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Pokémon Red and Blue Versions

Contributed by Austrian Vicemaster Alex
Red Version boxBlue Version box

Gotta catch 'em all!

Welcome to the world of Pokemon. Pokémon are fantastic creatures that share this world with humans. Some humans keep Pokémon as pets, others study them and others train them and use them in battles to compete with other trainers. Most Pokémon enjoy a good fight but they would never go as far as to seriously injure each other.

You play the role of Ash Ketchum, a young lad from a small town called Pallet. One day young Ash embarks on a great and adventurous journey to become the greatest Pokémon trainer in the world. But what's a hero without a rival? Gary Oak, grandson of the famous Prof. Oak who studies the life of Pokémon also sets out to become a master trainer and he challenge you several times throughout the course of the game.

At the very start of the game you can choose from one of three different Pokémon: Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur. Each of these learns different attacks as it gains experience and reaches higher levels by battling wild Pokémon or those of other trainers. Every Pokémon has five different stats: health points, attack, defense, speed and special. These stats vary from Pokémon to Pokémon. Charmander for example is faster whereas Squirtle has a higher defense.

There are 15 different types of Pokémon, ranging from Electric and Ghost to Fire and Fighting. Pokémon are of either one or two of these types and this brings advantages and disadvantages alike. Each attack has one of the 15 types as well but not only e.g. water Pokémon can learn water attacks. If the attack has the same type as the Pokémon itself though, the attack will get a boost in power. One of the most important things to know is the fact that every type is strong, weak or even ineffective against several other types. Fire attacks are for example strong against Grass-type Pokémon which results in doubled damage and Ground attacks cannot hit Flying-types at all.

You have to take this into consideration when collecting different Pokémon by weakening them in battles and catching them with a Pokéball. Inside this ball the Pokémon will stay and live during your journey. You need a strong and versatile team to defeat your numerous opponents and the country's Gym Leaders. These mighty trainers are hard to beat but you have to do so in order to win their badges. There's a total of eight Gym Leaders which live in different cities spread throughout Kanto, the land this game plays in. Only when you have conquered all the Gym Leaders you will be granted access to the Pokémon League where your dreams of becoming a master might be fulfilled.

As the game is already five years old you shouldn't expect too much of the graphics when buying this title. Even when using a GameBoy Color - for which this game is of course not designed - the graphics are limited to only three or four colors. There's not too much detail and the Pokédex pics look rather odd when comparing them with those of later games or the Pokémon in the anime. The graphics during battles are also not the best, especially your own Pokémon looks pretty coarse.

Where there is a lack of excellence in the graphics, there is none in the musical score and the sound effects. A lot of catchy tunes can be heard in the background while exploring the big world or battling one of the countless opponents. Many of the songs in the game you will already know from the anime. Each Pokémon has its own cry and the battle sounds aren't too bad either.

The gameplay is very smooth, your character is easily controlled, the battles carried out and controlled in a simple way. Only the items are a little hard to manage since they all are stuck in one item list. Thus you have to deal with a lot of scrolling up and down when searching for a desired item.

In my eyes Pokémon is a must buy although the graphics look a little archaic nowadays. Once you start playing you won't lay the game pak aside before you really have caught all the 150 Pokémon that are included in these two games. In order to catch 'em all you have to trade Pokémon with your friends since not all Pokémon that are included in the Red version appear in the Blue one and vice versa.