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I am playing through Gold right now and I think it's a huge improvement over gen 1. Johto is very nice to explore and hang out in, there is beautiful music everywhere, trainers will call you to chat and tell you about swarms, etc. The radio is pure soul. Going back to explore Union Cave and the Ruins of Alph feels really cool. Sprout Tower, the Sages, the Kimono Girls, and all the other Japanese stuff is great. There are many likable Pokemon like Ampharos, Quagsire, Sudowoodo, Mantine, Shuckle, etc. Seems like the only problems are mechanical (level curve) and Pokemon availability if you want to use something like Sneasel or Houndour earlier. Fortunately both of those things are easily fixed by rom hacks.
