Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver Return With Single-Screen Remaster
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With this year celebrating the 30th anniversary of the beloved Pokémon franchise, there has never been a better time to be a fan. After all, the year kicked off with the announcement that Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves would kick off the franchise's tenth generation when it launches on the Nintendo Switch 2 some time in 2027. On top of that, there has been plenty of news of upcoming merchandise, ROM hacks, and even trading card game exclusives.
However, it seems as though the celebrations do not end there, as it seems as though Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver are set to return with a single-screen remaster.
First released back in 2009 as remakes of 1999's Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver launched on the Nintendo DS and took players to the Johto and Kanto Regions with the goal of becoming the best Pokémon Trainer around. Receiving positive reviews from critics and the audience alike, the remakes were a hit, which makes it no surprise that they are about to make a triumphant return almost two decades later.
Courtesy of the unofficial Pokémon DS Widescreen mod, fans can now enjoy seven classic Pokémon games on both PC and Nintendo Switch. Not only that, but they will all now be widescreen compatible, as well as offering up to 4K and 60fps support.
So, what games are being made available courtesy of this incredible fan-made creation? Well, to narrow it down, it is the Nintendo DS entries, including: Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, Pokémon White 2, Pokémon HeartGold, Pokémon SoulSilver, and Pokémon Platinum.
Announced by Twitter/X user The Gaming Emporium, "all seven games have been adapted for a single widescreen display, eliminating the need for two stacked DS screens!" As such, they include the following features:
- TRUE 16:9 WIDESCREEN GAMEPLAY!
- UP TO 4K RESOLUTION ON PC!
- SMOOTH 60 FPS PRESENTATION!
- WINDOWS, LINUX, STEAM DECK & MODDED SWITCH SUPPORT!
Courtesy of this mod, all battles, menus, Pokémon management and touchscreen controls have now been rearranged to work naturally on a single display, and controller support is also enabled, as well as individual game saves and an all-in-one launcher.
However, the biggest catch here is that those interested will need to own both a modded Nintendo Switch and compatible Pokémon DS ROMs, as these are not included with the download.
It is also worth mentioning that these are not native PC recompilations. Instead, they use an integrated melonDS emulator with custom widescreen rendering and game-specific interface modifications. However, if this is still something you are interested in exploring, especially as a Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver fan, you can check out both the download links and their instructions here.
Who knows? Maybe fan-made projects such as this will finally inspire some modern-day remakes of our favorite classic Pokémon entries. For now, however, we can only imagine that Game Freak is hard at work on the development of Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, and focusing on what Gen 10 will have in store for fans.
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