Pokémon Red on the Game Boy is where it all started for a lot of us. You pick your first Pokémon—Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle—and suddenly you're wandering through tall grass, getting jumped by wild Rattatas and Pidgeys. The sprites are tiny and pixelated, but there's something weirdly charming about it.

You’ll spend way too much time grinding levels in Viridian Forest, and the battle music will get stuck in your head for days. The game doesn’t hold your hand—good luck figuring out how to get past that sleeping Snorlax without a guide. But when you finally beat the Elite Four? Pure nostalgia.

It’s janky by today’s standards, but it’s still fun to revisit the game that kicked off the whole franchise.