A Crystal Clear look at Twitch Plays Pokémon 2.0

After the 16-day marathon that was Twitch Plays Pokémon Red, there was a 24 hour period on the stream with a timer leading to “a new adventure.” Yesterday at 7am EST, the cycle began anew with the dawn of Twitch Plays Pokémon Crystal. The 3rd version of the Generation II games, Pokémon Crystal, is sure to have plenty of interesting moments on stream, including the inevitable reunion with Red at the top of Mount Silver.

But can the new play through captivate us with the same delightful disorganized dysfunction that the first one ascended into legend with?

So far, I think the answer is a huge YES. Maintaining nearly the same consistent 50,000+ viewer count for most of its existence, Twitch Plays Pokémon is not a flash in the pan by any means. With a new format for Democracy and Anarchy that helps to clear the chat of the warfare between the two camps and a fresh new protagonist in “AJ Downs,” Twitch Plays Pokémon–to the dismay of some and the delight of others–does not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Two of our new pals: “Lazor Gator” the Totodile and “Prince Omelette” the Togepi

Making surprising progress by 30 hours in, AJ Downs and friends have already powered through 3 Badges in the Johto region! I’m not sure if collectively we’ve gotten better at Twitch Plays Pokémon or if it’s just a streak of some dumb luck, but you can’t deny the results, and more importantly you can’t deny that the phenomenon that is Twitch Plays Pokémon is still alive and well!

So if you were late to the party on the run of Pokémon Red and want to experience what all the fuss was about, head on over to the stream and don’t miss out again!