I don't think that "Pokémon" is awful, but I don't think it's great, either. I liked it when it was just a game, back in the days when a lot of the people you'd mention it to would say "What's 'Pokémon'?". I thought of "Pokémon" like "Metroid," a good game, but nothing like "Mario," and never getting widespread public appeal. But then the show came along. It was better than all the other animé I'd ever seen before, but it wasn't very good, or even close to the "Mario" cartoons. Then there was the customizable card game. It was kind of neat, but really simple compared to the "Star Wars C.C.G." The the whole "Pokémon" thing started really getting to have more than a cult following, and it seemed like the more popular it became with the masses, the less popular it became with me and my friends. By the time the second movie rolled around, and a "Pokémon" comic strip was running in our paper, I was really getting sick of those little cartoon characters. And all this over just one game (sure, there were different "colors," but it was still essentially one game). After all this, I expected there to be some good "Pokémon" game coming out, but then when I got to play some of them, they were very low quality. Now the hype has sort of died down, but there are still more games appearing (this latest one seems to be just a standard puzzle game, with "Pokémon" characters pasted on à la "Yoshi's Cookie.") and merchandise still shows up in stores. "Pokémon" is a good game, but right now I don't feel like playing it again for a long time.
Lee "Mega 2" Sherman
Sneaky Lying Cheating Giant Ninja Koopa
