Pokémon Blue

Pokémon Red and Blue are played in a third-person view, overhead perspective and consist of three basic screens: an overworld, in which the player navigates the main character; a side-view battle screen with turn based attacking; and a menu interface, in which the player may configure their Pokémon, items, or gameplay settings.

The player can use their Pokémon to battle other Pokémon. When the player encounters a wild Pokémon or is challenged by a trainer, the screen switches to a turn-based battle screen that displays the two engaged Pokémon. During a battle, the player may choose to fight using one of up to four moves, use an item, switch the active Pokémon, or attempt to flee; however, fleeing is not possible in trainer battles. Pokémon have hit points (HP); when a Pokémon's HP is reduced to zero, it faints and can no longer battle until it is revived, which is done either with an item, or healing at a Pokémon Center, healing centres for injured Pokémon.

The player begins in their hometown of Pallet Town in the Kanto Region (inspired by, but not to be confused with the real life Kantō region of Japan). After venturing alone into the tall grass, the player is stopped by Professor Samuel Oak, a famous Pokémon Researcher. Professor Oak explains to the player that wild Pokémon may be living there and encountering them alone can be very dangerous. He takes the player to his laboratory where the player meets Oak's grandson, a rival aspiring Pokémon Trainer.

The player and the rival are both instructed to select a starter Pokémon for their travels out of Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander. Oak's grandson will always choose the Pokémon which is stronger against the player's starting Pokémon. He will then challenge the player to a Pokémon battle with their newly obtained Pokémon and will continue to battle the player at certain points.

The game developer, Satoshi Tajiri, pitched the concept of Pokémon to Nintendo's staff in 1990 and was met with skepticism. They believed his ideas were too ambitious and found it difficult to see the appeal. However, Shigeru Miyamoto saw great potential in the idea and convinced the company to go ahead with the project.

The initial concept for Pokémon stemmed from the hobby of insect collecting, a popular pastime which Tajiri enjoyed as a child. While growing up, however, he observed more urbanization taking place in the town where he lived and as a result, the insect population declined. Tajiri noticed that kids now played in their homes instead of outside and he came up with the idea of a video game, containing creatures that resembled insects, called Pokémon. He thought kids could relate with the Pokémon by individually naming them and then controlling them to represent fear or anger as a good way of relieving stress. However, Pokémon never bleed nor die in battle, only faint – this was a very touchy subject to Tajiri, as he did not want to further fill the gaming world with "pointless violence".

The games received mostly positive reviews, holding an aggregate score of 88% on GameRankings. Special praise was given to its multiplayer features: the ability to trade and battle Pokémon with one another. Craig Harris of IGN gave the games a "masterful" 10 out of 10, noting that: "Even if you finish the quest, you still might not have all the Pokémon in the game. The challenge to catch 'em all is truly the game's biggest draw."

He also commented on the popularity, especially among children, describing it as a "craze". 8 out of 10, cited the graphics and audio as somewhat primitive but stated that these were the only drawbacks. He praised the replay value due to their customization and variety and commented upon their universal appeal: "Under its cuddly exterior, Pokémon is a serious and unique RPG with lots of depth and excellent multiplayer extensions. As an RPG, the game is accessible enough for newcomers to the genre to enjoy, but it will entertain hard-core fans as well.

com composed a list of the "Top 5 'Late to the Party' Games" showing selected games that "prove a gaming platform's untapped potential" and were one of the last games released for their respective console. Red and Blue were ranked first and called Nintendo's "secret weapon" when they were released for the Game Boy in the late 1990s. The success revitalized the Game Boy in the late 1990s. Nintendo Power listed the Red and Blue versions together as the third best video game for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, stating that something kept them playing until they caught every Pokémon.

Game Informer's Ben Reeves called them (along with Pokémon Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal) the second best Game Boy games and stated that it had more depth than it appeared. Official Nintendo Magazine placed the Red and Blue versions 52nd on their list of the 100 best Nintendo games of all time. In 2019, PC Magazine named them on their list of "The 10 Best Game Boy Games". In 2023, Time Extension included them on their "Best JRPGs of All Time" list for growing into an international phenomenon and popularizing the monster-catching genre.