I’m Popping Open Pokemon Red 30 Years Later, and I’m Convinced the Series Never Got Better Than This

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Thirty years ago, in 1996, my mom brought home a package for me from the mail. It was a promotional VHS tape introducing something called Pokemon. I watched it on my VCR, and a character named Ash Ketchum told me about a new TV show, a Game Boy game, and a whole bunch of other exciting things that were coming to America. It seemed like a typical marketing pitch, but it turned out to be incredibly accurate. I, along with many others across the country, was immediately captivated. We were especially excited to learn that Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue were on their way to our Game Boys – those were the two games that launched the entire phenomenon.

I’m still convinced that the original Pokemon Red is the best game in the whole series! Pokemon Blue was pretty much the same, but Red had Charizard on the cover, and that just made it special. Okay, I admit it might be a little silly to say it was better just because of the box art – the differences between the two games were really just a handful of exclusive Pokemon you could get by trading. But honestly, I think those first two Pokemon games on Game Boy were the absolute peak. Even now, 30 years later, I still have a blast playing Pokemon Red – it’s one of those games that’s genuinely fun, not just something I enjoy because of nostalgia.

Pokemon Red Trusted Me to Figure Things Out

I’ve spent a lot of time playing Pokemon Legends: Z-A recently, and I’ve noticed the game doesn’t seem to trust players to learn things on their own. The opening is incredibly long – one of the longest I’ve seen in any Pokemon game. It holds your hand too much with constant instructions, invisible barriers, and plenty of cutscenes, even though the characters still don’t speak. It became more enjoyable once the game opened up, but the beginning made me wonder why Pokemon still feels the need to explain everything after 30 years. The original Pokemon Red barely gave you any guidance, and we figured it out anyway, even when we were completely lost!

Replaying Pokemon Red on my handheld emulator has really highlighted how little the game tells you what to do. You’re just thrown into the pixelated world with a brief explanation from Professor Oak and left to figure things out on your own. I recently found myself wandering around Pallet Town, waiting for instructions, before remembering I needed to try and leave! Even after meeting my rival Gary and Professor Oak, I only received a starter Pokemon and was directed towards Viridian City. After that, the game pretty much lets you explore freely. I even forgot that I needed to stop at the Poke Mart in Viridian City to buy Poke Balls before I could catch any Pokemon.

Video games were generally more difficult thirty years ago because they encouraged players to solve problems independently, without a lot of hand-holding. This was especially true for games like Pokemon, which felt incredibly mysterious and inviting, making the world feel ripe for exploration. In contrast, newer Pokemon games, such as Pokemon Legends: Z-A, tend to give players all the answers, diminishing that sense of discovery.

It’s strange that Pokemon is now explaining its basic concepts after 30 years, especially considering the original Pokemon Red game just dropped you in and let you figure things out on your own, even if you were completely lost!

When Pokemon Red first came out, very few people knew what Pokemon even was. We all discovered it together through the Game Boy games, the trading cards, and the anime. Despite being displayed on a small, monochrome screen, Pokemon Red felt incredibly expansive and immersive. It wisely avoided excessive hand-holding or lengthy tutorials, preserving a sense of wonder and discovery. Even 30 years later, this approach still works brilliantly. Revisiting the game today proves that a key to Pokemon‘s initial success was its trust in players to explore and learn on their own.

Pokemon Red Is One of the Few Cases Where Nostalgia Actually Favors a Game

Returning to a beloved classic game often disappoints, despite our best intentions. We usually revisit these games hoping to recapture fond memories, but it’s rare that experience lives up to what we remember. Our tastes have changed, and modern games have raised the bar with improved graphics, gameplay, and storytelling. It’s hard to enjoy something that once brought us joy when we see how much things have evolved.

Unlike many older games, Pokemon Red actually holds up well today. While it definitely shows its age, it’s still enjoyable to play without relying on nostalgia. The game’s simple design and sense of exploration create a genuinely fun experience. Players can still get immersed in the world, enjoy leveling up their Pokemon, and catching new ones, even if they’ve never played the original. This is a big reason why the core gameplay stayed largely the same for decades, until Pokemon Legends introduced significant changes. Later games added features like breeding, held items, and more complex battles, but the fundamental loop remained consistent with Pokemon Red.

Playing Pokemon Red again, I’m struck by how it doesn’t really need nostalgia to be good. Okay, it definitely shows its age compared to modern games, but that’s almost the point! This is essentially what Pokemon has always been at its core, and it still holds up as a really fun experience. What’s even cooler is that Pokemon Red is one of the only games where you can actually catch all 151 original Pokemon. Because each Pokemon game has a different set of creatures, that gives Red incredible replay value. As someone who grew up with these games, it’s both a fantastic trip down memory lane and a reminder of exactly what made me fall in love with Pokemon in the first place.

While the game isn’t perfect, it’s still enjoyable because it stays true to what makes Pokémon games fun.

Replaying Pokemon Red isn’t just a nostalgic trip; it feels like reconnecting with a game design that brilliantly relied on my own curiosity and creativity. Even after 30 years, that feeling remains. Compared to newer Pokemon games that often hold your hand, Pokemon Red reminds us that some of the best experiences come from being free to explore and discover things on your own in a truly amazing world.

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2026-01-14 20:42