Player Two Start: An SNES-CD Timeline

[RySenkari]

This is kind of hard to swallow for me. You're telling me that Mew, who was shoved in the last minute by Ishihara into that 300 bytes of space left over from the removal of the debug tools (especially after he was told not to), didn't cause any RNG glitches at all?

Initially it did, the glitch was removed from the North American version of the game. It can still be performed on the Japanese versions.

 

[Trexador96]

So will Sato actually age in this version?

 

[Roger Redux]

“But I was too busy doing both work for Capcom and work for Activision on their new Jewels of the Realm game for the Ultra

Oh, a new Jewels of the Realm game?
Just in time for the animated series' cancellation!

Ballistic Limit 2: The Basics

Awesome!

Knights Of The Round Table
Dan: 7.5
Shawn: 7.5
Crispin: 7.0
Sushi-X: 7.0 (quote: “While this platformer about a young hero wanting to become one of King Arthur's knights is a bit repetitive, the voices and many of the missions are pretty fun, so it's worth a rental if you're interested.”)

Why? Why, at this point, would a King Arthur game be a platformer and not an epic RPG?

The first of the two games was Mega Man X5

Sounds cool.

Mega Man Legends was a MUCH different game from any Mega Man game seen before.

Sounds Awesome!

Mega Man Legends would be ported to the Saturn in 1999, in slightly downgraded form but with a couple extra little missions, and Saturn owners generally enjoyed the game as much as those who played it on the Ultra Nintendo did. The game would receive a sequel in 2000.

Would the graphics be less downgraded with the Ring?

The Racing And Chasing Comes To London!
Race'n'Chase: London, a sequel to 1997's Race'n'Chase that sees the corrupt cops and ultra-violent criminal activity of the original going back in time to 1969 London arrives this month on the Sega Saturn. It plays largely the same as the original, though its cultural lampoonings now poke fun at 60s mod culture and events like the music-based British invasion. Though there's not much in London that didn't appear in the original, fans of the original game won't find too much to take issue with about this sequel and it should start flying off the shelves upon its August 17th release.

-excerpted from a blurb in the August 1998 issue of GamePro magazine

^_^ Glad to see R'n'C becoming the franchise that GTA is OTL! Actually the ability to play as a bad cop makes the early games sound even better. Is 'London: 1961' still going to be made, or is the next one going to be Race'n'Chase 2? Will Race'n'Chase 2 be largely like OTL's or will it be open-world 3D like OTL's GTA 3? Will it have a subtitle? Race'n'Chase 2: Grand Theft Auto?

Race'n'Chase Studio Working on Beat 'em Up?

Rockstar Games, which just released Race'n'Chase: London on the Sega Saturn, now seems to be in the initial stages of planning a new game: A beat-em-up title, similar to the classic Streets of Rage series, said to contain much of the bawdy humor and over-the-top violence that made Race'n'Chase such a controversial success. We'll surely hear more about this rumored game as the months go by, and we may be in for a proper announcement before the end of the year. If so, Rockstar is likely to show off the game at next year's E3 conference, though it hasn't yet been revealed if they intend to release the game for the Saturn, the Ultra Nintendo, or both.

Color me intrigued. I look forward to more.

Legend Of The Galactic Heroes is a real treat, a great mix of tactical RPGs with the visual novel genre that perfectly complements its source material (an extremely fun anime that might have already begun airing on the Disney Channel depending on when you read this) and may be even better than Enix's Ogre Battle, it contains a myriad of characters whom you'll instantly want to form relationships with, and two different quests, which means that you have to play through the game twice to get the whole story. It's a little on the tough side, but if you can manage your characters' relationships, you shouldn't get overwhelmed in battle. There really hasn't been a game like this on the Sega Saturn, at least not here in the United States, and we're really glad to be finally getting this one which has been doing really well in Japan for over a year. It's a long, complex game, but if you play through to the end, you'll be rewarded with one amazing quest.

Score: 9/10

Sounds like a nice mix that could be a bit of everything.

On the way home, she passed a movie theater, which had several posters of coming attractions over the next year. She passed the spectacular poster for Deep Impact

Deep Impact, starring....?

Here is the basic outline of Legend of the Galactic Heroes. A big thanks to RySenkari and Nivek for letting me contribute.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes​

Oh. My. God! That sounds absolutely EPIC! Now I really want a TTL Saturn so I can play this game! Is this something that sort-of exists OTL that you ironed out the kinks of, completely original, or exactly as OTL but just one of those 'lost gems' that never got an English release? Either way, great job C.W.!
​

Fritz Joseph Bittenfeld- "Forward! Forward! The goddess of victory is waving her underwear in your face!"

ROFLMAO! Add that to the list of game lines that'll get Youtube-pooped to death! That has to be the most inspirationally hilarious thing I've heard since that line from Gladiator: "And the Great Whore will suckle us, until we are fat and content and can suckle no more!" (which I'm kind of amazed hasn't been Youtube-pooped to death, despite them not much being live-action movie lines, you'd think this is one they'd make an exception for.)

I just realized with Tarantino directing Godzilla does that mean no Jackie Brown?

Right, he decided not to do it.

Decided not to make it at all, or just pushed it back a year or two?
If it is butterflied away completely then TTL me has absolutely no idea who Pam Greer is, as Jackie Brown is/was the first (and only) film of hers that I've seen.

All of the Pokemon stuff sounds great!
At the very least you haven't deprived the internet of *high-pitched voice w/oscillating fan reverb effect* "HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN...
HMMMHMMMHMMMMHMMMAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

 

[ANARCHY_4_ALL]

How as no one mentioned how hilarious it is that Rocky voices the guy with the rock type pokemon? Also you mentioned all 150 pokemon will not show up in Pokemon Stadium. I thought IOTL you could transfer your pokemon from the Gameboy version over to the game? Correct me if I'm wrong but I will check myself after posting this though.
So, the original Japanese version did not include tranfer but the later NA version of the sequel did which came out as the first. Interestingly I never realized this, curious to see how that goes ITTL.

Roger, I was thinking the same thing about Pam Grier and that is why I asked. As far as I know it probably will effect Chris Tucker too. Not so much for Robert De Niro or Samuel L. Jackson. SLJ is more likely to have a boom by starring as the hero in Godzilla. The real question is if QT becomes more prolific after the success of this blockbuster. I don't mind never seeing a Jackie Brown ITTL if you have QT make more movies than OTL. But don't butterfly Inglorious Basterds please.

 

[maritroniuity]

By late 1998, due to Hasbro's huge marketing push, Tamagotchi was still going strong (and would get even stronger once the anime came to Fox Kids in 1999).

So even with Digimon butterflied away, There's still a similar? series only with Tamagotchi. HAHA

 

[Roger Redux]

But don't butterfly Inglorious Basterds please.

This, I wholeheartedly second! It's actually my favorite QT film so far, and it would take too long to mention everything that I love about it.

 

[ANARCHY_4_ALL]

This, I wholeheartedly second! It's actually my favorite QT film so far, and it would take too long to mention everything that I love about it.

Probably my favorite too, though it is hard to choose. But as to why I love IB so much well besides Christoph Waltz... Hitler getting shreded by Eli Roth. Can't figure out how that scene has not been made into meme gif yet.

 

[RySenkari]

So will Sato actually age in this version?

Yes, but that's all I'll spoil for now.

Why? Why, at this point, would a King Arthur game be a platformer and not an epic RPG?

King Arthur games have sadly had a history of being disappointing. It won't be until Western RPGs become more prominent that we'll have a chance of seeing anything epic involving Camelot. There IS a Western RPG coming along in 1999 about knights and kings that's pretty good but King Arthur isn't involved in that one.

Would the graphics be less downgraded with the Ring?

Slightly less.

Is 'London: 1961' still going to be made, or is the next one going to be Race'n'Chase 2? Will Race'n'Chase 2 be largely like OTL's or will it be open-world 3D like OTL's GTA 3? Will it have a subtitle? Race'n'Chase 2: Grand Theft Auto?

London 1961 will be a PC exclusive as IOTL. Race'n'Chase 2 is coming to consoles in 1999 and will be largely like OTL's GTA II. No subtitle.

Deep Impact, starring....?

You'll see.

Decided not to make it at all, or just pushed it back a year or two?

Decided not to make it at all. His next film will be Kill Bill.

Also you mentioned all 150 pokemon will not show up in Pokemon Stadium. I thought IOTL you could transfer your pokemon from the Gameboy version over to the game? Correct me if I'm wrong but I will check myself after posting this though.
So, the original Japanese version did not include tranfer but the later NA version of the sequel did which came out as the first. Interestingly I never realized this, curious to see how that goes ITTL.

IOTL, the original Japanese Pokemon Stadium, which came out in August 1998, did not have transfer or a full set of Pokemon. THAT is the one being referred to here, instead of August 1998, it comes out in early 1999. The Pokemon Stadium that WE got first was the Japanese Pokemon Stadium 2.

 

[KamuiArchetype]

a fierce and arrogant trainer at the end who is using a Zapdos,

Yeeeah, I can't see this going over well with Pokemon fans, especially at the height of Pokemania. Remember how everyone OTL hated (and still hates) Tobias (and the episode he featured in, "League Unleashed") because he had a freaking Darkrai and Latios? That's pretty much what's going to happen here, except to a much greater degree due to Pokemania going on. Even though it's not the heyday of Pokemon, people still hate "League Unleashed" and Tobias (and he's a pretty decent, sportsmanlike fellow) because he had Legendaries. Here? With Pokemon at its highest and with the enemy trainer being a jackass? The only reason this episode isn't going to be considered worse than League Unleashed is because Sato wins. It's still not going to be in anyone's favorites just because of Zapdos being captured. Pokefans take the whole "anime trainers shouldn't have Legendaries!" thing seriously.

 

[RySenkari]

Yeeeah, I can't see this going over well with Pokemon fans, especially at the height of Pokemania. Remember how everyone OTL hated (and still hates) Tobias (and the episode he featured in, "League Unleashed") because he had a freaking Darkrai and Latios? That's pretty much what's going to happen here, except to a much greater degree due to Pokemania going on. Even though it's not the heyday of Pokemon, people still hate "League Unleashed" and Tobias (and he's a pretty decent, sportsmanlike fellow) because he had Legendaries. Here? With Pokemon at its highest and with the enemy trainer being a jackass? The only reason this episode isn't going to be considered worse than League Unleashed is because Sato wins. It's still not going to be in anyone's favorites just because of Zapdos being captured. Pokefans take the whole "anime trainers shouldn't have Legendaries!" thing seriously.

That's why it's so glorious when Sato overcomes the odds and beats him.

And I LIKE Tobias, he's a badass and second only to Cynthia on the list of Poke-badasses

 

[Nivek]

That's why it's so glorious when Sato overcomes the odds and beats him.

And I LIKE Tobias, he's a badass and second only to Cynthia on the list of Poke-badasses

At least Sato did was put against the odds, not certain man whose name is....

Yeah that was the idea, like if metaplay someone do that, they frowed up like playing cheap(legendary are for the exhibition and fun and gigles matches,xd)

at the end of day, we broke 2500 Answers, pretty nice, hope we can get to 5000 soon too,xd.

 

[KamuiArchetype]

That's why it's so glorious when Sato overcomes the odds and beats him.

And I LIKE Tobias, he's a badass and second only to Cynthia on the list of Poke-badasses

Yeah, but that's still not going to be enough for fans to accept some one-shot trainer having a Legendary, IMO, badass battle or no. From my observations of Pokefans over the years since the release of the franchise, they tend to prefer that Legendaries in non-game media never be under the control of any trainer at all, since that ruins the mystique surrounding them, in their eyes.

Eh, I'm pretty neutral about Tobias (my default feelings for all one-shot trainers in the anime). I don't really care what Pokermans any trainer in the anime has, but other Pokefans tend to be the opposite, from what I've seen.

 

[Nivek]

I was during shinon shitstorm(to put it midly) and that wasn't more about legendaries, but how that was the cheapest plot device to make Ash/Sato to loss a league because winning would 'end' the series somehow, that was the 'controversy', people did like mercenaries, specially in all media, just they give ash a low blow and middle finger during that incident.

 

[ANARCHY_4_ALL]

Yeah, but that's still not going to be enough for fans to accept some one-shot trainer having a Legendary, IMO, badass battle or no. From my observations of Pokefans over the years since the release of the franchise, they tend to prefer that Legendaries in non-game media never be under the control of any trainer at all, since that ruins the mystique surrounding them, in their eyes.

Eh, I'm pretty neutral about Tobias (my default feelings for all one-shot trainers in the anime). I don't really care what Pokermans any trainer in the anime has, but other Pokefans tend to be the opposite, from what I've seen.

I'm kind of neutral on this. But as a suggestion maybe he should have a Raichu or Jolteon instead? Raichu would add an interesting dynamic especially considering that Sato's next battle is against his father. Sato could doubt himself but think back to how Pikachu just defeated his own evolution and draw the comparison.

 

[Nivek]

I'm kind of neutral on this. But as a suggestion maybe he should have a Raichu or Jolteon instead? Raichu would add an interesting dynamic especially considering that Sato's next battle is against his father. Sato could doubt himself but think back to how Pikachu just defeated his own evolution and draw the comparison.

we're already have that trope with Lt Surge and do it too fast would violated seven year rule(pokemon waited literally 10 years to repeat that trick)

 

[KamuiArchetype]

I was during shinon shitstorm(to put it midly) and that wasn't more about legendaries, but how that was the cheapest plot device to make Ash/Sato to loss a league because winning would 'end' the series somehow, that was the 'controversy', people did like mercenaries, specially in all media, just they give ash a low blow and middle finger during that incident.

Yeah, but even before that episode you wouldn't believe some of the rage fits I've seen fans have before then whenever someone would suggest some one-shot trainer would have a Legendary in their line-up, even the comment was obviously a joke.

 

[ANARCHY_4_ALL]

we're already have that trope with Lt Surge and do it too fast would violated seven year rule(pokemon waited literally 10 years to repeat that trick)

Just realized after I commented it has literally been more than 10 years since I watched the show. After all this Pokemania I am going to watch it though lol. Netflix I love you.

 

[starwarsfan]

September 7, 1998

On “Pokemonday”, Pokemon Red and Green launches in North America. Sales are fairly soft on the first day, though it's still the biggest first day in sales for a Game Boy game in North America since the launch of Donkey Kong Land 2 alongside the Game Boy Color back in 1996. The anime also launches and soon becomes the highest rated show on Toonami, though the entire block is now Cartoon Network's highest rated segment, and ratings steadily climb throughout 1998 and 1999. The sales of the Pokemon video game remain strong throughout September, October, and November, but come December, they explode and by the end of the year, Pokemon Red and Green would become one of the top five best North American sellers on the Game Boy.

Pokemon Red and Green: The Basics

Pokemon Red and Green are the versions of the game that are released in North America on September 7, 1998. The games are based on a slightly enhanced version of the Japanese Pokemon Blue Version that released in 1997. Compared to the OTL North American Pokemon games, these can be described as slightly enhanced from OTL's Pokemon Red and Blue, but not quite on the level of Pokemon Crystal, with one major exception: the soundtrack, which has been totally overhauled for the enhanced speakers in OTL's Game Boy Color. While the games can be played on an original Game Boy unit, Game Boy Color players get a version of the game that is slightly bumped up in graphics and with sound quality approaching that of a Super Nintendo game. Many of the glitches found in OTL's Pokemon games do not appear in these, though the Missingno glitch is the most notable that remains. The glitch allowing players to obtain Mew via RNG manipulation has been removed, indeed, most of the RNG manipulation glitches have been taken out of the game.

The basic plotline of the game is identical to OTL's: you start as a young boy who is allowed to choose between three Pokemon: Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. You then go around the world, collecting Pokemon and battling Gym Leaders for badges that allow you the opportunity to compete in the Pokemon league, battling your rival Gary at the end. The two biggest changes to the plot concern the S.S. Anne and Lavender Town. The S.S. Anne is attacked by a band of pirates, and you have to fight their leader, a female pirate named Calliope. In Lavender Town, it is explicitly stated that Gary's Raticate died from being overtrained and that's why Gary visited Lavender Town. You have to battle the vengeful spirit of Gary's Raticate at one point in Pokemon Tower.

Butterflies have left the original 150 Pokemon largely untouched, the major butterflies concerning alternate Pokemon do not occur until the sequel to the game. However, eight of the original 150 have either been majorly altered or switched out entirely, those are:

Sandshrew → replaced with Molbore, a mole Pokemon whose type is still Ground
Sandslash → replaced with Molcrush, a mole Pokemon whose type is Ground/Fighting, Molebore's evolution
Nidoran m and Nidoran f → Names changed to Nidobun and Nidobell
Drowzee → replaced with Hotlein, a Psychic/Fire Pokemon holding a telephone
Hypno → replaced with Oracoal, a Psychic/Fire Pokemon that utilizes tarot cards
Kangaskhan → becomes an evolution of Marowak, its baby is a Cubone
Lapras → name changed to Plesia

The trade evolution and PvP battle mechanics remain identical to OTL. For the most part, Pokemon Red and Green are nearly identical to OTL's Pokemon Red and Blue, with very subtle enhancements and changes. They are essentially the same games as IOTL and are equally well received and equally popular.

-

The Pokemon Anime In TTL

The Pokemon anime is also, at least for the first 70 episodes or so, nearly identical to the version that appeared IOTL. There are subtle changes which include:

-One of Misty's sisters, Lily, is a LOT nicer to Misty than she was IOTL and is actually a fairly competent battler. Sato develops a bit of a crush on her, making Misty jealous (in fact, ITTL Sato is more interested in girls in general, though not nearly to the degree of the lecherous Brock).
-A.J. does not have a Sandshrew, he has a Machop and he still beats Sato for his 100th victory.
-The S.S. Anne saga indeed heavily involves Calliope and her pirate crew, and when the ship is shipwrecked, Calliope and Sato get stranded on an island together and we learn a lot about her past.
-Sabrina isn't a deranged psychic who traps people in a dollhouse, she's just a very strong trainer. Sato still has to get Haunter to beat her.
-The Hypno episode is replaced with an episode where Team Rocket is running a fraudulent psychic friends hotline in order to catch Oracoal.
-In the Safari Zone Kangaskhan episode, Cubone and Marowak appear frequently.
-Sato's Charmeleon stays a Charmeleon for a few more episodes, the Aerodactyl episode appears later in the run
-Sato's Bulbasaur evolves into an Ivysaur in the Venusaur episode, initially it still doesn't want to but in order to save the Venusaur from being captured by Team Rocket it evolves
-Sato's Squirtle evolves into a Wartortle in the Misty Mermaid episode, Sato is the one who rescues Lily and Violet after Team Rocket takes their place, Sato wants to go after Team Rocket to impress Lily but gets into trouble at which point his Squirtle evolves to save him
-The episode where Sato gets the Earth Badge has heavy allusions to Giovanni being Sato's father and nothing about armored Mewtwo
-In the Pokemon League, Sato wins. He wins the entire tournament including an epic battle with a fierce and arrogant trainer at the end who is using a Zapdos, Zapdos and Pikachu have an epic battle but Pikachu wins. After Sato wins the Pokemon League, he becomes a Pokemon Champion, but is then told that in order to be a Pokemon MASTER, he has to defeat the Elite Four AND the last person in order to do so. He is told that no champion has beaten the Elite Four in 10 years, and in fact most of them lose to Lorelai...who Sato now must face immediately after winning the League Championship.
-Sato defeats Lorelai, but it's a brutal battle and afterward his Charizard is frozen solid, similarly to how it was at the end of the Poliwrath episode. Sato is told that he will have a match against Bruno in one week's time. The remainder of the season, about 30 episodes in all, revolves around Sato prepping for the Elite Four and battling them one by one. Events that occur during this time include: Sato's Wartortle and Ivysaur evolving into Blastoise and Venusaur, Sato finding out more about his father, and Sato and Misty gradually drawing closer together.
-One by one, Sato beats Bruno, Agatha, and then finally Lance and his pair of Dragonites. Then he goes up against the Champion of the Pokemon League...and it's his father and the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni. The battle between Sato and Giovanni is incredibly fierce and deeply personal, but in the end, Sato defeats Giovanni, who agrees to disband Team Rocket afterward (by this point, Jessie and James have already been reformed and are on Sato's side). He is given one final mission: to catch 'em all. He sets out on a new mission with Brock and Misty to catch all 150 Pokemon, and the first season ends.
-The Mewtwo movie is a canon post-script of this first season, capping off the series (Sato doesn't catch Mewtwo but Mewtwo tells Sato he'll have a chance to catch him someday if Mewtwo deems him worthy).

As for the dubbing of the Pokemon anime, it's done by BangZoom Entertainment in Los Angeles, and the North American version is much looser than IOTL in terms of censorship. The Porygon episode, which had its seizure-inducing scenes removed before ever airing in Japan, is of course brought over, as is the Safari Zone episode with the gun wielding warden and Team Rocket. Even the beach episode remains, though the part where James has giant inflatable breasts is removed. The voice cast of the TTL Pokemon dub includes:

Sato: Brianne Siddall
Misty: Rebecca Forstadt
Brock: Steve Cardenas
Jessie: Wendee Lee
James: Steve Staley

The first 52 episodes air on Toonami from September-November 1998. The next 52 episodes, all the way up to the end of the first season, air on Toonami from June-August 1999, with the first movie appearing in November 1999 as IOTL.

-

But it wasn't just the games or the anime that infected all of America with Pokemania. There was a ton of merchandise, a TON of it that hit stores alongside the release or in the weeks and months afterwards. Action figures and plushies were made of many of the more popular Pokemon and even a few of the lesser Pokemon, allowing people to act out their Pokemon-related fantasies in real life. And on Halloween, it was very common to see people walking around dressed as a Pokemon trainer or even as a Pokemon, with Pokemon-related costumes selling better than anything else that Halloween season. There were plenty of electronic devices released as well. Tiger made a handheld Pokedex with information on all 150 original Pokemon (Mew was notably absent, Nintendo wouldn't even reveal Mew's existence to the West until the distribution events in 1999), and there were a series of devices to go up against Hasbro's Tamagotchi series of digital pets. By late 1998, due to Hasbro's huge marketing push, Tamagotchi was still going strong (and would get even stronger once the anime came to Fox Kids in 1999). So Nintendo brought out four interactive digital pet devices: the Pokemon Pikachu, the Pokemon Charmander, the Pokemon Squirtle, and the Pokemon Bulbasaur. The keychain-like devices, which Sony worked on with Nintendo, featured full color screens and retailed for $24.99, allowing you to raise up one of the four most notable Pokemon (and if you had Squirtle, Charmander, or Bulbasaur, you could evolve them).

There was also a card game, brought to the West by Wizards of the Coast in 1999. The company was already known for its radically popular Magic: The Gathering game, and Pokemon was somewhat similar, though vastly simplified, with six different types of Energy cards and the ability to power up your Pokemon's moves by attaching one energy card per turn. The success of the Pokemon card game inspired Sony to make its own collectible card game in 2000 featuring characters from its various video game properties, such as Ballistic Limit, Tales Of The Seven Seas, Dog Dash, and numerous others. The Pokemon card game instantly rose to become the #2 most popular collectible card game in the world and is still popular to this day.

Nintendo's Pokemon franchise wasn't just a game. It was a full-on merchandise blitz, and alongside Nintendo's record Ultra Nintendo sales, sent the company's fortunes soaring in the late 90s and into the dawn of the new millennium.

-excerpted from a 2013 article posted on Gamesovermatter.com

-

Anchorwoman: And today is the day, “Pokemonday”, as Nintendo calls it, when their much anticipated Pokemon game and animated series will formally launch here in the United States. While there weren't many crowds at a local Toys 'r Usthis morning when we sent our reporter, staff there expects business to pick up this afternoon once area schools let out.

Reporter: Yes, it's one of the most highly anticipated games of the year. Pokemon, for Nintendo's Game Boy, puts you in the role of a young boy who must capture all 150 of these creatures, big and small. The creatures are split amongst two games, Pokemon Red, and Pokemon Green, and you'll have to trade with your friends if you want to catch 'em all. We're here with the manager of a local Toys 'r Us who expects major sales for the game all this week.

Manager: Well, we had a few people show up at midnight to buy the game, but so far business has been pretty light.

Reporter: It being a school day, do you expect more youngsters to come buy the game later on this afternoon?

Manager: We're actually not expecting the really big rush until Friday or Saturday, the weekend, that's when parents are more likely to come in and buy the game. We're not seeing sales like we saw with the last big game, which was Ballistic Limit 2, we had a midnight release for that game and nearly sold out, but for this one we've still got plenty of copies on the shelves.

Reporter: Now, have you tried out Pokemon?

Manager: I actually have, it's a pretty cute little game but it looks really time-consuming.

Reporter: *laughs* So you think kids will be spending a lot of time with their noses in a Game Boy from now on?

Manager: It sure looks to be that way.

Reporter: Well, we'll check back here at five o'clock to see if sales have picked up.

Anchorwoman: And of course the Pokemon game isn't the only thing Nintendo is debuting today. There's also an animated series on the cable channel Cartoon Network, which follows the storyline of the game and introduces the creatures as part of a living, breathing world. Nintendo's also announced plans for a line of toys and Halloween costumes that will be available over the coming weeks.

-from a news report on WHDH-TV that aired on the morning of September 7, 1998

-

Ted Crosley: Behind all the hype, Pokemon to me was just an average RPG. The element of catching these little creatures is compelling, but compared to all the other RPGs that are out there, it's pretty plain. The graphics are...okay, I guess. The music is good if you're playing on a Game Boy Color.

Alex Stansfield: I have to disagree about the game being average, it's extremely fun and really addictive and I couldn't get enough of finding all the Pokemon.

Ted: Here's a big problem, if you don't have a friend with the game, or two Game Boys, you're not gonna find all the Pokemon. There are only about 135 Pokemon in each of these games, if you REALLY wanna “catch 'em all”, you HAVE to trade. In fact, to evolve several of the Pokemon, you have to trade them.

Alex: Well, there ARE a lot of people with two Game Boys because of the Game Boy Color.

Ted: So you have to buy two copies of the game which are practically identical.

Alex: And that is a strike against it, I agree, but the gameplay is excellent. It's like a huge game of rock-paper-scissors where you have 15 types, some are weak to others-

Ted: And that's another thing. The Psychic and Dragon types are WAY overpowered, Dragon resists almost everything and is only weak to Ice and Dragon which are rare types to find.

Alex: Dragons should be stronger, they're dragons!

Ted: There's only three different Dragon types in the whole game! The balance is WAY out of whack. The graphics, even for Game Boy, aren't that great. I was really disappointed with Pokemon.

Alex: It's not for everyone but I think everyone should at least give it a chance. You can sit and play this game for hours at a time and not get bored. It's a fantastic game, there are lots of creative Pokemon designs...

Ted: Which is one thing I liked, the creativity of the different creatures. Pretty much every animal under the sun is represented.

Alex: Right, and you never know what you're going to get when you encounter a Pokemon in the field. It makes for a really thrilling experience that I really liked. I'm giving this game a 4.

Ted: And I'm giving it a 3. It's got a lot of problems an I think you should know what you're getting into.

-excerpted from the September 8, 1998 episode of GameTV

-

Nintendo's Future Plans For The Pokemon Franchise

With Pokemon Red and Green a massive success, Nintendo is set to announce their future plans for the series at their Spaceworld conference, coming up in a few days. Most notably, Nintendo is almost certain to announce the sequel to Red and Green and a timetable for its Japanese release. Nintendo has kept details of this new game a secret, and it's likely that the game will contain more than 100 new creatures, with some having already been revealed in the hit anime. We're also likely to learn more about the new Pokemon Adventure game set to release on the SNES-CD by the end of the year. The game is said to present an abbreviated version of the Game Boy's adventure and will probably see a North American release sometime next year, making it one of the final SNES-CD games. We're also likely to hear more news on the Ultra Nintendo titles Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Safari. Pokemon Stadium brings the series' trademark battles into a fully 3-D arena, but little else is known about it other than the fact that it won't include all 150 Pokemon, but that a later version of the game might. Then there's Pokemon Safari, which takes players through a 3-D world filled with Pokemon and allows players to interact with them and even take pictures. The game will be released at the beginning of 1999 in Japan and will likely be a summer 1999 release in the States.

It's clear that Pokemon will be a major part of Nintendo's plans going forward, both on its handheld system and on its home console. We'll be sure to bring you any news as soon as it breaks.

-from an article posted on RPGamer.net on October 9, 1998

Great update on Pokemon, the part about Gary and lavendar town was surprisingly dark, the anime differences are pretty interesting as well

 

[RySenkari]

Zapdos is here to stay, the fans will just have to deal with it It wouldn't be the first unpopular decision an anime writer has made

Also, there would be some build-up to this guy since it would be planned from the start that he's Sato's final Pokemon League opponent. He shows up at Bill's lighthouse, he shows up at various points throughout the season, similarly to how the Champion would in the various games. He talks cryptically about the Legendary Pokemon, so it's not a HUGE surprise when he whips one out in the final match. I think a lot of the fans will see it has having been earned that this guy gets to have one. Also he is a popular character BEFORE he is revealed to have a Zapdos, so at worst he'll be polarizing but not universally hated.

 

[ANARCHY_4_ALL]

One other thing Ash/Sato was not A.J.'s 100th victory. He was the 99th and Team Rocket were the 100th. I'm going to assume they intentionally steal Machop as he cannot be mistaken for Pikachu like Sandshrew was.