Little monsters.
Before
Pokemon was a worldwide phenomenon and a blockbuster franchise, two humble games arrived on American shores in September 1998:
Pokemon Red and
Pokemon Blue. The original
Red and
Green versions had been released in Japan two and a half years earlier. Millions of copies were sold in America -- indeed all over the world -- in part due to a multimillion dollar advertising campaign. And while the series has evolved (see what I did there?) since 1998 -- the most recent installment was released just this year as a matter of fact -- it's important not to forget the twosome that started it all.
Pokemon Red and
Pokemon Blue are essentially the same game, so this review for
Red could easily be transferred to
Blue. Nintendo and Game Freak made the brilliant (some might say manipulative) move of releasing two versions of the same game, each with different Pokemon (that's collectable monsters to you and me) so that consumers would be inspired to buy a copy of each. The only way to complete one's "Pokedex" is to trade monsters between the two games via Game Boy Link Cable. So if you only have
Red, but not
Blue, you'll never "catch 'em all!" And vice versa. The good news is that the game can still be enjoyed without sharing with friends, although sharing makes the experience a little more fun.
Pokemon Red is a coming of age story. It tells the tale of a young boy from a small town who travels the world in search of elusive Pokemon with the ultimate goal of becoming the undisputed Pokemon champion. Along the way, he collects common and rare Pokemon, spars with Pokemon gym leaders, and competes with his hometown rival, Gary.
Although
Pokemon Red is geared toward younger players, it's not a pushover by any means. It's a very serious turn-based role-playing game, and those who play it must be prepared to grind for experience points, take on side-quests, and choose Pokemon wisely. The game focuses around battles between Pokemon "trainers" and their monsters, which are caught and stored in Poke balls. The hero of the game can carry six Pokemon at any given time from the pool of 150 available between
Red and
Blue. Each Pokemon belongs to a certain type: ice, fire, grass, rock, fighting, etc. In battles, water beats fire, fire beats grass, grass beats water. And so on. Wise trainers will carry a diverse group of monsters in order to guard against different types of enemy Pokemon. The mechanics of battle are easy to learn: Pokemon can perform one of four moves, or the trainer can choose to use an item, or run from battle. Pokemon who participate in battle earn experience points. One of the most satisfying parts of
Pokemon Red is watching a Pokemon evolve into a new form when it reaches a certain experience level. Evolved Pokemon become much more formidable.
So
Pokemon Red can be addictive at times. Catching Pokemon of every type and level is a truly rewarding experience. Adding to the experience is a lovely soundtrack with some rousing music -- impressive for a Game Boy game -- a good sense of humor, an appropriate learning curve, and some very forward-thinking ideas about how players can interact with their games, and each other. It's not all perfect, though: the game can be buggy; the dungeons are, at times, poorly designed; and the game offers almost zero advice about which Pokemon to use, which moves to learn, and where exactly to go. But overall it's a great game, and the perfect way to introduce oneself to the world of pocket monsters.
Score: 8.5
