Best Pokémon Heart Gold ROM Hacks 2026

Heart Gold's popularity as a hack base comes from its combination of two full regions, the beloved Pokémon-following mechanic, and the rich NDS engine. Drayano chose it for Sacred Gold specifically because HGSS is widely regarded as the most playable Gen 2 experience — expanding it while keeping the core intact produces a definitive Johto experience.

Heart Gold hacks tend to focus on expanding what's already there rather than replacing it. Sacred Gold makes every Pokémon available and revamps trainers; Sun Gold adds Fairy type and new Pokémon. The 16-badge dual-region structure gives these hacks more content to work with than single-region NDS games.