Pokemon Green Version Reviews

The first Pokemon game! Along with Pokemon Red, those two versions were released in Japan in 1996 and started a franchise, that lives and thrives to this day! Pokemon Green/Red also proved that you don't need powerfull and shiny graphics to be successful - these games were really unpolished on their release, containing many bugs (which, ironically, made them all that more interesting) and frustrating, untested mechanics, but they were based on a brilliant, innovative idea that caught on and spawned a tons of sequels and spin offs. Definitely a game that every gamer should play.

Back in the mid-nineties and the beginning 2000s, Pokemon was a huge craze taking the whole world by storm. However what part of the series that made it so huge worldwide? Could it be the cards, the hit anime, movies, or the countless controversies grabbing headlines while some are debatable nonsensical. The part of the series that made it their in the market is the games themselves. In a quick summary of Red and Blue, while graphic wise isn't the best, and the story is not exactly deep as in the standards of the other notable RPGs of the mid-nineties. The reason in my opinion on what made the series worthwhile is the premise of getting all Pokemon to be the best trainer in the world and the gameplay both work together to make a very worthwhile experience to millions of gamers and still doing so nowadays. However the versions everywhere not Japan got first which is Red and Blue aren't actually the “first” versions. In 1996 Pokemon or Pocket Monsters in it’s Japanese name release in Japan with the title versions “Red” and “Green”. After it’s first release, the development team worked on a third version that improved the graphics, Pokemon sprites and other changes called Blue. For it’s first release overseas, they used the Japanese version of Blue as a basic of Red and Blue with Green ending up staying in Japan. Despite it’s Japan only status, is it still worthwhile to import, I would say yes it is.

The plot remains the same between the Japanese and English versions of the Gen 1 games. You start off at Pallet Town as a ten year old boy who’s ready to become a Pokemon trainer. After running into Professor Oak in the wild grass, both heads back to his lab where he gives you a choice of one of the three Pokemon available. You chose your own while your rival who wants to be the strongest Pokemon trainer in the world chose his own. After doing an errand in the nearby town. You get your own Pokedex which records any Pokemon you encounter. The moment you get the Pokedex shows you are ready to head to your journey in the region of Kanto to be a Pokemon Master while dealing with ordeals from an organization called Team Rocket. Again the story is very simple compared to other RPG’s of it’s time that anyone looking for a good story may be disappointed in this but however. It’s the gameplay that makes the series strong.

Gameplay wise, you travel around the Kanto region through towns, caves, and oceans to head to the 8 gyms. After you beat all the gyms, you’re ready to face the Elite Four to become the strongest. To be ready it’s necessary to have a team of six Pokemon of different types caught in the wild or got from a trade. One place of very importance is the Pokemon Center where you have the option to not only heal your battle wary Pokemon but have access to the PC to switch Pokemon around from your party and out. The actual battles are turn based type battles where you chose 4 or less moves you current Pokemon knows to attack or using stats involving moves to beat your opponent which depends on your own Pokemon’s stats to survive. Here’s there I realize a huge thing that makes the games worthwhile is the element of surprise it has. Any location has a few or more different Pokemon in the wild that adds to the variety of Pokemon between versions. In these routes, you may find countless trainers eager to face you or finding a hidden item that happens to be in the ground. Even in the towns, you may find worthwhile places to visit like a casino like place, and a museum with fossil Pokemon. Also the items in the market shops in each town changes as you progress through Kanto. The element of surprise combined with the battle system, and the countless Pokemon you can choose from at make that ideal team mix into a compelling addiction that’s very satisfying and adds a great amount of replay value even after beating the game especially with a link cable to connect with friends to finish up your Pokedex. Graphic wise it may not be the best but they work for what it is on the Gameboy. Honestly it actually interesting to me seeing the different sprites of each Pokemon of what it used to be like before the sprites afterwards we know of today. Sound and music wise, pretty much the same compared to both Japanese and the English versions and it’s on the memorable side adding to the obsession.

Now let’s talk about the Import Friendliness of this game since it’s in Japanese. It’s between the so-so and not bad section as it goes. It’s not hard knowing where to go next especially if you are familiar to the series. However the moves and the items are the problem since you may not know which is which and you may let’s say accidentally used an item you've not suppose to use or forget a move you wanted to keep in the first place and now have a move you don’t want. It can be quite annoying but at the bright side of things. Sites like Serebii have detailed information of the items, every Pokemon and their movesets, and TMs making things convenient. Overall it’s at least easier to play then the DS version of Ni no Kuni due to the Physical Book needed to play that game.

Overall even in Japanese, it’s still fun to play, has that addicting charm to it, and conveniently cheap to get considering how pricey importing can be. Recommended.
9.5/10