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.

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