Question. What happens when you combine all the great elements of a critically acclaimed RPG ,like the Final Fantasy series, and the critically acclaimed company Nintendo together? Answer... a game franchise that has quickly grown to become one of the mainstay RPG series even to this day. I of course am talking about the Pokémon franchise. Now the truth is are you expecting a review or a long ,and might I add, very boring history lesson? Of course not! Who wants that? But lets do something shall we? Lets go back to the year 1995. Lot's of cool things happened during that time. Rumor of a new Nintendo and Sega system was overheard by many gamers and an even bigger surprise; Sony was to join the competition against Nintendo and Sega. This of course got you and your friends very riled up about which system was the best." The PlayStation is definitely going to win this console war" says one friend. " No it's Nintendo that has the N64. The PlayStation can't stand up to the N64." shouts another. " I believe that neither console will win against the Sega Saturn." interrupts a third friend. (poor kid) But once you went home after a good day at school, and asked your parents for a N64 for your birthday you soon realized that your parents couldn't afford a $200.00 system for your birthday. 
                                                                                You would go upstairs sadder than ever expecting for the worst presents you could think of. "What if they get me another Tiger electronics game? Or maybe some terrible Super Nintendo game like they did with that Shaq - Fu game?" That's all you could think of when it was time for bed. Oh wonderful surprise! You wake up after a terrible nights sleep still sad about the news and come downstairs to see tons of presents waiting to be opened. After the birthday cake you go to the presents still unsure whether it was going to be a hit or miss. After opening almost all your presents, you feel generally happy. But there's one more present. It's a fairly medium sized box. Once you realize it's too small for an N64 you hope for the worst. And what do you find? A Game boy color with... what's this... Pokémon yellow included! You jump for joy and hug the stuffing out of your parents who seem pretty happy with what they did. But soon they would regret it because of how many failed tests and incomplete assignments you ended up getting because of that very game. But the question is does its addiction and game play still hold up today or is it some fad of the 90's? Let's find out.

Graphics:7
                  One of the most iconic aspects of this game are its graphics. Sure they aren't the best but good lord are they amazing for a system like the Game boy. Sure by toady's standards the graphics are mediocre but you have to have that perspective that only a kid from the early 90's would have. Then you would know what I'm talking about. not only are the towns in which you partake in are all well done and unique but the best part about the game was the design of each and every Pokémon in the game. It was jaw dropping to see that not only could you face other Pokémon but by the number of how many the game developers decided to fit in that tiny little cartridge;151 BRAND NEW AND UNIQE POKEMON TO FIGHT AND CATCH! This to a boy back in the 90's was heaven. It wasn't like Super Mario bros with just everyday, clear as crystal graphics. Oh heavens no, not at all. This game offered immense possibilities and combinations. And remember, this was when Pac Man and Asteroids were still popular. The graphics rank up there with games like Legend of Zelda Link's awakening and Super Mario land 2. It was just amazing at the time and still is which is why this game deserves a 7 for the graphics department.

Sound:9
               Another great pro for this game is its sound and music. Back in the 90's all you would be humming was at least one Pokémon song from the game. They are all very iconic and each have a very lasting appeal to each and every one of them. There probably isn't one gamer in this world who hasn't listened to at least one of the many tunes in this game. While the Game boy Color didn't have as good music as its older brother, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it didn't have to. This is good music in its own unique way - you know, that casual 8 - bit music that has since been very iconic all those years ago. These melodies, since there debut have been a mainstay for the franchise ever since ( along with the ! mark you see when you cross a challenger's path by mistake or on purpose.) With that said the sounds are also appropriate and well done. The truth is that its amazing for tunes this simplistic to have been updated all the years which is why when you play any of these tunes at a gamer they will say " Hey that's Pokémon. Awe Pokémon! " Stuff this iconic can't be walked over which is why my score for the music is a 9.

Addictiveness:9
                  One of the biggest reasons why this game is so addicting is because it combines the easiness of an RPG like Final Fantasy on the Nintendo Entertainment System with a unique world to traverse through like Mario which is why this game found its way into many people's homes once the Game boy color was released in the United States. Sure it isn't as addicting to play because today you can be lazier than ever and search up gameplay footage on Google ( I hate to admit I couldn't have caught Mew if I didn't go and search that on Google ) But remember, this is 1995 ; it was just you, with no money, no Internet or computer in fact, and NO VIZZED or HACKING DEVICES whatsoever. Which meant that you were on your own if you wanted to beat the game. You really felt like you were a 10 year old on adventure. And an adventure it was! The game was, and still is, incredibly long with seven gyms, wild Pokémon everywhere, team Rocket, and your opponent, Gary Oak . All that and the promise of catching all 151 Pokémon meant you would spend many sleepless nights with the light on trying to play as much of the game as possible ( which was impossible unless you cheated your way through ). So for me comes a 9 for the addictiveness and all those failed assignments and testes I got playing this game!

Story:8
                 The story is original and fresh from Nintendo. You are an unnamed 10 year old boy who must win all 8 gyms, collect all 151 Pokémon, stand up to Gary Oak, and stop the terrorist group known as Team Rocket from taking over all the Kanto region. Uh... wow. That's deep. Strays away from the typical saving the princess scenario doesn't it? Honestly that was a gut move from Nintendo. Never heard that one before. This was very different from the other games with its storyline. Even to this day; this storyline is still used in with every Pokémon game. Which is why this game gets an 8 for the storyline. Difficult to argue with that.

Depth:8
                  This game has so much replay value that it's crazy. It's so overwhelmingly full of things to do. Not one time in the game do you have nothing to do like many games. You can either collect all 151 Pokémon, win all gym badges, beat  Team Rocket, or if you are so free of time, complete all the objectives in the game. There is simply too many Pokémon to have and so many routes to take during your way through Kanto, and ,to top things off, there are lots of TMs or HMs to find and use in your game with each having a different effect from another. With that said, the Pokémon are a reason why this game is full. Each Pokémon is unique consisting of more than at least 8 or 9 types. There are Water type, Ground type, Electric Type, Poison Type, Air Type, Psychic type, and many other types of Pokémon each unique to each other and all have a certain appeal. Even Magikarp, a Pokémon that is the most hated in the universe still appeals to certain players. All that with a nice save feature that allows you to pick up were you last left off. And there are items everywhere in the shape of Poke balls, or are not even visible at all. So with that the game does in fact have an immense amount of depth to it standing out to other Game boy games like Tetris or Dr. Mario. So a score of 8 is more than deserving for a game like this.

Difficulty:7
                  This game can get pretty difficult, especially with its gyms. The difficulty comes from the need to level up your Pokémon. The higher the level, the easier it is to take out a Pokémon. The lower the level, the higher the chance of you running out of usable Pokémon and blacking out ( which happens a lot in this game by the way ) Also the decisions you make are all the more life changing in the game which is why you should save up on rare candy and other goods while playing this game. Winning a match or battle depends on which type of Pokémon you use against your opponent's Pokémon. Things like using an electric type against a rock type is very costly for your Pokémon. But things like using a water type against a grass type is very huge benefit when in a heated battle against an opponent or gym leader. These simple choices can either be a benefit or downfall in winning a battle. It can be very easy to make a mistake or two in this game which is why a website like Bulbapedia can be very helpful when learning about Pokémon, Attacks, Areas, and items like the Hyper Potion. This game will take a long time to beat but once you do it, you feel a huge sense of accomplishment. So from me comes a 7 for the difficulty.

Overall:8.9
                  While this game isn't the best RPG it still stands out from all the others with its great game play, world, difficulty, and surrounding which is why this game is universally acclaimed to being one of the best RPGs of all time. If you have the chance of picking it up, I recommend it. This game keeps the Game Boy line from getting dull or boring and is one of the best games of all time. Happy Gaming!  

   
                  
    

Good review! You had a good amount of detail and it flowed really nicely! Great job on this!

Wow..this is a great review you made. It has lots of information. Overall good job. Keep up the great work. Have a nice day.

Great review. To be honest, the title of the review made me think it was a thread game, not a review. Lol. Keep up the work, I like reviews.

gorillaz99 : you did basically a perfect review super long details going everywhere and all the elements are supplied nicely

deg2000 : Thanks! I appreciate the support!

That's a nice, large piece of text. The intro was unnecessary though. You started the review about a single game with a history lesson about video games in 1995. While that is interesting to read, it doesn't belong in a game review. I decided to skip to where you started talking about the graphics, and continued from there. Because that's where you actually started reviewing Pokémon Yellow.  Remember this well, a good review isn't necessarily a long review so there's no need to slap as much info and background as possible in order to raise the word count a little. An intro is nice, but try to keep it short and sweet to warm us up for the actual review.

And by the way, what are the game's downsides? I literally only read praise for this game in your review. I actually never played Pokémon Yellow, (I did play Leaf Green though...) so let's just say that I'm not sure what I will be walking into when playing Pokémon Yellow in the Retro Game Room. Is there something that bugged you, something you didn't like? In other words, something I might want to keep in mind when playing? You scored the game overall an 8.9, meaning the game should have one or more minor flaws to them.

Still, I think this is a really impressive review. Like the people above me said, it contains lots of information (I'd say, shorten the intro and in turn, add what you think are downsides of the game), and you show a lot of dedication. And dedication equals promise in my book. Good luck on further reviews, can't wait to see what you'll cook up next!

OrdannonsX : Thanks! I understand what you mean. I'll try to shorten my intro for my next review. Otherwise thank you and I hope you have a great day. P.S. Thank GOD I'm not the only one that watches game grumps!!!