Play Pokemon Red 151 Online

I first played Pokemon Red on the Game Boy, a cartridge from Nintendo and Game Freak that came out in the late 1990s. It was one of those games that felt like it was everywhere at the time, a solid RPG on a handheld that fit in your pocket. You controlled a kid who leaves home to become a Pokemon Trainer, traveling across the region to collect eight gym badges.

You move your character screen by screen through tall grass, caves, and towns, and wild Pokemon appear randomly to initiate turn-based battles. Your main goal is to catch all 151 Pokemon and defeat the Elite Four to complete the Pokedex. Signature mechanics include weakening wild Pokemon with your team before throwing a Pokeball to catch them, and the rock-paper-scissors style type advantages that make you think about your party's composition. The pacing is steady, with some challenging trainer battles that require a bit of grinding to level up your creatures. It feels like a long, personal journey where every new Pokemon you find is a small victory.