Story:The game begins with a rather informative soliloquy from the newly introduced Oak, or as “people '' like to call him, "T-Bone" ... err, I mean “The Pokemon Prof.” You would think he would pick a cooler nickname for himself. Professor Oak tells us that the world is inhabited by these creatures called Pokemon. Some people train and fight these Pokemon; others keep them as pets. Oak, however, wants nothing to do with the dark underbelly of PokeFighing (although he has been known to place a bet on Little Jerry), and he’s not a pet guy. Instead, he studies pokemon, thus the studious self-supplied nickname.
At this point, Professor Oak realizes that he is not sure to whom he is talking. “What’s your name, little boy?” Oak asks you in not so many words. As you tell the old man your name, he remembers that you have a rival, a nemesis, who also happens to be his grandson. Unfortunately, Oak forgets his name and probably sends him seven birthday cards a year that don’t get cashed. Once you tell Oak his grandson's name, you are free to leave your house in Pallet Town and explore the world of Pokemon!
“Not so fast!” says Prof Oak as you exit town limits. “The tall grass out there is dangerous. You need Pokemon to protect you. I know! Come with me.”
Oak leads you back to his lab, where your rival is already waiting. The Poke Prof offers up one of his three remaining pokemon to you and your rival. The good news is that you have the first pick in the 1998 Pokemon Entry Draft. You must select one of Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. Your rival will choose one of the two renaming Pokemon. The die is cast. The adventure begins.
But first, a fight! Your rival challenges you to a pokemon battle. This anticlimactic tackle fest has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Win or lose, your rival leaves first, brash and ready to take on the world. Prof Oak asks you to pick up a parcel in the nearby Viridian City. I guess his Gophur pokemon has fainted. Anyway, you are now off to begin your Pokemon Journey!
Welcome to Pokemon Blue...
Gameplay:Pokemon Blue is a very approachable role-playing game (RPG) that can be a great entry point for a gamer unfamiliar with the genre. There is not necessarily an overworld here. You travel along many routes to various towns, battling wild pokemon and pokemon trainers. Battles with wild pokemon are randomly triggered when you traverse through tall grass or when navigating a cave. Battles with Pokemon trainers are automatically triggered when you enter their line of sight.
One of the main goals of Pokemon Blue is to collect as many Pokemon as you can. Fill up that Pokedex! You can capture a Pokemon in the wild. Throw a Pokeball at a weakened wild Pokemon, and Boom, you now own that Pokemon and can use it in future battles. You can hold up to six Pokemon at a time, rotating through as necessary during battles. Your other Pokemon are stored on a PC.
Pokemon gain experience when they defeat other Pokemon. Pokemon level up and gain a stat boost when at certain experience thresholds. In addition, Pokemon learn new moves and can even evolve throughout the levelling up process.
Each Pokemon has a type. Charmander is a “fire-type” Pokemon, for example. Fire-type Pokemon are strong against plant-type Pokemon but weak against water-type Pokemon. There are tons of types, all with their strengths and weaknesses.
As a side note… I found Butterfree to be my most powerful Pokemon throughout the game. My Butterfree was strong against rock- and ghost-type Pokemon. I taught Butterfree a couple of psychic-type moves, and it was unstoppable. With Butterfree, I could put opposing Pokemon to sleep and confuse them when they were awake. I found this strange because I caught Caterpeie, Butterfree’s first form, very early in the game. My thinking that the early encountered pokemon were the weakest was incorrect.
You will discover many items that will give your Pokemon new, helpful, and exciting abilities as you progress.
There are PokeCentres and Item Shops in each town. PokeCentres act as the traditional RPG “hotel” trope and heal your Pokemon. You can pop into a shop to buy and sell various items. Stock up on potions, ethers, and repels. Each town you visit has a Gym where you must defeat a trainer to get a badge. You gain access to the Elite Four, an end-of-the-game boss rush when you collect all the badges.
There are tons of post-game things you can do in Pokemon Blue. You can battle and trade Pokemon with your friends using a link cable. There are also a couple of side quests you can complete. Not all 150 Pokemon are in the Blue edition of the game. To complete your PokeDex, you will have to find a friend with the Red edition and trade for the remaining Pokemon.
Graphics:This is a Gameboy game. The graphics are what they are. There is Gameboy color compatibility, which looks okay. There is also the option to play with the Super Gameboy on the SNES if you want a bigger screen. I played Pokemon Blue on the traditional "black and green" Gameboy.
The most notable graphical achievement for this game is that each Pokemon has a unique front and back picture. A substantial achievement, given the 150 Pokemon in the game. All in-battle animations are generated from these two images. No sprite animations here. "Overworld" animations are fluid and precisely what you would expect from a Gameboy game of the era.
Graphically, you will not be disappointed if you acknowledge that, by 1998, the Gameboy was a very dated piece of tech.
Images: Sound:Again, this is a Gameboy game. If you expect Symphony of the Night, you will be highly disappointed. Suppose you can appreciate the Gameboy for what it was. In that case, Pokemon Blue provides a charming soundtrack of tunes that you will catch yourself humming while changing a diaper. I promise you that you will get sick of the music that plays during a battle. It's like Baby Shark all over again.
The most notable audio achievement in Pokemon Blue is the 150 unique battle cries, one for each Pokemon. This is a nice touch that is not noticed right away but adds depth and immersion as you progress.
Final Thoughts:Stay tuned for final thoughts..
Pokemon Blue has no business being as good as it is. The pocket game about pocket monsters is not pocket in scope. The depth of this game, admittedly shallow compared to contemporary console RPGs (FF7 and even 1995's Chrono Trigger), is deep enough for the beginner and the experienced RPGer. Although kid-focused, the game can easily be enjoyed by all ages.
The best part about this game is how it hooks you into an immersive experience. You catch yourself wondering what a world inhabited by Pokemon would be like. You feel a true sense of exploring. There is also a parental nature to raising your Pokemon. You will gain an emotional attachment to these little monsters and feel a sense of pride in their achievements. The stripped-down nature of this game due to the Gameboy's technical limitations allows the imagination to wander. Similar to how Middle Earth is seen differently in each mind's eye, the world of Pokemon, and the experiences within, prove as individualistic an experience as one can have in gaming.
This game is worth a playthrough.
