Game:

Pokémon Red and Blue (1996)

Duration: 1:44:32

1,337 views

24

PREEMPTIVE NOTE: Just like the video itself, this description is a TL;DR one, so let's not make a big whoop about it. Scroll down if you want the condensed version; otherwise, sit down, wait until the video loads, and read up for an explanation on how I came about doing this. Thanks for taking the time to read and watch!

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The Nuzlocke Challenge has become quite a popular way of playing the Pokémon games over the past few years of its creation. The basic premise is to follow a set of core rules while also imposing your own in order to hinder your playthrough and add a degree of challenge to the game. This type of challenge is viewed by many as the ultimate way to experience the Pokémon games, and some even considered it the next step the actual franchise itself should be headed to.

That said, the intrigue of partaking in this challenge was always glued in my mind as I learned and watched others attempt it; alas, I was always tied to other things and seemingly forgot or simply felt uninterested. As time went on, I noticed Nuzlocke runs were often done on the newer games in the series, but I would rarely, if at all, come across someone that did for either Red or Blue. Since Pokémon Red was my first game in the series, doing this type of challenge on it seemed fitting, but I felt conflicted because, while they're masterpieces in their own right, the first-generation games aren't particularly challenging regardless of skill—and maybe that's why not many chose them. Therefore, after a few years of mulling and rousing ideas, I decided to formally do a Nuzlocke run on Pokémon Red, but under my own terms and rules: I would mod the game. Modding the game seemed like a doable task, I thought, but I would soon discover that most of the big changes I wanted required me to do some hex editing, and that was the least I wanted to do, so I surfed the web and got the tools needed to make this possible. It was around this time that I contacted my friend Lake and pitched him the idea of doing this challenge together, to which he agreed, stating that at some point he had also thought about doing a Nuzlocke run as well.

By modding the game, I wanted to elevate the level of difficulty, and that meant I'd have to modify certain aspects of the game to achieve this. Alterations were made to the damage output and effects of select moves, as well as to the type of Pokémon found on each route, including their levels and the possibility of encountering fully evolved forms of Pokémon indigenous to those routes, all the way to the Pokémon each Gym Leader and Elite 4 have, among a batch of other changes. Mixed with the heavily edited game is a set of additional rules that I formulated to follow while playing in the hopes of further increasing the level of difficulty. Essentially, this is a Nuzlocke challenge on steroids!

For a detailed catalog of all of the edits that were done to the game, as well as a comprehensive list of the rules for this challenge, check the full document @ http://tinyurl.com/redsnlc.

Now, in regards to the video and its length, my goal was to go straight to the meat and potatoes and only showcase pivotal moments given how tediously protracted Pokémon games tend to become, but then I thought I would be giving a bare-bones playthrough of what is supposed to be a challenging run, and for a modded game no less. Granted, a bare-bones upload makes things more convenient and shaves off a lot of time and effort, but a Nuzlocke run is exactly that: time and effort. There certainly are other alternatives, but uploading the full playthrough gives me the opportunity to show the experience of this challenge at its fullest. Each playthrough will be referred to as "rounds" as a nod to the manga.

On this round, I get my starter (all hail Nidoking!) and quickly go about my adventure. There are some pretty intense moments, especially whenever I encounter various Fearow and a Raticate, not to mention the epic battle against Brock. Overall, I think I did really well in this round, although I admit there were instances where I could've done better, but I'm content with the end result. An extensive effort will be put into leveling my Pokémon in each round, so keep that in mind for future uploads.

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Current team:

Barugon, the Nidorino at Lv19, is proud of its power.
Rattical, the Rattata at Lv17, is impetuous and silly.
Pidjet, the Pidgeotto at Lv20, is alert to sounds.

Some points of interest:

Nidoran♂ VS. Fearow at 27:55
Pidgey & Nidoran♂ VS. Raticate — CLOSE CALL! at 33:59
Route 22 — VS. Rival at 46:19
Nidoran♂ VS. Fearow — CLOSE CALL! at 1:01:57
VS. Brock — EPIC! at 1:41:15

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TL;DR: I always wanted to do a Nuzlocke run, so I gave it a shot—my way. This video is long, so play it at double speed.

All Pokémon material, including but not limited to games, characters, and music, is © Nintendo Co., Ltd., Game Freak Inc., and The Pokémon Company. This video gameplay was done solely for entertainment purposes.

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