Released on October 8, 1999, Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version were the very first Pokémon games to appear in France.
You play as a young Trainer, Red (who inspired Ash in the animated series), whose goal is to become a Pokémon Master. To do so, he must catch them all, train them to the highest level and have them battle so that no challenge in Kanto, where the adventure takes place, can stand up to him. 150 Pokémon are available, split across the two versions, along with a 151st Pokémon, Mew, which cannot normally be obtained outside of an official distribution.
Pokémon Red and Blue produced the biggest success of all time for a video game, across all platforms. Nearly 25 million cartridges were sold in Europe. That is more than Super Mario Bros., The Sims or Tetris. Never has a single game generated so much popular success. An example? During the first distribution of Mew in Japan, a line more than four kilometers long formed!
At the origin of a true institution, Pokémon Red and Blue is the Western adaptation of the video game Pocket Monsters Blue, itself an improved version of Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green, and they spawned manga, an animated series, films and countless spin-off products.
It got a first follow-up in the form of Pokémon Yellow. Pokémon Red and Blue was later remade for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 under the name Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
