Pokémon Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow Physical Carts or Virtual Console?

[Holla]

Since Pok?mon Red/Blue/Yellow just came out today on the eShop I have a question I'd like to ask those of you who've played the originals and the 3DS virtual console version of the games.

Out of curiosity, do you prefer to play the original physical carts on a Gameboy (Original, Color, Advance etc.) or the Virtual Console versions on 3DS?

There are several ideas to consider like:
- Nostalgia of playing on the original system
- Graphics quality (pressing and holding Start or Select as you load up a Virtual Console version will put the game in its original resolution as otherwise the 3DS blows it up to fit the screen, which hurts the overall quality)
- Playing in the dark
- Price (if you don't already/still have the original carts as they cost easily 3-4 times as much as the VC versions)
- Interal battery (for saves) dying vs never dying unless 3DS data gets erased
- Trading/battling with other Physical carts with a link cable vs trading with other VC versions on 3DS/Use of Pokebank to move Pok?mon to future games (ie. Sun and Moon)
- etc. etc.

Anyways this is just an interesting topic that I'm just posting out of curiosity as I'm sure there's people out there who love the ease of Virtual Console, but others who hold the original experiences of a physical cart dear to their heart.

I'm personally on the fence at the moment. I bought a Physical copy of Yellow last year for $32 Canadian and tend to play it on Gameboy Color (I am fixing up a Gameboy Advance SP but anyways...). Now today I bought Blue on VC for $11 Canadian. It seems to me like the picture quality is amazing (using the select/start button trick), but I honestly can't compare with how it looks on any other system as Yellow has colour and slightly different graphics compared to Blue.

If anyone has both the physical cart and a VC version of the game I'd love to see graphics comparison pics of how the games look on different systems. ^_^

 

[JCnator]

There are a few more things to take into consideration and clarify on determining whether to get a physical copy of Pok?mon Red/Blue/Yellow or download it from eShop:

- Normally, the original Game Boy generation of Pok?mon games (G/R/B/Y and G/S/C) cannot transfer their Pok?mon outside of this particular generation and the Pok?mon Stadium games on N64. However, the Virtual Console versions of these games are compatible with Pok?mon Bank, therefore allowing Gen 1 Pok?mons to be carried over in the most seamless way possible.

- If you use Hyperkin's RetroN 5 or CyberGadget's Retro Freak hardware, you can import the saved file from the cartridge and continue playing from there. And if you're lucky enough, you can even properly copy that save back to its original cartridge. Even if you couldn't salvage your lost data, these consoles will let you save your progress regardless of the state of the cartridge's battery.

- The Virtual Console versions cannot upscale their display, therefore it gets stretched by default and becomes blurry as result. The Start/Select trick does work, but the display area might be too small for some players. GameCube's Game Boy Player can output the display up to 480i/480p, but component cables are difficult to find. RetroN 5 and Retro Freak can output the display upscaled up to 720p without much bluriness, all of that with just an HDMI port.

- Super Game Boy (SNES add-on), RetroN 5 and Retro Freak will automatically enable Super Game Boy features from all versions of of G/R/B/Y, namely the special border and giving the game a bit more of color

- The Virtual Console versions have the animations altered to be more eye-pleasing for the epileptic players.

- The Virtual Console version of Pok?mon Yellow let you play the Surfing Pikachu minigame by having the titular character in your party, even if he can't learn the Surf ability anymore.

- The North American version of the same Virtual Console game had Jynx sprites changed the color of its skin. It went from black to purple.


By the way, here's a comparison video of a Pok?mon Red/Blue game run on 3DS Virtual Console and RetroN5, courtesy of Nintendo Life:

Spoiler

 

[Sheepette]

As far as I see it, if you really love a game enough to re-release it, you could do to give it a graphical update. Didn't Blue have color? Assuming the glitches are intact, how are they going to handle an influx of Mew and Mewtwo into the Pokebank? I buy that it won't accept Missingno. and other glitch Pokemon, but those two?

I'd love to play these on the 3DS! I'm happy about the release due to some of the reasons mentioned.
I can't wait to play with my friends.
--
Edit: Word is that trading glitch Pokemon up turns them into Ditto, so free Ditto?

 

[Chris01]

I have blue and red and yellow on original cartridges and I purchased Blue on the VC for my 3DS XL because of nolstagia, I very much enjoyed playing them on he cartridges growing up, but its more than likely now they may not work so I am ecstatic they made them playable on the VC

 

[Piezahummy]

I buyed Pok?mon Yellow on the Virtual Console yesterday , and had so much fun . Actually , my first ever video game is Yellow , so the feels where intense , I suppose . Also , in mt opinion , the best thing id that they kept the glitches . Just catch L.7 Mew with the glitch . He's so cool !

 

[Reindeer]

Didn't Blue have color?

Technically, no. Blue is a 1996 game, the Game Boy Color released in 1998. The GBC had special color palettes for specific games (which included Pokemon G1 games), so the game cart was just a regular GB one. Yellow was the only one with full color support, outside of Japan at least.

The special color palettes weren't programmed into the Virtual Console emulator. That means the Red & Blue VC releases remain monochrome, just as Super Mario Land, Kirby's Dream Land, Metroid II and a few others did before them.



Anyway, the changes made for the Virtual Console release are neat, but I think they're too expensive. Other VC titles are overpriced already, and these are double that. Add to that that the first generation bores me, as did their remakes, so there's no nostalgia to buy them for. The Pokemon Bank (Transporter) functionality also seems a bit useless, as G1 Pokemon with better stats can be bred easily in XY or ORAS. The Pokemon caught in the VC releases also aren't exactly what you used as a kid, so I can't transfer my actual childhood Pokemon into the new generation.

It's cool that they decided to release these games for the fans that wanted it, and that they were updated to allow trading and the exporting of Pokemon, but it's not for me.

 

[Holla]

You guys have some great points being made here.

I mainly only bought Blue on VC and that's it just so if I'm hanging out at club and a bunch of people start to play Pokemon on VC then I can join in. I also have to agree that even though it's still cheaper than buying a physical cart the VC versions are overpriced.

I find it cool that I can play one of the very first games (as Yellow technically isn't one of the originals as it was a tweaked "special edition" version that came later). Another thing is the convenience of having it on 3DS as I almost always have my 3DS and charger on me, but I don't always have my Gameboy Color and batteries with me. Plus playing at night in the dark (which I do often) is a bonus for me.

As for my physical copy of Yellow it will likely be my main version as I really do like physical game carts that and I did buy a Gameboy Color just to play it (and Crystal which I hope to get someday). My battery is guaranteed to not die on me for a long time as I bought it from a local game shop and they guarantee that every game/system they sell works and that includes putting new save batteries in games like Pokemon for you.

 

[mirukushake]

Gameboy carts are super cheap here in Japan. I can get a verified working Gameboy Color for less than 1500 yen ($15) and the local game store near me has all of the GB(C) games, in boxes, for around 800 ($8) each. Buying the carts would be cheaper than VC, but in the end, it's nice to just have them on the same console I carry all of my other games on rather than carry yet another system. If I were a collector I'd probably buy them anyway for the sake of nostalgia, but luckily for my wallet I don't have that problem.

 

[uwuzumakii]

I don't have any of the eShop versions, but I do have all three on the GameBoy. I actually have 2 copies of the Blue Version, because I forgot I had it already and it was so cheap.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Gameboy carts are super cheap here in Japan. I can get a verified working Gameboy Color for less than 1500 yen ($15) and the local game store near me has all of the GB(C) games, in boxes, for around 800 ($8) each. Buying the carts would be cheaper than VC, but in the end, it's nice to just have them on the same console I carry all of my other games on rather than carry yet another system. If I were a collector I'd probably buy them anyway for the sake of nostalgia, but luckily for my wallet I don't have that problem.

Man, you're lucky! In America, everything is crazy expensive! I got my GameBoy Color for 35$ and my extra copy of Blue Version for 15$!

 

[Holla]

I don't have any of the eShop versions, but I do have all three on the GameBoy. I actually have 2 copies of the Blue Version, because I forgot I had it already and it was so cheap.

- - - Post Merge - - -



Man, you're lucky! In America, everything is crazy expensive! I got my GameBoy Color for 35$ and my extra copy of Blue Version for 15$!

Interesting, I'm in Canada and I got a used Gameboy Color for I think $25-30 (can't remember exactly all I know is that I got a Gameboy Pocket from there for $20 and that's the revised original Gameboy for those who don't know).

And Pokemon Yellow cost me $32 and that's including a brand new battery already changed for me. They tend to sell Red and Blue for a bit cheaper at $25-28 but the first day I saw the store had Yellow I had to grab it as they never have Pokemon games for long.

 

[MayorJudyOfZootopia]

i dont know if i will play these only because of Lavender Town... i heard that place is creepy.... ive heard some dialogue from my friend too... creepy af... i hate creepy things and that is perfectly why i waited until FNAF World to play a Five Nights at Freddy's game

 

[Reindeer]

i dont know if i will play these only because of Lavender Town... i heard that place is creepy.... ive heard some dialogue from my friend too... creepy af... i hate creepy things and that is perfectly why i waited until FNAF World to play a Five Nights at Freddy's game

It's as creepy as the rest of the Pokemon franchise.

 

[Alienfish]

It's as creepy as the rest of the Pokemon franchise.

good try.

i will probably get yellow though because I never had that as a kid.. i think i tried at one point on an emulator but that removes half the fun of actually having it..not too expensive either for a port considering what cartridges go for here even if they are used

 

[Reindeer]

good try.

My point is just that it's not creepy at all. Reading 50 crappypastas doesn't give knowledge of the game, but a false image. Lavender Town is seriously about as creepy as Pallet Town in the same game: it isn't.

 

[Alienfish]

My point is just that it's not creepy at all. Reading 50 crappypastas doesn't give knowledge of the game, but a false image. Lavender Town is seriously about as creepy as Pallet Town in the same game: it isn't.

Yea, exactly lol those creepypastas are boring as hell and Lavender town is not creepy... more like sad story if anything.

 

[spamurai]

The games are exactly the same excluding the Pokemon Bank connectivity.
Graphics, sounds, story etc is identical. I played the originals and it brought back so much nostalgia to play the VC versions, it's ridiculous xD I love it.

They even have all the glitches in the game still, so you can get Mews and Missingnos etc.

Having said that, I've always enjoyed having the physical versions of things. IT makes me nervous having everything on one console that could just die one day xD

But it's actually cheaper to by the eShop version these days because the physical copies are still pricey on eBay considering their age aha.

Either way, they're the same and definitely worth having one I went for Yellow.

 

[HopeForHyrule]

I bought Pok?mon Yellow on the eShop, but I still have my original copy of Blue so I don't care much about buying a digital copy of that. I probably would if I cared about trading with people, but...I don't.