Today marks the 24th birthday of Pokémon Crystal for the Game Boy Color, the third game in Pokémon’s second generation and a game full of firsts for the series, including the first-ever playable female trainer. However, if you’re craving revisiting Crystal’s version of Johto in celebration, you’ll have to be part of a very small group to do so (legitimately, anyway).
Despite being one of the most popular series in the world, Pokémon has a real problem with videogame preservation, and Pokémon Crystal is the perfect example of this. In 2024, there are currently only two ways to play one of the best Pokémon games of all time – either on the original Game Boy Color hardware, or on a 3DS/2DS that already has the Virtual Console version installed. Since the 3DS store closed earlier this year, there are now a finite number of devices in the world capable of playing Pokémon Crystal.
Now, you might be thinking, “What about Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver?” Sure, those games do take us back to Johto, but much like how the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games didn’t recreate the experience of playing Pokémon Emerald, HGSS leaves out a lot of the Crystal-specific content. Plus, HeartGold and SoulSilver aren’t exactly accessible games either, with eBay listings for each game ranging from $50 to $300 apiece.
I was only three years old when Pokémon Crystal came out, so I never got the chance to experience the game how it was intended, and now I may never have that chance. I’m desperately hoping that when the Nintendo Switch 2 comes out, Pokémon will finally release a legacy collection of its older games so that these experiences aren’t entirely lost to time.
If you’re celebrating Pokémon Crystal’s anniversary today, let us know on social media what your favorite gen 2 Pokémon is. Alternatively, take a look at our guide to the best retro handheld to find your new go-to device for playing the best Game Boy games.
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