VideoGame The problems with FRLG
Being a long time Pokemon fan, I noticed several fans regarded FRLG as the best Pokemon remake. I personally disagree with that statement.
Let's start off with the changes that the remake made. Generation 1 is very, very bizarre. Not counting the gameplay changes that Generation 3 did, the changes that the remakes did is minimum as well as annoying. The remake added Sevii Island, which I personally don't care. The remakes expand the idea of Move Tutor, but the problems with it is move tutor can only be taught once and the placement for some tutors is awkward.
Now for the problem with the Pokemon. Magnemite and Magneton are the only Steel-type Pokemon and no Dark-type Pokemon is available in Kanto. This means unless the player has Magnemite or a Pokemon has Shadow Ball, taking Psychic-type Pokmeon out can be somewhat a pain, but not to the extent in Generation 1. Also, any Pokemon that has an evolution introduced in later generation can't evolve into that until obtaining the National Dex. Except for Eevee as time is absent.
Speaking of National Dex, remember in Generation 1, you have catch a certain number of Pokemon to get certain items? It's still here. Except the player has to beat the game first and caught at least 60 Pokemon just so Oak can upgrade the PokeDex!
And for my final and important problem with the remakes is... the player character doesn't turn his/her head when a trainer challenges the player character to a duel.
Despite my complaints with FRLG, there's some positive I can talk about FRLG outside of comparing it to Generation 1. I do find the graphic to look pretty nice, I would say it looks better than RSE. The music do sound nice too. I like the VS seeker as it allows the player to rechallenge a wide variety of trainers. But that's about it.
Overall, FRLG are decent pair of games despite my complaints. However, FRLG are far from the best Pokemon remake.
VideoGame Fond Memories, but that's it.
Alright, time to own my cardinal sin: I don't like this series. Any of it. Its annoying cash cow status, the way it feels like a cruch for Nintendo's handhelds when it has far better games, I do not like Pokemon. So then-
I do, despite this, have a lot of memories of early playthroughs of the first games, most of them fond. And they are still good memories of a decent RPG system, some interesting designs and some dhallenging levels. But upon a replay, I was just struck with such complete apathy for the whole situation. It's ironic that Professor Oak praises me for treating my mons with love when I have so many in the PC I've never even used and, except for the HM moments, The player really only uses Pokemon as tools of combat. They are a means to an end, and in my mind the "bond between mon and trainer" is superfluous at best.
And there are ways that could work fine. The Scribblenauts series is one of my favorite series ever and they have virtually no plot and almost no characters matter. But Pokemon insists on praising me for something I'm simply not doing. I feel the same way beating Giovanni in a Poke battle that I would beating him in tennis. Sure I trained for this, but nothing about it feels particularly heroic. Red and Blue suffer from this weird dichotomy where it feels like a sport most of the time, but I'm apparently being heroic other times. One or the other people, please.
The highest stake I have to fear is "I don't want to battle this guy again" or "I don't want to play that dungeon again". My Pokemon are never in danger of death, the world is never in any real danger, the stakes are illusions. And yes, maybe they are in other video games, but they are way better at hiding it.
The designs are fine I guess. Not great, just servicable for a first outing.
I'm not a genwunner, I don't really like these games for much more than memorial value. There's a lot of Franchise Original Sin some forget about. I will own to never playing a game past Ruby, but comparing conversations with others, I really don't want to.
To me, it's a superfluous experience.
VideoGame Pokemon Leaf Green
This review concerns the main adventure (beating up bad guys and becoming Champ). Contests, multiplayer, postgame and catching 'em all are irrelevant here.
Warning. I am the guy who likes to think newer is better. So opposite of Nostalgia Filter I am.
This is the remake game, so it has advantage over Pokemon Emerald, and the other DS games sans HGSS that I plan to review.
Even though I've said that I put Emerald before this I can't help but love this game over Emerald. My bias could stem from the atrocious bootleg that exposed me to Gen III or because I've been dying to see the familiar Pokemon I saw on TV. But enough rambling, here's my thoughts.
First off, NO STORAGE LIMIT! Take that Gen III. Seriously, the Bag is great despite the low number of categories it is divided into. The VS seeker is great when farming for money.
Steel and Dark did not debut until Gen II, so don't think about STAB-bing with crunch or metal claw. This is also before Physical/Special split so if your Pokemon's stats contradict its type then tough luck. For some reason all grass type are dual type with poison, so poison Pokemon here are actually useless against grass, mind blown!
Team Rocket is a gang of Mafia and does not think big. They did kill Pokemon though so I gotta give credit to 'em.
The final boss is merely a beefed up version of a boss that you beat several times. At least there's no Crippling Overspecialization, but still Poor, Predictable Rock.
Objectively, I think Emerald and many others trump this one. That's not to say you shouldn't try this out. There is some charm to this simplistic adventure.
VideoGame First Installment Wins: The Series
Even after so many years, R/B/Y holds up as hell. The Game Boy's last hurrah, Game Freaks utilized what little potential was left in the platform to bring us perhaps the greatest "casual" RPG of them all. As much as the sequels and stuff contained more content (mostly in the form of, what, 1,543 new Pokey Men when it was obvious they were running out of creativity halfway through G/S? Did they hire the guy who designed the Mega Man bosses or what?) and gameplay additions, they're just all bells and whistles that owes everything to the surprising depth of gameplay found here.
You're a young dude, setting out to trap and enslave animals whose only crime was instinctively trying to protect themselves when you stepped near the grass where they were keeping their eggs. A jerk, basically. Along the way you uncover a plot to, hmm, something something, Mafia, yadda yadda, control the world. In short, who cares. The plot is ancillary in a game like this. It's pretty much a standard Saturday morning cartoon excuse-plot, though I will give it it's got that charming, half-assed, badly translated Mother vibe going on (though not Stylistic Suck this time), which makes it hard to dislike.
Traveling around the world and finding the various Pokey Men and trapping them inside undoubtedly claustrophobia-inducing balls is almost always fun (when you aren't spending 12 accumulated hours fighting Zubats, naturally). You do tend to feel like a boss when you beat some old gambling dude in one-shot with a Blastoise named SHELLSHOCK (the only canon way to play). It may not necessarily be the most balanced game, but being a 10-year old dude at the time, I certainly didn't pay money to get my ass beat by no computer. The gameplay can be a little slow sometimes, and as with most Game Boy games, the slightly atonal music and sounds will drive you crazy for a while, so it's a good thing having sound on ain't an important part of the gameplay.
If you're itching for some dumb Mon-catching and don't wanna spend, like, 200 hours of your life on it, accept no substitutes. Gen I is gonna treat you right.
VideoGame Fond Memories
I still remember getting my teal Game Boy Color and a copy of Pokemon Red for Christmas when I was 10. Looking back, it was my #1 Christmas present ever and I played it like a crazy person for weeks afterward. I actually couldn't wait for Christmas break to be over so I could return to school to trade and discuss with all of my friends who had the game. Looking back, it's easy to see that the game was a glitch, buggy, ugly mess, but at that time, it was the most complex game I had ever played.
A while later, as a reward for good grades, my parents bought me Pokemon Yellow. I was a huge fan of the anime and this game came close to allowing me to play it. It was everything I loved about Red, but cleaned up and with improved appearance. Being able to get all 3 starters, just like in the show, was extremely satisfying.
Eventually, sometime after Gold and Silver came out, I grew out Pokemon. Years later, while I was is in college, I bought a used Nintendo DS from my friend. It was the old style with a GBA slot, so I decided to look for some games to play when I discovered that FireRed and LeafGreen existed. I bought FireRed and it was a wonderful nostalgia trip for me. I highly, highly recommend it to fans of the original games who want something more recent. It's everything I love about the old games, but with the functional and graphical improvements of the newer generations present.
Overall, I think these games absolutely qualify as "classics." They're surprisingly deep RPGs behind a mask of cute children's characters. In my list of all time favorite games, the original Red/Blue/Yellow games are certainly in my top 10, maybe even top 5, with FireRed/LeafGreen as worthy and faithful remakes.
VideoGame Generation I review
I'll be reviewing each Gen in this format.
Here it is: the pair of Gens that started it all. Initially released as Red and Green in Japan, the international release renamed Green as Blue. Yellow was later released to draw parallels to the anime, and much later, the games were remade as Fire Red and Leaf Green to accommodate for Gen III's lack of connectivity with the first 2 Gens.
Setting: The Kanto region. Has a strong theme of genetic engineering with its Pokémon, particularly Mewtwo.
Story: You pick 1 of 3 starter Pokémon and collect 8 badges from each gym while fighting the crime syndicate Team Rocket, led by Giovanni, who turns out to be the final Gym Leader. Not the most interesting plot but you have a good idea of what you're fighting against. You ultimately fight the Elite Four and face the Champion, who turns out to be the same prick whose ass you've been kicking throughout the game. You gain access to Cerulean Cave, fight Mewtwo, and the show's over. The remakes include the Sevii Islands.
Pokemon: Many of this Gen's 151 Pokémon remain fan-favorites, particularly the fully evolved fire starter Charizard. They not only have appealing designs, but generally have well-balanced, if not extremely high stats, allowing them to remain useful as new Mons come in. Sadly, there are many fans of Gen I who refuse to acknowledge anything past this point (except maybe Gen 2, being a direct sequel) as any good, often spouting hypocritical complaints like the supposed lack of animal-based Mons while loving a Gen that included a ball of magnets, a mime, and a woman of (initially) controversial skin color.
Verdict: Gen I undoubtedly deserves praise for starting a legend in video game history. However, to consider the actual Gen I GAMES higher in quality than any sequel would display a blatant Nostalgia Filter. Even by late 90's standards, these games were glitched up the ass. Psychics dominated the metagame with their powerful Special stat (which would be split into Sp. Atk and Def. next Gen) and lack of weaknesses. Finally, the game is practically over once Mewtwo is caught. You don't want to miss this Gen, but I would suggest Fire Red and Leaf Green for all the improvements.
7/10
Don't miss my next review of Gen II!
VideoGame The one that started it all
It was on my eighth birthday when I received Pokémon Yellow, and I felt it was the best day of my life. To this day, it remains up there on my list of "best days ever". I liked the anime, it was the game that cemented my love for the franchise that continues to this day.
At first, I got a lot of help (well, it was technically cheating) for a little bit before I could find my way around the game. I slowly learned of its secrets, of the creatures in the game, the story, the twists that made my jaw drop, and the excitement of self-fulfilled victory. My brothers eventually received Red and Blue, respectfully, so more was opened up to me as well in discovering the differences between games and the famous glitches. I took my Game Boy and Yellow cartridge everywhere I could. I have started the game over a few times (mostly unwillingly), but in hindsight, it was good fun gaining a slightly different team and game play each time.
Sadly, my Yellow version doesn't work anymore, but I still hold fond memories. It helps that FireRed and LeafGreen were released, and I was able to relive nearly everything. I was literally close to tears when I heard of it, and when I got my hands on a copy. I may have technically finished the game and thus don't play it anymore, but I cherish it still, and will go back for the nostalgia from time to time.
I love Pokémon, and I hope to continue loving Pokémon for years to come. These games are what remains of my childhood, and I am thankful I was able to experience the beginnings of Pokémon, and be part of the start of its pop culture status in America.
VideoGame An Unfortunate victim of progress
Video Games comparatively is a new and young medium. One that has the biggest amount of growth as designers frequently check what went wrong and designed games that improve and improve on what is there. However, as an unfortunate or fortunate side effect of this rapid growth, older games tend to age alot less gracefully than say movies or books. Goldeneye is a solid example of this. Seriously, go watch the movie and then go play the video game (The N64 one.) Which one would you rather replay or rewatch? and so is Pokemon Red and Blue
Structurally, the Pokemon game is the same as every main pokemon game: Fight 8 gym leaders, occasionally run into a team, and then fight the elite 4 and the champion, and occassionally fight your rival.
Older games are not necessarly codemned to be outdated. There are plently of games that hold up well like Yoshi's Island, which i still consider one of the best platformers or all time. Pokemon Red and blue is not one of those games that hold up well.
Competetively, the game is a joke. characters with high speed will get critical hits on their opponents, there is a notable bias in a certain type, and bug....well bug is useless.
The biggest flaw is summed up as Psychic. Psychic pokemon, espically Alakazam is highly over powered with little to nothing that can stop it in it's path. Bugs are completely worthless as the only bug moves are life leetch and a few bug moves attached to a Beedrill, a pokemon that is weak against Alakazam.
One might be bored of Kanto itself. While it has a few memorable places, it lacks the personality of current areas like Hoenn or Sinnon. This even extends to the team: Team Rocket. With little to no really motivations besides being evil, you are left with basically uninteresting cartoony one dimensional mustache twirling villains.
The game is very simplistic. This was before Gen 3's Ability which had complexed the game, and it became before holding items. Players who have sunk their teeth in the newer gen, well luckly be disappointed at the lack of oppertunities.
The game is very glitchy as well compared to the newer pokemon gen.
As the foundation of one of gaming's biggest and most popular series, this game deserves to sit on it's high throne, but as a game itself? Well it belongs more on a museum than played. It has too many flaws to be taken seriously competetively, it is too simplistic, the area of Kanto is boring, and the amount of pokemon is limited and it is a glitchy mess.
The good news is the remakes exist to bring the older gens up to date. Much like Soul Silver and Alpha Omega, Fire Red is a superior choice if you have a nostalgic itch.