Pokémon Gold and Silver: 6 Open Source Clones Compared
These projects target different builds rather than competing implementations of the same game: pokemon-crystal and the Gold/Silver entry disassemble the original Game Boy releases, the Space World 1997 Demo entry disassembles an unreleased prototype shown at a 1997 trade event, and HeartGold/SoulSilver disassembles the separate Nintendo DS remakes, with its own status showing it doesn't yet produce a playable build. Polished Crystal is a full custom hack built on top of the Crystal disassembly, adding new content and mod support rather than reproducing the original exactly. PokeTraveler goes further still: a non-battling walking simulator that reuses the Gold/Silver/Crystal world for exploration only, with no Pokémon battling, and is still in progress.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Game Boy
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 17d ago
- Stars
- 2,500
- Contributors
- 91
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Game Boy
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 1d ago
- Stars
- 1,642
- Contributors
- 80
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoThis is a custom game based on the Crystal disassembly and does not require original game assets.
- Modding support
- YesThe game includes mod support via customizable settings and the ability to edit assets in the asset folder.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Game Boy
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 1mo ago
- Stars
- 712
- Contributors
- 36
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Unplayable
- Platforms
- DS
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 24d ago
- Stars
- 589
- Contributors
- 46
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Game Boy
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 5d ago
- Stars
- 393
- Contributors
- 32
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- None
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 6y ago
- Stars
- 0
- Contributors
- 1
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoThis is an original game that does not require original Pokemon assets.
- Modding support
- YesThe world can be edited by modifying the asset folder JSON files directly.
| Title | Pokémon Crystal | Pokémon Polished Crystal | Pokémon Gold and Silver | Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver | Pokémon Gold and Silver: Space World 1997 Demo | PokeTraveler |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | Playable | Unplayable | Playable | Semi-playable |
| Platforms | Game Boy | Game Boy | Game Boy | DS | Game Boy | None |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | ||||||
| Development status | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | Halted |
| Last updated | 17d ago | 1d ago | 1mo ago | 24d ago | 5d ago | 6y ago |
| Stars | 2,500 | 1,642 | 712 | 589 | 393 | 0 |
| Contributors | 91 | 80 | 36 | 46 | 32 | 1 |
| Compatibility | ||||||
| Requires original assets | — | NoThis is a custom game based on the Crystal disassembly and does not require original game assets. | — | — | — | NoThis is an original game that does not require original Pokemon assets. |
| Modding support | — | YesThe game includes mod support via customizable settings and the ability to edit assets in the asset folder. | — | — | — | YesThe world can be edited by modifying the asset folder JSON files directly. |
| Preview | | |
Known limitations
- development: Project is still in progress.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Pokémon Gold and Silver clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
Do I need to own the original Pokémon Gold and Silver to play these clones?
Pokémon Polished Crystal and PokeTraveler run standalone, no original files needed.
Which Pokémon Gold and Silver clone is the most actively maintained?
Pokémon Crystal, Pokémon Polished Crystal, Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, and 1 more are currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Pokémon Gold and Silver.