Pokémon Red and Blue Versions

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Revision as of 06:41, 27 February 2012 by Blaziken257 (talk | contribs) (This misconception is, sadly, extremely common -- I have successfully traded between my Spanish Blue cartridge and all my English carts in the first two generations many times, and it even worked with my English Stadium and Stadium 2 carts.)
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This article is about the international releases. For the original Japanese releases, see Pokémon Red and Green Versions and Pokémon Blue Version (Japanese).

Pokémon Red Version
File:Pokemon red box.jpg
Pokémon Red Version's boxart, depicting Charizard
Pokémon Blue Version
File:Pokemon blue box.jpg
Pokémon Blue Version's boxart, depicting Blastoise
Basic info
Platform: Game Boy
Category: RPG
Players: 2 players simultaneous
Connectivity: Link cable
Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Nintendo
Part of: Generation I main series
Ratings
CERO: N/A
ESRB: E
ACB: N/A
OFLC: G8+
PEGI: 3
GRAC: N/A
GSRR: N/A
Release dates
Japan: February 27, 1996*
October 10, 1996*
North America: September 30, 1998[1]
Australia: October 23, 1998
Europe: October 1, 1999[2]
South Korea: N/A
Hong Kong: N/A
Taiwan: N/A
Websites
Japanese: N/A
English: Official Site
StrategyWiki
StrategyWiki has more about this subject:

Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version were the first Pokémon games to see release outside of Japan, becoming available in North America on September 30, 1998, and thus being the first Pokémon media to hit the international market. The pair closely followed the release of the Pokémon anime, which began airing September 8, 1998[3], and within a year, Pokémon was well-known as a popular Nintendo franchise, with a third version, Pokémon Yellow, on the way.

Unlike later generations, Red and Blue were not the same as they were in their Japanese releases. Japan had gotten their first pair of Pokémon games as Red and Green, which in all aspects were the same as Red and Blue with the exception of sprite design. When preparing the games for their English release, it was decided that Red and Green would be merged with Japan's already-released third version, Blue, for its improved graphics, sound, and lack of easily-accessed gamebreaking glitches.

Despite being released towards the end of their console's lifespan, they quickly became the best-selling non-bundled games released for the Game Boy.

Plot

Template:Spoiler Illustrating the original Pokémon gameplay concepts, players begin their game in Pallet Town, a small town in the Kanto region, on the same day as their former best friend and now rival. Professor Oak calls the player to his laboratory, and allows the player to choose from starter Pokémon: the Template:Type2 Bulbasaur, Template:Type2 Charmander, or the Template:Type2 Squirtle. After the rival has jealously chosen the starter that weakens the player's choice and had a preliminary battle, the player leaves for his journey across the region, challenging 8 Gym Leaders and other Trainers on their way to the ultimate goal: the Pokémon League at the Indigo Plateau.

Along the way, the player will meet up with his rival several times, and have multiple run-ins with the insidious Team Rocket, a criminal group that seeks to use Pokémon for their own gain. The player will ultimately find out that the boss of this evil group, Giovanni, is actually the final Gym Leader in the game.

At the end of the game the player will have a champion battle against Blue after beating the Elite Four.

Blurb

"You've finally been granted your Pokémon Trainer's license. Now, it's time to head out to become the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer. It's going to take all you've got to collect 150 Pokémon in this enormous world. Catch and train monsters like the shockingly-cute Pikachu. Face off against Blastoise's torrential water cannons. Stand strong when facing Pidgeot's stormy Gust. Trade with friends and watch your Pokémon evolve. Important—no single Pokémon can win at all. Can you develop the ultimate Pokémon strategy to defeat the eight Gym Leaders and become the greatest Pokémon Master of all time?"

Connectivity

Like in Red and Green, players may trade Pokémon between two cartridges using a Game Boy 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 link cable also makes possible battles with another player, allowing one to pit his or her Pokémon against new challenges.

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 Western alphabet, in so many languages (a feature that would later become possible).

Features

Gyms

File:Redtitle.png
Red's title screen. Identicle to Blue's.*

Players are introduced to the first eight Pokémon Gyms, each with their own type affiliation, of the series, led by Brock (Rock), Misty (Water), Lt. Surge (Electric), Erika (Grass), Koga (Poison), Sabrina (Psychic), Blaine (Fire) and Giovanni (Ground).

Elite Four

The Elite Four of Kanto are a step above the rest, all located at the Indigo Plateau and ready to take on all challengers. In order, they are Lorelei (Ice), Bruno (Fighting), Agatha (Ghost) and Lance (Dragon). The final battle a Trainer has is against the Pokémon Champion, the rival, who does not have a type specialization.

Pokémon

Each game contains pre-recorded data on 151 different species of Pokémon, including Mew, a Pokémon unavailable to players of either game under normal conditions. Despite this, not all Pokémon are available to the player, regardless of version; trades must occur between players in order to complete their Pokédex without the use of cheats or glitches. Mew is the only Pokémon in these games that must be acquired through attending either a Nintendo sponsored event, a glitch, or cheating.

Version exclusives

The following Pokémon are only obtainable in one game of this pair. In order to obtain Pokémon exclusive to the other game of this pair, they must be traded either from that game or from another compatible game of Generation I or Generation II which has that Pokémon available.

Red
0023 Ekans Ekans
Poison
0024 Arbok Arbok
Poison
0043 Oddish Oddish
Grass Poison
0044 Gloom Gloom
Grass Poison
0045 Vileplume Vileplume
Grass Poison
0056 Mankey Mankey
Fighting
0057 Primeape Primeape
Fighting
0058 Growlithe Growlithe
Fire
0059 Arcanine Arcanine
Fire
0123 Scyther Scyther
Bug Flying
0125 Electabuzz Electabuzz
Electric
Blue
0027 Sandshrew Sandshrew
Ground
0028 Sandslash Sandslash
Ground
0037 Vulpix Vulpix
Fire
0038 Ninetales Ninetales
Fire
0052 Meowth Meowth
Normal
0053 Persian Persian
Normal
0069 Bellsprout Bellsprout
Grass Poison
0070 Weepinbell Weepinbell
Grass Poison
0071 Victreebel Victreebel
Grass Poison
0126 Magmar Magmar
Fire
0127 Pinsir Pinsir
Bug

Compatibility

Red and Blue can trade with all games from Generations I and II, provided that a Japanese version of the game isn't being traded with a non-Japanese version. 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 2.

Pokémon Red and Blue are completely incompatible with Generations III, IV and V.

Reception

The games received positive reviews from the press, receiving a perfect 10/10 "Masterful" rating from IGN.[4] The games received an average score of about 89% on GameRankings[5], the second highest on the site for a main series Pokémon game, and the 3rd best score for a Game Boy title.[6]

Criticism

While bringing Pokémon to international fame and continuing the legacy of the Japanese Red and Green, Pokémon Red and Blue have been met with much criticism, especially compared to more recent releases in the series. Aside from the number of glitches present in the games, many Pokémon look very little like their appearance in the anime, which premiered nearly simultaneous with the games' North American release, or later games, which improved on several other aspects as well as the graphics.

The two games are also notorious for their several drastic glitches, among them the fabled Missingno., Glitch City, and the Mew glitch. Despite this, the glitches are arguably minimal points of criticism due to the reward value that comes from their activation, such as the multiplication of a player's sixth item that happens when Missingno. is encountered.

Spr 1b 109.png

109.png

Koffing's Red and Blue sprite Koffing's current sprite


Trivia

  • The American staff in charge of localizing the games tried to change the Pokémon designs, however, Tsunekaz Ishihara refused the proposal.[7]
  • The blurb on the back of the boxes states that 139 different Pokémon can be obtained in each game without trading. This, however, includes all Pokémon that the player chooses (i.e., both the Omanyte and Kabuto families are counted), in which this statement is only true for the Japanese version of Pokémon Blue. Therefore, the true total of different Pokémon obtainable in one adventure (without trading) is 124, due to the fact that four Pokémon only evolve once traded.
  • The Pokémon depicted during Professor Oak's introductory lecture is a Nidorino. However, the cry that plays belongs to Nidorina. This is actually a mistake that was carried over from the Japanese Red, Green, and Blue.
  • Although these games are improved and combined versions of the Japanese Red, Green, and Blue, their respective special borders are still retained from their original Japanese versions, which are displayed only on a Super Game Boy or in Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2 when played through the Game Boy Tower.
  • In one episode of the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond", a child on a bus is playing a Game Boy with a Pokémon Blue cartridge in it.
  • The TV in the player's house at the beginning of the game is displaying a scene from a movie depicting four boys on railroad tracks; this movie is most likely the 1986 film "Stand by Me".
  • In Pokémon Red, the opening scene shows a Gengar and a Nidorino engaged in battle. In Pokémon Blue, the Nidorino is replaced with a Jigglypuff. This change was not retained in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which both depict a Gengar and Nidorino squaring off. This may be due to FireRed and LeafGreen being remakes of the original Red and Green, however.

In other languages

Language Title
France Flag.png European French Pokémon Version Rouge et Version Bleue
Germany Flag.png German Pokémon Rote Edition und Blaue Edition
Italy Flag.png Italian Pokémon Versione Rossa e Versione Blu
Spain Flag.png European Spanish Pokémon Edición Roja y Edición Azul

References

Template:Main series

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