I was a whopping 6 years old when Red and Blue first released in the US back in 1998. And even then, I was pretty late to the Pokemon craze. At least I think I was? When you're young, years feel like they last an eternity, so it's hard to tell. Either way, as the case was with a lot of kids at the time, Pokemon was THE biggest thing I was into. Even to this day, I'm in love with the series as a whole, despite its ups and downs. While my passion for creature design wouldn't come until much later, Pokemon definitely planted those seeds in particular.
It really was a wild new concept to have a game based around the idea of being an RPG, but your party members ARE the monsters! If you're younger than Pokemon, it's easy to take that for granted, especially with how many imitators there are. Not that that's a bad thing! I've been in full advocation of "Monster catcher RPG" becoming its own subgenre, that's sadly had a lot of hits and misses. And I think one thing that holds back Temtem and a lot of things like it that are trying to live up to the Pokemon craze is a certain magic. A magic that's hard to get ahold of, mind you, so I don't blame any one series for not "getting it" so to speak, but it nonetheless has that much missing.
Just look at this lineup of creatures. If there's one thing Pokemon has that a lot of its imitators are sorely lacking is a sheer sense of variety. Individual Pokemon can have so little in common that they practically look like monsters from different series entirely, just drawn in the same art style. Pokemon design is utter chaos, and that's only worked to Pokemon's benefit. EVERY Pokemon has a number 1 fan, and EVERY Pokemon is at least on someone's top 5 favorites. There's something for everyone of all tastes in eccentric cartoon animals to latch onto and love. THAT'S the magic that Gen 1 utilized to take off so hard. Being a fresh new concept certainly helps, of course, but I don't think Pokemon would've had the same staying power if they didn't have so many different flavors of monster to enjoy.
This is even present in Pokemon to the very day, where cohesion is merely a suggestion and you can have sentient seaweed, and construction clown, and a space-invading muscular mosquito exist in the same universe and it's okay.
Even then, there is definitely something to be said about Pokemon's overall shift in design aesthetic. Something Gen 1 really hunkered down on more than any other generation are how realistic the Pokemon feel, for a lack of better term. A lot of Pokemon have a lot more shapely and defined bodies. A lot more bone structure, by the feels of it. Compare that to newer Pokemon which tend to break down Pokemon into much simpler shapes. I don't think it's hard to see why not everybody is fond of Pokemon that came after Gen 1. There's definitely something to appreciate in the more naturalistic designs Gen 1 had. And I'm saying that as someone that mostly prefers Pokemon's newer design style.
And one thing Gen 1 definitely excels at more than any other Generation is its originality. I'm most definitely not one to shout "PoKEmON'S rUnnINg oUT oF iDeAS", my favorite Gens trend toward the more modern ones, but so many Pokemon in Gen 1 look, at best, loosely based on an animal but is otherwise just a creature they invented. What the heck even are Nidoking, Kadabra, Lickitung, and Magmar supposed to be?! Who cares! They're monsters! Pokemon still does this from time to time, but it's most definitely a lot less prevalent than it used to be.
I feel like doing my own, original monster design project has gotten me to appreciate the art of "just making up an animal" a lot more, which is why I've grown to appreciate Gen 1 a lot more than I did before. It's really nice and satisfying when you pull it off!
Overall, the Gen that started it all is very beloved for a good reason. It laid down this ground work of making sure everybody has something to love and has run with it for two and a half decades now, it's it's very much shown itself the be a successful formula. While the games themselves haven't changed much, I'm ALWAYS excited to see what new Pokemon they're making next, because no matter the year it always feels sure that they've kept up in making sure Pokemon's got something for everybody, and that's always fun to talk about.
But just like my previous recaps, this section ain't going anywhere! It's time for the "award" wrap-up!
Top 10 Favorites of Gen 1:
Bottom 10 Least Favorites:
The Cutest:
The Coolest:
A category for the sheer blunt badasses of the batch. Of course, sharp things for arms almost feels like cheating in that regard. But Nonetheless, these 'mons look rad as hell.
The Prettiest:
For the designs with the most elegant appeal. While Rapidash isn't wowing, it does at least have a bit of inherent horse majesty. And Vaporeon's design in general just flows surprisingly nicely.
The Spookiest:
For the designs with the most creepy, "Halloweeny" energy to them! While Gen 1 doesn't have a ton of variety in this regard, it does at least have some designs that are outright unsettling looking.
Most Creative:
Because unconventionally interesting designs deserve a shoutout too! This category is for Pokemon that I feel really think outside the box. Most certainly the most "neat."
Most Charming:
Here's a totally new category! Admittedly it's fairly vague, but lemme see if I can explain myself. These are Pokemon that just have a very unconventionally cute or neat look to them. A lot of personality, and lovely little faces to boot!
Weirdest/Most Unique:
Category for Pokemon that feel truly unlike any other, bonus points if they feel wholely original to the art of monster design just in general!
Most Under-Appreciated:
Obviously, some Pokemon I feel get overlooked or even outright dismissed too often. Appreciate them, dangit!
Most Forgettable:
And quite possibly the saddest category... the Pokemon I just keep forgetting even exist.
Coolest Chimeras:
When I first did reviews, I had already gotten through Gen 1 before I came up with the idea that each generation gets a category unique to it, so here's one for Gen 1! While the animal-dinosaur hybrids get a LITTLE samey, I do think there's definitely something cool about the whole top row there. And the ocean duo there are really cool mergings of seahorse and turkeyfish, and plesiosaur and sea turtle respectively.
The Verdict:
Aaaand here's a tier list on all the Pokemon in Gen one, in roughly the order I like them from best to worst. It gets muddy toward the middle for sure, but yeah.
And Gen 1's a wrap! Again! I'll keep doing these daily reuploads of older Pokemon I've already reviewed, at least until I finally trudge through the 151 Animals project and can start doing those Yu-Gi-Oh monster reviews I've wanted to get started on by now. But until then, onto Gen 2!
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