Now, a lot of the following could sound like common sense but I have seen certain cases where people simply didn't got all the deal about Pokemon. The main reason is that some people were too old for getting into all the hype and joy behind it before and back in 1998 I was one of those kids that the game was targeted from the beginning. So I think i want to give a review behind what makes Pokemon such an awesome game despite how it's formula has been turning much more of a chore.


The Incredible Hype

It is 1998 and suddenly out of nowhere, every magazine talks about Pokemon. You do not know a shit about what it is, but you see a whole library of odd creatures in it. Three headed birds, giant crabs, huge bugs, some weird muscled lizards, you don't know much about what's going on but it is enjoyable to see.

And suddenly an anime, toys, plushes, a bigger hype for the GameBoy Color, trading cards and finally, the videogame itself. Pokemon appears in my life as one of the biggest phenomenons I have ever seen in my life and the concept is so amusing and so interesting I really want to join the party.



And after I saw what was all about, around the corner appears a movie, starring the most powerful and some of the most popular Pokemon in all the series clashing in a magnificent battle. Mothers freak out, big sisters simply ignore it, fathers feel pestered, but you feel incredible of how fast but how wide things go around and can't stop talking about it in months and months. It is like a parade.

I could be exaggerating, but I think Pokemon managed to be the Transformers of the 90's.


Concept and Gameplay

The role involves you, a boy around 10 years old that heads on an adventure to meet and collect incredible creatures. There are obstacles, enemies, challenge and a surprise in every corner, it s a whole new world traveling through cities, caves, mountains, oceans and valleys.

I never noticed until now, but Pokemon managed to do what EarthBound and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest failed to achieve, they introduced an RPG to American kids in a manner it is not so complex and tedious like any other and still manages to give you a great challenge.

As you could know, they are (ok, were) about 151 Pokemon to collect. The phrase "Gotta Catch 'em all!" Simply invites the player to have as much Pokemon as possible and it is impossible to fill your encyclopedia without being with a friend or brother who had the other version of the game, so you could trade them on the not-so-used-until-then Cable Link, because the GameBoy has always been recognized mainly as a one-player game system, but the designers simply intended to make something you could stick with your friend and even compete with them.

One amazing thing of it was how the progress of the adventure was really fluid, you know as in Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy you encounter random events all the time interrupting your way without advise, here they made that way represented by tall grass, water or tunnel caves. Once you found of those ahead, you could make a pause, be sure you are ready to face a lot of enemies and move your Pokemon in certain order you have a safer trip. Caves are mostly loathed for being a trap of random encounters all the time but they were a real endurance test.

Another great detail of them being so many, is that you have virtually endless combinations to do with your team. The game is linear in achievement, but the whole way you build your team is really up to your preferences. You could like some Pokemon for being funny, cute, powerful, cool or reliable. You are not forced to stick with a certain kind on your party forever, that is why you can store them on Bill's PC so you can try different combinations for better battle strategies and an unique combination you can brag with your friends.



On an additional note, it made a very faithful link with the Nintendo64, making peripherals also part of the fun. On Pokemon Stadium you could rent creatures to battle in, or import your grinded team on a more live 3D animation than joggy pixels.

The soundtrack is so simple but SO amazing, when you are hiking on the routes, roaming through cities, in the caves, or the league gyms, the music was fully representing the right atmosphere. Sometimes it anticipated adventure, gave a gloomy aspect to the caverns or prepared you for the battle of your life. I mean.. just listen to it!

Your hometown were your huge adventure begins...


A decisive battle for the championship...


The long track to hike...


And the final battle



On a weird manner, the game had a lot of bugs, but these were so popular they were also part of the fun. Missigno is probably the most famous, a huge square of pixels that mere coincidentally you faced in the wilderness after a series of rare events, the encounter is so odd but so satisfying, meeting with it in the original versions is a must. Also item and Pokemon clonation became popular.



The variety of bugs and glitches with all the other merchandise and tv shows also awakened a series of wild rumors about many things like finding rare pokemon behind trucks, combining Blastoise with Venusaur creating Venustoise, control your rival Gary, or even the mysterious idea of what happened once you caught them all.

I also believe, that games that Pokemon were cameo'd in it were immediately successful for the whole outbreak, the spin off games like Pokemon Snap and Pokemon Pinball were greatly received because they were still loyal to the collective and exploratory spirit behind the game. I dare to say that if it wasn't because of Pokemon, the Nintendo all-stars fighter, Super Smash Bros. would not have been so successful, a huge part of what made it addictive was to summon Pokemon with Pokeballs and use Pikachu on a live fluid battle. Being on that subject, something that kept the atmosphere so live was the Saffron City stage, it was placed in a stage that you could find in the original games and it was illustrated like the licensed anime. In Super Smash Bros Melee they introduced the Stadium stage that even if it was so good looking, it just didn't felt like the same, it simply looked too generic instead of alive.



Conclusion

Pokemon was not only huge and hyped, it was amazing because it introduced a way you can make infinite combination of attacks, strategies and moves to be the champ. It was not only amazing because everybody was doing it, it was so because you could learn much more about organization, anticipating plans, being patient or being much better at math. Pokemon lubricated a way into RPGs to many for those who were on elementary school in the late 90s, and the concept is still effective not just for milk's sake.

Just a few weeks ago I reopened a Pokemon file to complete and the idea is still there. You start collecting a bunch of those weird creatures again and it was fun because I could think of training an odder party instead of a traditional format of just the most powerful. The whole key of this game is originality and collecting.

They could add more, they could make the characters more awkward looking, they could make it look kiddy, but something is for sure, all of that is a hell worth of it.