10-27-2007, 08:47 AM
... Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Gold, Silver, Crystal, Red, Blue, Yellow.
The greatest-selling RPG series of all time (at least according to Wikipedia). Yes, starring that annoying yellow rat, Pikachu, it's Pokémon!!!
As much as that yellow rat is annoying, the game series is strangely addictive, more so than the likes of Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest) and Final Fantasy, which introduced me to roleplaying in the first place.
I had purchased my first Pokémon cartridge (Blue) at a Harlequin Games convention in Reading some years ago. Giving my liking of console RPGs, I was hooked instantly. (The recommendation came from who would become Flagship's "in-house" artist, Larry Deyell.) Now I'm more of a Pokémon fan than he is (though I still hate Ash & Pikachu), though there is another PBM GM who is more of a Pokémon fan than me. Maybe.
The Pokémon games can be played, without changing the game software, at many different levels of play. Any child can pick up the game and play it through to the Élite Four (the end "bosses") by following the game as it appears, going with their favourite Pokémon. But, compared to other games where you can face your bosses with a selection of characters, eg Phantasy Star IV where you can select the fifth of five characters, in the Pokémon games, you select six out of over a hundred characters (the 149 catchable Pokémon in the first series).
Diamond and Pearl have added a new dimension to gameplay, in that you can now trade Pokémon anonymously and internationally. I have traded Pokémon by trading Friend Codes (given in-game from Nintendo's WiFi servers) with others on Pokémon fansites. In addition, the built-in Global Trading System (GTS) can be used to trade worldwide anonymously, though it's been subject to abuse.
Friends of mine, previously Pokémon-haters (because of that yellow rat and that annoying Twerp), have picked up the games and are thoroughly enjoying them.
The greatest-selling RPG series of all time (at least according to Wikipedia). Yes, starring that annoying yellow rat, Pikachu, it's Pokémon!!!
As much as that yellow rat is annoying, the game series is strangely addictive, more so than the likes of Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest) and Final Fantasy, which introduced me to roleplaying in the first place.
I had purchased my first Pokémon cartridge (Blue) at a Harlequin Games convention in Reading some years ago. Giving my liking of console RPGs, I was hooked instantly. (The recommendation came from who would become Flagship's "in-house" artist, Larry Deyell.) Now I'm more of a Pokémon fan than he is (though I still hate Ash & Pikachu), though there is another PBM GM who is more of a Pokémon fan than me. Maybe.
The Pokémon games can be played, without changing the game software, at many different levels of play. Any child can pick up the game and play it through to the Élite Four (the end "bosses") by following the game as it appears, going with their favourite Pokémon. But, compared to other games where you can face your bosses with a selection of characters, eg Phantasy Star IV where you can select the fifth of five characters, in the Pokémon games, you select six out of over a hundred characters (the 149 catchable Pokémon in the first series).
Diamond and Pearl have added a new dimension to gameplay, in that you can now trade Pokémon anonymously and internationally. I have traded Pokémon by trading Friend Codes (given in-game from Nintendo's WiFi servers) with others on Pokémon fansites. In addition, the built-in Global Trading System (GTS) can be used to trade worldwide anonymously, though it's been subject to abuse.
Friends of mine, previously Pokémon-haters (because of that yellow rat and that annoying Twerp), have picked up the games and are thoroughly enjoying them.