Poorly executed. Still fun to play once in a while.
Description
Ahh how many hours i've spent playing Red and Blue back when they were the biggest things since sliced bread. I actually got all 150 of those things, and I remember how "Elusive" Mew was, and how you could only get it with a Game Genie/Game Shark or at certain conventions. It was truly a breakthrough RPG in the sense of raising monsters to fight, and has since spawned many competitors such as Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, etc.. However, I haven't played Gold/Silver/Crystal, and the other versions between Yellow and Sapphire/Ruby, it really isn't all that much different in terms of graphics and gameplay from the first three revolutionary games. They've incorporated new features such as being able to assign items to the select button, diving underwater, fighting underwater, and slightly (hence slightly) improved visuals. The sound is pretty much the same, the same little growls when the monsters come out to fight, and the music is merely more catchy than before, taking advantage of the GBA's slightly superior sound capabilities.
However, I truly feel the updates on the newer generation of handheld technology was done poorly. The gameplay hasn't changed at all, every once in a while, you'll engage in a 2v2 match, or a style match based on your pokemon's moves, it's all the same. They've incorporated new types of Balls to catch the creatures in (Nest Ball, etc.), for certain types of monsters and environments. Also, it's much harder to level up in this game, compared to previous installments. I'm over 30 hours into it, without skipping a single battle, and my highest character is only around level 55, and I still haven't been able to beat the Elite Four... which is good, in a sense, because the original games were too easy to just fly through. You can establish your own "hideout" in certain areas of Hoenn, and decorate them to your fancy, although it's fairly limited. There are new "mystical" creatures for you to waste your time on, including the Regi's, and either the fish or the dragon on the covers of the game's box. None of them are really worth it, unlike the mystical birds in the others, which were actually useful. Nintendo has also incorporated berries into the game. You can get them from various trainers or grow them in the patches of soil found throughout Hoenn. Most of them are hold items that your Pokemon can use in battle (they usually heal you, or some sort of other status ailment removal). But again, after over 7 years, you really think this game would've been completely different, and in actuality, it's nearly the same. Wait til the price drops, and you'll have yourself a worthwhile purchase.
