It Was Very Effective!
Catching a case of Pokémon Fever
Well, I’ve finally completed my first turn-based RPG. After first being introduced to it at 7-years-old, I can officially take Pokémon Yellow out of my backlog. After dabbling in other RPGs in the 23 years since I first loaded the cartridge into my Game Boy Color I feel like I finally get why this franchise has taken off in the way that it has.
From the jump it’s cute, familiar, and intuitive. Those can be under appreciated qualities in a game, but it’s the reason so many people who are not typically into video games have been able to stick with the series. It takes our world and adds a dash of fantasy to it. At the most base level, the opening minutes of the game introduce you to colorful mice, birds, and lizards then combines that with our inherent knowledge that water douses fire, fire burns grass, and water is good for grass. Oh and of course, don’t forget that the higher the number the better!
There’s more to it as the game goes on, but those core principles are the undercurrent of everything else. It’s a sturdy foundation that allows the player to feel comfortable diving into the deep end of the mechanics.
Importantly however, exploring those depths isn’t necessary to get enjoyment out of your experience. There’s a healthy amount of wiggle room to find your ideal level of investment in the systems it has to offer. In my experience, I actually wound up a little underpowered for the Elite Four in the waning moments of the game. I had a couple Pokémon types that weren’t on par with my Level-60 Charizard and were holding my team back. I could’ve gone back to hunt for or level up a particular type of Pokémon, but instead I chose to loop through the final four battles with my weakest monster opening every encounter to get the benefits of some XP sharing until I got the one additional elemental attack I needed.
That brings me to the game’s biggest issues because obviously there are a couple warts on a 23-year-old game. I want to give a big shoutout to Delta’s fast forwarding capabilities, as I’m not entirely sure I would’ve had the patience to get through the game without it. Everything moves at a snail’s pace, and this can make progression feel like a slog at times. Those cave sections where the random encounters seem to double in frequency are particularly infuriating and discourage exploration. And after the hundredth time, reading the full text description of the effectiveness of Pikachu’s Quick Attack became its own form of torture at the default speed.
The lack of an XP share is also especially frustrating in the late game. In many ways it is in direct conflict with the “catch ‘em all” mentality. Once you’ve found a lineup that works for you it doesn’t make sense to experiment with a Slowpoke that’s twenty levels behind every other party member. There were a lot of Pokémon I caught that went straight to my PC and never came to mind again (sorry Snorlax!).
I’ve heard that most of these complaints have been addressed in later entries, so after my mostly positive experience with Pokémon Yellow I’m planning to explore the other generations. Honestly, I might have a minor case of Pokémon Fever. Since playing I’ve been rewatching clips of old Pokémon movies and even downloaded Pokémon Cafe ReMix on my phone. I don’t know what else to say, but it just feels good to spend some time with a Psyduck every now and again.
I know this may not be anything new to you, but this is new to me. 20+ years later and Pokémon Yellow still feels fresh.