Pokémon Red and Blue

Japanese Release Date: N/A (See also Pocket Monster Red & Green),

American Release Date: September 1st, 1998

Pokémon Red and Blue are the first Pokémon games to be released in America and are often reffered to, along with Yellow, as the first Generation of Pokémon RPGs.

On the outset, you, as the protagonist, are going to be given a Pokémon by Professor Oak and embark on a journey around the region of Kanto to participate in the Indigo Pokémon League. Shortly after recieving your first Pokémon, the Professor asks you to fill a Pokédex - a high-tech encyclopedia about Pokémon which automatically records data on caught Pokémon.

As you leave your hometown and set off to your journey, you will encounter, challenge and defeat your rival, Eight Gym leaders, Team Rocket (a group of Pokémon gangsters), and countless trainers in a competition called Pokémon Battle, in order to win the eight required badges to participate in the Pokémon League and finally challenge the Elite Four, and then the Champion in order to become the new Pokémon Champion!

These two games were both released on the same day - September 1st, 1998 in North America. They are marketed (and are) two different versions of the same game - the only major difference is the rarety of the different Pokémon. Indeed, a Pokémon that would be rare or even absent from one version could often be found in the other frequently.

This aspect of the games highlights one other, the multiplayer. With a Link Cable, two Game Boys, and two copies of any version (of the same generation), it is possible to play with a friend in one of two modes: Trade, and Battle.

These aspects are all what defined the basic formula for the three next generations of Pokémon RPGs to come.

Although that the American Red and Blue versions use the same Pokémon distribution as the Japanese Red & Green respectively, they use the same engine as the Japanese Blue version.

Page was last modified on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:34:35