The Feeling of Adventure

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The Road to Viridian From Pallet - Pokémon Red & Blue [OST]. Courtesy of channel "DeoxysPrime."

As a series, Pokémon has gone through a lot of criticism. You need look no further than the internet outcry over Pokémon Sword and Shield to see that many fans feel frustrated with the current state of the series. While I don't think Sword and Shield were nearly that bad (in fact, they might even be my favorites as of right now), I can understand the frustrations felt by many fans.

But let's travel back to a simpler time. You were a kid growing up in the 90s, and one of your favorite shows was Pokémon. Naturally, you also had a Game Boy alongside either Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue, or Pokémon Yellow. The internet was just a vague concept; you couldn't even get on it without wrecking the phone line. If you wanted to see legions of people unhappy and constantly complaining, you had to watch the news instead of hopping on Facebook and Twitter. Times were good, and you were venturing through the Kanto region to become the Pokémon master!

Baby's First RPG

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S.S. Anne - Pokémon Red & Blue [OST]

Looking back, I think my love for RPG's really does trace back to Pokémon. In fact, it's a bit easy to forget that Pokémon is an RPG. I mean, most of us didn't even know what an RPG was when we played Pokémon, and yet, we picked up the role of a 10-year-old traveling across the land and searching far and wide for more Pokémon pretty easily. But yes, Pokémon is an RPG. It has turn-based combat, party members, and a pretty deep leveling system. Not only that, the type advantage system was fairly innovative for the time. The gameplay loop of catching Pokémon, leveling them up, balancing your team, and then taking on challenging gym leaders is still deeply satisfying to this day.

Pokémon was more than just a silly kids game -- it was a full-on adventure!

Road to Victory

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Victory Road - Pokémon Red & Blue [OST]

What I remember most from Pokémon Red was the final, thrilling climb up Victory Road. There was something special about the track that played when you took your first step towards the Elite Four. This was no longer a journey to become the best -- the destination was in our faces! GameFreak cleverly hid Victory Road right next to the starting town. You cross it once before starting the gym challenge, badgeless, weak, and the game teases you with the OST. Only once you've conquered all eight gyms around the region may you return and make the final ascent.

I mentioned yesterday that Sonic the Hedgehog, while memorable, was ultimately a flawed game. I had fun as Sonic, but never overcoming the later zones really put a damper on my child-sized aspirations. Pokémon Red, on the other hand, was the first game I ever beat. I stared down Lance's Dragonite and clashed with Blue's insanely intimidating Blastoise, finally making the smug son of a gun eat his words -- all by myself with a level 70 Charizard! The euphoric feeling of seeing Blue finally admit I was the greater trainer -- words cannot describe it.

There's so much more I could go on about. All the memorable Pokémon designs, all the jaw-dropping cities, foiling Team Rocket's plans, everything this game had to offer was nearly perfect. I know it's fun to point out how messed up it was to send a 10-year-old kid on a journey like that, but that's coming from the perspective of now fully grown adults. When you're 5-years-old, a 10-year-old isn't a ridiculously young person. 10 was the age where many, including myself, started to grow up a bit, and I like to think I owe some small part of that to Pokémon Red. I may not have ever caught them all, but what I did catch, and the journey to be the best, will stay with me for the rest of my life.