Pokémon Blue Version (Japanese): Difference between revisions

Pokémon Blue Version ポケットモンスター　青
Box art of Pokémon Blue Version, depicting Blastoise.
Basic info
Platform:	Game Boy (enhanced for the Super Game Boy and Super Game Boy 2)
Category:	RPG
Players:	2 players simultaneous
Connectivity:	Game Link Cable (Game Boy) 3DS Wireless (3DS VC)
Developer:	Game Freak
Publisher:	Nintendo
Part of:	Generation I core series
Ratings
CERO:	A (3DS VC)
ESRB:	Not applicable
ACB:	Not applicable
OFLC:	Not applicable
PEGI:	Not applicable
GRAC:	Not applicable
GSRR:	N/A
Release dates
Japan:	October 15, 1996 (Game Boy, CoroCoro Comic)[1][2] October 10, 1999 (Game Boy, retail)[1][2] February 27, 2016 (3DS VC)
North America:	As Red and Blue: September 30, 1998 (Game Boy) February 27, 2016 (3DS VC)
Australia:	As Red and Blue: November 1, 1998 (Game Boy) February 27, 2016 (3DS VC)
Europe:	As Red and Blue: October 8, 1999 (Game Boy) February 27, 2016 (3DS VC)
South Korea:	Unreleased
Hong Kong:	N/A
Taiwan:	N/A
Websites
Japanese:	Pokémon.co.jp Nintendo.co.jp
English:	N/A

Pokémon Blue Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター　青 Pocket Monsters: Blue) is the third core series Pokémon game for Game Boy, released in Japan on October 15, 1996 exclusively to subscribers of CoroCoro Comic^[1][2] and on October 10, 1999 to general retail^[1][2] as a minor revision of Pokémon Red and Green Versions, which were released earlier that year. It was thus the first solitary version in the core series Pokémon games.

On November 12, 2015, a Nintendo Direct announced that Blue will be released in Japan on February 27, 2016, the Pokémon 20th Anniversary, for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.

Various fixes in the game include a graphics and sound upgrade, as well as the removal of several known glitches that had been found in the original pair. Like its paired predecessors, it was never truly released outside of Japan; however, while Red and Green provided the wild Pokémon and game-exclusive Pokémon lists for the rest of the world's Pokémon Red and Blue, Blue provided the graphics, game engine, and script for translation.

Plot

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Much as would become standard for solitary versions, players follow the plot of the previous two games. Like in Red and Green, the player starts in Pallet Town in the Kanto region, receiving a starter Pokémon from Professor Oak. As before, the choices are Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, and the rival chooses the starter that is super-effective against the player's starter.

Once more, the eight Gym Leaders of Kanto are Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, Erika, Koga, Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni, while the Elite Four are Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, and Lance, with the rival still in the Champion's place.

Again, the evil Team Rocket is causing chaos across the region, and it is up to the player to defeat them.

Changes from Red and Green

• Kanto is aesthetically redesigned, with the design of doors, signposts and other tilesets redesigned. Cerulean Cave, the game's final dungeon, receives the most significant overhaul, sporting a completely different layout. These designs would later be reused for the international Pokémon Red and Blue. Indigo Plateau remains unaltered.
• All Pokémon have new front sprites but retain the same back sprites from Red and Green. Trainers and the literal Ghost have the same sprites from Red and Green.
• In-game trades are changed to different Pokémon.
• Game Corner prizes are different.
• The introduction of the game features a battle between a Gengar and a Jigglypuff, as opposed to a Gengar and a Nidorino, as it was in Pokémon Red and Green. This change carried on into the localized version of Pokémon Blue, while the original appeared in the localized Pokémon Red.
• The places where some Pokémon are obtainable was changed:
  • Jynx and Lickitung, only available through in-game trades in Red and Green, are now found in the wild.
  • Kangaskhan and Tauros are now only available through in-game trades.
  • Raticate, Clefairy, and Rapidash are now found in Cerulean Cave.
  • Ditto is now found in Rock Tunnel.
  • Psyduck and Golduck do not appear on land inside the Seafoam Islands, but Psyduck can still be encountered by fishing at various locations.
• Missingno. was given the placeholder Pokédex entry コメント さくせいちゅう Comment to be written. and became the ??? species. This was not translated, resulting in a glitched Pokédex entry in the localized Pokémon Red and Blue and the corruption of Missingno.'s original height and weight (1.0 m (3.3 ft) and 10.0 kg (22.1 lb), respectively), showing instead a height of 10.0 ft (3.1 m) and a weight of 3507.2 lb (1590.8 kg).^[3]

Features

Gyms

Much as in Red and Green, there are eight Pokémon Gyms in Kanto, each with their own type affiliation. The Gym Leaders are Brock (Rock), Misty (Water), Lt. Surge (Electric), Erika (Grass), Koga (Poison), Sabrina (Psychic), Blaine (Fire), and Giovanni (Ground).

Elite Four

The Elite Four at Indigo Plateau also remains unchanged, with Lorelei (Ice), Bruno (Fighting), Agatha (Ghost), and Lance (Dragon). The Champion is Blue, who has no type specialization.

Pokémon

Blue did not introduce any new Pokémon, and so the 151 present in Red and Green are the only ones obtainable. Like Red and Green, some Pokémon are missing from Blue and must be traded from another game to complete the Pokédex or evolved from less powerful forms.

Missing Pokémon

The following Pokémon are not obtainable in Pokémon Blue. In order to obtain any of the below Pokémon, they must be traded from one of the paired versions of Generation I, or from Generation II. The table below indicates which paired Generation I game has that Pokémon available.

Blue 0023 Ekans Poison R 0024 Arbok Poison R 0037 Vulpix Fire G 0038 Ninetales Fire G 0056 Mankey Fighting R 0057 Primeape Fighting R 0069 Bellsprout Grass Poison G 0070 Weepinbell Grass Poison G 0071 Victreebel Grass Poison G 0125 Electabuzz Electric R 0126 Magmar Fire G

Connectivity

Like in Red and Green, players may trade Pokémon between two cartridges using a Game Boy Game Link Cable. To take full advantage of this feature, several Pokémon are exclusive to each game of the pair, making it required that a person trade with others in order to complete their Pokédex. The Game Link Cable also makes possible battles with another player, allowing one to pit their Pokémon against new challenges. The game can trade and battle with Japanese versions of Pokémon Red, Green, Blue and Pokémon Yellow. It can also trade with Japanese versions of Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal via the Time Capsule. Pokémon Blue is completely incompatible with games from Generation III onward.

Trades between Pokémon games in different languages are possible in this generation; however, a Japanese game cannot connect with a non-Japanese game. The latter will always result in corruption if attempted. This is due to the fact that the games cannot automatically translate the Pokémon data from Japanese to a different language or vice versa, since there is not enough room on either cartridge for all of the text, namely kana and the Latin alphabet (a feature that later became possible). If a battle between a Japanese game and a non-Japanese game is attempted, the battle simply does not work, with the save files left unharmed.

Pokémon Blue is compatible with Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Stadium 2 (released as Pokémon Stadium in English) and Pokémon Stadium Gold and Silver (released as Pokémon Stadium 2 in English). While link battles are not possible directly between Red and Blue and the Generation II games, a player may challenge a Generation II game using Pokémon Stadium Gold and Silver.

Virtual Console

The Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console release uses Nintendo 3DS wireless communication as a substitute for the Game Link cable.

Development

Main article: Pokémon Red and Green beta

An error made during development causes the Pokémon depicted during Professor Oak's introductory lecture to be a Nidorino but with the cry of a Nidorina. This was already the case in the Japanese Red and Green and it was not fixed in Red and Blue.

Soundtrack

Main article: Game Boy: Entire Pokémon Sounds Collection CD

The soundtrack release for Pokémon Red and Green also applies to Pokémon Blue.

Staff

Main article: Staff of Pokémon Red and Blue#Staff list

Flyers

Retail

Dated September 30, 1999 (source)

• 

  Front

• 

  Back

Trivia

• Because the script for Pokémon Blue, rather than that of Pokémon Red and Green, was used for the translation of the Japanese trio into Pokémon Red and Blue, translation errors were made for two of the in-game trades.
  • The old man who trades the player an Electrode on Cinnabar Island claims that the Raichu he received "went and evolved". As Raichu does not have an evolved form, this makes no sense whatsoever. In the context of Pokémon Blue, it makes sense as the player trades away a Kadabra, which evolves through trade, for a Graveler.
  • The old man that trades the player a Jynx in Cerulean City claims that the Poliwhirl he received "went and evolved". While Poliwhirl does evolve, it does not evolve by trade in Generation I but rather through the use of a Water Stone. In the context of Pokémon Blue, the old man trades away a Haunter for a Machoke, which does evolve through trade.

References

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.