Pokémon Crystal

Suicune flickers into view in the rain, a water legend with a body like a flowing ribbon, and for the first time in Pokémon history, it moves. Crystal wasn't just a third version of Gold and Silver. It was the culmination of the second generation and, at the same time, a quiet revolution that pushed the handheld creature technology one step further.

Released as an enhanced edition of Johto, Crystal brought several firsts at once. The game featured animated Pokémon sprites that briefly stirred to life when sent into battle. For the first time, the player could also choose their character's gender and play as a girl. The story was expanded with a standalone thread devoted to the legendary Suicune and a character named Eusine, giving the Johto region its own mythological depth.

The core of the game stayed true to Gold and Silver. There was still the day-and-night cycle, two regions to explore, breeding, held items, and the finale on Mt. Silver. Crystal, however, additionally offered the Battle Tower, a challenge for players who had long since conquered the main story and craved a pure combat test. In Japan the game even experimentally connected to a mobile adapter for online features, which was extraordinarily progressive for its time.

Importantly, Crystal was made exclusively for the Game Boy Color and was not backward-compatible with the original Game Boy. It was the first main Pokémon installment that truly required the color hardware. Development was once again handled by Game Freak under the baton of Satoshi Tajiri, and the musical accompaniment bore the signature of Junichi Masuda.

Culturally, Crystal served as the definitive version of the second generation, the one fans remember when they want Johto in its richest form. Animated sprites became a standard the series retained, and choosing the character's gender became a given in every subsequent installment. Crystal thus quietly laid the foundations for many things we now take entirely for granted.

Why play it: The most complete form of the beloved Johto with animated Pokémon and the first playable heroine in the series. For fans of the second generation, an obvious choice.