So since my last review of Pokemon Crystal got some positive feedback I'm doing a 2nd review and this time it's a game I've wanted to review for a long time but haven't really been entirely sure about.

Ah Pokemon Blue... While I did get into Pokemon with the 2nd generation games this didn't stop me from playing the heck out of Pokemon Blue when I first discovered a way to play it on my computer. And I loved them almost just as much as I did the 2nd generation games. But taking off my nostalgia goggles and looking back at it, while this was by no means a bad game, I find it to not quite hold up to the standards of the other Pokemon games, so if you came here thinking I would only be praising the game for how revolutionary it was think again.

And to clarify while this might be self explanatory to some while this is a review for Pokemon Blue Version all that is mentioned in this review does apply to Pokemon Red Version more or less as they are almost identical aside from a few Pokemon being exclusive to each version. Pokemon Yellow on the other hand has a few differences which I might be covering sometime in the future.

Anyways all that aside lets get on with the review!


The sound in this game is nothing to sneeze at sporting many memorable soundtracks such as the nostalgic and uplifting pallet town soundtrack or the chilling lavender town soundtrack, they all have that feel to them which gets you in the mood to play some Pokemon. The sound effects aren't anything too special again mostly just to add to the immersion and I feel that they fit the game fine. Sound wise this is in my opinion one of the best games on the system. A nitpick is that when using the bicycle (which is probably something you will be using a lot to speed up travelling around the world) the theme that plays while not bad doesn't stop untill you get off your bicycle which will get annoying after a while.


I'm kind of split on this honestly, the graphics for the most part aren't that bad but the sprites (especially the ones of the pokemon) can just be downright horrendous sometimes and this is something that could've been remedied and isn't because of graphical limitations. With that said this hasn't ever stopped me from wanting to play the game but I do feel it's something that could've very obviously been improved on. Otherwise there isn't too much else that differs from gold and silver besides the obvious lack of colours which it can't be blamed for since it was released on the original gameboy. I do feel that the town layouts could've been improved on slightly as I feel they are more repetitive here then in the later games again never to the point where it stops me from wanting to play the game but still something that could've been improved on.

But with all things factored in for the most part the graphics were pretty good for the system but some flaws hold it back from me giving it a better rating.


The Pokemon games are known to be incredibly addicting and the original does not disappoint. This game will consume you until you have played it until completion and even then you might play through it a few more times after that.


The story is pretty much like all the other games. Catch all the pokemon, defeat the pokemon league and defeat the -insert evil team here- though it does get some points for being one of the original games meaning it wasn't as overdone. With that said this isn't always a bad thing the story isn't the focus nor should it be in a Pokemon game and like in the other Pokemon games it leaves a lot of things to think about. Did the Rivals Raticate Die? Are Dittos failed Mewtwo experiments? So on and so forth. And while these are fan theories sometimes it truly feels like the games are hinting at them being true and regardless thinking and speculating about them can be fun. Again though there are some things I feel could've been expanded on a bit more without hurting the flow of the game, like the lore or certain characters.


Another thing Pokemon games are known for is the Depth, a Pokemon game usually comes packed with things to do and this is no exception to that. Conquering the Pokemon League, Getting all the Pokedex entries, exploring the world, and battling and trading with friends can all be fun and time consuming things to do. And while this game doesn't quite have the amount of content some of the other Pokemon games have it still is a big package. And very impressive considering it is a gameboy game.


Along with Graphics this was probably one of the things I found the hardest to rate. When I first played this as a young kid I actually did find it harder then it successors on the other hand the game had a lot of balance issues compared to the later games. Psychic types were ridiculously overpowered only being weak to bug types which were all fairly weak and there was no really powerful bug move that you could use against them. Ghost types were supposed to counter Psychic types by being super effective against them but instead due to something which was apparently a programming error ghost types didn't even have any effect against Psychic types at all. Not to mention that Special Attack and Special Defense was rolled into one stat which besides causing balance issues for other Pokemon as well especially did so when it came to Psychic types as they typically had high stats when it came to both meaning they both dealt huge damage and could absorb special attacks fairly easily due to it being one stat. Meaning that a team consisting entirely out of Psychic pokemon could probably steamroll through the entire game with little effort. And this is without factoring in that even though I did find this game harder not using Psychic types then say Pokemon Gold and Silver, Pokemon games are already fairly easy most of the time, meaning that this potentially could break the game as there would be no reason not to use them if you want the best possible team. This was fixed in later games but it is a huge problem here. And actually makes me have to lower the Overall rating of the game if you can get past this however (and you should) it is still a great game.


This game is by no means a bad game, I could without a doubt call it a great game and at the time it was released it was quite revolutionary. However some glaring problems make it not hold up to today's standards and it has not aged nearly as well as the other Pokemon games. With that said if you like the other Pokemon games or RPGs I would still recommend you to play this game even if just for how revolutionary it was for the time. If you're completely new to the series I would recommend playing one of the 2nd generation games first (Gold,Silver or Crystal) then come back to this game later. So even though it hurts a bit to give it a rating this low because of how great this game still is for the most part, I still feel some problems make it necessary. Though the remakes Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green did fix almost all of the problems of these games, I would still recommend checking the original games out if you're a Pokemon Fan.

And this concludes the 2nd review I've ever written of Pokemon Red/Blue.

Feel free to leave some feedback telling me what you think of the review, if you agree with it or not (and why you think that way of course) and also ways I can improve my reviews until next time. Also please don't forget to rate my review (and rate it fairly not just based on that this is my 2nd review) and hopefully you'll read my next review which may or may not be another Pokemon game...

I don't remember if I read your first review when you wrote it or not, but... GREAT job!  I'm really impressed at the level of detail and thought that you put into this.  (Additionally, I adore your paragraph in the end.  I love that you encouraged readers to actively participate in and critique your thread, and I love that you seem to genuinely want feedback.)

I can't say if I agree with the review or not, unfortunately, since I've never played this Pokémon game.  However, I assume it's like most of it's kind, so I likely would agree.  I like the fact that, despite the cloned plot line of all the Pokémon games, you've taken the time to break down the story and it's possibilities.  I usually don't think much about the stories at all, to be honest, so the fact that you've done so tells me that you really care about the narrative.  And narrative, at least in my opinion, always offers so much more to a game.

Anyways, great job! I hope you continue to write more reviews.  You can only ever get better, and if you keep up this good work, I'm pretty certain you could get a job as a game guide maker for vizzed (should you want it).

Singelli :   Wow thank you such kind words, thanks a lot ^^

Of course I want feedback, I'm sort off a perfectionist which has stopped me from writing reviews in the past knowing that they probably wont be as good as I want them to be but I have to start somewhere and if people give me feedback on how I can improve maybe eventually I'll get to a point where I'll be really good at writing them.

I've never actually thought of being a game guide maker mainly because I've never written a walkthrough unless you meant as a review maker in which case I probably have somewhat of a better shot since I've actually written a review XD. I might give that a try sometime though if I ever write a Pokemon guide it would be really, really long and probably take weeks to make. I mainly chose to start reviewing Pokemon games because I know a lot about the franchise so I don't know if people would like if I started reviewing other games that I haven't played as much or at all before nor if they would be as good as my Pokemon reviews (which I mostly just find pretty decent). But if I did qualify for the job as a game guide maker or review writer I probably wouldn't mind working as one, as I'd love to help out the site but like previously mentioned I don't know if I would be good enough.

And yes most Pokemon games are pretty similar, while each adding some new updates and features the core game is the same (become the champion of the region, catch all pokemon etc). And I usually find the story if there is one of the most important parts of the game (though Pokemon would be an exception to that rule) as for the possibilities that you are speaking of those are fan theories, that may or may not be true they're all fun to think about and discuss (well at least in my opinion) and sometimes it's hard to tell if the developers are actually hinting on that they're true or not.

Anyways again thanks for the praise I'll try writing more reviews though it will probably be a while until the next one since I still haven't decided if I'm doing another Pokemon game or something else, if you have any suggestions on a game I could try reviewing feel free to tell me

Well unless my memory is being faulty, I'm pretty sure that review writers and walkthrough makers were recently added under the same title, so both are now called Game Guide Makers.  I could be wrong though.



And I understand that reviews take a chunk of time. When I first joined vizzed, I wrote my fair share of them. XD

As for your next review, I'd suggest something -other- than Pokemon, just to show us something new!  It's always nice to see a variety of games reviewed by the same person and shows that you are flexible and also knowledgeable. 

Singelli : Oh I see haven't noticed that XD Probably just me not paying enough attention. And yes I want to review something else but not sure what which is why I'm thinking of playing something I've never played before and reviewing it, I'm just not sure what to try.

I see we feel similar about the gen 1 games, I thought it was the worst in the series IMO. Regardless great review you took a bold risk of rating the gen 1 games anythong below 10, and I applaud you for it. You might needs this though *hands you a flame sheild* Best of luck from the genwunners!

Cradily is love : Thanks for the flame shield but I have to face this without any help else way I will never become a Pokemon Master!... Probably.
And I agree, I did mention several times in the review too that I don't think they hold up to the other games but I do still love them for what they are and they're still great games. And I hate genwunners... Find 1 genwunner who's not just hopping on the hate wagon or who is talking purely out of nostalgia for the games.

Anyways thanks for replying and now I can also summon some random people from my friends list who are active posters to get some more opinions (was going to do it earlier but forgot).

Also to anybody who is summoned feel free to reply and tell me what you think of the review, though you don't have to this is merely because I want some more opinions and want to know what people think.

Pokefreak219 :
mrfe :
sonicthehedgehog57:
Laian :
Darkpower508 :
Whetsit Tuya :
sillysoul :
patar4097 :

Zlinqx : Blue is, at the very least, one of the first video games I've ever played. It was a great game, and I had fun with it, but it has its issues. Case in point, Missingno. and the Psychic type.

My point is, I agree with you. They were good for their time, but later entries were much better.

Oops fixing fail summon:

sonicthehedgehog57 :

Also I've decided what I'm going to review next though I don't know when the review will come out but it's a genesis game which means it's not a Pokemon game.

And yeah the abundance of glitches was another downside however most of them could be avoided fairly easily, and were hard to encounter by accident.

I did enjoy your review, although from the standards you hold Blue up to, it is rather unfair. I started out with Red, Blue, and Yellow when they came out. At the time they were revolutionary for the hand held gaming world. As time progressed, the games got better. All good games go through that. The only problem I had with this review is you cannot hold Blue up to the likes of any other generation. Look at it from the time period they were created. Great job and great reviews though!

CaptainGoode : I see what you mean and I did consider that, however the problems I was talking about here, were things that could've very obviously been fixed also look at the 2nd generation games. They're not much younger then the originals and many still consider them to be the best in the franchise (myself I think they're the 2nd best behind BW2) which pretty much disproves that argument.

Also thanks i'll definietly be reviewing more Pokemon games in the future so if that sounds interesting keep an eye out for them!

I can see why games like this would be deemed overrated. I mean, it's a Pokemon game. In my opinion, it deserves the credit it needs. I can see where you're going, though.

Also, great review, man. You should do these more often.

pacman1755 : I did write that they were revolutionary for their time and I don't think they're bad games, they're great, but they just can't hold up to the standards of the rest due to the problems I mentioned in the review, and there's also some other minor stuff.

Fun review Zlinq! I can see you have some talent for this. It was nicely broken up, and fun to read.
I do remember reading your crystal review and that was good, too.

Anyway nice job, mate , can't wait for the next one.

btw if you do a next one summon me please.

imamonster : This review is about a year old so my reviewing style has changed quite a bit since but I'm glad you enjoyed it, and sure I'll summon you to my next review

Yeah, I know. I saw someone view it and thought it looked interesting.

a year old? That is why Singelli answered

Your review was good. Good structure, lots of details and some comparison with other Pokémon games. Despite its age it is still worthy of a 4.