Sometimes you think back in time and wonder why you were so crazy about a particular thing; Jahanzeb Khan wonders about PokemonRed/Blue

During the late '90s, a Pokemon fever had taken over the world. Pokemon stands for “pocket monsters” and what started as an ordinary RPG quickly grew into a multi-million dollar franchise that spawned television shows, movies, toys, chocolates, virtual pets, songs, trading cards, endless sequels/expansions and who knows what else.

Pokemon is a disease and to this very day I am still ashamed of the fact that I got hit by the Pokemon fever. Today, I review the modest little game(s) that gave birth to an illness that, unfortunately, is still affecting naive and young gamers of today.

Pokemon Red/Blue was a tamagotchi RPG (tamagotchi means virtual/digital pet) and the game required one to collect monsters called 'Pokemon' in order to train them for battle. The battles were standard turn-based RPG fare and gamers explored a small world where they went up against other trainers and their teams of monsters. Gamers were also required to take part in gym battles in order to win badges/medals and finally take part in a tournament against the grandmasters. The story was non-existent as you played the role of some dumb kid who leaves home to become the best Pokemon trainer, ironically this dumb story led to the birth of a long-running anime series and endless anime movies.

Pokemon Red/Blue were two separate games that were essentially exactly the same, but Nintendo successfully tricked gamers into buying both games and all the other countless expansion packs, the only difference between Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue was that each version featured a slightly different composition of Pokemon to collect, and I strongly emphasise on the word 'slightly'.

The main goal was not just to win the grand tournament and win badges/medals, but to collect all 150 Pokemon that inhabited the in-game world. Gamers captured Pokemon using Pokeballs and then used them in battle throughout the course of the game. Some Pokemons had abilities that allowed gamers to access new areas while some were able to evolve into new forms. The collecting aspect was fun but, in the end, you use only five or six Pokemons.

The game made the Gameboy link cable popular as it not only allowed for multiplayer battles, but also allowed one to trade Pokemon with other gamers who had a copy of the game.

The music and graphics were painfully dry and stupid, there were clearly better looking Gameboy games back then and many of them featured excellent music (games like Link's Awakening, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Kirby, etc).

The main problem with Pokemon is that monster collecting aside, this is a very simple JRG that sorely lacks depth and strategy. The battle system is so simple that even a three-year-old could master it.

Many people call video games a waste of time, I disagree with them but when they say Pokemon is a complete waste of time, I immediately nod in approval. Many people loved Pokemon series back then but I, for one, parted ways with it when I realised that I was playing nothing but Pokemon, and ignoring the gems that were coming out on Playstation back then. 

Game Pokemon Red/Blue

Year 1998

Platform Gameboy

Overall 5/10

Pros

• The tamagotchi and monster collecting aspects were fun at least.

• Made multiplayer on Gameboy popular.

Cons

With a very slight difference, both games are alike.