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lowens's Pokemon Red (GB)
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| [March 6, 2008 06:43:58 AM]
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Gameplay 2:
During the second day I played pokemon, I didn't have an opportunity to get sidetracked playing with my friends, and instead got to play through more of the game. Catching various pokemon was fairly easy, but choosing which ones to take with me everywhere I went was harder. With many options involving what type of pokemon to use, I found my favorites to be of the psychic type. I think it was well though out to allow the player to be able to progress through the game using whatever pokemon he or she pleases.
I enjoyed the amount of computer controlled trainers lurking around the world, and the high amount of experience and money defeating them granted. They make the game world feel much more alive ( although when I went back to old zones where I had already beaten trainers, and there were no more fights around, the zones felt very barren). I also found the frequent and numerous encounters with wild pokemon to not bother me, because my pokemon could just steamroll them and get experience, and they always leave the opportunity for capture open. There are no rules in pokemon red saying you can't use six pidgies!
Another part of pokemon that I enjoyed was being able to move around the game world very quickly. Before my pokemon were past level 24 I already had a bicycle, and the ability to teleport or escape rope back to the last pokemon center I visited. Beyond that, I also liked how interactive the game world felt for an rpg on a handheld game system. Having to cut down trees to advance into new zones, or use flash to light up a cave force players to obtain these techniques, but also add an incentive to track such skills down and ultimately make the new areas more exciting, as being granted access to new zones brings forth new pokemon and new enemies to defeat.
Design:
Compared to most slow paced, more serious rpgs, pokemon provides the player an opportunity to enter a comical world lending itself to bringing out the inner child in the player. For me, the fast pace alone was enough of a breath of fresh air to keep me playing this rpg, as opposed to others. Although the game is intended for children, with shorter attention spans than adults, I still found the game to be very rewarding for myself. I found battling lots of little creatures against one another for money, and to unlock new areas with many more and new pokemon enough reward to keep me interested.
However, I believe what set this game apart from other rpgs, and games in general, was the design placed in the pokemon themselves. Pokemon, by nature, I believe lend themselves to being adorable. Humans love keeping animals as pets, and pokemon just took a real world trend and turned it into a game. I found that raising virtual critters, and watching them change and evolve by your hand, ultimately becoming very powerful forces to reckoned with, to feel like a worthy accomplishment for a days work.
The only part of the game that I would change would be to make the game centered less around having to play with other people. Although a wise marketing scheme for Nintendo to strongly push players towards having access to two gameboys, two different versions of the same game, and link cable in order to be able to collect all the pokemon, I found this very frustrating at times (for example, I wanted a caterpie, and to evolve my kadabra, but I had to wait until my friend could play with me). Other than that, I found the game overall to be a very satisfying experience.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Mar 6th, 2008 at 07:25:05.
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| [March 6, 2008 06:20:06 AM]
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Summary:
In pokemon red version, the player takes on the role of a new pokemon trainer who is sent on a mission to gather data over the various 150 pokemon using a pokedex. While some pokemon do not change, most pokemon can evolve into stronger pokemon, and within these 150 pokemon, the different evolutionary states are considered different pokemon. The trainer the player takes over must also must defeat the gym leaders of eight different gyms throughout the world, leading up to a clash against the elite four, a group of four pokemon champions. Throughout, the player must also deal with various other opponents, such as his or her rival, or team rocket.
Gameplay 1:
Having played pokemon yellow version as a child, I decided it was time to play one of the two games that started the pokemon craze. I decided to play the game over a period of two days off and on, given that it is an rpg, for a more full experience. Also, I decided to start the game with a couple of friends, using a link cable from time to time to trade or battle, to keep it more interesting, and to add an element of conflict to the game.
I was surprised at the pace of the game, and lack of drawn-out introduction that most rpgs have. After playing for only a couple of minutes, I already was on my way to having my first pokemon. After choosing squirtle, the game immediately has a combat walkthrough. Despite the first fight being rather boring (each pokemon only has two abilities), and the computer ai being very poor, the game was still gripping. Instantly, I had an urge to capture more pokemon. Soon after capturing a pidgey and a ratata, I gravitated towards my intial pokemon, as the game lends itself to be much more pleasing when only working on leveling one pokemon at a time.
The game continued to move quickly, and it was enjoyable to see all sorts of pokemon start to appear. Despite, computer ai being very poor at choosing techniques with an intent to beat my pokemon in the beginning(the game was designed with children in mind after all), the challenge would arise in the form of choosing which pokemon belong in my lineup. Having a balanced team of pokemon is essential to beating other pokemon. In spite of the computer player choosing poor attacks (for example continuing to use tail whip to lower my pokemon's defense when it has already been lowered a maximum amount of times), in an unfavorable type matchup (say my electric pokemon versus a ground type, which is immune to electric attacks), it doesn't matter if a computer player plays poorly because they have such a great advantage.
I found playing with friends to make the game much more enjoyable, and fulfilling within the game (for example I was able to evolve my kadabra because I traded it to a friend and back again). Also, I found battling against my friends, even with our fledgling pokemon, to be very fun. Furthermore, it is much more acceptable to play a children's game when you have a couple of buddies playing with you.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Mar 6th, 2008 at 06:34:10.
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lowens's Pokemon Red (GB)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Monday 3 March, 2008
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