To be honest, at the moment, this is the most Vanilla and pure GSC remake (until crystal dust gets complete) that you'll ever play. If you really enjoyed Gold, Silver or Crystal, give this a spin.
That or Pokemon Golden Sun gets translated.
Basically, for those who don't know, in my opinion, the tiering is:
- Golden Sun (I heard it's extremely faithful to the original but it's main issue is that it's only in Japanese.)
- Crystal Dust (From what i see, it's a very promising hack, and it looks like it will remain faithful to the originals)
- Shiny Gold (Just read up. It's not 100% faithful but it at least it still gives a strong Johto feeling. Shiny Gold X is less faithful in trainer roster, but the effect is practically the same.)
- Liquid Crystal (Not that faithful, but honestly, it's still enjoyable in it's own way. You can't deny how much work it has been put into it, and you have to give credit to the devs for making it. I'm sure it took a lot of precious time and work for something of that magnitude. Johto and Kanto are finished from what i know, but sadly, the Orange Islands are kinda barren for now. Interesting, but nothing much honestly. Still, it's not as bad as i hear some people claiming.)
- Shiny Gold Sigma (Just... Ugh... I get it, it has loads of stuff, some of em i wouldn't be opposed, like gen 4 evos, but i doubt anyone is opposed to those (and Shiny Gold doesn't really need em), but quality is bad. By all means, if you like it, i won't stop you from liking it, it is your opinion but dear Arceus, it just flops in comparison. Like, if you want a more vanilla feel, then don't play it. And if you want quality, then don't play it either. Like i said, i don't stop you if you want to do it, but here's my warning.)
So overall, your choices are, according to these five ones:
Play Shiny Gold.
Play Liquid Crystal.
Wait for Crystal Dust
Either Wait for Golden Sun translation or play it if you know Japanese
Or don't play Shiny Gold Sigma.
Eitherway, jokes aside, the Johto GBA remake lineup, despite looking varied, is good enough. You won't do wrong with most games. (Again, don't do SGS)