Pokemon Red and Blue IS Pokemon. For a large segment of the gaming community, it was these original games that introduced them to the world of Pokemon and made them fans. To a large segment of the gaming community, there are only 151 Pokemon, and that is that. This committed base of fans has strong emotional ties to the originals because of what they had to offer, and it is with that which this Pokemon Blue and Red review will be based.
Other video game franchises have an entry into the series that was commercially or critically hailed, but it is only with Pokemon where one entry is seen by a large base as the only entry that is actually worth acknowledging. Super Mario Brothers 3 is great, but fans do not deny 1,2, Super Mario World or Mario 64. Ocarina of Time was groundbreaking, but fans still accept and hail The Wind Waker and Link’s Awakening. Pokemon Red and Blue are in classes of their own whereas for one generation of gamers, they are the only true entry in the franchise, but for the generations that game after that, they have directly benefited from what came before them. What was it though that made Pokemon Blue and Red so memorable and an icon?
Pokemon Red and Blue Review
The Game Boy consisted of black and white adventures that were oftentimes constrained to unmoving environments or environments that moved but were heavily pixelated. Console gaming was the dominant form of gaming and also offered up connectivity and a way to share the gaming experience with others. Pokemon Red and Blue was developed with shattering this concept and to create an entirely new way to connect with friends and fellow gamers.
The origin of the franchise was built upon the concept of being able to trade characters between players on different Game Boys. After years of being constrained to your small screen, all of a sudden what your friend next to you was doing on their screen mattered. Each version featured some joint and some unique creatures that could only be caught in their respective versions. With a heavy marketing campaign geared around the idea of obtaining them all, a phenomenon was born.
To complete your adventure, it wasn’t enough to just follow the story and max out what was obtainable on your cartridge, instead you had to connect with your friends and family to obtain the missing creatures before you could finally beat the game. This added a whole new social aspect to social gaming and extended the game lives as well, adding even more value. On top of that, it was strategy based and allowed for not only trading, but battling to show who had the most skill and could map out a path to victory against a 6 man team with hundreds of variables possible.
In the way that Call of Duty online has now become a social experience, back in 1997 through the early 2000’s, Pokemon Blue and Red was the video gaming social experience.
Modern Review of Pokemon Red and Blue
More of the appeal also game from the heavy merchandising that was associated with the game. There were movies, fast food promotions, stuffed animals, and of course the trading cards. It was not enough to capture them all in the game, you also had to have a card for all 151 as well. Children in schools were spending their free time at recess and between classes developing trades to get rare cards or to obtain their favorites. Many schools were left with little choice but to ban these cards due to the level of distraction they were causing. Pokemon Red and Blue led to an entire generational icon that extended well beyond just video games.
The actual game play experience should not be ignored though. It is a major contributor to the lasting impression Pokemon Red and Blue have on fans and society. Starting off with a choice of one of three starter Pokemon, each one having their own strengths and weaknesses, allegiances were formed as to which was the best. Once that was resolved or simply moved on from, the actual experience began.
Players would be thrust into a world of imagination where a young kid could explore forests, mountains, caves and new cities on a journey to mature, get stronger and work together as a team with the creatures they took upon themselves to raise. There was no one right way to play each battle, each gym or each geographical territory. You could explore or go straight through. Level up 1 Pokemon to become strong, or evenly level up many. Use brute force to take down the enemy or use strategy. Any combination of moves, items and raising habits could be utilized… all in the quest to simply be the best.
This customization aspect was critical in forming a connection for gamers to Pokemon Red and Blue. No more were the only options on Game Boy just games that went left to right. Now you were in control of how you played. Because of this, each fan has their own memories to share with one another, their own unique or epic gym battles, their own close call or moment of dumb luck. The ability for a game to create unique memories leaves impressions on an entire generation of gamers.
Something of additional value to Pokemon Blue and Red was the fact that it also had a large number of glitches and cheats that extended game play or allowed for goofy memories. MissingNo should not exist in Pokemon cannon, but it does. Why would players move up and down on a coast line with certain items in an item slot? Why would you press Start and Fly away as a man was about to battle you? All of these things, while results of poor programming or just a result of its time, did not hamper the game play; it actually improved upon it. There were no kill to death ratios to worry about or personal trophies on your dashboard to compete over. You could enjoy a flaw in a game’s programming and use it to your advantage for fun rather that competitive reasons.
Pokemon Blue and Red are cultural icons that remain the one true entry into the Pokemon series for many who grew up on those games and likely had some trading cards confiscated from them at one point in elementary school. For others, it was the game that set up everything else that have played and enjoyed up through 2013.