If you’ve ever played a "main" Pokémon game on any of Nintendo’s handhelds, you’ve got a good idea of what to expect from Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver.

For those unfamiliar with the operations of the Pokémon franchise. Pokémon games usually come in pairs with a third version of the game coming a bit later as something of an intermingling of the games it was made off of.

The only difference between the original 2 games is the order in which the Legendary Pokémon of the game are captured. The other difference in the games is that each version of the game features different Pokémon - this makes trading with other trainers necessary to capture all 450.
To further confuse the newcomers to the series, Pokémon games come in “generations”. The first games being Generation I and the newer (DS) games making up Generation IV. In each “generation” new and exciting things are added to the games - new Pokémon, evolutions of Pokémon, techniques, and so on.

One last thing about Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver before we get to the game itself. All of the Generation III and IV games have been remakes of the previous Generations’ games. Gold and Silver being the predecessors of HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Now, if you’ve never played a Pokémon game, they’re a 2-Dimensional RPG where you journey through the Johto Region of the Pokémon world. On your journey, you’ll encounter wild Pokémon, your fellow trainers, your rival, and of course, Team Rocket. All in order to raise your Pokémon to the best of your ability, catch all 450 Pokémon, become the best trainer out there, and of course, defeat Team Rocket.

The big edition to this remake of an already 10-year old game is the ability of your “1st-seat” or main Pokémon to walk behind you almost all the time, which hasn’t been seen in a "main" Pokémon game since Pokémon Yellow (a Generation I game). At times this is confusing as Pokémon are different sizes - some eclipsing the size of a person, yet from the smallest Pokémon to the largest Pokémon, when they follow you, they are all the same size.

Also, the Poke-Athalon and Poke-Walker are also new, and since they aren’t mandatory features to the game or story, I’ll hit on them a little later in the review.

Not much has changed accessibility-wise for the Pokémon franchise. Really, the only issue that has arisen over the course of the four generations of "main" Pokémon games thus far is the addition of color, and it’s done in such an elementary way that it should not cause many issues.

The only other issue visually impaired may encounter, beyond the obvious “not necessarily designed for those with a visual disability” that the DS brings to the table, is the font style used within the game. It is for the most part legible, only going slightly downhill in terms of the use of currency a sexes. Both are encountered so infrequently that they won’t play a large part in the game unless the player chooses the path of a Pokémon Breeder.

The menus, dialogue boxes, and such that feature visible font are all highly visible with the usual dialogue boxes being black font on a white background. Most are similarly colored with some degree of high visibility color scheme.

Next, the hearing impaired have nothing to lose when it comes to Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver as all of the events which have audio attached happen visibly before the sound occurs. Sound in "main" Pokémon games is nothing to really be missed out on as it’s almost all recycled from one game to the next and desperately needing an audio update in the next generation’s games.

There is only one timed event in any "main" Pokémon game, and that is fishing. It may present a problem if the player has a mobility issue in which reflexes are slowed. Not fishing will only hinder catching Water Pokémon until you learn the move “Surf” or get enough steps counted on your Poke-Walker to be able to catch them there.

Outside of the main game, you have the ability to compete in mini-games such as beauty pageants, Pokémon catching competitions, visit the arcade/casino, and the Poke-Athalon.

All of the competitions are really straight forward until you get to the Poke-Athalon event, which calls for a lot of mobility with the Stylus. Not a good thing for the game, especially since there are a lot of cool prizes that can be won via the Poke-Athalon and with issues of mobility, it would seem to take a long time to amass enough points to get any of the good stuff.

With purchase of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, you should get a little Tamigochi meets pedometer thing which is known as the Poke-Walker. This is a completely optional as the game will not be ruined if you choose not to use it. It literally counts your steps in real life and rewards you accordingly.

It is a great idea and does encourage its use as a means to collect Pokémon and items that may be a little rarer within the game. But it fails in terms of accessibility, and will require creative use if you are unable to walk (I suggest figure-8‘s if you can). The audio occurs well before the audio kicks in when a Pokémon is caught or an item is found using the Poke-Walker. It is not backlit; therefore it is a bit hard to see if in a low-light environment. Adding to this is the dark grey on lighter grey.

Overall, it’s something that doesn’t feel like it needed to be packaged with the game.

At-A-Glance

Mobility:
It is completely possible to play Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver one-handed. The game can be played with the buttons alone, but not the stylus alone. The touch-screen/stylus is never used nonsensically. The only ways the touch-screen/stylus is used in possibly challenging ways are completely optional and won’t affect the story in any way.
Fishing is a timed event requiring a somewhat measurable reflex time. And then there’s the Poke-Walker. Not required to play the game - it is just an add-on accessory. Counts the steps of a person with Spastic Cerebral Palsy but will require creative usage if unable to walk (see previous statement). No timed events.

Recommended Score: 8/10

Hearing:

The captioning in the game is done well - usually black font on a white background. Unfortunately there is no choice in font types as and the font could be more legible. And then there’s the Poke-Walker. Not required to play the game - it is just an add-on accessory. All on-board events are visual before they become audible. (Score one for the hearing impaired!)

Recommended Score: 9/10

Visually:

Know your limitations before playing. Colors are done in high enough contrast that they are usually not an issue. There are places where they do become an issue, but that is clearly intended (fog, snow storms, and dark caves). Reading is a necessity. The font used in the game is sometimes illegible. As for the Poke-Walker, it’s completely optional. Not back-lit feature. Grey font on a lighter grey background. The font is not that big, nor is it easy to read.
Recommended Score: 6/10

Overall:

The good thing about Pokémon games is that they can last nearly indefinitely. The goal of the game is not only finishing the story, but as the tag-line suggests, “catching ‘em all”. The new additions to the games this generation are welcome additions - being able to walk with your Pokémon outside of parks specifically for the purpose of your Pokémon stretching its legs. The Poke-Walker and Poke-Athalon while not all that accessible are also new. For a touch of nostalgia with a bit of modernization, the willing player could do a lot worse than Pokémon HeartGold or Pokémon SoulSilver.