Release: 2018
System: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Game Freak, Nintendo
Genre: RPG
Gameplay Stats: 32 hours played, Beat Elite 4
25 years later and I still want to be the very best! That no one ever was! One of the first games that I have real concrete memories of was the Pokemon series. I remember borrowing Pokemon Blue and a Gameboy Pocket from a friend growing up several times to finish this game. And then saving up to buy my own Gameboy Color with Pokemon Yellow. Does this remake live up to the hype and nostalgia of the originals??
Visuals: This game is actually beautiful. Undoubtedly the best a Pokemon game has looked to this point. One of the best parts of Pokemon Yellow growing up was being able to see your little Pikachu sprite following you around on your travels through Kanto. Being able to see a full 3D model Pikachu sitting on your shoulder, just like Ash from the anime, is kind of a dream come true. Pikachu is just as cute as you'd imagine and shows as much emotion as the one from the show. All of the other Pokemon are modeled as well, which is really nice. No more random encounters! You can pick and choose which of the pocket monsters to catch now.
Audio: The music here is a lovely update of the original tunes. Nothing really struck me as new or awesome, but the songs were definitely recognizable. Like pretty much all RPGs, the music kind of wore out its welcome. Particularly the battle music. The Pokemon sounds were finally updated! It finally doesn't sound like it did back in the 90's. A standout song for me was the Lavender Town theme. It was creepy back on the GameBoy and it is way creepier now hearing music coming from a 1990's sound chip in 2019.
Plot: It's the same as it was back in the 90's. Not much new here apart from your buddy (Pikachu or Eevee depending on your version) is the one that gets all of the HMs. Which seems a bit weird. It makes arranging your party much easier since you don't need an HM slave(s), but it kind of removes the need for a balanced team at all. The plot seems the same as it was back in Pokemon Yellow, but it stands out a bit more here because the rest of the game seems to be updated while the plot, the reason for everything else, has been left largely unchanged. I guess this is more remaster than remake.
Gameplay: Pokemon fights are still the same! You and your opponent take turns choosing which moves your monsters will use against each other. What has changed here is that you play the whole game with the EXP share active for all Pokemon in your party. Which is kind of nice! It removes the needless juggling of older titles to make sure your weaker Pokemon can hold their own to some degree. Also new is that Pokemon encounters play out like they do in the mobile game Pokemon GO. You don't have to weaken a wild Pokemon (few exceptions) to catch them, you just let loose with berries and Pokeballs right out of the gate. Catching the Pokemon and trainer battles are what gives EXP now and they give it to your whole party. They balance this out by adding streaks to catching the same Pokemon for bonus experience and higher likelihood of catching shinies. This is possible because you can see all the wild Pokemon wandering the map, which is really nice. It takes some of the randomness out of the game.
Overall, I didn't really enjoy my time with this game as much as I remember doing previously. These games are kind of a grind and they really don't have an enjoyable plot going throughout. I guess the enjoyment comes from collecting, but catching the original 150 for the umpteenth time wasn't as enjoyable as I thought it would be. Despite the updated graphics and some updated mechanics, this formula seems extremely dated. I keep trying to relive that nostalgia and reminding myself that the games haven't grown with me as I have grown up. If you haven't experienced these games before, I think this would be a good introduction! But for a replay I might suggest you skip. [7/10]
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