PixlBit

Gotta catch 'em all!

 

                                                Be sure to raise up the volume

Hello Pixlbit, how are you? Today is the (U.S.) 20th anniversary of the release of the original Pokemon games, Pokemon Red version and Pokemon Blue version. As with any game with an anniversary, I like to use these posts to give my thoughts and share my memories on a game be it 5, 10, 15,or 20 years old. So as long I have played said game. I also made a post 2 years ago about the 20th anniversary of the franchise as a whole. So if you wanna read that then there you go. I will only touch upon the games here. So grab your backpack and you cap as we go back to simpler times in the Kanto region of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue...

If you remember the 90's and who doesn't, you'll remember that Pokemon was everywhere. It was a cultural phenomenon. You had the anime, merchandise, a trading card game, and most importantly the games. Back when I was a kid, everyone at school was into Pokemon. I remember getting into Pokemon thanks to my best friend back in elementary. He told me all about it and after watching the anime I was hooked. He told me that there are Pokemon games for the Gameboy. Thing is I didn't have one, so what I did was ask my parents if I could get one and one of the Pokemon games. They said it would be for Christmas on the condition that my grades were good. So I made sure I did well at school.

It was a pretty long wait but my patience paid off. I got a yellow Gameboy Color instead and a copy of Pokemon Blue. I wanted Red version but my parents said they couldn't find that one. My friend did tell me beforehand that Red and Blue were basically the same games so it wasn't a big deal. I was so excited to finally play a Pokemon game. I inserted the game in the slot and after a while you are then given what is the hardest decision of your life.

              This is the most crucial moment in the history of gaming and life itself

I ended up choosing Charmander. I liked the other 2 choices, Bulbasaur and Squirtle, but Charmander looked much more appealing to me to be honest. Well what I didn't know is that by choosing Charmander I basically started the game on Hard Mode. You see each Pokemon has a type, like Bulbasaur is a Grass type, Charmander is a Fire type, and Squirtle is a Water type. Each type has advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of Pokemon you are facing.

In the world of Pokemon there are 8 Gym Leaders, in simple terms, they are basically bosses that you must face in the game. Defeat one and you get a Gym Badge, which you'll need for various reasons in the game and you need to earn 8 of them to enter the Pokemon League, and challenge the Elite 4. If you beat the Elite 4, you will become the next Pokemon Champion.

But you might wonder, how did choosing Charmander make the game hard? Well the first Pokemon Gym Leader Brock, uses Rock type Pokemon. Grass and Water type Pokemon have no trouble with Rock type Pokemon as they are weak to those types. Fire Pokemon however have a hard time with Rock type Pokemon. Not only that, but the next Gym Leader Misty, uses Water type Pokemon. Grass type Pokemon are really effective against Water types. But Fire types are weak against Water Types. So if you chose Charmander, you are going to have a rough time during the first 20% of the game.

               

    You really had to know which types were effective or not if you wanted to be the very best

Well I toughed it out with my Charmander. The first 2 Gym Battles weren't easy but that made those victories much more satisfying. Like in the anime, certain Pokemon evolve but in the games, they evolve when they gain enough experience points and reach a certain level. But I suppose it does work the same like in the anime since the more a Pokemon battles the more experience they get and thus evolve overtime. It works just like that in the game.

See at the time, I had no idea what turn-based was or leveling up or experience points and whatnot. But this game explained everything perfectly fine without getting too overwhelming or too complicated. It was really easy to understand once you got the hang of it and tried it out for yourself.

The games were really big at the time, and not by popularity but rather the map of the game. The game had cities and towns that you could go to as well as caves, grassy areas, and more. You could even ride on the back of a Pokemon and surf across the water and reach new areas. The game also encourages you to explore and find some hidden areas that are mentioned in the game but it's up to you whether you want to go and take a look for yourself. Areas like the Power Plant, the Seafoam Islands, and Cerulean Cave. You can also find Legendary Pokemon in those areas too. The map is pretty small and to some extent basic now but back then there was nothing like it.

                          I knew this map way better than any map on a textbook 

One thing that blew my mind at the time was the many different Pokemon that there were. Each one was really unique. I mean sure not all of them were perfect by any means but they were all really cool. I mean yeah the anime implied that there were 150 Pokemon, however the lyrics to the Poke Rap that plays at the end of each episode says "At least 150 or more to see" which made you go that there were even more Pokemon in the game?

There were playground rumors about a Pokemon called Mew. I mean it wasn't much of a rumor since Mew is mentioned in the game itself but there was no way to obtain it in the actual game. Or so we thought. Plus in the very first episode of the anime itself Ash sees a Pokemon that the Pokedex doesn't even recognize. This just led to even more mysteries and urban legends but it was all very exciting.

But yeah, 151 different Pokemon in the game. And you can only carry up to 6 with you at a time. If you couldn't find at least 6 Pokemon that you liked for your party then you were just being difficult.

      The original 151 sprites were sure... something. But there's a certain charm to them too.

Battling was really fun. But what was even more fun was battling other kids as well. I mean yes you could battle with the npc trainers in the game but the real draw of these games were the connectivity functions like trading and battling with others.

Trading and battling with others worked by each player having a GameBoy/GameBoy Color and each player having a copy of either Pokemon game and one link cable. You connected the cable to both systems and you could trade Pokemon with each other or battle. Trading and battling afterschool was definitely one of my favorite pastimes. Things would get heated up afterschool. You see at the time during Pokemon's popularity, Pokemon was being banned from schools for various different reasons. Teachers would confiscate your Pokemon stuff if they caught you with Pokemon stuff in school or rather during school hours. However afterschool everything goes and they wouldn't mind then.

It was right here were everyone put their skills to the test and see if your Pokemon training paid off. Some kids would even bet stuff like their Pokemon or Pokemon cards as part of a prize. It was also during this time where everyone got together and talk about Pokemon and stuff. We would trade for Pokemon we didn't have in our versions of the game, talk rumors, play the Pokemon Trading Card game and more. It was always generally a really fun time and one of the times of the day I would always look forward to the most. It was through this that I was able to complete my Pokedex. That made me so happy. And yes, I even got a Mew through this too. A friend I knew at the time knew how to get them. I didn't know how he did, maybe he knew the glitch in the game but it's one of those things I'll never know.

 

                            This is ancient now but this was revolutionary at the time

One thing I noticed is that the games were very different from the anime itself. Here is the thing, I'm sure many of us at the time thought the games were based on the anime when it was actually the other way around. But I actually liked the games more. In the anime we followed Ash on his journey to become a Pokemon Master, but in the game(s) it's our journey to become a Pokemon Master instead. The games were about us going on a journey with our Pokemon on our way to become Pokemon Masters. We all each played these games differently so no playthrough of the games were the same for everyone. 

Final thoughts: At the time, these games were incredible. These games were my childhood right here. Friendships and rivalries were made thanks to these games. If there were games that defined a generation or the 90's, then it was these 2 games right here. To this day I believe that the Pokemon games are the perfect games if you plan on getting into rpgs for the first time. The games are really easy to learn and the battle system is easy to understand but oh sooo satisfying to master.

These games were aimed at kids and you might think that at first glance and I wouldn't blame you. But the games have their rather surprisingly dark moments too. Like the various criminal activities Team Rocket has done, Pokemon Tower, and more.

You can also say that the anime played an incredibly huge part into making sure the games took off. Nintendo was really smart about airing the anime first over here, then releasing the games afterwards. Who knows what would of happened if it was the other way around. But I'm glad their gamble right there paid off for them. For that I'm grateful.

At the time I didn't know what an rpg was but it was thanks to Pokemon that I was able to get into them. Without them I don't think I would of been able to get into them. These games are really special to me and a core part of who I am. They were the best part of my childhood and a part I remember fondly. These games are nothing special now, because they are pretty basic and dated now and filled with glitches, but they are special not only to me, but the millions of trainers who played them and started their journey here.

Pokemon doesn't have the most complex story out there like most games and rpgs, but it doesn't have to have one. Pokemon will always be my most favorite rpg series and think that it's the very best rpg, like no rpg ever was. Pokemon is the main reason I always get Nintendo's latest handheld at launch or as soon as possible. 20 years later, and that still hasn't changed one bit.

So those are my thoughts on Pokemon Red and Blue, 20 years later. You could say this post was 20 years in the making. Did you ever play the original games? If so, what did you think of them?

Well thanks for rading and happy 20th anniversary Pokemon Red and Blue!