If you already played through Pokemon Red or Blue then considered this as a sweet expansion.
Game Title: Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition
Platform: GameBoy
Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Role Playing Game
Age Rating: ESRB: E for Everyone
Release Date: 12th September 1998 (Japan), 19th October 1999 (America), 16th June 2000 (Europe), 3rd September 2000 (Australia)
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Game Score: 9.0/10
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Summery:
If you already played through Pokemon Red or Blue then considered this as a sweet expansion.
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When the Pokemon TV series aired it was amazing, it had these young 10 year old kids catching little creatures called Pokemon that they carry around in their pockets and battle each other. In Japan I believe they called Pocket Monsters which is something. The first Pokemon games came out as Pokemon Red and Blue in the West but I was interested in Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition which came out later. Yes, it's exactly the same as Red and Blue but there are various additions and changes where it almost remains me of the TV show.
Pretty much Yellow starts the same way as Red and Blue, you play as a kid who grows up in a world that's full of Pokemon. You're goal in the game is to catch the Pokemon, test their power in Pokemon battles to eventually become a Pokemon Master. The difference is that you'll have Pikachu to start the game off with and your Rival will have an Eevee to start with.
Just like in the TV show, that Pikachu does not like being inside it's Pokeball or doesn't like being stored inside a PC. Instead Pikachu follows you around the game and you can also talk to it and see how it feels for you which I have to give a plus for that. If you do certain actions like getting a badge, catching a Pokemon or taking it to at some locations Pikachu will actually show you if it's either, happy, sad, angry or scared which is very cool. You'll also hear it's voice which I'll give a plus for that as well since Gameboy games don't usually have voices.
You enter encounters by going into patches of grass until the game pulls you into one. The battle system is turn based and simple to pick up and play. Your Pokemon can have up to 4 different attacks at a time to attack the enemy Pokemon, once it falls your Pokemon is granted EXP which will gain Level ups which make your Pokemon more powerful. If an enemy Pokemon gets weakened enough you can toss a Pokeball to capture it where's using a Pokeball on a Pokeball at a Pokemon with near full health will only be a waste. There are some different types of Pokeballs that can make catching stronger Pokemon later on in the game so damaging adds a level of when to catch a Pokemon.
Pokemon can come in 15 different types to an element such as Fire, Flying, Electric, Rock, and a few others and each type of Pokemon has their own strengths and weaknesses as one type of Pokemon like Flying for instance is weak against Electrical attacks but Electrical have no effect against Rock or Ground Type Pokemon which you'll need to take notes about. Hitting a Pokemon with an attack that it's weak to will deal critical damage to it often times taking it down in a single go. This adds a lot of strategy as you can't always stick to using one Pokemon all the time. You need to capture different types of Pokemon in order to overcome difficult Pokemon much later on the game.
Like Pokemon Red and Blue you start out in your home town and then you're given your Pikachu to start your adventure. You'll though paths that lead to different towns where you'll talk to NPC's which give you clues about your next destination or to give you some strategy tips about Pokemon to use in the areas your about to enter. Aside from entering battles with random Pokemon, you'll find hidden items scattered around the world and also you'll have Pokemon Trainers to test your Pokemon's power on. Each Pokemon Trainer that you fight have their own types of Pokemon and will block any thrown Pokeballs incase you dare to capture the other trainers Pokemon. I thing I recommend as well is that when you knock down a trainer's Pokemon you'll get a option where you can switch your current Pokemon out for another one you have in reserve. You can only carry up to 6 Pokemon to take with you which again adds level of strategy and difficult decisions.
Anytime you catch a Pokemon with 6 in your party that Pokemon gets transferred into a PC Box where all other Pokemon you catch are stored in. There are about 150 Pokemon to collect but however one the main flaws with this game is that there are less Pokemon to catch in this game, there are only 137 this time and mostly require trading from both Red and Blue games to actually get them all which can be a pain.
When your Pokemon are injured and need Healing you can go to the Pokemon Center which can restore your Pokemon completely and also you can access the PC to switch out other Pokemon you have and also deposit and take out Items as you only carry only limited amount of different items. You'll also be able to access Link Cable multiplayer modes where you can go into Trading where you can trade one of your creatures for one that a friend has or you can go into Coliseum matches where both players can battle out with their Pokemon. Pokemon Yellow also introduces Coliseum 2 where it uses rules from the Pokemon Stadium Cups. Which means you can't use a Pokemon named Mew or Mewtwo and also using Pokemon at the cups restricted levels which may appear uninteresting to some. An important thing to know is that a traded Pokemon may not obey you unless you fulfil some conditions.
After you visited the Pokemon Centre and the Item Shop for supplies you can then tackle the Pokemon Gyms. Pokemon Gyms are places where you go battle the Gym Trainers and then face the official Pokemon League Gym Leader. There are about 8 Gym leader to fight off against with their strong Pokemon. Beating them in battle will earn a official Pokemon League Badge where it allows you to what's called a HM ability to light up dark caves and also cut vines and move boulders that you can teach to Pokemon to access new areas.
The only issue I would like to point out is that HM's are permanent once they thought to a Pokemon. Pokemon themselves will learn special attacks as they level but however each Pokemon can only learn up 4 attacks which means if a Pokemon is going to learn a new attack it'll have to forget one of the other attacks which involves difficult decisions. You can also collect items called TMs which can teach the Pokemon with and each of them you'll find will be different and can be used on a Pokemon that it's compatible with.
When you move over to new areas you'll have to deal with some questing and detours before some areas are unlocked and also you'll have to deal with Team Rocket which will appear at some parts of the game. Alongside other Team Rocket members you'll face Jeese & James who are from the TV show and their Pokemon alongside their famous quote "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again" is still intact and humorous.
When you beat the 8 Gym Leaders and earned their badges you can go to the Pokemon League and challenge the Elite 4 Trainers. Once you beat them and also your rival at the end of the game you'll win the game and get registered in the hall of fame. Afterwards you'll be able to get access to the secret cave where the most powerful Pokemon in game Mewtwo awaits your arrival. The game itself lasts about 60+ Hours for the main quest to be completed but however there are opional events that you can take part in.
There is the Safari Zone where you need to use bait to capture Pokemon and there's also the Casino where you can earn Token for cool items and rarer Pokemon. Pokemon Yellow introduces new minigames where Pikachu can surf and pull off some rad surfing moves. In order to do so you'll need to pop the game into Pokemon Stadium on the N64 and follow some conditions. Yes, Pokemon Yellow can be used in Pokemon Stadium via Transfer Pak (and Pokemon Stadium 2 as well) and you'll hear Pikachu's voice in battle which is a nice feature.
Pokemon Yellow looks and plays the same as Red and Blue with your character, other trainers and pokemon you encounter all redrawn and they do look great. Music and sound effects are the same as well as the other Pokemon battle cries. For the most the game feels exactly the same as Red and Blue so people wouldn't buy if it was just the same game but for me, being able to have Pikachu at my side from the start and having some resemblance to the TV show was awesome when I was a child. You can still get Red and Blue starter Pokemon in the game but they gotten under conditions. If you didn't get Red or Blue in the first place or want to have to an adventure with Pikachu then you can do so with this game. I can't the game any further then that.
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The Good Points:
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1. Still plenty of Pokemon to capture, train or trade
2. Fun Turn Based Combat that is both additive, fun and rewarding
3. You can interact with Pikachu and you'll see it's feelings and is voiced well
4. Features Team Rocket and other things from the TV series
The Bad Points:
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1. Less Pokemon to catch and you'll need to trade with Pokemon Red and Blue to complete your Pokedex and collect them all
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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