Special Occasion Post:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POKEMON!

-Twenty years ago, Pokemon Red and Pokemon Green hit the shelves of Japanese game stores. Two years late, in 1998, Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue (the US never sold Pokemon Green) found a place in the hands of American children. Finally, one year later, in 1999, Pokemon Yellow was released and it was this game that sold the franchise to kids all over the world. While the first game I played in the series was Pokemon Blue, it was Yellow that solidified a place in my life for any and all Pokemon games. Like millions of other children, Pokemon gave me the feeling that I was an adventurer. The real world was boring but with a switch on the side of my GameBoy, I was completely encapsulated by a totally new world in which I was the hero, the guy everyone watched. I battled my way through wild Pokemon and trainers alike, obtaining the eight badges necessary to challenge the Elite Four. After many tough battles, I was the new Pokemon Champion. Being the first game I ever beat, Pokemon Yellow gave me a feeling like no other. I, not him or her, was the one Champion.
Now, twenty years later and multiple entries into the franchise, I'm still being granted that feeling by one of my favorite franchises. Being the twentieth birthday, GameFreak and Nintendo have decided to not only re-release Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow (via the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console), but after a six-minute, nostalgia-filled Pokemon Direct (ala Nintendo Direct), two new Pokemon games, Pokemon Sun & Pokemon Moon, have been announced for a worldwide release Holiday 2016. Having never misses a Pokemon game, you can bet on me being at Gamestop, waiting in line with plenty of other Pokemon Trainers, patiently watching the clock knowing that once it hits midnight, my next adventure begins.
This post isn't a review or a public announcement. This post is an appreciation post, a happy birthday, to a game that will forever hold a place in my hands.
Thank you Pokemon..