In preparation for Pokemon Red , Blue , and Yellow arriving on the Nintendo 3DS later this month, a new trailer surfaces that’s sure to bring back fond memories for fans.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Pokemon Red , Blue , and Yellow , and given that the games sold more than 25 million copies and launched one of the company’s biggest franchises, Nintendo is going out of its way to mark this milestone.
Later this month,trainers old and new will be able to download the original trio of titles via the Virtual Console service on the Nintendo 3DS. Now, Nintendo has published a lengthy trailer that’s sure to elicit plenty of nostalgia from anyone who was around to play these games when they released in the late 1990s.
From its unmistakeable chiptune soundtrack, to the classic monster-collecting gameplay that made Pokemon a hit worldwide, the original generation is still well-loved by many. More recent releases like Pokemon X & Y have certainly helped the franchise break new ground, but many tenured fans will always return to Red, Blue and Yellow .
First released in Japan in 1996, followed by a 1998 launch in North America, Pokemon Red and Blue were based on series creator Satoshi Tajiri’s childhood memories. Growing up in the more rural Tokyo of the 1960s and 1970s, Tajiri earned the nickname ‘Dr. Bug’ thanks to his love of insect collecting.
A huge component of the franchise’s success was its focus on collecting and trading. Players were encouraged to seek out friends with the opposite version of the game, as the only way to collect all 151 Pokemon was to swap for some of the beasties exclusive to each edition — the Virtual Console re-release allows players to trade via a local wireless connection, but unfortunately there’s no way to make the exchange over the Internet.
Nintendo would capitalize on the television show’s massive audience by offering a third version of the game, Pokemon Yellow . This third pillar allowed players to choose Pikachu as their starter Pokemon , and contained a host of other minor and major changes, prompting the tradition of a supplementary release that continued for a decade.
Now, fans who missed out on Red, Blue and Yellow will be able to experience how this monumental franchise got its start — and there’ll no doubt be plenty of trainers returning for another shot at the Elite Four, too.
Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow are scheduled to be released for Nintendo 3DS on February 27, 2016.