I was 7 walking to FYE with my parents at the Walden Galleria mall when I popped by the many games on sale (at the time) and spotted a weird Pokemon game. I remember seeing commercials for it. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Blue and Red Team. "Your the Pokemon this time!" I said out loud. It was new, and on sale so I was able to convince my parents to get it for me. I never knew how much I was gonna enjoy it.
The game in itself is a very simple concept. You play as a Pokemon along with your partner, and traverse an unknown Pokemon continent and go into "Mystery Dungeons". Mystery Dungeons are rouge like top down perspective maps that randomize each time you visit them. The goal is to get to the top or bottom floor of the dungeon. Maybe you defeat a boss, maybe you get a new dungeon to explore, maybe you meet a new character who knows??? You can recruit Pokemon to your team, and after the credits you can make any recruited Pokemon be a team leader. You can level them up and do all kinds of fun things. There are tons of items to collect and Pokemon to battle. Its a game series not for everyone, but it remains in my heart forever. I will say that there is WAY more diversity and things to explore and do in the 2nd gen games rather than the first gen games.
The story for the first 2 gen games(Red, Blue, Time, Dark, and Sky) is fantastic. And So I really don't want to spoil them. But lets just say they are really deep. The music OMG the music. I'ma sucker for chip tune music. And the music for the MD series is prob my favorite video game music ever. It gets you so entrapped with the environment your exploring and is just tons of fun to run around a dungeon and have some great jams to listen too. Anyone who played the games know what I'm talking about. I'm leaving a link to 2 playlists that are a remastered version of the first 2 games music.
SO enough about the game lets get back to my personal story. I suffer with ADHD and clinical/genetic depression. Some days are up days other I'm so low I don't know what to do with myself. And when I was little my hyperactivity showed way more than it does now. These games were one of the few that could calm me down. I think the best part was having these games be portable. I stopped the clock on every title I played. It goes up to 100hrs from my basic memory.
This game also helped me greatly with my reading. It being a story driven RPG meant that there was TONS AND TONS of text to read through. And the story was so much fun and the characters were so enjoyable that it made me want to read every line in great detail. I cant stand reading even now so you have no idea what that means to me.
My depression that will always stick around kept me from wanting to continue life a lot of times, even today. There was one time I got into a huge fight with my parents and one of the many times I almost committed. I was so angry and sad that I was ready to down a thing of pills at only 9-10 years old. But before I did I saw my red DS lite hiding in the corner and I picked it up and played through Rescue Blue Team. By that point taking me almost 2 years since I bought it too 100% it at least with the legendary Pokemon. I started a whole new adventure. I stayed up from that night and finished the first ending by wake of that next morning. Hearing that iconic credit jingle on the brink of death as the Sun rose both in the game and in real life felt like the game was really coming alive. A similar event would happen again only a couple months later but with the second gen game. I can't spoil the ending but to the people reading that played the game you guys can understand how impactful that ending is when you really think about it.
The game is my go to if my mental state goes into a dark place, or when the world becomes a little too sad to want to live in. Sometimes I wish that I'll wake up one day in the game. The game to most viewers can look simple, boring, and become stale very easily. And to others there can be that game that they've replayed to the point that it gave them carpel tunnel. Helped them learn a valuable lesson. Or just kept them going. Well blue team is where it all starts for me. And i'm making this an ongoing part because I feel like it will be fun to right this in parts. I guess count this as my intro into my mind and this game series. If anyone here has played it please comment. I love this game series so much. I know the fan base is quiet and humble just like the series itself. Best wishes to everyone out there. :)
(If this post becomes as long as it does and people like what I have to say I'm gonna make a video review about the game series)
Heres the Link for the Remastered soundtrack for the first gen games.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUhoahDxcT8qNMBtu9X9mPeFdnSbKvVJI