"A Ton of Games"

JRPG #1/100

#Pokémon Red and Blue

Pokemon Blue was my first ever experience into the world of JRPG's, or even RPG's in general. Like everyone else at the time, I got completely sucked into the Pokemon craze. Nothing appeals to a kid quite like collecting, and this game was a genius of design. Despite there being 150+ characters in the game, I remembered them all. Not only that, I still remember them all to this day. Very few games have ever achieved this level of attatchment to it's characters since. The use of HM's to progress through the game encouraged you to try out new Pokemon, and the constant theme of "catching them all" promoted experimentation and led you to seek new, more powerful creatures. Although incredibly simple and if I'm honest, painfully slow, the battle system was fun and watching that health bar drop just low enough to allow an easy catch was exhilirating.

I'm not sure how much my enjoyment of the game was influenced by the "Pokemon Mania". Merchandise, toys, card games, tv shows, etc. flooded the playground and everyone was caught up in it, from kids to adults. This is perhaps the genesis of my love for game discussion. Everyone swapped ideas and rumours, tips and strategies, spoke of their favourite Pokemon and their best moves, had "races" to see who could evolve their pokemon first ro who could hit level 100 without rare candies. It was a great time to be a kid and it definitely had a positive effect on my love for games :)

It seems ridiculous even recommending Pokemon, but if somehow you have been living under a very large rock your whole life, give Pokemon a go, you owe it to yourself :)

8/10