Pokemon Yellow: DIE, MOFO, DIE.

*~~//SPOILER ALERT\\~~*
I am possibly going to cover topics in this blog that will expose the plot of Pokemon Yellow Version. You have been warned.

Lemme start by apologizing for my lack of blog post on Friday. I has a life. But I'll try my hardest not to let that happen too often through these posts.
Okay, today I'm actually starting to talk specifically about Pokemon Yellow, after my little rant about the evolution of Pokemon sprites into something worth looking at when I play.

Anyway, I'd like to introduce you to my Pokemanz (so far, anyway):
Pikachu - L 21
Charmeleon - L 21
Diglett - L 22
Ivysaur - L 22
Fearow - L 23

I'm currently chilling on the S.S. Anne in Vermillion City after having gotten my second Kanto gym badge. Something's beginning to hit me - I haven't played this game in a long time. I've had to recall by experience all the little aspects of the game that made me ill with it whenever I would play as a youngster.
I'm going to try not to do any contrasting between generations, as the point of these posts is to expose Pokemon's 'evolution' through time, but this I must rant about.

Trainer and gym leader battling is very dry - not dry in a bad way, but dry as in simple. Let me show you:

This is your simple standby screen in mid-battle. You'll notice that there's no EXP bar. You'll also notice how simple your HP bar is. When your Pokemon/Opponent develops a status ailment, such a poison or paralysis, your current level is covered up by the status ailment. That personally is a distraction to me. Why? Because there will be occasions in battle where an opponent is about to sent a new Pokemon onto the field, and I cannot remember my Pokemon's level, as it's covered up. In order to find that out, I am forced to switch to the PKMN selection to see its level. It's not a big deal, but it's still an extra step.
Also, battle techniques are rather simple. The example I'll use comes from your first gym battle with the rock-type user Brock. He uses the Pokemon Onix.

Fast-forwarding the video to the one minute mark, Onix begins to use the move Bind. Bind and Wrap are very similar, and are used by Pokemon who possess long appendages of sorts, or a serpent-like body. I've grown used to the attack being like any other move; here, it's not. You'll see in the video that Onix can hinder your ability to attack as long as the move of Bind is underway. This proved to be a very scary move, especially in the heat of battle when your Pokemon is low in HP.

Regardless, I'm beginning to remember how things work in Pokemon Yellow, and hopefully no more surprises are going to come my way.

Join me on Monday, where my discussion of Pokemon's gameplay will take me into it's performance outside of battle.

- Cheryl-Buddy

Pokemon Yellow: Ugly Little Sprites

While I can't say that the first generation of Pokemon was my all-time favorite, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for it. Why? I grew up with it! I used to watch the television show before I went to school every morning in order for my life to remain complete. I owned the figurines. When fast food restaurants came out with the toys, they were the only places I had the desire to eat, just for the toys.

Now, you'll notice I'm playing Yellow instead of Blue or Red. I own Blue, but...let's just say I like Yellow better. It follows the television show more accurately, and the sprites are more pleasant to look at. What I mean by the sprites, by the way, are the images of whatever Pokemon you're using/battling with on-screen. Blue and Red's sprites unnerved me as a child, and looking at them again, I don't feel much of a difference. Here, let me show you:

Golbat

Used to freak me out as a youngster

Mewtwo and Mew

 

Were not nearly as epic sauce as they appeared in the series, and frankly, I never wanted to catch them.

(Mew's sprite is actually taken from the Japanese Red and Green versions - he looks more amusing.)

Blastoise

...Blastoise just looks obese, poor thing.

These are personal nit-pickings on my part, yes; but after Blue and Red, Yellow's sprites became way more accurate to what I was used to seeing on television, and they were more attractive in general. It wasn't just color (Red and Blue had more reddish and blueish tones to them until Yellow came out and brought color to the Kanto Region) that made me happier. It was the fact that they no longer looked like wild animals on steroids - they looked like mythical creatures. They looked like Pokemon, and they looked more in-action.

You see? :D

This is a short segment for the beginning of my epic journey through Pokemon, but there's no telling how much I'll have to say for Friday's segment. Here's a sneak peak: I'll be discussing Pokemon Yellow's difficulty elements.

Also, starting Friday I'll have a spoiler alert of sorts at the top of each blog post. If you're one of those few people in the dark about the old-school Pokemon games, be wary. You've been warned.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'll see you Friday!

- Cheryl-Buddy