I think Pokémon is one of the best games I've ever played, maybe the best. I first knew about it because of the cartoon show, but, nowadays I hardly ever watch an episode.
As a matter of fact, the animé is not the same thing it was for me eight years ago. I'm a twenty-year-old boy and I think our interests change as time passes by.
But the games are something magical. I bought some video games just to play Pokémon games, such as Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Wii (I bought because of them, but I played other games too - video games are quite expensive in Brazil).
Unfortunately, a lot of people (most of them) know Pokémon as the animé thing, and may think the games are Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu doing anything.
Pokémon cartoon brought many people to the world of Pokémon, but now it makes us, Pokémon players, seem infant addicteds of children stuff.
The games are excellent and why? Because it is an intelligent, smart game. It never finishes. Every game can be cool, but sometime it will finish, game over. Ocarina of Time was an excellent game, but it ended, and everything is the same thing.
But now Pokémon... If you don't have all Pokémon, if you don't have all the ribbons, if you didn't win all Battle Towers, there's always something to do. There is always a challenge. And even when CPU fails to challenge you, there's a whole world to beat. Each person will have different stratagies, and you'll have to set different teams in order to beat them. There's always a Pokémon to train, to breed, to catch. That's wonderful.
And about the spin-off games, the one I really played was Pokémon Snap (I don't think Stadium, Colosseum, XD, PBR are Spin-Offs), and I'd play Ranger if I knew anyone who has a DS, just because of Manaphy.
By the way, I hate how they surrender to Pikachu popularity. Pikachu is in every regional dex, Pikachu got an alternate female forme, Pikachu has a foreign dex entry, Pikachu has its own item. Wahtever happens, Pikachu must take part in all. Game Freak won't understant Pikachu is a weak, cute, common Pokémon; and it's all because of that Pikachu!!!
As I mentioned before, I knew Pokémon because of the animé.
Some time after that, I played Pokémon Red (but it wasn't mine), and then I got addicted.
Day: 25 - Month: December - Year: 2000 ---- Christmas. My brother and I got Game Boy Colors and Pokémon Gold and Silver. It was like a dream. It was fascinating.
March 2001: we got our Game Link Cable (I miss them), and I could finally evolve Kadabra, Haunter =D Awesome!
April 2001: a friend of ours also got a Game Boy Color and a cartridge, and he also got Yellow. Wonderful! Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Zapdos, Articuno, Mewtwo and Moltres available. Unfortunately I found out about Mew glitch too late)
Gabriel Rocha (Diby esp)
