Pokemon Crystal Clear Turns It Into an Open-World Game

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If you’re a Pokémon fan wanting a fresh take on a classic, check out Pokémon Crystal Clear. It’s a fan-made modification of Pokémon Crystal that’s been regularly updated since 2017. You’ll need your own copy of Pokémon Crystal to use the mod, but it lets you experience things that weren’t possible in the original game.

Released in late 2000 for the Game Boy Color, Pokemon Crystal was the third game in the second generation of Pokemon games. The game takes place in the Johto region and focuses on the Legendary Water-type Pokemon, Suicune. Pokemon Crystal also introduced features that would become common in future Pokemon games, such as the ability to play as a female character and animated sprites during battles, which replaced the static images used in earlier versions.

Pokemon Crystal Clear Mixes Old School Gameplay With Modern Features

Even with new Pokemon games like Pokemon Legends: Z-A doing well, fans who miss the classic Pokemon experience can enjoy a popular fan-made game called Pokemon Crystal Clear. This game is built on the original Pokemon Crystal and lets players explore the Johto and Kanto regions right from the beginning, without having to defeat the Elite Four first. Created by ShockSlayer and other fans, the latest version (v2.5.11) was released on December 5, 2024, and can be found on ShockSlayer’s website. Pokemon Crystal Clear features an open-world style and expands the starter Pokemon options. While you can still choose classics like Totodile and Cyndaquil, you can also start your journey with less common Pokemon like Smeargle, Ditto, and Houndour.

Beyond that, Pokemon Crystal Clear lets you challenge Gym Leaders in any order you like, and the game adjusts the difficulty of certain battles based on how many Gym Badges you’ve collected. It also offers more ways to customize your character than the original Crystal game. You can pick a male or female character, and even choose from a variety of different looks, including options to make your avatar resemble a Team Rocket Grunt with customizable colors.

Playing Pokemon Crystal Clear does have a couple of requirements. You’ll need a Pokemon Crystal game ROM and a Game Boy emulator to play it on most devices. If you prefer, you can also play it on a Game Boy Color using a flash cart that can save game progress and keep track of in-game time.

2026 is the Best Time to Play Pokemon Games

The Pokémon Company is starting to celebrate Pokémon’s 30th anniversary in 2026, hinting at big news to come. While only Pokémon Pokopia and Pokémon Champions are currently confirmed to release this year, fans should mark February 27th – Pokémon Day – as a date for exciting announcements.

Even though The Pokémon Company hasn’t officially announced the next main series Pokémon games (Generation 10), rumors and leaks about what they might include are all over social media. While fans are waiting for official news, a game like Pokémon Crystal Clear could be a great way to recapture some classic Pokémon feelings and pass the time. It’s still unknown what exciting new features the next generation of Pokémon games will offer.

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2026-01-08 02:04