- Pikmin 3 – A Gaymer’s Review - 4 September, 2013
- Gamer and Gay - 28 August, 2013
- Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker – A Gaymer’s Review - 21 August, 2013
With E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) being this week, and Nintendo confirming the release date of the upcoming Pokémon X and Pokémon Y games for October 12th, I decided it would be the best course of action to re-play Pokémon Yellow. Many, hopefully, know of and remember the amazing world of Pokémon and the fun that can be had from running about with your animal like companions fighting to become the very best Pokémon trainer around. However, for those who may not be so aware of Pokémon (if you are one of those people, hang your head in shame) the main concept is simple:
You are a 10-year-old boy who has come of age to leave home and travel the Region of Kanto catching Pokémon and training them to fight in Pokémon battles until you have collected all eight Badges from Pokémon Trainers who have their own gyms throughout Kanto. You begin your Journey with a Pokémon, in Pokémon Yellow it is a Pikachu, but in other versions you are allowed to choose from three different starters representing the basic types of Fire, Water, and Grass. After fighting your way through the world of Pokémon and collecting your eight badges, you are allowed to fight the Elite Four. The Elite Four are the Pokémon Trainers who are the best in the Region of Kanto, and after defeating these four Trainers, you are allowed to fight the Pokémon Champion.
It is kind of like a complex version of Rock, Paper, and Scissors but instead of Rock, Paper, and Scissors you have multiple different types of creatures you use to fight until either you win or they ‘die’.
Knowing I had played this game before, I felt myself to be somewhat of an expert in the area of Pokémon. However, like every video game you may possibly play, it is never that easy. Everything starts out simple and easy. I receive my Pikachu and I begin my travels, I turn and ask my Pikachu how he is feeling, one of the key aspects of Pokémon Yellow that is missing in previous Pokémon versions, and he sweetly looks up at me with that look of: ‘I hate you and everything you stand for’. Therefore, like every great Pokémon trainer and possible parent in the world with a child that hates them, I bribe him to make him like me. Just in the case of Pokémon, the bribe happened to be the fact I drugged him with a potion. Now, a potion is used to heal a Pokémon after it has been injured in a battle and cannot be taken to a Pokémon Centre to be healed, but I decided to force it upon my Pikachu ten times until he looked at me with a loving smile.
Now dragging a drugged up Pikachu behind me I carried on my way…only to find out I had to back track because the lazy Professor, who gave me my Pikachu, could not be bothered to pick up his own mail from the shop up the street. And I, the mute character I am, lacked the ability to tell the shop owner ‘No!’ so off I went, back to the town I live in and left to get away from the mother who probably hated me, seeing how the only bedroom in the house was mine, leaving her to live and sleep in the Kitchen/Living Room.
After returning to my home city, which includes three houses: Yours, the Professor’s, and your rival’s house in which he leaves his little sister to travel the world and personally piss you off. I gave the parcel to the Professor; my Rival (Who you get to name, so in my case I called him FagFace) decided he wanted to start a fight. After I had defeated him and had been given what was inside the parcel (seriously no point in me back tracking, this is why they should have mobile phones) I went on my merry little way in the one direction I could go, back where I had just bleeding came from.
After a lot of walking, and I do mean a lot, you end up in a new town filled with beautiful boring old houses and a Pokémon gym. This mainly is what the game is, a lot of travelling and fighting just so you can say your slave of an animal in a ball is better than the little girl over there who is trying to shove the game console up her nose.
After beating that Pokémon Trainer and getting the badge, I walked off feeling happy and satisfied that I am indeed an awesome trainer myself. However, flash back to the moment I spent over an hour in a patch of grass training a bird Pokémon called Pidgey up to level 18 just so it could evolve into a Pigeotto. Just so I stood a chance against the Gym Leader Brock who only has rock Pokémon and as some people may know Pikachu, being a Lightening type Pokémon has no effect on a Rock type. (Oh the joys of video gaming).
After even more walking, which involved walking through a cave of bat Pokémon who do not seem to understand I do not want to fight, I end up in a different city. Once again, I need to train up my Pokémon, this time my Pikachu, to fight the Gym Leader Misty to win another badge. Copy and paste a few more times and that is the whole game. Yet, the game is so addictive and lovable that at the amazing age of 20-years-old, I and many of my friends still enjoy playing these games and continue to want to play more of what Nintendo have to release.
Admittedly, as the time goes by and the newer versions of the games come out, the Pokémon look more and more like a mess of colour with eyes and maybe some pretty features. The story lines do make up for the lack of imagination in regards to the Pokémon but I guess at the age of 20 I shouldn’t really be complaining about games that are aimed more at the 3 years and over age-range. I do technically fall into that age group but I am guessing many people may not see that as much of a strong argument.
Pokémon is a game worth playing by anyone of any age, especially if you are a student and lack money. Alternatively, it’s great if you have something really important you need to do but cannot be bothered, so instead you decide to do something else to justify to yourself that you really were too busy with something else.
