Pokémon is the largest IP in the world, and with last November’s release of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (check out our review) in November and the upcoming release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus in a few weeks, Pokémon fever is running high.
It’s so high in fact that Twitter-user Constantin Liétard (@screenshake), a Montreal-based creator, programmed the ability to play the 2000 classic RPG Pokémon Crystal in their Twitter avatar! Yes, you did read that right. A Twitter avatar can run a Game Boy Color game.
Do I know how it works? Absolutely not. Do I want to? Heck no. This shit is magic. You can follow along here:
You can now play Pokemon Crystal in my avatar!
Comment one of those buttons on this tweet:
Up, Down, Left, Right, A, B, Start, Select pic.twitter.com/NEjcpEusZV— Constantin Liétard (@screenshakes) January 7, 2022
Anyone can provide input into what the character will do simply by commenting the commands up, down, left, right, A, B, Start, or Select. As of the time of this post, 23900 comments have been made to lead our fearless trainer across the Johto region. The game somehow takes commands every 15 seconds, so you can stumble upon the avatar trekking across the map, catching wild Pokémon, or in a battle at various points throughout the day.
Obviously, comparisons will be made to the famous Twitch Plays Pokémon series, but I honestly think playing an entire game through screenshots in a social media avatar is slightly more impressive. It’s been enjoyable to pop in every so often and see just exactly what the wild masses of Twitter are making our trainer do. Perhaps one day, they may even beat the game.