Pokemon: Nintendo's Most Repetitively Successful Franchise

This is a response to the article written by Orza, Pokemon: It’s been Seven Years, How is it Now?, published on October 17, 2006.

It’s been seven years, and it’s pretty much the same as the last time you saw it, only with better graphics. That’s not always a bad thing—newer gamers get the benefits of better graphics and more mini games/ side quests. In a vain attempt to keep the older gamers hooked, new Pokemon are introduced by the hundreds for each new game so that each new games isn’t exactly a copy.

Pokemon Red and Blue for the Gameboy are my two favorites—simple, cute, and just different from everything else that came out around that time. I instantly fell in love with the adorable, super- pixelized “pocket monsters.” Discovering all their attacks, strengths, and weaknesses while traveling through an entirely new realm on a journey to become the “master” was more than enjoyable—it was addicting.

Pokemon Yellow still had Team Rocket and took place in Kanto, but the storyline hinted at the anime much more than in the previous games. Plus, you had the option of having Pikachu follow as a separate character on the screen. While there was really no particular benefit to having Pikachu walking around after you, it just served to set Pokemon Yellow apart from Red and Blue.

Next in the long line of nearly identical Pokemon games was Gold and Silver, for the Gameboy Color. Gold and Silver introduced a new region—Johto. It featured a whole new set of Pokemon and a new line of Gyms.

Unfortunately, the plot (or lack thereof) was essentially the same as in Blue, Red, and Yellow: train Pokemon, get badges, beat the Elite Four. Except in Gold and Silver, there were actually five members of the elite four. Go figure. Keeping track of all the 250+ Pokemon must have gotten to their heads.