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Pokemon Blue and Red Versions (GB)
by xisorosix
NB*I own the red version of the game.
This game was responsible for so many good memories when I was growing up - sad, I know! The game starts off with you picking a character name and listening to Professor Oak as he takes you through the very basics of the Pokemon world. (You can choose to speed up the text if you read ... quickly/get annoyed quickly!) You also get to meet your ready-made rival, Gary. He's basically this annoying boy with a trendy haircut who will get in the way of pretty much all the tasks that you're meant to do and the major Pokemon battles! You actually get to choose a name for him if you don't like the default options (e.g. Gary)...here your imagination can run wild...
With the keys, you control the player whilst viewing the whole game from an overhead perspective, that is until you meet a trainer and begin battling. The gameplay then switches to a face-to-face perspective where different Pokemon are sent out as you defeat them one by one, failing that if you get defeated and run out of healthy Pokemon (i.e. ones that haven't fainted yet...), you get blacked out. This bit I hate because you end up in a Pokemon Centre with you friends all healed, but (a) this could be quite far away from where you were before, and be (b) you have less money then before :( There are Pokemon Centres and Poke mart located in every town, here you take your Pokemon to be healed or buy things like potions and Pokemon balls to catch new Pokemon with.
The game is based in the region of Kanto. You start off in your bedroom in Pallet town from where you walk downstairs to greet your mother who is waiting at the table. From there on you visit different houses where pretty quickly you'll find Professor Oaks house. (You can approach any character and talk to them - most of the time they are quite boring, but sometimes you'll get a freebie or some advice.) Your Pokemon journey begins here in his lab where he allows you to pick one Pokemon of your choice. Note that Gary will pick a Pokemon immediately afterwards that will be stronger in type than your Pokemon e.g. a grass Pokemon will be weak against a fire Pokemon. The aim afterwards is to defeat all the gym leaders and thwart the plans of Team Rocket to finally reach the Elite Four. There is also a very powerful and rare Pokemon that you have an opportunity to try catching at the end!
The game is really intuitive - it becomes apparent very quickly what the buttons do, and where you must go. The map is clearly laid out so you know where the next town should be. There are also a limited number of paths you can take, so it's pretty hard to be at a lost with this game. The Pokemon battles do get repetitive and tedious, but unfortunately are necessary in order for your Pokemon to gain experience points and to progress to evolving into different Pokemon. Having said that, if you encounter a wild Pokemon, there is always the option to "Run away!" if you can't be bothered...NB* Rattata and other mousey Pokemon are really nasty and won't let you run away...they're also kind of ugly...(just a side note...)
I would definitely recommend this game if you're looking for something fun and simple to do to pass time. Maybe you've seen the TV series, but never were really sure about the game...which actually has been out in the UK since 1998...Then I'd definitely recommend it to you if you're in this category, as chances are you'll find it very enjoyable. This game is aimed at people from a young age, so I didn't really find the game that challenging. I really wish there were harder problems to solve! Unlike some games, this game will take at least a few days to complete despite it being a very straight-forward game. I'm reviewing the Red version of the game, but the Blue version is exactly the same. The Blue version just features different Pokemon to the Red version. For instance, in certain areas of grass, say, you're used to finding certain types of Pokemon, but in the Blue version these Pokemon are just different to the Red version. Nothing more to it! You can trade Pokemon if you and your friend have different versions and the necessary cable.
I hope you enjoy the game - if you do get stuck or want any hints or tips, there are a LOT of walkthroughs/cheats online. You'll find these on Youtube or dedicated websites!
I would award this game 4* out of 5 since I do find that the game isn't that challenging, enjoyable though it is!
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Pokemon Blue and Red Versions (GB)
by andyfakesch
Pokemon have been around absolutely donkeys years and it really takes me back to my childhood. I never tire of this game and can spend absolute hours trying to level up my pokemon and make them as strong as possible. The red and blue version were the first two versions of the game to come out for game boy, so the graphics are not ... fantastic but this is how I remember them so well as they are not complicated by fancy graphics.
The aim of pokemon is to become the ultimate pokemon master by catching them all and defeating all the gym leaders and the eilte four. You start your adventure as a young boy who needs his own pokemon so he can begin his pokemon journey. Prof. Oak aids you with this as he gives you a pokemon to start with. You can choose from bulbasaur, squitle or charmander. You also have rival in this game, who pops up every now and again to try and defeat you. At the beginning of this game, when you pick your first pokemon, your rival will always pick that pokemons opposite to try and make it harder for you.
Moving on, once you get into the swing of the game, you can start collecting your own pokemon by giving battles and trying to make the wild pokemon weak so you can catch them in a poke ball. As your collection of pokemon starts to grow, so will your badge collection which you obtain by defeating the eight different gym leaders, each one being harder to defeat than the last. You will need a range of pokemon which have different moves and skills in order to become the ultimate champion.
Throughout the game, there will be some pokemon that are rarer than others and can be quite difficult to catch. I tend to save my game just before I battle them, so if I were to defeat them by accident, I can just turn the machine on and off again so I can have another go at adding that particular pokemon to my collection.
However, with some pokemon they do not actually on a certain version of the game that you buy. For example, vulpix can be found on the red version but not on the blue and vice versa with other pokemon. The only way you can really complete your collection is if you trade your pokemon. This can be very time consuming.
I am not too sure of the price of these games, but I know that they are still quite expensive for such an old game as they are regularly sought after and cam cost a small fortune if bought new.
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Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition (GB)
by andyfakesch
Throughout my teens and young childhood, I was constantly surrounded by the likes of Pokemon. I resisted at first as I could not understand what the hype was at all about these weird little creatures, but then I sampled someones game boy game and I became hooked and begged my parents to buy me my own special pikachu edition of pokemon. ...
The game was released in the year 2000 so it was quite a long time ago now, but as I have a HTC smartphone, I have actually managed to download this onto my phone and I am still hooked today as I was back then! The aim of the game is to collect all 150/151 pokemon (to obtain a Mew you need some sort of special thing, I am not sure) and become the ultimate pokemon master. The game starts with you being the main player of the game in which you can control the character and which way they go. To start your adventure, you simply walk into the long grass to exit your home town and the famous Prof. Oak will stop you from going anywhere. In the end, he ends up catching a wild pikachu and gives it to you so you can start your very own pokemon adventure.
You even have your very own rival in this game, which happens to be Prof. Oaks grandson. All the way through the game, he will pop up every now and again to battle you. Once you get into the swing of pokemon, and know what you need to do, you work your way through eight gym leaders to get to the ultimate pokemon trainers..the elite four. As you go through the different stages of the game and get to know your pokemon better, you end up becoming stronger and gaining more skills. To help you get through the game, you need to catch wild pokemon that you do not have in your pokedex and help to finish your collection. Some pokemon are rarer than others and can be quite hard to catch. Some particular ones (like the legendary bird pokemon) are extremely rare and you only get the one chance to catch them so be very careful with these ones.
An advantage of having this game over the blue and red version is that you can actually obtain a bulbasaur, charmander and squirtle all in the same game without having to trade with anyone, so you are more likely to fill up your pokedex without having to try so hard.
The packaging of the yellow version:special pikachu edition of this game is very much like what the picture above entails. It has a large picture of an angry pikachu giving off lightning from its cheecks and has a yellowy brown background with the classic pokemon logo at the top and the game boy logo going up the left hand side of the box. I am not sure of the price of this game, but I know they can get to quite a high price as they are so sought after nowadays as they are like a retro type of game.
Overall, I absolutely love this game, it really takes me back to childhood memories and I will never tire of playing this game.
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