Still A Classic Even Today
Reviewer's Note: Although Red & Blue are technically separate games, due to their minor differences, they will be reviewed as a single package.
This is it. The original. The granddaddy of the media cash-cow franchise that Nintendo still relies on to make some serious dough. Though I kind of fell out of the loop after the Gold/Silver era, it's my understanding that the series hasn't changed much. But if that means the gameplay is unchanged, fine by me. You play as a Pokemon Trainer, entering random battles on a continuous overworld map, and your objective is to do what the tagline says: you gotta catch 'em all. The original games feature 150 Pokemon (the only real ones), with each version of the game holding 11 exclusive Pokemon. The core gameplay still holds up to this day, though the random battles pop up a little too often. The addictive collection quality of the game still captures your attention to this day, though you often find yourself capturing a multitude of the same Pokemon. I can't count the number of times I had boxes full of Ratata and Magikarp. In the end, the original Pokemon games still stand as the quintissential peak of the series.
