Pokémon Gold and Silver Spaceworld '97 demo

The Pokémon Gold and Silver Spaceworld '97 demo is an early build of the games Pokémon Gold and Silver that was shown at Nintendo Space World '97 from November 21 to 23, 1997. At the time, the final game was estimated to be about 80% complete and was set to be released for the original Game Boy—the Game Boy Color would not be announced until late March of the following year.[1][2] However, due to a variety of delays, including a complete overhaul to the game, it would not be released until late 1999.

Pokémon Gold demo
GoldDemoTitle.png
Title screen of the Pokémon Gold demo
Pokémon Silver demo
SilverDemoTitle.png
Title screen of the Pokémon Silver demo
Basic info
Platform: Game Boy (enhanced for the Super Game Boy)
Category: RPG demo
Players: 1 player
Connectivity: None
Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo/The Pokémon Company
Part of: Generation II
Ratings
CERO: N/A
ESRB: N/A
ACB: N/A
OFLC: N/A
PEGI: N/A
GRAC: N/A
GSRR: N/A
Release dates
Japan: November 21, 1997
North America: N/A
Australia: N/A
Europe: N/A
South Korea: N/A
Hong Kong: N/A
Taiwan: N/A
Websites
Japanese: Space World
English: N/A

During the two years after it was first shown at Nintendo Space World '97 until its final release in November 21, 1999, the game changed extensively from this early demo. As with the final games, the demo used the Japanese Pokémon Blue as its basis for development.

Up until 2018, little information was known about this demo, due to the majority of the game being locked off from players. Only a few photographs were taken, and most of the information known comes from testimony of attendees. On May 26, 2018, however, ROM files of both the Gold and Silver demos were anonymously posted online, including versions with debug menus, allowing players to explore data that was blocked off at Space World.

Beyond what was intended to be played appears unfinished: many Pokémon have unfinished and placeholder base stats; scripts, NPCs, and warp data is largely absent; collision data is missing; and some areas are completely missing. Nevertheless, a large amount of information can be gathered from what is present, including many redesigned or scrapped Pokémon designs, minigame easter eggs, and a completely different region.

Gameplay

The demo begins with a monologue from Professor Oak, similar to the final game. However, there is no option to give the player a gender or a name, who is instead automatically a boy named Satoshi (サトシ)G or Shigeru (シゲル)S. Afterwards, the player begins in his room in a town called Silent Hill (サイレントヒル); this town is also named Silent Hills (サイレントヒルズ) in the Official Fan Book of Pocket Monsters (Japanese: ポケットモンスター公式ファンブック), published earlier in 1997. The player will already have 3000$ and eight Badges, although the Gym Leaders are blacked out. One of three first partner Pokémon, randomly chosen, is already placed in the player's party.

 
Type:
Grass Unknown
Held item:
None
ハッパ Lv.8
Tackle
Normal
Growth
Normal
Leech Seed
Grass
  --  
   
 
Type:
Fire Unknown
Held item:
None
ホノオグマ Lv.8
Tackle
Normal
Leer
Normal
  --  
   
  --  
   
 
Type:
Water Unknown
Held item:
None
クルス Lv.8
Tackle
Normal
Growl
Normal
Water Gun
Water
  --  
   

Silent Hill has exits to the west, north, and east; however, the northern and eastern exits are blocked to prevent the player from accessing unfinished areas. A Pokémon Center which the player can enter is present in the town, but all of its functions are unavailable. Silent Hill also has a laboratory, but it cannot be entered.

The player will then move west to Route 1, a typical route with a dungeon called Silent Hill (しずかなおか) in the middle. (Although the English translations for both サイレントヒルズ and しずかなおか are the same, they are written differently in Japanese: the town is a transliteration of the English term "Silent Hill" in katakana, and the dungeon area in Route 1 is the Japanese native translation for "Silent Hill," written in hiragana.) Silent Hill has the first Trainers to encounter in the game. After going through Silent Hill, the player reemerges on the other side of Route 1, where they will encounter another trainer. At the end of Route 1, the rival, automatically named Shigeru (シゲル), stops the player, and the demo ends. The demo will also end if the player blacks out.

Differences from the final game

The demo and the final versions of the Generation II games had numerous differences.

The demo was meant to be played on Game Boy hardware and was not designed to take advantage of the colors available on a Game Boy Color; as such, the colors available through the Super Game Boy were less detailed. The day and night system is present, but due to running on a Game Boy color scheme, the change in colors for the time of the day are just shades of blue. Playing the final games on a Super Game Boy yields a similar effect.

The intro lacks music, and instead of showing the Generation II first partner Pokémon at the end of the intro, Venusaur and Blastoise are shown instead; Charizard, which was present in the final game's intro, has a slightly less detailed design.

Generation I Pokédex entries were carried over as placeholders for Pokémon until new Pokédex entries were able to be written for them. All Pokédex entries for Generation II Pokémon use the same placeholder text:「はっけんされた ばかりの ポケモン げんざい ちょうさちゅう。」 In an odd occurrence, it was also possible to battle wild Pokémon twice in a row without moving from a grass panel; why this was an implemented feature at the time is unknown.

Kanto Route 1 music plays for all Routes. The music of Viridian City, Saffron City, and Pewter City plays for all cities and towns present. Trainer and wild Pokémon battles both use Pokémon Red and Green Gym Leader music. More tracks from Pokémon Red and Green are present for events that are not normally possible in this build.

Type chart

Several type match ups differed from the final version of the game. Notably, Normal and Dark would be super effective against Dark types, while Normal types would only take resisted damage from Dark-type moves, Water and Electric would have been super effective against Steel, and Poison would be resisted by the Steel-type instead of Poison-type moves doing no damage. Additionally, Poison remained super effective against Bug, something that existed in Generation I, but was changed to be neutrally effective in the final version.

In the below type chart, bold text and a different shade of the color means that the type matchup is different than in the final version.

× Defending type
                                 
Attacking type   ½×
  ½× ½× ½× ½× ½×
  ½× ½×
  ½× ½× ½× ½× ½×
  ½× ½×
  ½× ½× ½×
  ½× ½× ½× ½×
  ½×
  ½× ½×
  ½× ½× ½× ½×
  ½× ½× ½× ½×
  ½× ½× ½× ½× ½× ½×
  ½× ½× ½×
  ½× ½×
  ½× ½× ½×
 
  ½×
These matchups are suitable for the Gold and Silver Spaceworld '97 demo.

Demo restrictions

As this game was meant to be publicly played at Space World '97, there were several restrictions put in place to make sure the game could not lock up or be set up to not work for other players. The only options available at the start screen are "ポケモンを あそぶ" (Play Pokémon) and "せっていを かえる" (Change Settings). There is no Continue option as the player is not able to save in the demo build. The player is given a random level 8 first partner Pokémon.

The player could only heal using Potions as Pokémon Centers are not accessible in the demo. PCs are also not able to be used. Trying to visit a Pokémon Center or use a PC gives the text of "under repair" or "being adjusted." This was likely to prevent a single attendee from hogging the demo by repeatedly healing to avoid blacking out.

The player and rival's names are random pre-selected names. First partner Pokémon and wild Pokémon that appear in the demo are not able to evolve. When an NPC loses, they do not have any losing dialog, presumably to make the demo faster to play. The player can only visit Silent Hill and early routes up to the forest area. When all the player's Pokémon faint, the game returns to the title screen to ensure the next person could have a turn.

Pokémon

Main article: Pokémon Gold and Silver Spaceworld '97 demo/Pokémon

Although only a few new Pokémon can be seen in the demo through normal gameplay, 100 new Pokémon had been designed at the time. Some of these Pokémon were kept into the final release largely unchanged; some had major modifications; others went completely unused. 16 of the unused Pokémon were related to the original 151 Generation I Pokémon, and two of the unused Pokémon were related to Generation II Pokémon which made it into the final release.

Many of the 151 Generation I Pokémon still used their sprites from Pokémon Blue as placeholder sprites during this time. Several Pokémon would have also gained either an evolution or a pre-evolution. Certain scrapped Pokémon correspond to, and may have inspired, later-generation Pokémon such as Leafeon or Lickilicky.

Many new Pokémon that were unused in the demo had placeholder base stats, which were all 50.

List of new Pokémon

Ndex Sprite Pokémon Type
#152   Happa Grass
#153   Hanamogura Grass
#154   Hanaryū Grass
#155   Honōguma Fire
#156   Borubeā Fire
#157   Dainabea Fire
#158   Kurusu Water
#159   Akua Water
#160   Akueria Water
#161   Hōhō Flying
#162   Bōbō Flying
#163   Pachimē Electric
#164   Mokoko Electric
#165   Denryū Electric
#166   Mikon Water
#167   Monja Grass
#168   Jaranra Grass
#169   Hanēi Water Flying
#170   Pukū Water
#171   Shibirefugu Water
#172   Pichū Electric
#173   Py Normal
#174   Pupurin Normal
#175   Mizūo Water
#176   Neiti Flying Psychic
#177   Neitio Flying Psychic
#178   Gyopin Water
#179   Mariru Water
#180   Manbō1 Water
#181   Ikari Water Steel
#182   Gurotesu Water Steel
#183   Ekushingu Poison Flying
#184   Para Bug
#185   Kokumo Bug Poison
#186   Tsūheddo Bug Poison
#187   Yoroidori Flying Steel
#188   Animon Normal
#189   Hināzu Normal Flying
#190   Sanī Grass Psychic
#191   Paon Ground
#192   Donfan Ground
#193   Tsuinzu Dark Normal
#194   Kirinriki Dark Normal
#195   Peintā Normal
#196   Kōnya Normal
#197   Rinrin Dark
#198   Berurun Dark
#199   Nyorotono Water
#200   Yadokingu Water Psychic
#201   Annōn Normal
#202   Rediba Bug Flying
#203   Mitsuboshi Bug Flying
#204   Puchikōn Normal
#205   Ēfi Psychic
#206   Burakkī Poison
#207   Tāban Water
#208   Betobebī Poison
#209   Teppouo Water
#210   Okutan Water
#211   Gongu Fighting
#212   Kapoerā Fighting
#213   Pudi Fire
#214   Haneko Grass Flying
#215   Poponeko Grass Flying
#216   Wataneko Grass Flying
#217   Baririna Normal
#218   Rippu Ice
#219   Erebebī Electric
#220   Bubyi Fire
#221   Kireihana Grass Poison
#222   Tsubomitto Grass Poison
#223   Mirutanku Normal
#224   Bomushikā Water Fire
#225   Gifuto Water Ice
#226   Kotora Electric
#227   Raitora Electric
#228   Madāmu Normal Flying
#229   Norowara Ghost
#230   Kyonpan Ghost
#231   Yamikarasu Dark Flying
#232   Happī Normal
#233   Shizāsu Bug Flying
#234   Purakkusu Bug
#235   Debiru Fire
#236   Herugā Fire
#237   Urufuman Ice
#238   Wāurufu Ice
#239   Porigon2 Normal
#240   Namēru Normal
#241   Haganēru Steel Ground
#242   Kingudora Dragon Water
#243   Rai Electric
#244   En Fire
#245   Sui Water
#246   Nyūra Dark
#247   Houou Flying
#248   Togepī Normal
#249   Bulu Psychic
#250   Teiru Normal
#251   Rīfi Grass

Special entry animations

Pikachu and Sanī used the special "stars" animation, which would be later used for Shiny Pokémon. However, this demo lacked a special animation linked to Shininess.[3]

Hōhō used a special "fade-in" animation, which remains in the final games, but is unused.

There was also a special "wave" animation, which was unused even in the demo.

Shiny Pokémon

Shiny Pokémon had much different mechanics than in the final games. Instead of exact DV requirements (Defense, Speed and Special DVs at 10, and Attack DV of 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14 or 15), all Shiny Pokémon had DVs of 10 or higher for all stats other than HP, which translates to Shininess odds of 81/4096, or ~1.977%. Shiny Pokémon had no special star animation when sent out, although that animation is implemented in-game. For some reason, it only applies to non-Shiny Pikachu and Sanī.

Due to technical limitations caused by the Super Game Boy's hardware, each color palette also had an assigned Shiny palette. Thus, all Pokémon with a given color palette also had the same Shiny palette.

Color Standard palette Shiny palette
Green #E7E7E7 #A7D787 #4FA75F #272727 #E7E7E7 #BFAF87 #676757 #272727
Orange #E7E7E7 #FFA757 #D75737 #272727 #E7E7E7 #B77F87 #8F172F #272727
Cyan #E7E7E7 #AFCFEF #779FCF #272727 #E7E7E7 #7FA7A7 #2F8787 #272727
Brown #E7E7E7 #E7A77F #AF774F #272727 #E7E7E7 #A78F97 #976F5F #272727
Yellow #E7E7E7 #FFE777 #D7A707 #272727 #E7E7E7 #D7BF87 #EF774F #272727
Blue #E7E7E7 #97A7DF #5F7FBF #272727 #E7E7E7 #8797AF #576797 #272727
Purple #E7E7E7 #DFB7C7 #AF7FBF #272727 #E7E7E7 #BF7F9F #772767 #272727
Human #E7E7E7 #F7B78F #87779F #272727 #E7E7E7 #BF9F6F #77678F #272727
Faded #E7E7E7 #D7AFB7 #7F7F97 #272727 #E7E7E7 #979797 #575757 #272727
Pink #E7E7E7 #F7B7C7 #E77FAF #272727 #E7E7E7 #AFCFEF #F7B7C7 #272727


Trainer Classes

  This article is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Every Trainer Class found in the demo.

In the demo, the majority of trainer classes present would go on to be unused or have drastic character redesigns when compared to the final game. In this build, the Gym Leader "classes" work just like in Generation I, with each entry only being the character's name. In the final release they're all just known as Gym Leader, with their name added after it.

Trainer Classes
Trainer # (Hex) Class (Demo) Class (Final) Overworld (Demo) Overworld (Final) Battle (Demo) Battle (Final) Notes
01 ハヤト
Hayato
ジムリーダー
Gym Leader
          The first Gym Leader, Falkner, has a different design. Leader of Old's Gym.
02 アカネ
Akane
ジムリーダー
Gym Leader
          The second Gym Leader, Whitney, uses a placeholder sprite and reuses a copy of Bugsy's overworld sprites, though Whitney also is listed as the second Gym Leader internally in the final. West's Gym has Bugsy as the leader, meaning he may have already been decided as the second leader at an earlier point. It is unknown where she would have been battled, though a female Gym Leader can be found in High-Tech's Gym.
03 ツクシ
Tsukushi
ジムリーダー
Gym Leader
          The third Gym Leader, Bugsy, has a different design. Can be found in West's Gym.
04 エノキ
Enoki
ジムリーダー
Gym Leader
          The fourth Gym Leader, Morty, has a different design. Overworld sprites depict him with a ponytail, though this is never used in the demo. It is unknown where he would have been battled, though the Birdon Gym features pitfalls much like Morty's in the final game and is also the fourth city with a Gym, suggesting that he may have still been the fourth leader. Enoki was the name given to Morty in Ken Sugimori's early conceptual sketches for the characters.[4] It seems to originate from the Japanese name of the Chinese hackberry, often referenced in folklore surrounding the ghostly light Kitsunebi, a kind of Will-o'-the-wisp.
05 オケラ
Okera
ジムリーダー
Gym Leader
   
   
N/A   N/A The fifth Gym Leader, seemingly related to Pryce. Uses a placeholder sprite and reuses a copy of Jasmine's overworld sprites. The name Okera was Pryce's name early in development,[5] with this class sharing the same ID of Pryce in the final game. It is unknown where he would have been battled, though Newtype would be the next Gym after Birdon and contains a male leader.
06 ミカン
Mikan
ジムリーダー
Gym Leader
   
   
      The sixth Gym Leader, Jasmine, has a different design. Her overworld sprites go unused in the demo, so it is unknown where she would have been battled, since the gym in Blue Forest appeared to be a Ghost gym. It may suggest that Jasmine was originally a Ghost-type leader, or that the map was based on an even earlier arrangement of leaders.
07 ブルー
Blue
ジムリーダー
Gym Leader
N/A   N/A The seventh Gym Leader, seemingly Red. Uses a placeholder sprite, with an overworld sprite of Red being in the Kanto Gym. ブルー is the default name for the player in Blue. This does not refer to the rival character Blue, who is known as Green in Japan. It is unknown where he would have been battled, though the aforementioned Kanto Gym appears to be most likely, a role ironically fulfilled by the rival character Blue in the final game.
08 ガマ
Gama
ジムリーダー
Gym Leader
N/A   N/A The eighth Gym Leader, uses a placeholder sprite. Gama may come from the Japanese name of the Common Cattail of the genus Typha, which is named after Typhon—a serpentine giant in Greek mythology. It is unknown where they would have been battled, though due to their placement as the final Gym Leader, this may be an early iteration of Clair, who uses Pokémon that fit a similar description in the final game, such as Dragonair and Gyarados.

Maps

 
Demo map of Johto
Main article: Pokémon Gold and Silver Spaceworld '97 demo/Locations

Although only Silent Hill and the route and forest leading from it to Old City are accessible in the demo, many other locations are programmed into the game. However, the inaccessible locations lack collision and warp data.

The final map of Johto shares little resemblance to the region present in the demo, which was based on the entirety of Japan, with Kanto included as a large city within it. Apart from Kanto and a prototype of the Ruins of Alph, none of the areas from the final game appear in the demo; however, some maps bear similarities.

Mini-games

This build of the game contained far more mini-games, with a total of 5.

Title screen

 
Alternate title screen

A hidden mini-game involving Pikachu can be played if the game is left idle at the title screen for an extended period of time. The player tries to avoid obstacles and collect musical notes while catching up to Jigglypuff. The game ends once Pikachu catches up to Jigglypuff and returns to the title screen. After playing, the title screen will have musical notes flying across the screen, rather than fire.

Picross

A picross mini-game featuring Pokémon was present.

Some Pokémon picross puzzles would later appear in Picross NP Vol. 1. Pokémon Picross would also be announced for the Game Boy Color; however, it was ultimately cancelled. A Pokémon picross game would not be released until Pokémon Picross in December 2015.

Poker

The poker mini-game was based on the real-life game of poker but with various Pokémon on the cards instead of clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. It would be replaced with card flip in the final version of the game.

Memory game

A memory game is a game where the player attempts to match five pairs of cards in five turns. However, no coins are actually rewarded for any matches. This game remains unused in the final game.

Slide puzzle

The last mini-game is a 15-tile slide puzzle game where the player has to try rearranging the tiles to reveal who the Pokémon is.

Gallery

Items

Main article: Pokémon Gold and Silver Spaceworld '97 demo/Items

With the introduction of held items, many new items and Key Items were added that would be cut, have slight changes in how they worked, or be scrapped altogether.

References



Beta versions of Pokémon games
Generation I
Red and GreenYellow
Generation II
Gold and Silver (Spaceworld '97 demo) • Crystal
Generation III
Ruby and SapphireFireRed and LeafGreenEmeraldColosseumXD
Generation IV
Diamond and PearlPlatinumHeartGold and SoulSilver
Generation V
Black and WhiteBlack 2 and White 2
Generation VI
X and YOmega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
Generation VII
Sun and MoonUltra Sun and Ultra Moon
Generation VIII
Sword and Shield
Unreleased
Pokémon Picross


Pokémon Demos
Tech demos: Pikachu: DS Tech Demo
Generation II: Pokémon Gold and Silver Spaceworld '97 demoPokémon Gold and Silver Spaceworld '99 demo
Generation III: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire demoPokémon XD: Gale of Darkness demo
Generation IV: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl demoPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gold Rescue Team
Generation V: Pokémon Black and White demo
Generation VI: Pokémon X and Y demoPokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Special Demo Version
Generation VII: Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon Special Demo VersionPokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! Demo Version
Generation VIII: Pokémon Sword and Shield demo
Pokémon game templates


  This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.