Retro Fix:- Pokemon Yellow
1999 was a golden year for handheld gaming. With the truly astronomical success of the original Pokémon titles for the Gameboy the previous year, an enhanced version was released to tie-in elements of the animé series, and Pokémon Yellow was born.
Whilst the popularity of Pokémon has certainly dwindled in recent years, in the Western world at least, The Newb Review thought we’d send out tom01255 to take you, our beloved readers, on a trip down memory lane and try to explain just why Pokémon Yellow was so great.
Let’s begin with something of a contentious statement. Pokémon Yellow is the epitome of handheld gaming. Forget about Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Super Mario and even Tetris. Yellow combined a compelling story and intuitive gameplay mechanics, but the underpinning idea; that of reinventing bug collecting as a worldwide phenomenon was so Japanese kitsch, it really shouldn’t have worked. But massive sales have shot the Pokémon franchise way beyond that of other titles; topped only by the Mario franchise in terms of absolute sales figures.
The idea of catching and exploiting various creatures should have presented the vulgar rebirth of a cock-fighting mentality. But the overwhelming charm of each species and the emphasis on love and respect for Pokémon in order to succeed (a notion that falls short when you consider the game doesn’t allow you to particularly mistreat your Pokémon – it would have been nice to beat Bulbasaur is all I’m saying) gave players a subtle moral message that is missing in a world where shooting people in the face is often touted as the height of gaming prowess.
Don't ask what Ash is doing with his other thumb
The gaming premise is simple; you battle creatures one on one, knocking opponents out to achieve victory. Winning battles grants experience, which increases the strength of your Pokémon, and capturing more powerful Pokémon bolsters your team. Strategy is introduced with the use of elemental abilities. Each move and Pokémon is categorised by element, with fire beating grass, water beating fire etc.
Sure, try to burn a water pokemon, that'll work wonders... Moron
If you haven’t ever played Pokémon Yellow, I urge you to rush out and get a copy right now. Later generations of the game convoluted the game’s structure with overly ambitious night and day mechanics and a tag team structure that is needlessly confusing and bars new players from the franchise. The bare-bones battling with a choice of four moves for each of your creatures is all you need, and the added strategy of carrying only six Pokémon at any time means you really have to think about the situation you are about to encounter and which Pokémon to take.
Ok, so the game can be beaten relatively easily if you grind through to level cap your Pokémon, but doing this isn’t in the spirit of the game. By adding your own challenge, either by seeing how fast you can complete it, or trying to get the lowest level Pokémon possible into the Hall of Fame at the end of the game, Yellow presents as tough a challenge as anything out there.
Personal hygiene isn't his strong suit but "Mankey" is a bit harsh
The game roughly follows the narrative of the animated series, with Pikachu unwillingly following you in the beginning and slowly appreciating you as a trainer more and more throughout the story. Whilst Red and Blue offered a choice of three starting Pokémon, Yellow forces Pikachu upon you. But you have the opportunity to attain the three starting Pokémon from various people on your journey.
When you get to the ship in game, let your Butterfree go and wipe the tear from your eye as you do so. Sure, you lose a strong Pokémon that has taken hours to raise, but I guarantee it will make you genuinely happy. Not only have you given Butterfree the freedom he so craved, you’ve helped strengthen him to survive in the wild. Gaming doesn’t get more beautiful than this.
Aww. Lovely. Takes me right back to my tiny cupboard room at home, playing pokemon through the N64 attachment in fast speed.
I think the Pokemon franchise could really do with being revitalised. They need to take the presentation in a new direction and add some love into the story, like Yellow did! Bring back Ash, I say. The pure, grated, matured cheese makes me happy!
Apparently HeartGold and SoulSilver are the best Pokemon games ever. I definitely need to get a DS now.