Pokémon Crystal

Enhanced edition of Pokémon Gold and Silver with new features.

Pokémon Crystal is a role-playing video game developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. Released in Japan in December 2000 and internationally in 2001, it is an enhanced edition of Pokémon Gold and Silver and the final entry in the second generation of the Pokémon series. It introduced features such as animated Pokémon sprites, a female protagonist, and a Battle Tower, and was the first main series game incompatible with the original Game Boy.

Quick Facts

Developer

Game Freak

Publisher

Nintendo

Director

Satoshi Tajiri, Junichi Masuda

Producer

Satoru Iwata
Satoshi Yamamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
Tsunekazu Ishihara

Designer

Junichi Masuda
Koji Nishino
Toshinobu Matsumiya

Programmer

Shigeki Morimoto
Tetsuya Watanabe
Takenori Ohta

Artist

Ken Sugimori

Composer

Go Ichinose
Junichi Masuda
Morikazu Aoki

Facts from the source article.

Development and release

Crystal entered development at Game Freak in 1999, following the release of Gold and Silver. It marked the first time Junichi Masuda served as lead director for a Pokémon title; he had previously worked as a composer for the franchise and as sub-director on Gold and Silver. Nintendo first announced the game and the Mobile Adapter GB in December 1999, using the working title Pokémon X. Artist Ken Sugimori explained that Crystal was built primarily to support the launch of the Mobile System GB service.

Masuda said the name was chosen to evoke the crystals used in electronic transmissions. Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi noted that Pokémon, with its focus on exchange and collection, was the ideal way to introduce people to mobile phone games. The game and its adapter were first shown at Space World in August 2000. Crystal launched in Japan on 14 December 2000, and was previewed for North America at E3 in May 2001.

It reached North America on 30 July 2001, Australia on 30 September 2001, and Europe on 2 November 2001. Some North American copies were sold as a Pokémon Crystal Bundle, which included a lime green Game Boy Color. The game later became available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop on 28 January 2018.

Reception

When Pokémon Crystal launched, critics generally liked it, especially for the new features it brought. Frank Provo at GameSpot said these additions, like timed events, smoother gameplay tweaks, and better visuals, added real value. Nintendo Power called the Battle Tower a tough new challenge built for dedicated fans. Kelly Starr of Nintendo Gamer praised the option to play as a female trainer, the location signs, and the improved animations, calling the game a worthwhile update with enough small changes to matter.

But not everyone was convinced. Many reviewers felt the upgrades were too minor to stand out from Gold and Silver. Craig Harris at IGN admitted the overall design had improved but complained that the cosmetic changes were minimal and that the game still ran on the same old engine. Simon Brew of Game Boy Xtreme said longtime players would find little new, arguing the series had pushed its traditional formula as far as it could go.

Chris Johnston at Electronic Gaming Monthly wrote that the additions didn't change the experience at all and should have been in the original release. Chris Thompson of Pocket Games agreed it was a great starting point for newcomers but not enough to make returning players buy it again. Commercially, Crystal sold 6.3 million copies worldwide, making it the lowest-selling main series Pokémon game, though it still ranked among the top ten Game Boy titles.

In Japan, it moved 1,871,307 units, becoming the second-best-selling Game Boy Color game there. In the U.S., it sold 600,000 copies in its first two weeks.