Pokemon Blue and Red

Platform: Game Boy Developer: Game Freak Publisher: Nintendo NA Release date: Sept. 1, 1998 Genre: RPG Media: 8 megabit cartridge

History:

The Pokemon franchise all started when game producer Satoshi Tajiri wanted to design a game based around his favorite childhood pastime of insect collecting. He thought the Game Boy would be perfect for his game concept due to the multiplayer aspects of the Game Boy via the game link cable. Tajiri made it clear that he didn’t want the Pokemon to die but instead faint because he didn’t want the game to be violent. The first Pokemon games were released in Japan in 1996 and Pokemon Blue and Red were released in North America in 1998.

Gameplay:

In Pokemon, The player controls their character as they collect and battle Pokemon. The Pokemon are usually caught by finding them in their area of origin, usually fields, woods, caves and water, and throwing a Pokeball on them while hoping it stays on them without them escaping. As the player collects more and more Pokemon and builds up their hit points, it gets to the point where the player will be able to fight the gym leader of that town. Once the gym leader of the town is beaten, the players Pokemon will gain new abilities which will allow them to travel to new areas and towns in the Pokemon world of Kanto.

The difference between the red and blue versions of the game is that Pokemon Red has certain Pokemon that Pokemon Blue doesn’t have and vice versa. The plots in both versions are the same. By hooking up the Game Boy with a friend’s you can battle them and collect Pokemon that only they have in their version of the game. In addition, Pokemon from Pokemon Red and Blue could later be used to access Pokemon in later released Pokemon games on Game Boy and N64.

Review:

These original Pokemon games set the standards for the many Pokemon games after them. These games are very fun due to the addictive gameplay of trying to collect them all. The graphics in Pokemon blue and red are nothing special but do the trick for what the game is trying to accomplish. The sound and music used in the game could be summed up as inspirational.