Pokémon Green is the OG Japanese version of the classic we all know as Pokémon Blue in the West. Same great monster-catching adventure, just with slightly different sprites—Bulbasaur looks a little goofier here, and some of the battle animations are jank in that charming early Game Boy way.

You start in Pallet Town like always, picking your first Pokémon (I usually go with Squirtle—water types are solid early game). The pixel art feels nostalgic now, but back then, wandering through Viridian Forest with those crunchy MIDI bug sounds was pure magic. Just watch out for those Weedles—they love spamming Poison Sting.

If you’ve only played the international releases, it’s fun to spot the tiny differences. The game’s in Japanese, but the menus are easy enough to navigate if you’ve played Red/Blue before. Definitely a neat piece of Pokémon history.