Is it worth it to check out the roots of this series?
Gameplay: Pokémon was probably the most innovative game back in the days when it was released. The game is a standard RPG, in which you catch different creatures called Pokémon and fight other trainers' Pokémon. Each Pokémon can have up to four attacks and two types. The type defines what attacks the Pokémon's weak to. For example, Charmander's a fire Pokémon, so it's weak to ground and water. That adds a lot to the in-game strategy, and makes it more fun to play. Back when this was released, it was extremely innovative!
You can carry up to six Pokémon, but you can catch a lot more. When you don't need a Pokémon, you can always store it in a PC, and take it out whenever you want.
Some Pokémon can evolve into other Pokémon, and they become way stronger. To evolve a Pokémon, sometimes you have to level it up, but other times, there are different evolving methods, some Pokémon evolve by trading and some others evolve by giving them a specific item. It's really fun to discover all the ways to evolve a Pokémon.
There's also a multiplayer aspect in this game. When it was released, it was really fun, because almost everyone with a Gameboy had this game. Nowadays, it's hard to find someone to play with. But that doesn't make the multiplayer boring. You can battle or trade Pokémon with your friends, which can help you fill your Pokédex. The Pokédex is a device that records all the Pókemon you've seen or captured. It's really fun to fill. In total there's 151 Pokémon, but one of them could only be obtained by an event, where you had to attend to get the Pokémon. It was pretty cool to have a secret Pokémon, but nowadays it's almost impossible to get it without cheating. You'd have to trade it to someone else.
10/10
Sound: The sound in Pokémon is pretty good. The different songs have about 3 different instruments playing at the same time, which mix in cool songs. However, when there's a sound effect, one of the instruments has to stop, because the GB can't keep all those sounds at the same time. Overall it's still pretty good, but sometimes it's a little repetitive.
9/10
Graphics: The graphics in Pokémon are OK. While some Pokémon look pretty good, some others look rather ugly. This has been corrected in later games. Overall the graphics are good but don't expect anything amazing.
8/10
Story: The storyline in the game is pretty basic. You're a guy who wants to become the best Pokémon trainer in the region. In order to do that, you have to battle 8 different Gym leaders, which are in 8 different cities. Once you beat them, you have to beat the Elite Four to be the Pokémon league champion. However that's not your only task. You ALSO have to stop team Rocket, a team which mistreats Pokémon and uses them for evil plans. Overall, the story is pretty good for this type of game. However it's not great. The plot twists are little and insignificant. You don't expect a great story and you'll be alright.
7/10
Concept: The concept back when this was released was great. This game reinvented RPG's in a way we didn't know was possible, and it did it in the Gameboy! But that's what Nintendo published games usually do: do an amazing game within hardware limitations.
10/10
Difficulty: This game isn't too difficult. Now, that may be a good or a bad thing depending on your taste. This game doesn't need to be too hard, because the point of it is to build a team, and battle your friends with different strategies, and not so much the single-player game. However nowadays, people usually don't play the GB, so it's pretty hard to find someone to play with.
6/10
Replay Value: This is one of the most replayable games in the Gameboy. It's only competitors are probably other Pokémon games. The one player adventure lasts about 30 hours, but there's a lot more into it. Building a competitive team, and battling other trainers, can easily take a lot of time. It may be hard to do so nowadays, but this still pretty replayable, since two runs will never feel the same.
10/10
Fun: Well, what's more important: Is this game still fun now? The answer is maybe. It just depends on how many people you have to play with you. As a single player game, this is kind of repetitive and shallow. Halfway through the game, I found myself playing just to beat the game, rather than for the fun. Now, don't get me wrong. I love this game, and I definitely love Pokémon. But the games are always better if you have someone to play with.
7/10
Overall, you should definitely try this game if you don't know how Pokémon started. However, don't expect a really fun experience. But one thing is sure. This game earns merit for innovating the genre and games in general.
Well, I want anyone for reading this. I hope you really like it. If you did I recommend you track me, since I have many more reviews coming. Any suggestions, complaints, or feedback, will be accepted, so don't hesitate to PM me. Again, thanks for reading!