RAFAEL RIOS | STAFF WRITER
For older fans a combination of nostalgia mixed with excitement sets in with the release of “Pokémon X and Y.”
Nintendo first released “Pokémon Red” and “Green” in Japan in 1996, but it wasn’t until Sept. 1998 that “Pokémon Red” and “Pokémon Blue” was released in North America, which was made for the Gameboy and Gameboy Color.
For gamers this first generation was still an early stage of gaming devices.
In sync with the games, Pokémon the anime TV series was also released in 1998, which introduced the ten-year old Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and his lovable stubborn Pokémon partner Pikachu.
Ash and Pikachu remain as the main icons for the whole Pokémon series and movies.
After the TV show was introduced, GameFreak (Japanese video game developer for Nintendo), introduced a special edition “Pokémon Yellow” a year after “Red and Blue”, claimed to based on the show but featuring very similar game play.
Being a massive Christmas time success, Nintendo kept making special editions of the games to boost sales, such as “Pokémon Crystal”, “Emerald” and “Platinum.”
“Pokémon Red and Blue” were perfect for children who had no worries and could spend hours of the day playing trying to catch the 151 Pokémon which seemed like a perfect investment of time. But like all other games, there was only so much you could take on in the 2-D world, and only so many Pokémon to catch.
Nintendo released “Pokémon Gold and Silver” on Oct. 15, 2000 with an additional 100 new Pokémon, a new region, and a new set of badges to collect.
Continually adding to its predecessor’s, Nintendo kept releasing newer generations with newer Pokémon to add to the list and to the excitement. Finally After 15 years of Pokémon, Nintendo released the sixth generation of Pokémon on Oct. 12 however, very much has changed in those 15 years.
GameFreak went big this time making its first full 3-D Pokémon game.
They did this with great fluidity in the animation and amazing character design and graphics that are finally up to date!
The newest generation has an enormous online world that is a great way to meet many new trainers and put your skills to the test.
As long as you’re in Wi-Fi range you will have company from people who are just like you.
The evolution of the Pokémon series itself is an amazing experience to be a part of.
The best and biggest integration has to go the 3-D, which has changed the Pokémon RPG in a great way after 15 years of the 2-D it’s hard not to admire the art in this game.
“Pokémon X and Y” sold more than 4 million copies on the first two days, showing Nintendo that the fans still have a strong ongoing passion for the series.
Pokémon’s highest selling games “Pokémon Diamond and Pearl” made more than 17 million dollars.
While the latest generation of games “Pokemon Black and White” and their respective sequels have the lowest sales on paper, they still maintained the top-selling game for their release week proving Pokémon is still on top of the gaming world.
The franchise has sold more than 245 million games, second only to Nintendo’s Mario franchise.
“Pokémon X and Y”, has now expanded the Pokémon world to an overall of over 700 Pocket monsters.
It will require more than just a little free time to capture and train all your Pokémon certainly leaving the gamers entertained and thinking “gotta catch em’ all.”