Ah, Pocket Monsters: Green Version—the one that started it all. You boot it up on your chunky gray Game Boy, and suddenly you're back in 1996, staring at Professor Oak’s lab with that same old dilemma: Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle? (I always went fire lizard, no regrets.)

The pixelated Kanto region feels tiny now compared to modern Pokémon games, but there’s something weirdly cozy about it. You’ll bump into trainers who throw Pidgeys at you like it’s their job, grind levels in Viridian Forest while dodzing endless Weedles, and—if you’re like me—panic when your rival’s Eevee evolves into a Jolteon way too early.

Team Rocket’s schemes are hilariously low-stakes (stealing TM28 for… digging?), and the glitches are half the fun. MissingNo. still feels like a secret you weren’t supposed to find. The music’s simple but iconic—that Lavender Town theme still creeps me out. It’s janky, it’s grindy, and honestly? Still kinda perfect. Just don’t forget to save before the Elite Four.