4th Gen The real reason why they got rid of Kris

[BettyNewbie]

When HGSS first came out, many were dismayed to find that Kris, the original female protagonist from Crystal, had been replaced with this new girl who seemed to resemble a certain Italian plumber:

Sure, HGSS were technically Gold and Silver remakes, but the games still included all of the things that Crystal added--Buena's Password, Eusine, Extremespeed Dratini, battle facility west of Olivine (albeit a Battle Frontier rather than a Battle Tower). So, why didn't Kris also make the cut?

What if I told you that Lyra wasn't actually meant to be a female Mario? Let me show you her next to another iconic protagonist, one actually from Pokémon:

Same color scheme, same black undershirt, same white collar. They even have the exact same pose!

Could it be that GF replaced Kris not because she was only in Crystal, but because they wanted HGSS to have a protagonist inspired by Red's original design? (And, that redesigning/replacing Gold would've been too awkward?)

Consider the background context of HGSS. It was the late 00s and around the 10th anniversary of the Pokémania Fad. Many of the older fans who had quit the franchise around RS were starting to get nostalgic and revisit their old RBY/GSC games. While some of them did get into the Sinnoh games, they mostly just stuck to the classics. Most of these people missed FRLG, those games having come out smack in the middle of their "Pokémon is for Babies" phase.

HGSS were aimed squarely at this demographic, because what better way to get old fans back into the new games than with a remake of their old favorites?

Consider how many Yellow callbacks HGSS had (besides the ones from the original GSC, that is). Your Pokémon followed you around for the first time since Yellow, and Cerulean Cave (which wasn't in the original GSC) used the same layout as Yellow rather than FRLG. The unselected PC starting with a Marill also paralleled Red starting with a Pikachu in Yellow.

And, also consider that aside from Red's outfit, HGSS had absolutely no references or callbacks to FRLG, whatsoever. The female player character, Celio, and the Sevii Islands were never even referenced or alluded to, let alone seen. We didn't even get a mention of Red facing Archer and Ariana at their warehouse on Five Island, despite that being a pretty significant plot point between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 Team Rocket stories.

Of course, this is all just speculation, but it makes a ton of sense. HGSS weren't just GSC remakes, but were also doing double duty as Yellow remakes for people who missed FRLG.

 

[Desert Stream~]

This is very good, and I didn't even know half this stuff! I never would have guessed myself.

 

[BettyNewbie]

This is very good, and I didn't even know half this stuff! I never would have guessed myself.

I never even realized it myself until I thought about it. (And, realized how much Lyra looked like RBY Red in her official art.)

FRLG and HGSS were made under very different circumstances. FRLG were mostly made to fulfill a practical purpose (completing RS' Pokédex) and were clearly designed to appeal more to new fans than veterans. They were loaded with all sorts of tutorials and help buttons, and they made very few changes from the original RB, so the games came off as kind of boring and tedious to those who had already played the originals a million times.

HGSS, on the other hand, were designed to appeal more to nostalgic fans. They kept enough things intact to still feel like GSC, yet added enough new content (ie. following Pokémon, Safari Zone, Pokéathlon, Battle Frontier, gym leader/E4 rematches, a more complete Kanto) to make it feel fresh and not like you were playing the exact same game all over again in pretty graphics.

 

[Caaethil]

You make it sound like they planned it all out so carefully to hit their demographic in the nostalgia, which makes no sense considering that even if this was intentional, they made it so subtle that we're only realising it now. It's very interesting, but I'm voting coincidence for now, maybe leaning towards intentional, but not for these reasons.

 

[Hikamaru]

I never would have imagined Lyra was introduced so they could have a character that has the "Red appeal" rather than because the original Gold & Silver lacked a female protagonist. No wonder why people praised HG/SS as what they consider the best remakes to hit the franchise.

 

[Rosehip]

All this time, I just thought it was because there was no female player in G/S, so they opted to make another. That's just me trying to avoid thinking about it, as I can get long winded with theories when I want to. Honestly, your theory sounds great, but I feel like it was all just a big coincidence. I feel like Lyra would look more like the female protagonist in FR/LG if she were really trying to pay further homage to Red, as Lyra as she is...well, it's a little difficult to see, unless you have it pointed out to you. Those are just my thoughts on it, though.

As far as I'm concerned, Lyra is just really rocking those cute thigh-highs to me. ❤