Pokémon (video games)
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- This article deals with the video games. See Pokémon for an overview of the franchise.
The Pokémon video game series is a role-playing game franchise from Nintendo. The series as a whole has sold millions of games and ranks as one of the best-selling franchises of all-time. The series is unusual in that games are commonly released in pairs, each with slight variations. First released in 1995 in Japan for the Game Boy, the franchise has continued with at least two new games for each Game Boy generation.
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[edit] History
In Japan, Pokémon was first released as Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター Poketto Monsutā?) in 1995. This name would have carried over to North America, but another company had trademarked the name "Monster In My Pocket," making it impossible to use "Pocket Monsters". Since many Japanese players had already shortened the name to "Pokemon" (ポケモン), Nintendo chose the name "Pokémon" (with the e accented to clarify its pronunciation) for the North American release.
The first games introduced the concept of becoming a Pokémon Trainer and catching all 150 of the original Pokémon (a 151st, Mew, was only available either from Nintendo-sponsored events like tournaments, or through glitches in the game). These first games also introduced the idea multiple game versions, with some variation of Pokémon availability in each. The original games available in Japan were Pocket Monsters Aka (赤 "Red"), Pocket Monsters Midori (緑 "Green"), and a remake version called Pocket Monsters Ao (青 "Blue", which was only available from Japan's Nintendo website). The Aka and Midori versions were released with Blue's enhancements as Pokémon Red and Blue in the rest of the world.
[edit] Gameplay
- See also: Pokémon game mechanics
The Pokémon games are classified as role-playing games (RPGs) because they have elements similar to other RPGs, such as top-down tile-based point of view, management of items, and turn-based battles with familiar elements like hit-points and status effects. Instead of focusing on plot and character development in the manner of Final Fantasy and many other RPGs, Pokémon games focus on the collection and training of Pokémon that are instructed to battle against either computer- or human-controlled opponents.
Over time, the number of Pokémon has risen from 151 (Red, Blue, and Green versions) to 251 (Gold and Silver versions) to 386 (Ruby and Sapphire versions) to currently 493 (Diamond and Pearl versions). A player's Pokémon can be traded with other players; this is a necessity to collect all the available Pokémon, as some can only be collected by trading with another version.
A Pokémon game usually begins in the trainer's hometown, where by chance the renowned professor of the game's region (Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, or Sinnoh) lives and researches Pokémon. The professor will give the trainer his or her first Pokémon to train. Along the way, trainers encounter a rival who has also received a starting Pokémon that possesses a type advantage against his or her own. The only exception to this is Pokémon Yellow, in which the player receives the Electric-type Pokémon Pikachu, the unofficial mascot of the Pokémon franchise, and the rival has the Normal-type Pokémon Eevee, constituting no actual type advantage or disadvantage.
The most straight-forward goal of the single-player game is to compete in the Pokémon League and collect the eight badges from the eight Gym Leaders scattered throughout the region. Trainers with all eight badges have the right to challenge the Elite Four and the champion of the region. Along the way, the player must thwart the plans of a criminal organization in the area and battle trainers to strengthen his or her team. After defeating the Elite Four and the champion, the player is allowed to continue training and collecting Pokémon, mostly for the purpose of building Pokémon teams for competitive play.
To capture a wild Pokémon, a player must have a Poké Ball. When a wild Pokémon is weakened, a Poké Ball has a better chance of capturing it. Some of the toughest Pokémon may require the use of many strong Poké Balls before being caught.
[edit] Game releases
The Pokémon games are divided up by which platform they were released on. There have been three generations so far: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. The tradition has been to release two versions at the beginning of the era, with a third, enhanced remake released a few years later. Because of the game name patterns, each era (excluding the current one) has been nicknamed by fans.
As of 2007, there are four different generations of Pokémon. These generations each correspond with an era.
- First generation or Kanto Pokémon are Pokémon that first appeared in the Red and Blue versions (#001-151, Bulbasaur to Mew).
- Second generation or Johto Pokémon are Pokémon that first appeared in the Gold and Silver versions (#152-251, Chikorita to Celebi).
- Third generation or Hoenn Pokémon are Pokémon that first appeared in the Ruby and Sapphire versions (#252-386, Treecko to Deoxys).
- Between the third and fourth generations of Pokémon, Nintendo released Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which are considered to be from the third generation.
- Fourth generation or Sinnoh Pokémon are Pokémon that will first appear in the Diamond and Pearl versions. (#387-493, Turtwig to Arseus).
[edit] Game Boy era
- The Pocket Monsters Aka and Midori ("Red" and "Green") versions were initially released in Japan on February 27, 1995.
- The Ao ("Blue") version was released in Japan on October 27, 1996. It featured improved graphics and sounds.
- North America would get its first releases of Pokémon, the Red and Blue versions, on September 30, 1998. The North American versions were actually the Japanese Aka and Midori with the new changes that the Japanese Ao had.
- On October 1, 1999, Pokémon Red and Blue were released in Europe. They were identical to the North American versions.
- On September 12, 1998, the enhanced remake Pocket Monsters Pikachu was released in Japan. It was based on the popular animated cartoon series. In this game, the player's character starts with Pikachu instead of being able to choose among Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle, although it is possible to obtain all three of those Pokémon later in the game.
- On October 25, 1999, North America received its version of Pocket Monsters Pikachu, named Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition. It would remain much the same as the Japanese version.
The first games in the series had no fixed name for the player's character or rival character, although among default selectable names one would match the color of the cart (e.g. Red or Blue), and for the rival's name the opposite color would be offered. In the TV show, the protagonist is named Satoshi after the creator, Satoshi Tajiri, while the rival is named Shigeru after Shigeru Miyamoto. In the English translation, however, these names were changed to Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak respectively. Many comics and other media use the names in the TV series; however, the Pokémon Adventures (Pokémon Special in Japan) comic uses the name Red for the protagonist and the name Blue (Green in the Japanese version) for the rival. It has been shown on the original carts that the memory sections storing the main character's name and rival's name are first initialized as Nintendo and Sony respectively.[citation needed]
A third Pokémon Adventures character named Green (Blue in the Japanese version) is a girl with long brown hair, wearing white gloves and a short black dress. Her design is based on an unused character seen in a piece of official artwork for the original Pokémon games, which features the protagonist, the rival and the unused female character along with the three starter Pokémon. It is rumored that she was originally intended to be an alternate playable character. In the remakes of the original games, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the player may select a female character, who greatly resembles the unused character for the original games. In the Pokémon Special comic, Blue later appears with the same clothes and design as seen in the FireRed and LeafGreen versions.
The Gold, Silver and Crystal versions reveal the video games' actual names of the original protagonist, Red, and the original rival, Blue (Green in the Japanese version).
[edit] Game Boy Color era
- On November 21, 1999, Pocket Monsters Kin and Gin were released in Japan. These two games introduced one hundred brand new Pokémon and the new region of Johto. These versions had limited compatibility with the previous versions. North America received Pokémon Gold and Silver on October 11, 2000.
- Pocket Monsters Crystal, the equivalent Yellow version of Gold and Silver, was released in Japan on December 14, 2000. It was the first version to allow players to choose if they wanted to be a male or female character. Another notable feature that Crystal introduced is animated sprites of the Pokémon, which are displayed at the beginning of each battle and on the status screen. The Japanese version of Crystal included (in a first for a handheld system) the ability to go head to head online over Japanese cell phone networks; players also had the opportunity to catch Celebi, a Pokémon otherwise only available through Nintendo promotions, through these same networks. On July 21, 2001, North America received Pokémon Crystal. However, the North American version did not include the mobile phone component or the availability of Celebi.
The plot of Gold, Silver, and Crystal takes place approximately three years after the first series. It is a direct continuation of the storyline with many references to the plot details of the first generation of games. The region of the previous games, retroactively called Kanto, can be explored at a later point in the game, and many characters from the first games make return appearances.
Similarly to the Game Boy era, the main characters' only official names are the colors of the versions, Gold for the male player and Silver for the rival character (the rival has no default list of names, but not selecting a name generates "Silver" in Gold and Crystal versions, and "Gold" in Silver version). Crystal also introduced the first playable female character, whose official name is Kris. The Pokémon Special (Pokémon Adventures in English) manga carries on this character naming tradition by calling the male Gold, the female Crystal and the rival Silver.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game video game is the video game incarnation of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. There are currently two games in the series.
The first game in the series was released in Japan for the Game Boy Color on December 18, 1998. It was then released in North America on March 31, 2000 and in Europe on December 8, 2000.
A second Game Boy Color game, Pokémon Card GB2, was released in Japan on March 28, 2001. Neither a North American nor a European release was ever planned and consequently players wishing to play it must import the game.
[edit] Game Boy Advance era
- The series had its first major changes when Pocket Monsters Ruby and Sapphire were released in Japan on November 21, 2002. These games featured a major graphics overhaul to accommodate the new features of the Game Boy Advance. They were also the first versions to feature two-on-two battles. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were released in North America on March 18, 2003. The European release followed on July 25, 2003.
- On January 29, 2004, Pocket Monsters FireRed and LeafGreen were released in Japan. They are remakes of the original two Pokémon games, Red and Blue, but with many additions, including the Sevii Islands. These games can trade Pokémon with Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Colosseum, so new players can finally get the older monsters. FireRed and LeafGreen also come bundled with a Wireless Adapter, allowing trading and battling between these two games via a wireless connection. The North American versions were released on September 9, 2004, and the European versions on October 1, 2004.
- Pokémon Emerald is the final game for this generation. This version is considered to be the 3rd generation's enhanced update version, similar to Pokémon Yellow in the 1st generation, or Pokémon Crystal in the 2nd generation. It has several new features, including a new battle arena (the Battle Frontier), the same wireless support that FireRed and LeafGreen has, and a new form of Deoxys. It was released in Japan on September 16, 2004, and was released in North America on May 1, 2005.
The Game Boy Advance games are incompatible with previous versions. In addition, the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald games take place on an entirely different continent, Hoenn, and have no storyline relation to the previous games in the series.
The player can be either a male or female character; the character not selected becomes the player's rival. Like previous games, the player can input his or her own name for the character, but for the first time the rival's name is always set. The male's set name is Brendan (Yūki in the Japanese version) and the female's set name is May (Haruka in the Japanese version and the Pokémon anime series). The Pokémon Adventures (Pokémon Special in Japanese) comic, however, carries on its character naming tradition by calling the male Ruby and the female Sapphire.
[edit] Nintendo DS era
Announced in November 2004, released in Japan on September 28, 2006, and due to arrive in the United States on April 22, 2007 [1], Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are the newest installments in the main series, and the first for the Nintendo DS.
The first Pokémon revealed for this generation was Munchlax (the pre-evolved form of Snorlax) before the official announcement, in May 2004. Later on, several new Pokémon were revealed, such as Weavile (evolution of Sneasel), Bonsly (pre-evolution of Sudowoodo), and Mime Jr. (pre-evolution of Mr. Mime). Featured on the box covers of the games are Dialga (Diamond), and Palkia (Pearl), revealed in mid-2006.
Diamond and Pearl feature certain features that are only unlocked by inserting one of the GBA game cartridges into the DS's GBA slot, such as transferring capabilities (this is permanent, and cannot be reversed), and unlocking certain Pokémon in the wild that cannot be found otherwise.
[edit] Bootlegs
Two additional Pokémon games for the Game Boy Color, Pokémon Diamond and Jade, were rumored to exist, but despite the packaging and title screen being similar in appearance to previous Pokémon games, they are actually bootlegged English translations of the Power and Speed versions of Keitai Denjū Telefang. Telefang can also be considered a Pokémon clone, as the two share the same basic game mechanics. Pokémon Chaos Black is a fan-game(which was not intended to be sold) sold in a package as a bootleg multi-cart for GBA that is uncompletable and does not support multiplayer. Many fan-made Pokémon roms are made into cartridges and sold on the black or "grey" markets, often sold on auction sites such as eBay as if they were genuine official games.
[edit] "Unobtainable" Pokémon
Four Pokémon, Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, and Deoxys, are extremely rare and were nearly impossible to get in the Game Boy Advance era. They can all be obtained by using a Gameshark, Action Replay or similar cheating device, or from special Nintendo personnel at special events. Players are not required to own Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, and Deoxys in order to have a "complete" Pokédex.
- Mew can be found in the Red, Blue, and Yellow versions using the "Mew glitch." In addition, it is possible to get a ticket (actually an Old Sea Chart) in Pokémon Emerald at one of Nintendo's promotional events and use this to travel to Faraway Island (known as World's Edge Island in Japan), where Mew can be caught. On September 30, 2006, Mew was also given out at Toys "R" Us stores throughout the United States[1] in recognition of the release of the new movie, Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Other than those three methods, there are no ways to obtain Mew without using a cheating device or obtaining it directly from Nintendo at promotional events (which are no longer ongoing in Japan). Several of these promotional events also took place in major shopping malls in Australia and the United States.
- Celebi can be found through the use of the GS ball (only obtainable in the Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal through a cell phone network service), which can be placed in a shrine in Ilex Forest to summon it, or by using a cheating device. It is also available in the Japanese Pokémon Colosseum bonus disc, which was available with preorders. For the Gold, Silver, and Crystal games, Celebi has been provided as a promotional Pokémon at special events, but it has not been obtainable outside of Japan for the Game Boy Advance generation with the exception of a promotional 10th Pokémon Journey Across America.
- Jirachi can only be obtained legitimately with the Pokémon Colosseum bonus disc (which was available with preorders) in North America, which allows a player to trade this Pokémon into the Ruby and Sapphire games. PAL region gamers can get it by finishing Pokémon Channel, after which Jirachi will be downloadable to the GBA games.
- Deoxys can be caught on Birth Island to the south of Kanto in the FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald versions, provided the player has an Aurora Ticket, which was a bonus for pre-ordering a ticket to see the 7th movie in Japan. In America, the ticket was given at Pokémon Rocks America 2004 and on Halloween 2004 at the former Pokémon Center. Europeans were able to find it by a promotion called "The Hunt for Deoxys." Strangely enough, Nintendo of Europe gives out the tickets to those who mail their games in. Due to the universal encoding of a Game Boy Advance, American cartridges can receive Deoxys too. An event took place at the Houston Space Center that gave out Deoxys on March 10 through 19 of 2006.
- Ho-Oh and Lugia were also relatively unobtainable until the Pokémon games for Nintendo GameCube were released. In Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Ho-Oh and Lugia can be caught if the player completes a special sidequest; however, these games cannot trade with the Advanced Generation. In FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald, Ho-Oh and Lugia can be caught on Navel Rock to the south of Kanto if the player has a Mystic Ticket, which can obtained by using Mystery Gift near a Joyspot. Mystic Tickets were also made available to US players at the Nintendo World grand opening in New York City on May 14, 2005. When Pokémon Colosseum was released, players could also catch Ho-Oh by Snagging and purifying all 48 Shadow Pokémon and then beating Mt. Battle with an in-game team. In Colosseum's sequel, Pokémon XD, Lugia is prominently featured and can be caught within the game, then can be traded to a GBA game after purification.
Nintendo also produced modified versions of other, not so rare Pokémon to serve as promotional icons. One of these was a surfing Pikachu, which was originally available only through a Nintendo Power contest. However, it was later provided as an unlockable secret in Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Box and Pokémon Battle Revolution. Similarly, for a short time in Japan, there was a giveaway providing flying Pikachu. Flying Pikachu were also given away at Journey Across America's New York City stop.
[edit] Codes and glitches
There are many different glitches that can be triggered in the Pokémon games, especially in the older Red and Blue versions. These glitches allow players to duplicate Pokémon or items, catch "unobtainable" Pokémon, and other otherwise impossible feats.
Additionally, a vast number of fake glitches and codes for the Pokémon games (again, especially for Red and Blue) exist. The creation of such codes is often used to trick credulous children into deleting their save file, releasing their Pokémon, or performing other supposed "requirements". Many of these glitches involve the catching of "unobtainable" (entirely fake) Pokémon; in many cases, the credibility of such codes was increased by falsified screenshots from the in-game Pokédex. Other fake glitches revolved around obtaining the legendary Pokémon Mew (though Mew is actually obtainable through a real glitch). Still others involved obtaining Pokémon that appeared only in later versions of the Pokémon games. Essentially all of theses "codes" have been proven false, and since then numbers of false glitches for later games have dropped significantly. This is probably a result of the relative stability of the later games' code, which is less susceptible to the glitches that were rampant in previous versions.
[edit] Impact
A subculture exists which is devoted to the study of Pokémon battling and strategy. Usually research centers around Internet bulletin boards, most notably the GameFAQs forums. As well, multiple methods of online Pokémon battling exist, such as linkable Game Boy emulators, an IRC channel based program called RSBot, and a custom GUI-based program named Pokémon NetBattle.
[edit] Spinoff games
The handheld RPG series is considered to be the main series, and any other Pokémon game is considered to be a spinoff. There have been many spinoffs and all have been released on Nintendo's handheld and console systems.
All of the following games are released by Nintendo, unless otherwise indicated.
[edit] PC
- Pokémon Play It! Versions 1 & 2 (PC) (made by Wizards of the Coast, a division of Hasbro, who held the rights to the Pokémon Trading Card Game until 2002, when Nintendo took over. This was packaged with starter sets for the TCG, also in Pokémon 4Ever DVD)
- Pokémon Trading Card Game Tempest (PC) Gift Box, developed by Wizards of the Coast, and available in Europe, is a Computer Trading Card Game on CD including a 60-card Tempest theme deck, three 11-card booster packs, one CD-ROM, playing mat, metal coin featuring Pikachu, felt bag, card list, rulebook, damage counters and a tipsheet.
- PokéROM Gotta LEARN 'em all was released on specially shaped 8mm cd-roms and also as a LE Complete Collection Box for PC and Apple Mac. Developed by Mattel Interactive, this is an Nintendo International Licensed Product.
- Pokémon Project Studio Red and Blue versions (PC) (made by The Learning Company, now part of Broderbund)
- Pokémon: Master Arena (PC) (made by ValuSoft, a division of THQ)
- Pokémon: Team Turbo (PC) (made by ValuSoft, a division of THQ)
[edit] Console
- Pokémon Stadium series (Nintendo 64), including:
- the original Japanese Pokémon Stadium (Japan only)
- Pokémon Stadium (Pokémon Stadium 2 in Japan)
- Pokémon Stadium 2 (Pokémon Stadium 3 in Japan)
- Pokémon Puzzle League (Nintendo 64; only available in North America and Europe. This was the North American version of Panel de Pon)
- Pokémon Snap (Nintendo 64)
- Hey You, Pikachu! (Nintendo 64)
- Pokémon Channel (Nintendo GameCube)
- Pokémon Colosseum (Nintendo GameCube)
- Pokémon Box: Ruby & Sapphire (Nintendo GameCube)
- Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (Nintendo Gamecube)
- Pokémon Battle Revolution (Wii)
[edit] Handheld
- Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (Game Boy Color)
- Pokémon Pinball (Game Boy Color)
- Pokémon Trading Card (Game Boy Color)
- Pokémon Card GB2 (Game Boy Color) (Japan only)
- Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire (Game Boy Advance)
- Pokémon Dash (Nintendo DS)
- Pokémon Ranger (Nintendo DS)
- Pokémon Trozei (Nintendo DS)
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (Nintendo DS)
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (Game Boy Advance)
[edit] Other
- Pokémon Mini (Pokémon Party Mini, Pokémon Pinball Mini, Pokémon Puzzle Collection, Pokémon Zany Cards) These were only available in the USA at the Pokémon Center store in New York and at Japanese Pokémon Center stores. Pokémon Tetris, Pokémon Race, Pokémon Puzzle Collection 2, Pichu Bros. Mini, Pokémon Breeder and Togepi's Great Adventure were all available only at Pokémon Center stores in Japan, though Pokémon Tetris was also available in Germany.
- Two versions of Pokémon Pikachu, a portable virtual pet. The player can shake the game causing Pikachu to gain voltage.
- Two versions of the Pokémon board game.
- Pokémon-themed versions of games like MONOPOLY, UNO, Sorry!, Yahtzee, Jr., and numerous other toys.
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[edit] References
- ^ Mailbag: The Mystery of Mew!, Pokémon.com. URL last accessed March 4, 2007.
