Pokémon (GBC)

Finally, the game that has been largely responsible for keeping Nintendo afloat these last few years has been released over here, after nearly five (!) years of waiting. Now we can see what the rest of the world has been so excited about...

So what is it? One comparison spring to mind: Zelda meets Tamagotchi. Pokémon are cute little beasties with a variety of fighting moves; your job as a novice Pokémon trainer is to trap wild Pokémon, train them up, and then fight them in a sort of league system. Along the way, there's a world full of people to find, interact with, and go on mini-quests for. There's also the little matter of trying to collect all 150 Pokémon, but more on that in a moment.

What makes the game so appealing is its stunning depth of gameplay. Pokémon come in any one of around 15 types - water, ground, flying, electricity, etc. - and certain types work best against certain other types, rather like a giant game of paper-scissors-stone. Each Pokémon can know up to four moves, and you can have up to six Pokémon in your squad fighting on a sort of tag-team basis. This results in lots of scope for carefully-chosen teams where each Pokémon's strengths compliments another's weakness.

This depth of gameplay, combined with the sheer scale of the game - there's always something to do - give the game tremendous scope.

Also, it would be improper of me not to mention the multiplayer capability. Using a link cable, you can fight your Pokémon squad against that of a mate, or trade Pokémon with them. In fact, the two version of the game - one red, one blue - each have Pokémon that the other version don't, so the only way to collect all 150 is to trade with someone with the other version of the game.

It is refreshing, in this era of superficial games and play-alike sequels - Tomb Raider 4, anyone? - to see a game that prizes gameplay above all else. If you have a Gameboy, you have to buy this. Simple as that.

Update

I wrote this review in October 1999, well before the Pokémon phenomenon took over the entire UK under-15 population. Since then, I have encountered lots of people who don't realise that the whole media circus was started by a game.

I stand by my original comments, however: you may think the cartoon is terrible and the toys a cash-in, but the game is very good in it's own right and well worth buying.