P4
Draft Review - Pokemon Red & Blue
Pokemon Red and Blue, made by Nintendo and GAMEFREAK, are a pair of RPGs that came out in the west in 1998, but as Pocket Monsters Red and Green in Japan, 1996. The two versions each have content or Pokemon exclusive to one particular version, making it so players have to trade between each other in order to fully complete their games. The two games were rated an E in the ESRB rating, and a PEGI 3 in Europe, meaning that they were meant to be more for the younger audience. But upon their release on Nintendo's 3DS virtual console in early 2016, the PEGI rating was boosted to a 12 thanks to gambling related issues.
In game, you play as a ten year old boy who leaves home in order to fill out a monster encyclopedia for the local Professor Oak, as well as build a strong Pokemon team to beat the Pokemon League. Along the way, your journey constantly gets interrupted by your rival (the professor's grandson) and the evil organisation Team Rocket. In order to challenge the league, you must battle the eight different gyms in the region of Kanto and collect their badges in order to get through to Victory Road.
The graphics are simple, showing a simple overhead view in the overworld. All of the characters have a chibi-like style when viewed here, but then change to full blown portraits when on the battle section. The graphics in the battle section... oh boy. Some of the sprites actually look really impressive, making the Pokemon look powerful, regal, and making you want one of your own, like Lapras or Ninetales. Other Pokemon on the other hand, look like they've done so many different drugs, it makes the artwork one of best bits of the game, hands down, because of the amount of laughs you can get. Venomoth and Exeggutor (pictured) especially look like they're in desperate need of therapy. If I were to rate the graphics, I'd give them a 7/10 for both accuracy with some parts, but also for making a load of its own atrocities.
Whilst playing through the game, I found that some of the gyms were awkwardly placed, meaning that the difficulty curve was all over the place. If you start the game with a Charmander, it's almost impossible to battle anyone in the first gym without catching and over-leveling another Pokemon, but Squirtle and Bulbasaur can knock them down easily. The same goes to the second gym, the game seems to want to shame anyone who picks the fire type starter in the professor's lab, at least it encourages you to look for a solution and try new Pokemon for different strategies. The soundtrack of the game is very charming and simplistic with its 8-bit style, but when playing with headphones on one of the original GameBoy systems it makes you feel like it's being played in the Albert Hall thanks to the echo effect, it's remarkable; a 10/10 from me.
The plot of the game isn't solely related to the main character, it also shows you a lot of this brand new world in front of you, by having different areas or NPCs tell or illustrate their own stories or facts. One problem I had though, relating to the story, is that it's hard to figure out what to do after the third gym in the game due the plot's ambiguity at that point in time, I found myself using an online guide several times during my first run through. One ambiguity I'm not complaining about however, is the villain's motives; the great mysterious Giovani of Team Rocket. You never know what he truly wants to do with the Master Ball, or the Pokemon he's stealing and selling from others, and after you defeat him for the final time he doesn't appear again until several games in the future.
One of my favourite parts about the game though, is the glitches. Yes, the glitches. As this game is the very first of the series, made with simple coding, they're to be expected. The glitches can be anything from your rival's hair moving funny when they walk to the game breaking MissingNo (pictured), and activating them is very fun and interesting to pull off. You can also use these glitches to your advantage, by duplicating items or manipulating data to see version exclusive Pokemon.
Overall, I'd say these games are definitely worth a try if you want a fresh and nostalgic experience. It's fairly easy and affordable to find, having been released on virtual console and being common to find on eBay. Some areas are challenging, but that helps give these games a kick and define their genre. It can be played both casually and hardcore, and because of all of your different options one playthrough is never the same as the other. My final score for the whole game is 8/10, as even some of the game's major flaws are enjoyable, and what it has it uses well.
Graphics - 7/10
Gameplay - 6/10
Soundtrack - 10/10
Story - 6/10
Overall - 8/10
Pokemon Red and Blue, made by Nintendo and GAMEFREAK, are a pair of RPGs that came out in the west in 1998, but as Pocket Monsters Red and Green in Japan, 1996. The two versions each have content or Pokemon exclusive to one particular version, making it so players have to trade between each other in order to fully complete their games. The two games were rated an E in the ESRB rating, and a PEGI 3 in Europe, meaning that they were meant to be more for the younger audience. But upon their release on Nintendo's 3DS virtual console in early 2016, the PEGI rating was boosted to a 12 thanks to gambling related issues.
In game, you play as a ten year old boy who leaves home in order to fill out a monster encyclopedia for the local Professor Oak, as well as build a strong Pokemon team to beat the Pokemon League. Along the way, your journey constantly gets interrupted by your rival (the professor's grandson) and the evil organisation Team Rocket. In order to challenge the league, you must battle the eight different gyms in the region of Kanto and collect their badges in order to get through to Victory Road.
The graphics are simple, showing a simple overhead view in the overworld. All of the characters have a chibi-like style when viewed here, but then change to full blown portraits when on the battle section. The graphics in the battle section... oh boy. Some of the sprites actually look really impressive, making the Pokemon look powerful, regal, and making you want one of your own, like Lapras or Ninetales. Other Pokemon on the other hand, look like they've done so many different drugs, it makes the artwork one of best bits of the game, hands down, because of the amount of laughs you can get. Venomoth and Exeggutor (pictured) especially look like they're in desperate need of therapy. If I were to rate the graphics, I'd give them a 7/10 for both accuracy with some parts, but also for making a load of its own atrocities.Whilst playing through the game, I found that some of the gyms were awkwardly placed, meaning that the difficulty curve was all over the place. If you start the game with a Charmander, it's almost impossible to battle anyone in the first gym without catching and over-leveling another Pokemon, but Squirtle and Bulbasaur can knock them down easily. The same goes to the second gym, the game seems to want to shame anyone who picks the fire type starter in the professor's lab, at least it encourages you to look for a solution and try new Pokemon for different strategies. The soundtrack of the game is very charming and simplistic with its 8-bit style, but when playing with headphones on one of the original GameBoy systems it makes you feel like it's being played in the Albert Hall thanks to the echo effect, it's remarkable; a 10/10 from me.
The plot of the game isn't solely related to the main character, it also shows you a lot of this brand new world in front of you, by having different areas or NPCs tell or illustrate their own stories or facts. One problem I had though, relating to the story, is that it's hard to figure out what to do after the third gym in the game due the plot's ambiguity at that point in time, I found myself using an online guide several times during my first run through. One ambiguity I'm not complaining about however, is the villain's motives; the great mysterious Giovani of Team Rocket. You never know what he truly wants to do with the Master Ball, or the Pokemon he's stealing and selling from others, and after you defeat him for the final time he doesn't appear again until several games in the future.
One of my favourite parts about the game though, is the glitches. Yes, the glitches. As this game is the very first of the series, made with simple coding, they're to be expected. The glitches can be anything from your rival's hair moving funny when they walk to the game breaking MissingNo (pictured), and activating them is very fun and interesting to pull off. You can also use these glitches to your advantage, by duplicating items or manipulating data to see version exclusive Pokemon.
Overall, I'd say these games are definitely worth a try if you want a fresh and nostalgic experience. It's fairly easy and affordable to find, having been released on virtual console and being common to find on eBay. Some areas are challenging, but that helps give these games a kick and define their genre. It can be played both casually and hardcore, and because of all of your different options one playthrough is never the same as the other. My final score for the whole game is 8/10, as even some of the game's major flaws are enjoyable, and what it has it uses well.
Graphics - 7/10
Gameplay - 6/10
Soundtrack - 10/10
Story - 6/10
Overall - 8/10
Comments
Post a Comment