Musically, however, functional best describes it: there’s your usual jaunty town tunes and monster cries, but nothing that stands out over standard DS fare.

It’s not a huge leap over previous titles, but the graphics are still above what you’d call functional.

Each Pokémon now animates on entry into battle, and although the special effects on their moves are nothing to write home about battles are still as enjoyable and engrossing as ever. In fact, seeing the region revitalised for modern consoles is a joy in itself, and although it’s not true to say the game maximises the DS’s graphical grunt it still brings the map to life. Here we are, nearly ten years on, revisiting the Johto region on DS, and with the benefit of new technology the games shine brighter than ever. Predictably the games were just as successful and even now are fondly remembered by many Pokémon fans – this one included – as their favourite quest to become the ultimate trainer. (Pokémon history lesson appeared!) A few years after the huge success of Red and Blue, along came Silver and Gold, offering a brand new region and dozens more freaky monsters to catch.

Nintendo ds pokemon heartgold version