Overview
- Number of Players
- 1 (Single Player)
- Genre
- Release Date
Game Boy
- 30th Sep 1998
- 10th May 1999
- 27th Feb 1996
3DS eShop
- 27th Feb 2016, $9.99
- 27th Feb 2016, £8.99
- Series
- Tags
- Official Site
- pokemon.com
Reviews
Review Pokémon Red and Blue (3DS / GB)
Twenty years ahead of their time
When these games were released back in the late nineties, the air around younger Game Boy owners was one of excitement and rivalry. Nintendo is clearly trying to capitalise on the nostalgia factor for all of us who were within the target age group (and some who weren't) when these titles were originally released,...
Review Pokémon Red and Blue (Game Boy)
Catching them all never felt as good as it did back in 1998.
To say that Pokémon has made its mark on the video game industry would be something of an understatement. While many claimed the franchise to be a fad when it first made its debut in each of the world’s four major video game regions, over time those people have been proven wrong. Even...
Screenshots 6
Pokémon Red and Blue Guides
Guide Best Pokémon Spin-Off Games Of All Time
Ranked by you
If there's any franchise that's no stranger to a spin-off or two, it's Pokémon. The inherent appeal of the little Pocket Monsters makes the series ripe for all kinds of genres and video games. Name a genre, and Pokémon has most likely done it. But, dear readers, what's the very best Pokémon spin-off? That's where you come in. We...
Guide Best Pokémon Games Of All Time
Where does Pokémon Scarlet & Violet rank?
Ranking the best Pokémon games is no easy feat given that many of them are considered among the best games of their particular hardware generation. Then you have to consider just how many spin-off Pokémon video games have hit the gaming world over the last 30 years or so! To make things a little simpler...
Pokémon Red and Blue News
Feature A Trip To Machida, The Real-Life 'Pallet Town' That Inspired Pokémon
Pokén around
The first generation of Pokémon games features some of the most iconic locations in the entire franchise. The eerie Lavender Town, the winding Viridian Forest, and the quaint Pallet Town where all players start their journey. Pallet Town isn’t just a fanciful creation, but draws real-life inspiration from Pokémon creator Satoshi...
Random 'BALLS: The Monster-Catchin' Musical Comédy' Is Already Half-Funded
A wild Kickstarter appeared!
We've seen all kinds of Pokémon-likes over the years from monster-catching visual novels to roguelikes. But a musical comedy? Like, an actual on-stage musical comedy? That's new. Curtain up on Balls: The Monster-Catchin' Musical Comédy, more specifically on its Kickstarter page, where it is a little over halfwa
Feature Evolving With Pokémon: How The Games Helped Me Navigate A Confused Childhood
This coping mechanism was super effective!
The Game Boy turns 35 years old on 21st April 2024, and we'll be running several features over the next few days celebrating the system and its games. Today, Tim thinks back on how Pocket Monsters came to his aid in his formative years, and how the series that started on Nintendo's iconic portable would...
Gallery Pokémon Art Project 'Kanto Redrawn' Is Complete, And It Looks Incredible
Over 100 artists contributed
Remember the stunning Johto Redrawn project that we covered way back in 2021? You might also recall that the team behind this beautiful pixel art recreation of one of our favourite Pokémon regions, Retro Redrawn, was also working on a reimagining of the Kanto region. Today, Kanto Redrawn is finished, and it
News New Special Edition TIME Magazine Celebrates 25 Years Of Pokémon In North America
Better late than never, eh?
It has been 25 years since Pokémon Red and Blue was released in North America. In fact, it has been 25 years and five months, but in the spirit of 'better late than never,' TIME has decided to get in on the action with a new special edition of the magazine. Ahead of Pokémon Day 2024 (and the Pokémon Presents showcase...
News 'Twitch Plays Pokémon' Returning To Kanto For Its 10th Anniversary
Tune in next week
Believe it or not, but it's now been 10 years of the social gaming experiment 'Twitch Plays Pokémon'. To celebrate this milestone, the channel is planning to return to the Kanto region on 12th February 2024. In the lead-up to this anniversary, it's been revealed this will be a "new run in the classic style", and it's also noted...
News Pokémon Live-Action TV Series Gets Its First Trailer
Premiering in Japan this month
The first trailer for the upcoming live-action Pokémon series has been released, giving fans a glimpse of what to expect when PokéTsume (or 'Pocket Filled with Adventure' in English) premieres in Japan later this month on October 17th, 2023. The series will tell the story of Madoka Akagi, a young girl who moves to...
News Japan's Upcoming Live-Action Pokémon Series Is About Falling For The Classic Game Boy Title
Airing on Tokyo TV this October
The Pokémon Company has today announced that a brand-new live-action series about Pokémon is set to air in Japan from 19th October — however, it may not be the show that you would expect (thanks, Serebii). Unlike the ace 'live-action' animation of the Detective Pikachu film, this upcoming series — titled...
Random Chicago Bulls Announce Upcoming NBA Schedule With A Classic Pokémon Tribute
"Meet us in the gym"
We have just a few months to go before the NBA tips off in October and the teams are beginning to reveal their schedules for the 2023-24 season. Normally, this news is nothing to do with Nintendo — it's just a bunch of sports teams posting images of their filled-in calendars — but the Chicago Bulls have caught our attention...
Soapbox Catching Legendary Pokémon The Old-Fashioned Way Was So Much Better
Mewsings
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Kevin remembers a time when getting your hands on a legendary involved going on a real-life journey... The '90s were a fun time, weren’t they? AOL was brand new, The Simpsons was still...
About The Game
It's the game that started a revolution, but it's not just the fad that convinced gamers to "catch 'em all."
This deceptively simple and child-friendly roleplaying game design is a far deeper game design than it looks. Pokemon features way more strategy and gameplay than it leads on, offering gamers almost infinite gaming possibilities even after the main adventure ends. Pocket Monsters Red was released in Japan in 1996 by mail-order only (the two launch titles were Green and Blue). The franchise arrived in the west in 1998 as Pokemon Blue and Red (Roald Dahl holds the copyright for "Pocket Monsters" in the west, so the title was changed to the Japanese colloquial name). The games could be linked up with each other and with the N64's Pokemon Stadium titles for creature trading.
Comments 9
I have a broken copy of red version, blue version, a copy of gold version that won't save (but I still have the instruction booklet), crystal version, diamond version and about a zillion pokemon cards. I am such a fanatic. 1st Comment!
I was born in 1981, so by the time that Pokemon came out, I was in high school, too old to appreciate the game - and I still don't - but still, good article; bring back the good ole game boy/ game boy color days!!!
Ah the days of exploiting the glitches and when Pokemon was new. Missingno., a million master balls, and Glitch City. The remakes are nice also.
Good Review. My only problem is that you refer to the main character as Ash. The anime and game are two separate series. The anime is based on the games not the other way around. R/B protagonist is called Red not Ash. Other than that great review. I do think the new Pokemon games no matter how much better the sprites are cannot compare these classics.
Started with Red and Blue and been playing almost continuously since.
Best game series ever.
@StarDust4Ever I see your point. But the majority of Pokemon fans are actually a lot older then you expect. I personally love the games, and I am looking coward to getting Blue on my 3ds.
why all the fuss
how can nintendo charge people for this?
@andybunn The same way they feel like they have the right to charge you for any other VC port.
Your acting like this is something new.
Holds up surprisingly well after all these years, and is even pleasingly simpler and less 'OMG let me consult Bulbapedia to know what's effective' every match.
I enjoy the later gens a lot, but gen 1 and 2 were more rock/paper/scissors than gen 3+ and their chess level of complexity.
I will say it is a shame Game Freak didn't fix at least the most major of bugs. Some stuff such as the Mew exploit are charming. Broken game mechanics are far less so.
But it is what it is, and I bought Blue for the 3DS on the day of release
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