The Gamer's Quarter

[Legal Step]

So this morning I dusted off my old purple game boy color, dug the used Pokemon Gold cartridge out my drawer, I purchase a month or so ago, and started a brand new game. I never played Gold, but already I like it. Apparently at this stage of the game Pokeballs are in short supply and the professor has some kind of emergency. I believe it involves the jerky kid who I had to battle after meeting Mr. Pokemon...it is a great little game.

My timing is probably horrible to do this though because right now the internet is waged is a battle to the death over DS or PSP and soon many americans will be savoring their fresh ports of various EA and Activision games on Sony's new 250.00 monster. I feel like a rebel playing a game with 16bit? graphics with llittle squished characters and a slightly primitive machine. I hope to finish this game before Emerald comes out...I don't see why not.

Oh yeah and I started off with that little fire Pokemon, it's a girl so I didn't give it a nickname for fear of sounding gay or confusing its gender...if it was a boy I might have picked Billy to honor Tim.

[SuperWes]

I guess this is as good a place as any to announce that my Pokemon rival is named Timmy, and based on a certain person that many of us know...

-Wes
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[Shapermc]

[Legal Step]

What you speak of is the berry problem with Ruby and Saphire. Nintendo patched it up in a variety of ways. One via the pokemonbox which is really a steal at 20.00, with pokemon coliseum(getting Jirachi from the bonus disc) and the other being getting Fire Red or Leaf Green and trading with Ruby or Saphire.

The berry problem basically made it impossible to grow berries after a certain period of time, but the exact nature of the bug eluded me.

[Shapermc]

Ok, I really have no desire to get Poke Stadium. Is there a non bugged version of a GBA game? You seem to indicate that Red or Leaf are bug free...

[Legal Step]

Yes. They are fine and the bug isn't a big deal in Ruby or Saphire either. It deosn't affect gameplay. I just went searching for Colliseum and apparently it is tough to come by these days.

[Shapermc]

So ... would you recommend any of these game? (The GBA ones).

[Legal Step]

Yeah get regular Red, or Fire Red...or if you can find Gold and Silver get them. Right now I'm on a quest for all the Pokemon games. Pokemon and GT4...that's all I need and Dynasty Warriors.

[seryogin]

What's your opinion of the new Pokemon game coming out? The title eludus me, but it's something green.

[Shapermc]

What the hell is the difference between Fire Red and Leaf Green? Or Ruby and Saphire for that matter. I only have the Pokemon Yellow Pikachu one.

[ajutla]

I like Pokemon, don't get me wrong, but if you're not ten years old, there isn't a difference.

[RaBeeWilliams]

[Blazehedgehog]

Is it like, "Restart Pokemon" month or something? In the chat room I frequent, we all just started up new games of Fire Red and are sort of racing each other to the finish.

The differences between them all... basically, yeah, are Pokemon. There are about 15 or so Pokemon exclusive to each version of the game, so the "gotta catch'em all" mentality means you'll have to trade with a friend or, at the very least, own two gameboys and two versions of Pokemon.

At first I thought Shaper ment the differences between Fire/Leaf and Red/Blue, in which case they added a whole bunch of sidequests after you beat the Elite Four where you can catch R/S Pokemon. They also changed a couple of puzzles in the main quest.

The only unwanted memories I have from the Pokemon craze is the fact that there are so many people out there who are willing to hate something just because it's popular. I don't know how many people I've met who have told me that Pokemon is "gay" and for "kids" when they've never actively played any of the games or even attempted to understand what it was all about. (Or they've only seen the show, which really is a horrible first impression.)

[Persona-sama]

The Gold/Silver generation were the best Pokemon games.

I say this because with the current generations of Pokemon - they're missing the point. They go about improving the graphics, tinkering with types of Pokemon, and add only redundant changes to the frame that was established in the first Red/Blue/Green games. It's like J-RPGs or strategy RPGs, only adding upon what's been established without an understanding of why certain things were first used or created. The current Pokemon staff is confused and even afraid to improve anything G/S established.

Why?
Because G/S created a Pokemon world with CONTEXT.
Gold and Silver only improved aspects of the original games that helped develop an actual sense of a "world."

First, they added the element of time in the game. With time, players got a different experience of the world. Depending on one's sleeping habits, one would either only encounter diurnial creatures or nocturnal ones. Because of this, the monsters also gained context themselves - they were no longer prey that were dumped into a grassy field waiting for players to abuse and enslave. Now they were actually creatures of the environment, doing their own activities at their own pace. I can still remember my intial shock when I was headbutting a tree at night to find items only to encounter a sleeping crow in battle! And then discovering that Eevee had new evolutions exclusive to what time of the day it was when it reached a certain level - I still remember battling my friend at school, completely losing all my Pokemon except for my Espeon. When I finally threw it out into battle, I remember my friend's initial shock... and then laughter. And then he pulled out his Umbreon and Faint Attack-ed me to death. That sleepless bastard...

In addition to just the cycle of night and day, a weekly calendar system was established. This allowed for daily special events at locations and cities players would otherwise never visit again. I would never bike down that useless underground passage again if it weren't for those weekly special swapmeet stores with low, low prices. Even old cities like Pallet Town got new meaning when I could fly down there every Saturday and get one of my Pokemon a beautiful makeover from Gary/Blue/Green's sister May, provided I make it down there before noon.

Second, to add to the personality of the monsters, all the pokemon gained genders as well. They could now breed and produce another generation, giving the player the ability to take their favorite battling slaves and create an even stronger breed to tame and train anew.

The game also introduced "shiny" pokemon - variations of traditional Pokemon except differently colored and also with a special sparkle animation before battle. This encouraged players to keep training their monsters by battling various grass fields, hoping to encounter and capture one of these rare monsters. (There was only about a 1/58600 chance of seeing one, or something ridiculously absurd like that.) Hell, I know I wouldn't have otherwise raised a Milktank if it weren't for that one encounter, in that moonlit grassy field full of Meowths, when it popped out of nowhere, sparkling, and Rollouted right in my face.

To also encourage battling in the wild, the game also introduced a Pokemon virus, called "Pokerus," that doubled the experience gained from battle by any Pokemon who had the virus. The virus could only be spread if a player caught a Pokemon that contained the virus and once a Pokemon was afflicted with it, after a week a Pokemon would gain immunity to its effects. It was like a treat for power levelers and those who liked to capture multiples of the same Pokemon.

Third, the game added a cellphone to the mix. A CELLPHONE. The player could now record any willing NPC's phone number and dial him/her up whenever the player got bored. I mean, hell, I could call my Mom and ask how much money I had in the bank. I could talk to Bill and ask him if my Pokemon box had any spaces left. I could hit up a fisherman and ask him if any rare Pokemon were swimming by lately. I could even gossip with girls to see when the rarest sales were going down! NPCs had a purpose now besides saying useless dialogue. And if I was ever bored, I could always count on calling up young trainers and asking them to battle me again (and their Pokemon actually leveled up the longer you hadn't seen them!). I mean, they actually seemed like PEOPLE now. That's certainly something.

Finally, the game now had a history. Everyone played the original Red/Blue/Yellow/Magenta etc. games - everyone knew about Ash (Red) and Gary (Blue)'s rivalry, the pathetic terrorist attempts by Team Rocket, and going down that long Indigo Plateau to ultimately fight the Elite Four. Now Goid and Silver let you go back and see what time had done - you could visit your original hometown/island after beating the Elite Four for the first time. Characters changed: some gym leaders moved on to become members of the Elite Four (Koga, you sassy ninja, you) while others trained harder and improved their own Pokemon lineups (Brock, where did you find an Omastar?!). Places changed too: volcanic erruptions sunk islands (Poor Blaine!) while other towns gained new skyscrapers (non-mafia run this time!)

And then... that final battle inside the deepest, most difficult cave in the entire game. The battle where there wasn't any need for words because you and your opponent couldn't exchange any if you wanted tol. Maaaaaaaaaaan!




Shitt, man. This game did more than any Pokemon game does now. The new iterations completely missed the point of improving the game, ignoring everything that added layers to the gameplay experience and instead opting to do only different variations of established things just with better graphics. I mean, what's the point of having time in the game if it doesn't effect anything at all? Why bother to make 100 new Pokemon when they're not even defined or established in a believable world? Why bother making a sequel to a game only to cut off all ties with the previously established games altogether?

It's just.. meaningless.²



So go blow off your old Gameboy Colors³, busters, and plug in that Pokemon Gold or Silver. You guys need to re-experience the genius that Satoshi Tajiri packed into those games.

-------------------
² - Actually, the new games do add many useful improvements to the series. The problem is the lack of focus - the game is working too hard to shift the importance of everything to the Pokemon themselves. They added the elements of Personality and special innate abilities to the monsters, made nearly every monster in the game an unusual type mix (such as Grass/Flying), and added many more options and stats to the battles and battling moves. However, by going down this route, the games loses its believable world and the overall result is a empty and shallow battling simulator.

³- Gameboy Color, not Gameboy Advances. GBAs emulate GBC games strangely, making the game run slower. Also, the game was designed for the GBC - the graphics and the entire experience feels better on it. Trust me, use a GBC.
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Fuck, this turned into an article.
I also started getting way more into what I was writing half way through it. If I go through it all again, adding more content and making it flow better, this might actually be interesting to read. Holy hell!

JUST PLAY THE GAME, GODDAMN YOU ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

[Shapermc]

YOu talk to much... but you make me want to play the GBC Gold/Silver games. Go you.

[Persona-sama]

My missions is comprete.

[friedchicken]

[SuperWes]

I disagree with most of what Persona's said.

Ok, that's not true. I agree with it on some level. That stuff was cool at the time, but when I go back and play Pokemon G/S/C now I just get confused and end up getting frustrated instead of having fun. In many ways it seems like they lost track of what's so fun about pokemon. What is inherently fun about having different pokemon during the night than there are during the day? What's inherently fun about having to play the game every Wednesday so that you could get the extra secret fun stuff? It's almost like the game was created specifically to sell the strategy guide...

Pokemon R/S/E on the other hand, takes all of the stuff that worked in G/S/C, disregarding anything that could be considered an inconvenience and adding in new things that actually go closer to what the core of Pokemon is. The berry mixing and beauty contests are the most controvercial addition, but it's optional and those who choose to do it are given a higher sense of ownership to their favorite pokemon.

So yeah, I never considered the graphics to be the main draw of R/S/E, I always considered it be a step towards streamlining what Pokemon is really about. Can you imagine what R/S/E would have been like if they had just made them more complicated versions of G/S/C? That would have been enough to make me give up Pokemon forever...

-Wes
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[ajutla]

[Shapermc]

In need (dire need) of a usb flash drive, while in Best Buy, I just happen to see Pokemon Fire Red. Even though I was recommended against it... I still got it because of this thread.
bastards

[Blazehedgehog]

I have to agree with Wes a little. I played a little bit of Pokemon Gold when it was released and it was just... totally overwhelming. The World was so open, I truely felt lost. I had no idea where I was, or where I was going. I was just following a road seeing where it would lead me. I stumbled upon the Unown Ruins after about four hours and I went, "You know what? That's enough of this for me."

I haven't played it since. The game felt so... huge. And then I hear that you can go back and visit the entire Pokemon R/B/G/Y region... it's... incredible, really. Ruby/Sapphire... those felt a lot more focused. I was rarely lost. I knew where I was going. And I liked that.
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Webpage | DeviantArt | MP3

[nICO]

I enjoyed the original Red a bunch when it came out, but I don't recall ever beating it. It was just too bland or something...my memory is hazy. But I got Silver the day after it came out, partly on an impulse buy, and went all the way to the true final boss seemingly without looking up from the screen. Something about Silver clicked with me so I'm tending to agree with Persona. I actually thought that the world was more focused and easier to traverse than R/B/Y, partly because each area actually looked different (even if just slightly) than others. Also, I'm not a completist or anything, so I thought the night/day, days of week feature was really cool.

I can't really contribute to the conversation though since I've never touched a GBA Pokemon.

[Karii]

Persona-sama makes me want to go and buy a copy of Pokemon Gold orSilver too. I think, however due to lack of money from buying Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, I will dust off my copy of Yellow that was given to me. (although I will most likely end up with Silver or Gold in a matter of days, I know myself too well)

The only thing in the Pokemon series that truly irritated me was the addition of the berry mixing and the beauty contests. When I went to explain these concepts to someone that had not played it they felt as though it was a lot of extra work for a small reward. I tend to agree. I NEVER liked up just to berry blend and I went on a tangent of feeding my Gulpin as many of those blocks as possible just to win ONE contest. I got so sidetracked that I ground to a complete halt in the game and sort of burned out on Pokemon for a while.

As for the burn out, Pokemon is like Magic: The Gathering - or any CCG really. You play obsessively (sp?), burn out, quit, and then go back later to do it all again. @_@

[Legal Step]

Persona that was beautiful.

[Karii]

I jusr reserved Pokemon Emerald...I am so weak.

[Shapermc]

[SuperWes]

Well, to be fair it is essentially a remake of Pokemon Yellow...

-Wes
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[Shapermc]

[Legal Step]

Actually is a remake of Pokemon Red. And Blue was really called Green in Japan so when the remade them for GBA they renamed it Leaf Green here. I guess Fire Red and Water Blue would have worked also, but I don't work for Nintendo so I can't explain their logic.

[Karii]

So Emerald green is a remake of Ruby/Sapphire without the berry bug, right?

[Legal Step]

Yeah and you can get both the legendary pokes...you know the poster children of said games. Plus I think they made it easier for you get Rayquaza you can get him in a tournament or something.

[Persona-sama]

Emerald takes place a few years after Ruby/Sapphire, too. Not that it willl change any of the events inside the game though.

I heard that they added some other features. Some sort of expanded Battle Tower, more trainers to battle, and.. some other useless stuff.

For the Crystal version (Gold and Silver's bastard offspring) they at least added a useful feature that warranted a new release: online play. If you hooked up your GBC with an adaptor, you could plug it into your cell phone and battle online.

As for Emerald.. well, yeah. You've got more ingame enemies.


Edit:
I just remembered, the difference with Emerald and Ruby/Sapphire is that Emerald will basically contain the events that happen in both Ruby and Sapphire and you'll see it from both points of view. Something like that. :roll:

[Legal Step]

Gold is so good sometimes I'm at a loss for words. At times it kicks my ass too. The third gym leader has KO'd me 3 times already.

[purplechair]

I've been reading issue 1 of TGQ with a grin plastered across my face. Now I come here and find out you're all Pokemon fans. I'd cry tears of joy if I wasn't so masculine.

I got Blue on the day of release (took my gameboy into school and bought the game and a fresh set of batteries on the way home) and was so impressed that I had my copy of Silver imported from the States when it came out there (about 4 or 5 months ahead of the rest of the UK). I held out on getting Ruby because I was waiting for the inevitable "special edition", but when they announced Fire Red and Leaf Green, I made the jump. THEN they announced Emerald. Bastards.

For me, nothing can beat Red/Blue for its raw feelings. I'm sure most people walked into that first battle against Brock and shat themselves when they saw blow after blow bounce off that Geodude with barely a scratch. Similarly, you pressed A with a swaggering sense of genius when challenging Lt. Surge to battle your specially-trained Dugtrio. I remember spending countless hours searching the Safari Zone for a Kangaskhan (cheering with joy when I finally bagged one in the middle of a physics lesson) and I felt my eyes grow to the size of dinner plates when I first reached the end of the Cerulean Cave and came face to face with Mewtwo ("What level?!")

Has anyone ever finished the game using only six Pokemon? I think I tried to do it on Ruby, but I ended up catching things like Groudon anyway (can't... resist... rares...)

[Legal Step]

I'm the same way. I forgot in Gold you have to switch boxes, after they fill up, to get pokemon. That's kiind of a bitch. Still I'm making ground on catching them. It seems as though this game is tougher than any other pokemon game I've played. The Pokemon are harder to catch too.

[Karii]

[Kokomo]

The greatest contribution that Ru/Sa have given Pokemon would be the box system. Greatest fucking boxs you could ever ask for.

[Legal Step]

Also the pokemon box, the 20.00 gamecube storage system, is pretty cool. It can hold something like 1800 Pokes, but you can only transfer from Ruby/Saphire or Fire Red/Leaf Green.

[SuperWes]

[TOLLMASTER]

[Legal Step]

That's strange you mention that I just started a new game of Saphire today. I named my dude Ash to keep my Pokemon experience pure.

[teh brock]

Hmm. I read about this discussion on Legal Step's LJ and had to give it a look over.

Pokemon Blue came out when I was in sixth grade, maybe the end of fifth. Either way, I was a squirt (and I used Squirtle. No pun intended, I'm just reviewing my post before I submit it), and ruined the game for myself when, with my eventual discovery of the intarweb, I abused the "Rare Candy glitch." For what it's worth, though, it compelled me to use my giant brick GameBoy, even as the LCD screen slowly ate away faster than the batteries.

I think I agree completely with Persona Sama on Pokemon Gold/Silver. I played that thing to ungodly lengths. I caught every single legendary creature short of Celebi, including spending hours hunting down those damn legendary dogs/cats. I think at some point I looked at my hour count, read "256," and decided to call it quits. No other game has gotten as much play from me, which I attribute either to my insane lack of a life, or the game doing something insanely right (a mix of both is likely the answer).

While Sapphire does a number of good things, it doesn't seem to do them particularly well. It's not that it's a bad game, it just seems to lack any reason for the player to go forward. I like the idea of bizarre type combinations. I like the idea of a big world. But the whole thing lacks any real incentive to play it. Maybe there's something I'm missing, or something I'm forgetting. Sure, I can send my Pokemon to beauty contests or play around with berries, but that isn't anything integral to the gameplay as a whole. Gold demanded that I work around my clock to fit its schedule. There were contests I could only participate in certain days of the week. Hell, it had the original (albeit truncated) version of the original Pokemon island in the game. That was the kind of nigh-OCD, addictive additions I wanted, and Sapphire just seemed to drop the ball on that.

I don't know. Maybe I need to give it another chance.

[Persona-sama]

[TOLLMASTER]

[Karii]

[Legal Step]

Their evil knows no bounds really. They are prefectly capable of standing around and waiting for someone to show and battling them. That is a special kind of evil.

[SuperWes]

[Shapermc]

[teh brock]

Seems like my Pokemon Gold cart's clock is refusing to work. According to the game, it's still 7:49 on Thursday.

Well, this sucks.

[Persona-sama]