Friends, Readers, Pokeymans, we're almost at the end. If you've been keeping up, you'll know that for a large chunk of 2022 I've been replaying Pokemon Blue, hitting one location a week, and writing about it as a tourist. If this is your first time hearing of such a wacky adventure, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:you can catch yourself up here. The whole point of this is to try to figure out exactly why Kanto in Pokemon Blue has such a hold on me, why I remember it so fondly. Nostalgia is a factor, but other games I loved as a kid (and still hold dear) don't seem to have settings which resonate so much. ✃La🐻st week I beat Giovanni and completed my quest for all eight badges, so onwards to glory I go.
Last week, dear readers, I lied to you all. I promised that this week we'd be moving on to the Victory Road, but that's not quite true. Before we make our way through the winding caves that lead to our destiny, we must first walk the path between Viridian City and Victory Road, where we flash our badges like the Pokemon Chads we are. I had completely forgotten this part of the game, and while you might forgive me seeing as it's a largely forgettable experience, I'm a little disappointed in myself.
When I was a kid, I used to visit this part of the game frequently. It wasn't a 'do you have all eight badges' pass/fail affair, but instead allowed you to get progressively further for every badge you had in your pocket. You had to play the game in the correct order rather than bouncing around between gyms four and seven, but as long as you did you could inch your way to glory, seeing a little more of that hidden tunnel each time. On my current journey, I have not been returning to it, but then I suppose playing in the spirit of a tourist I wouldn't have. It's a break from how I'm used to playing Pokemon Blue, but it means I get to remember it all at once here.
On the surface, there's not much to this short walk to glory, but then that's the whole point of this column - to dip beneath the surface. In reality, it's just a way to establish a sense of distance between Viridian City and Victory Road, filled with busywork. But if you take it at face value and not as a gameplay mechanic, it's a succession of VIP clubs you keep getting let into. Playing as a kid, I would be turned away once I pushed too far, but that only made the whole thing more exciting once you were finally granted access.
There's a sense of adventure here too. It's not just an endless corridor of doors blockaded by bouncers, but instead sees you Surfing on the backs of your Pokemon and wading through wild grass. Quite why anyone, on the brink of the biggest challenge of their little Pokemon lives, would make a last minute switch to their team I have no idea, but it's neat that this area feels alive - especially given how stale other areas have felt once I looked at them a little more critically. This area doesn't really need to exist and yet it still wrings every possible piece of storytelling out that it can.
Badges all present and correct, I head into Victory Road, which will definitely for super realsies be the topic of this column next week. Maybe. We’re reaching the end of our journey, but maybe the best is yet to come. Although I had a lot of fun in Verm▨ilion so maybe not.