Pokémon Nuzlocke Red takes the classic Game Boy adventure and cranks up the tension with its infamous rules—catch only the first Pokémon in each area, and if one faints, it's gone for good. No second chances. That Pidgey you caught on Route 1? Better hope it survives, because you're stuck with it.

At first, it feels brutal—losing your starter to a random crit hurts—but there's something weirdly satisfying about scraping by with whatever ragtag team you end up with. I remember my Butterfree somehow becoming the MVP after half my squad got wiped by Misty. You start planning differently, actually caring about every encounter instead of just grinding mindlessly.

It's still the same Red version underneath, just with way higher stakes. You'll either love the challenge or rage-quit after your third wipe. Either way, it changes how you see Pokémon forever.