Pokémon Heartfelt Gold

FAQ · v1.0.9 · checked 2026-11-09

Questions about Heartfelt Gold

Pokémon Heartfelt Gold is an unofficial ROM hack of HeartGold by Trinsic64 for Nintendo DS, shipped as an xdelta patch. This page answers the short questions that do not need a whole guide, including the spelling variants people actually type.

Spelling variants

Searches also use heartfeltgold, goldfelt heart, heatfelt, heart felt, and heartfelt fold. Those point here. The old title Heart Gold Retiled has its own page because that name had a real release history.

Things the author has not published

Clear time is not stated in the readme, the trailer, or the release notes. Shiny odds are not stated either. I am leaving both blank.

On r/Delta_Emulator someone asked whether the hack was made with AI. One reply says an earlier post from the creator explained it. I have not found that post, so I am not turning the reply into a yes or a no.

Next steps

For the full instructions, choose the current patch and ROM hashes, read how to patch, and check platform support. The changes list explains how the hack differs.

Questions people ask

Is Pokémon Heartfelt Gold an official Nintendo game?

It is Trinsic64’s ROM hack of HeartGold. Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, Game Freak, and Creatures do not publish it.

Is the patch free?

The xdelta is free on GitHub. The repository does not include a ROM.

Is it finished?

The author calls v1.0.9 a work in progress. PokeHackDex labels the v1.0.6 entry completed. Both are kept.

Which ROM file?

A clean HeartGold (USA) ROM. Hashes are on the download page.

Do old saves work?

The readme expects them to. v1.0.7 tested a load and save. v1.0.9 does not add a new save test. Back up first.

Does Delta run it?

Delta supports NDS in its public release; current release notes say BIOS files are optional. One player reported a black screen in a legendary cave.

Is there an official Discord?

I found no invite on the readme, the repository, the X account, or PokeHackDex. Bug reports go to GitHub Issues.

English only?

PokeHackDex lists the language as English.

Is it the same as Heart and Soul?

No. Heart and Soul is a GBA hack of Emerald by Lil Dill. See the comparison page.

How long is a playthrough?

No public number. The cell stays empty.

Keep reading

Sources

Checked against the linked public pages on 2026-11-09. Multiple documents from the same publisher count as one source; a single-publisher claim is identified as such.