In 1998 Pokémon Red and Blue released, immediately taking the world by storm. Combining turn-based JRPG combat with monster-catching it was simple enough to appeal to children, with enough strategy to satisfy older RPG fans. Over twenty years later the franchise is still going strong with new generations of mainline games, remakes of older generations, countless spin-offs, and multiple anime series. Like its signature mechanic, the franchise has evolved over its many iterations.
However, many fans still consider Red and Blue to be the best games in the franchise. With a comparatively sparse 151 Pokémon to choose from, the first generation holds a special place in many fan’s hearts.
10 It’s Punishingly Difficult
One common complaint about newer Pokémon games is that they’ve become too easy. From items and money being more plentiful to shared experience being baked into the game rather than an attainable item, there are numerous factors that have made new Pokémon games easier.
For many hardcore fans, the games have become too easy. While many turn back to the original games to satisfy their craving for a challenge, others turn to the numerous self-imposed challenge runs the fanbase has created.
9 It Has Various & Distinctive Gym Challenges
With the exception of Sun and Moon gym challenges are central to the structure of the games, essentially taking the place of boss fights. It’s important that these gyms stand out with memorable puzzles and mechanics.
With the exception of the first two gyms, the gyms of red and blue nail this. The Fuchsia gym features a maze of invisible walls, Cinnabar Island’s gym features trivia questions, and the gym in Celedon city is one of the few to require an HM move.
8 Team Rocket Is A Beloved Villain Team
Every mainline Pokémon features a villain team that players will encounter throughout the game. These teams have varying motives and styles but team rocket stands out among its peers. While later teams often had loft goals, Team Rocket is a straightforward crime syndicate. They also have an iconic design, black uniforms with big red R’s.
The team’s membership also helps cement them as the ultimate villain team. Their leader, Giovani, is one of the franchise’s most beloved villains. Finally, the anime trio of incompetent goofs Jesse, James, and Meowth made Team Rocket a beloved mainstay of the franchise outside of the games.
7 It Has Some Of The Best Legendary Pokémon
Every Pokémon game features a handful of legendary Pokémon, monsters revered in-game as mythological in nature. Sometimes these Pokémon have a role in the plot, other times catching them is a post-game challenge.
The five legendary Pokémon featured in Red and Blue are some of the most beloved. The legendary birds serve as the mascots for the teams in Pokémon Go. It also features the two most well-known legendary Pokémon: Mew and its more popular clone Mewtwo. Mewtwo is featured heavily in Pokémon movies as well as appearing as a playable character in the Super Smash Brothers games.
6 It Had The Best Rival
Another mainstay of the Pokémon franchise is the rival. Serving as a recurring boss fight, newer iterations have leaned more towards a friendly rivalry. Blue, the default name of the rival in Red and Blue, was decidedly unfriendly. He taunts and mocks the player throughout the game, making victory over him more satisfying.
The other distinctive thing about Blue is that he’s one of the most competent rivals. Throughout the game he’s always one step ahead of the player, even serving as the game’s final battle as the new champion of the Pokémon League.
5 Kanto Is A Well Designed Region
The initial region of the Pokémon franchise, Kanto, is simple but well designed. It has some of the most memorable locales in all of Pokémon, from Lavender Town to The Safari Zone. While it lacks the diverse biomes present in later regions, these set pieces loom large in Pokémon fandom, making Kanto one of the most beloved regions.
Perhaps more importantly, Kanto nails the mechanical side of its design. Like all early Pokémon games, players are cut off by natural barriers, requiring special HM moves to traverse. While some later games would be overreliant on these barriers, Kanto had a perfect balance.
4 It Has Memorable Gym Leaders
Red and Blue have the most important Gym leaders in Pokémon history by a large margin. From the poison type using ninja Koga to the veteran electric type user Lt. Surge, the Kanto gym leaders are well designed and iconic.
More importantly, the anime has elevated Misty and Brock from one-off gym leaders to major characters. In a similar fashion, Giovani has remained one of the franchise’s most enduring villains.
3 The Soundtrack Is A True Classic
The Pokémon franchise is known for its great music, but Red and Blue stand out as some of the best. Composed by Junichi Masuda the soundtrack is full of memorable tunes, particularly the various songs that play in different types of battles.
These original soundtracks form the basis of future games, establishing the motifs and themes that future games built on. Even more impressive, Masuda did all of this on the lackluster GameBoy sound chip.
2 It’s The Generation With The Most Nostalgic Appeal
One of the biggest advantages Red and Blue hold over later entries is simple nostalgia. The trading, collecting, and gameplay mechanics were truly revolutionary for their time. By their very nature as sequels, later came can’t make the same claim.
In addition, the Pokémon and the characters of Red and Blue became the icons of the franchise. From Pikachu to Misty, the characters introduced in the first generation are synonymous with the franchise.
1 It Has The Most Beloved Pokémon Designs
One of the most important parts of any Pokémon game is the design of its various monsters. There is no denying that the first generation is jam-packed with some of the most popular designs in the franchise’s history. From starters to legendaries there are a ton of well-designed Pokémon in the first generation’s pokédex, ranging from lovable to terrifying.
Of course, as the mascot of the franchise, Pikachu is the best example of this. However, many of the first generation pokémon remain popular, with fans calling for their inclusion in the latest generation.
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