I held out for almost seven years. I never played a Pokémon game until Hurricane Ivan came storming through my town, knocking out power and sending me to my GBA for a gaming fix. Pokémon Leaf Green happened to be in my to-be-reviewed pile, so I figured, “Power’s off. Nothing else to do. It’s the only work I can accomplish right now.” That is how I discovered that Pokémon is the kids’ stuff I always thought it was, but it is also a fun and addictive play experience that I have been depriving myself of for far too long.
Okay, I may be a Pokémon novice, but I’ve been looking into past Pokémon games and have learned a few things. Pokémon Leaf Green does not diverge too much from previous Pokémon offerings. (I suppose if it is not broken – don’t fix it.) This means that fans of the series will find it instantly recognizable and playable, offering the game experience that made them fans in the first place.
In Pokémon Leaf Green the player takes on the role of a young Pokémon trainer (with a choice of selecting either a male or female avatar) as he leaves home to seek adventure. In the world of Pokémon you don’t get far without a protector Pokémon because the areas around the towns are lousy with wild Pokémon that attack unprepared travelers. A visit to Professor Oak, a world-renowned Pokémon trainer and authority, yields a Pokémon to act as your initial protector and a mission: continue the professor’s work of cataloging all the Pokémon varieties and become a great trainer.
Along the way the player will meet other Pokémon trainers and battle their Pokémon for experience and profit, as well as run into some mean customers called Team Rocket. As longtime players of the series know, the number one commandment in the world of Pokémon is “gotta catch ‘em all” and that ends up being the most difficult portion of the game. Pokémon are everywhere. And to see all the varieties in the game, both old and new, will have gamers playing for many hours – through story and beyond.
At Professor Oak’s lab the player is given an initial choice of three Pokémon. I chose Bulbasaur. He looked tough – kind of a cross between a dinosaur, a dog and an onion. At first this Pokémon is fairly weak, but taking on wild Pokémon gives you experience and allows leveling up and learning new attacks. At any one time a Pokémon may have up to four attacks in his arsenal. As a new attack is learned, an old one must be “forgotten” for the new one to become part of his arsenal. Attacks take many forms, from weakening an opponent’s ability to defend itself to landing a simple blow or a poison attack. Leveling up makes the Pokémon tougher, with greater attributes in attack, defense, speed, etc.; at a certain point, he may actually evolve in form.
As the gamer advances, he’ll learn to capture the wild Pokémon to train as part of his stable of Pokémon that can be used in duels. A trainer may carry up to six Pokémon. The order in which these critters are arranged will determine the default sequence for battle. In engagements with wild Pokémon, the player’s first Pokémon will automatically come out to defend against surprise attacks. In more structured duels with trainers, there are some opportunities to choose the Pokémon to be sent out.
It has been said that Pokémon is just an elaborate rock-paper-scissors game. That’s actually a rather fair assessment. Some types of Pokémon are better against certain types than others; an attack that devastates one Pokémon may not affect another. The key is to keep a variety of Pokémon in your ready stable and engage all of them in regular battles to level up and to learn what works against a foe and what does not.
Constantly battling Pokémon may seem extremely violent, but Pokémon are never killed in these duels, they just faint when they receive too much damage. That means battles do not risk all that work of leveling up. A quick trip to a town’s Pokémon Center will make an injured Pokémon good as new. Players may buy, at a Pokémon Mart, potions to heal Pokémon in the field, antidotes to counter the effects of poison and other persistent attacks, and get PokéBalls used to capture wild Pokémon.
It is almost immediately apparent why Pokémon found its greatest fans on the Game Boy systems: it is an almost perfect portable gaming experience. The simple, slower RPG elements and quick battles lend themselves well to the handheld platform. The ability to save at almost any time does not hurt either. And since the games really are about collecting as many Pokémon as possible, it makes trading with friends to complete your Pokémon collection an integral part of the experience. And speaking of trading, longtime players know that Nintendo releases Pokémon games in pairs. For newbies like me, it helps to know that the game you bought does not contain all the possible Pokémon in this generation. You’ll have to find a friend with the Fire Red version to trade with in order to get all the possible Pokémon in this generation of games. But Nintendo has made trading easier than ever with the inclusion of a wireless communications adapter in every Leaf Green and Fire Red Pokémon game. Considering the $34.99 price includes both a good game and a desirable piece of hardware, it is a bargain.
Damn these Pokémon! I was doing fine just thinking they were silly kid stuff. I now know I was wrong. Pokémon Leaf Green is a fun and addictive game that I’ll want to take with me everywhere just to sneak in a few quick battles and further train my Pokémon. I suppose I could not remain ignorant of this treasure forever. Warning to those who have not played a Pokémon game yet: enter at your peril. Once hooked, these games don’t let you go easily.
© 2004 GameShark.com
