Throughout the course of my time here on earth, there has been a number of games which have helped develop my exquisite taste in gaming. If I were to sit here and write about each and every one of them, it would surely exceed the 100-300 word limit of this assignment. Therefore I'll only talk about one title which have really established a comfortable niche in the back of my mind, here it goes...
Pokemon Red - Pokemon is arguably the most virulent franchise ever created, and has acted as a gateway drug by further leading me into their game sequels (many and many of them), trading card games, competitive tournaments, books, TV Shows, and even fancy apparel. The game had an addictive element, I remember fighting my brothers for playtime on the Game Boy and freaking out when we lost a save. What parts of it did I enjoy the most? Collecting all the different types of Pokemon? Breeding them? Pokemon Battles? Beating the Elite 4? or successfully capturing rare Pokemon (Mewtwo without using a Masterball)? None of these aspects alone can really define the addictive nature of the game, but collectively, they are able to strongly captivate and bind the player. You can find many aspects of the Pokemon game in many other games, but what Pokemon excels in is its ability to mesh everything together, the "unique" battle system, the story, side stories, an expansive/explorable world, and of course, incredible art work.
Due to the limitations of handheld gaming technology at the time (we had to buy link cables to physically link up Game Boys to play with other people), the multiplayer component of the game was deeply crippled and not a core aspect of the game. There has been great changes to the landscape of the gaming industry since Pokemon, and modern games now put great focus on adding social and multiplayer features. It is incredible to think that if the Pokemon franchise had been launched around this day and age, will it still be able to achieve the same insurmountable success that it had 10 or so years ago? The answer is probably no!
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