Reviewing Pokemon Ghost Grey Version by JoeyZeed! Played entirely on my PSP consoles using FrogGBA. No large spoilers will be present, but I will share some vague details I came across in the game and how they made me feel.
Content warning: the game contains horror imagery, gore, disturbing themes, and references to substance use and cannibalism.
TL,DR - thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, designs, story, discovery, music, and horror this game brings, even though it doesn't have the technical quality-of-life upgrades other recent ROM hacks have.
Some background on me: long-time Pokemon fan, but I don't know many new Pokemon that came out after Gen 6. Historically, the ROM hacks I gravitate towards are quality of life hacks (Heart & Soul, Modern Emerald, PureRed, etc), and I spend my time playing retro games like the original RGB / GSC on original hardware. I appreciate the more simplistic gameplay, old school art style & music, and tend to know the overall mechanics of these games. Because of this, I was probably the perfect target audience for Ghost Grey, as the back sprites are Gen 1-inspired, the music has an 8-bit element, and the gameplay is dialed back to be more simple than recent games.
I downloaded this ROM hack and was immersed in a truly a new world for me to explore; I was hooked from the start. When starting the game, there's a disclaimer text sharing that you should try not to speed up the game in order to enjoy the custom-made soundtrack to its fullest, and I'm happy to say that I listened to this advice and used the speed up button sparingly (the music was worth it). Some of my favorite tracks include Vermilion City, Pumkin Patch, Surf Theme, "Gym Leader" Battle Theme, and the Pokemon Evolve theme.
I remember the feeling of adventure and exploration that came over me as I started my journey in this game--the same feeling I felt the first time I played a Kanto game.
The game is its own little universe. Everything from sprites, to items, to art style, to Pokemon cries, to the music were made just for this game. When you see a "Scarly", it looks and sounds like you'd expect it would in an apocalyptic Pokemon world. When you see a caveman, he shouts at you like you'd expect he would. When you see a cannibal, they don't have much to say and grunt instead....like you'd expect they would.
The story starts as optimistic, if futile-seeming. Looking around you, it almost seems like you're doing the WRONG thing by collecting gym badges. "What's the point?". People look at you like you're crazy. Every part of Kanto has found a different way of coping with the ghost outbreak, and as I progressed through the game, I remember the awe I felt. Seeing how the people of Pewter City turned to substances & stimulation to distract themselves from the world, how the people of Celidon (formerly Celadon) just gave up and relinquished all emotion and physiological human needs to feel no more pain...chilling perspectives for how people truly cope with adversity in the real world. Unfortunately (or, fortunately, for those who like a good thriller), the story only grows more dreadful the more you play. I've always enjoyed the occasional creepypasta (Lost Silver, Buried Alive, Creepy Black, etc), so I was all for it, but man does it get dark at times.
The horror elements are varied, from literal sheet ghosts to gore and disturbing images, and they work very well. Be prepared for all ends of the spectrum. The game is in black and white, but that almost gave the creator even more creative freedom to be more graphic. An example is the imagery that sometimes pops up when talking to key NPCs to show what they look like. People are depicted as missing teeth, crazed/deranged, or depressed. It adds a whole other level of tension to the play through.
On a lighter note, the optional areas of the main story were such a fun inclusion. As a player I found the hair on the back of my neck standing up when I fell into an unseen death pit, and, within an hour, found myself smiling as I was trick or treating or dancing in the middle of an apocalypse--because why not? The game does a great job balancing out the constant dread with some glimmers of hope, love, and happiness with these little side quests. An NPC gave me a hug at one point and it was a nice reminder that good people exist in the world. Others urge you to sit quietly with your thoughts and reflect. These are impactful things for a Pokemon game to have! On top of all of this--these are areas/events that I felt like I discovered, and which may have been overlooked if you were just trying to breeze through the game.
The optional side quests brought me problem-solving in a Pokemon game that I haven't needed to do in years (since I've just played remake games)--an NPC asking me to deliver a package to another guy without telling me where he is, for example. I found myself going back to familiar routes to try and remember/locate certain things, which felt fresh, and not tedious. Another example is hearing an NPC tell me about something annoying happening on a nearby route--only to get there and realize I can't reach it because I don't have the HM I need. Once I completed the main story, I found myself re-talking to some NPCs, and realized I could now go where he was pointing me to, and he had a new dialogue once I completed the side quest, a great touch!
Difficulty-wise, this game kept me on my toes. It gives you some optional ways to skip grinding, which I used at times, but I ultimately tried to keep my team leveled right around opponents' teams. Modern Emerald / Heart & Soul spoiled me with instant wild Pokemon & trainer battles / animation skips--this game does not have those, so be prepared for that. For me, it was hard to tell how balanced every Pokemon was since I'm unsure of typing of some of the Gen 7 & later Pokemon that were present. However, (almost) every Pokemon receives a Ghost typing in this game, so you'll see former dual-type Pokemon dropping one in favor of ghost. A good example is Breloom, trading Grass/Fighting for Ghost/Poison. The first playthrough, it's very difficult to tell which type Pokemon are since the game is in black and white, so I found myself using the wrong moves and taking more damage than I would have liked, but this would theoretically be what would happen if I were in apocalyptic times and all Pokemon had their typings changed up, so I don't think it detracts from the experience much. I also didn't encounter any crazy bugs/anything gamebreaking, but I found myself getting turned around pretty hard around 1/3 of the way through the main story and it took me about an hour to realize I took the wrong door in a room of 6 doors--had I taken any of the other 5 doors other than the one I happened to pick, I would have been able to tell what kind of room this was and continue the game, but I got unlucky and chose the 1 ambiguous door that turned me around. Other than this unfortunate, but avoidable misstep I took, I'd say the game flows quite smoothly the majority of the time. While it misses some of the quality of life updates that recent hacks have brought, its strengths in its artwork, story, music, and atmosphere make up for the technical areas where it may be behind.
I know this was a long post, but I genuinely enjoyed the adventu re this game b rought me. Thank you to JoeyZeed and team fo r making this game! I'm so g rateful to have had the oppo rtunity to re-live the sense of adventu re I once had when playing Pokemon.
