Game Boy chunky pixels. Felt like putting on glasses after 20 years – suddenly seeing details in trees and character outfits I never noticed.
Started a new game and immediately noticed weirdness:
- Professor Elm’s lab had extra PCs humming in the corner
- When choosing starter Pokémon that lil’ Cyndaquil actually had flaming spikes active in battle
- Route 29 grass patches moved around blocking my usual speedrun path
The Rabbit Hole Got Deeper
Got my Pokédex rolling and stumbled on this locked building in Cherrygrove City. Guard kept saying “come back later.” Grinded for four hours thinking I needed badges. Nope! Turns out you gotta talk to Mom after first gym – she gives you a key item that opens it! Who designs these things?
Inside? Whole new mini-arcade with Voltorb Flip and Pokeathlon minigames. My dumbass spent 30 minutes failing at dodging Sudowoodo branches in the agility game.
Post-Game Madness
After beating Lance I figured I’d seen everything. WRONG! Went back to Cianwood City and some NPC finally boarded up the pharmacy basement. Down there found this entire underground battle facility with:
- Triple battles using all six Pokémon slots
- Alolan forms trading post (got a Vulpix with snow warning!)
- Weird machine that resets IVs for Bottle Caps
Almost threw my controller when Karen from Elite Four showed up as secret boss. Her Umbreon knew Moonblast! Had to redo my whole team strategy at 2AM.
Final Takeaways
Three days later I’m still finding quirks. That dude blocking Diglett’s Cave? You can bribe him with Rage Candy Bars now! The game’s littered with these tiny surprises that flip nostalgia on its head. Whoever remade this clearly played the original religiously then asked “but what if we broke everything fans remember?” Feels like rediscovering childhood toys someone secretly upgraded.
