A Pokemon Retrospective (Part I): The Portable First Generation

Written by Pikaboo



Welcome to Wiiniis-United's first Retrospective and also the first part of our Pokemon Retrospective. If you don't know what Pokemon is then you must have been living under a rock for the past 10 years. Pokemon began as an anime that was a big hit in nearly all of the countries that it aired in. The anime sprouted many Pokemon merchandise, movies, a trading card game and one of the most successful franchises for Nintendo.



Pokemon Red and Blue were the very first Pokemon games and the beginning of what would soon become a multi-billion dollar franchise. Many fans called the Pokemon in this game the first generation and many more would come. There was also another game released alongside Pokemon Red in Japan, Pokemon Green. It was never released in the United States because of the release of the improved Pokemon Blue taking its place. The games first released in Japan in 1996 on the Gameboy but the U.S. would get Pokemon Red and Blue two years later in 1998 and Europe and Australia one year after the U.S. in 1999.



In Pokemon Red and Blue, your character will explore the region of Kanto. The Kanto region features eight main cities and two towns. To get to each destination, you will have to battle trainers and wild pokemon through routes, caves, and even the ocean. Your character will start in Pallet Town, where you will receive your very first pokemon and where your adventure will just unfold. You will begin the game by choosing from the three "starter pokemon", Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. When you choose your pokemon, you will meet your rival who will begin his adventure as well. The main point of the game is to battle all eight gym leaders (Pokemon's version of "Boss Battles"), defeat the Elite 4 and the Champion to become the greatest Pokemon Trainer in the world. Along the way, the criminal organization, named Team Rocket, will cause trouble and use their pokemon for all the wrong reasons.



Pokemon Red and Blue is generally a traditional turn-based RPG, however it does feature some other gameplay. You are in an open world for you to explore, but most interestingly there are 151 Pokemon to catch. You can capture these Pokemon by using or throwing a pokeball, however there is no guarantee that you will capture the Pokemon 100%. You may have to weaken the wild Pokemon in order to catch it. With your Pokemon, you level them up by earning experience from battling other Pokemon. Along with regular wild Pokemon, there are also five legendary Pokemon, which are Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno, Mewtwo and Mew. Mew could only be obtained from a Japanese event or hacking the game.

This game featured the use of the link cable. With this you could battle other people who also had a copy of either game. You could also trade Pokemon with your friends which was the only way to obtain all 150 (not including Mew) Pokemon.

In 1999, Game Freak, Pokemon Red and Blue's Developer, would release an improved remake titled: "Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition". Pokémon Yellow was the last game released in United States for the original Game Boy. The Yellow Version is essentially the same game as Pokemon Red and Blue except this game is loosely based off of the actual anime storyline. There were also some changes made to the game and contained new features.



You will start out in Pallet Town, but instead of choosing between Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, you will start out with a Pikachu. Your rival will start with an Eevee and will evolve into either a Jolteon, Vaporeon, or Flareon depending on how many times you beat your Rival. You will also have the chance to obtain a Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle throughout the game. The most interesting feature of the game is your actual partner Pokemon, Pikachu. If Pikachu is in your party at the time, your Pikachu will follow you around. However, that is not the only thing about Pikachu. If you turn around and talk to Pikachu you will be able to see the emotion on Pikachu's face. Along with that, you will also be able to meet the actual Team Rocket from the anime: Jesse, James, and Meowth.



Pokemon Yellow was also one of the few games that were compatible with the Gameboy Printer. You could use it the printer to print a player's Pokedex or the stats of a specific monster. This game could also connect with the previous Pokemon games using the link cable to battle and trade as well, just like Pokemon Red and Blue could with eachother.

Well, that's the end of Wiiniis-United's first part of the retrospective of Pokemon. Please be sure to tune in next time, so that we may continue the adventure of Pokemon games and how it made it's big move on the home console, the Nintendo 64.