And so, it finally begins: my foray into a certain video game phenomenon that's ballooned far past its Nintendo origins. In a development still eluding my inner seven-year-old, I've largely cooled on my
Pokémon passion. This isn't to say we had a falling out -- my two visits to
Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions should be testament enough -- but that I've only just purchased
Pokémon Let's Go: Pikachu! four months after release, still have yet to open it, and am currently resisting the smoldering coals of Pikachu's eyes as I type this prove it's no longer my No. 1 video game priority. I confess this as a young man whose
Pokémon background mirrored that of every other young boy in 1999 America
: I played
Pokémon Red
-- one of the two versions we're reviewing today -- to death, worshipped the localized cartoon
daily, and collected countless cards, stuffed
animals, books, and toys. Those, too, reflect the ravages of time: the teams I've forged in
Pokémon Red are
forgotten and erased, I've long since abandoned the (still-running!)
anime, my old cards -- despite my best efforts in preservation binders
-- still pop up in various nooks and crannies, strategy
guides and comic books lie torn and/or lost, the stuffed animals display worn seams and cat gnawed-tears, and toys lie broken, disassembled, and battery-drained.
That it took this long to cover a full-length review for
Pokémon -- having previously only covered brief impressions for
Pokémon Soul Silver and
Pokémon White while only reviewing the
Detective Pikachu spin-off
-- most publicly proves this shift
, but make no mistake: while we could chalk up any number of reasons why I've fallen off the
Pokémon ride, my same passion for writing, game analysis, and
historic study applied to its Game Boy roots. It is my dedication to nostalgia that keeps me on this path, and what better evidence than playing both
Red and Blue
versions via their 3DS Virtual Console re-releases to completion? This was completely unnecessary in itself -- both only differ in version-exclusive Pokémon to catch -- but their infamous balance sparked an insatiable curiosity. If there's any
confirmation a deep love for Pikachu still beats in my heart, let it be
that.
