Some things can't be finished alone — and that isn't a flaw in the design. It's the point.
As a boy in Machida, Satoshi Tajiri caught beetles until the fields were paved over. Years later he saw the Game Boy's link cable and remembered showing a friend what he had kept in a jar — and built a game you literally cannot complete by yourself. Some Pokémon evolve only when traded; the Red and Green versions each hold creatures the other lacks. To fill the book, you have to find another person and connect. It took six years, on a machine most developers had written off as too old, with the studio nearly running out of money more than once. He later said Pokémon had always been about his childhood — the memory of trading what you had found. Millions bought that memory. The design quietly insists on something we tend to forget: the best things are not completed in private.
— inspired by Satoshi Tajiri
About this game
Pokémon Red and Green launched in Japan on February 27, 1996, after six years of development by Game Freak and creator Satoshi Tajiri. The games challenged players to catch, train, and trade 151 species of pocket monsters — with trading requiring a physical Link Cable connection between two Game Boys. The concept was radical: a game whose content could only be completed by connecting with another person. It became the second best-selling Game Boy franchise of all time, after Tetris.
Key Features
Catch and train 151 Pokémon species across a top-down RPG world. Turn-based battles using type matchups (Water beats Fire, Fire beats Grass, and so on) with four moves per Pokémon. Trading and battling via Link Cable — some Pokémon evolve only through trading. Version-exclusive Pokémon: Red and Green each have species unavailable in the other version, requiring both games to complete the Pokédex. Eight Gym Leaders and the Elite Four, culminating in the Pokémon League. Hidden items, secret Pokémon (Mew), and a post-game objective of completing the Pokédex.
Gallery
The Story Behind
By the time Pokémon launched in 1996, the original Game Boy was seven years old. The hardware landscape had moved on: the Game Boy Pocket was imminent, and the colour era was approaching. Most developers had stopped targeting the original hardware for ambitious projects. Game Freak did not. Tajiri had conceived Pokémon specifically for the Game Boy's Link Cable — the ability to connect two devices physically was the entire premise. The game spent six years in development, during which Game Freak nearly ran out of money multiple times. Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi greenlit the project personally. The first print run in Japan was modest; word of mouth built it slowly over months. By the time Pokémon Blue — a revised version released later in 1996 — was packaged with a CoroCoro Comics mail-in offer, the franchise had become a cultural phenomenon.
Tricks & Tales
The original Red and Green versions had numerous bugs, including the infamous "MissingNo." glitch — a corrupted Pokémon sprite that appeared when specific surf/item duplication steps were performed. Nintendo never patched it. The later Pokémon Blue version (1996, Japan) fixed many of these and used higher-quality sprites; it became the base for the international Red and Blue releases. Mew — the hidden 151st Pokémon — was added to the game data near the end of development by programmer Shigeki Morimoto without the project director's knowledge, hidden to be freed through a future promotional event. Its discovery by players before any official event was announced became one of gaming's great urban legends. The seed of Pokemon was a childhood memory: Satoshi Tajiri spent his youth collecting insects near his home in Machida. Watching children trade using the Game Boy Link Cable, the concept crystallised. "I thought of actual living organisms moving back and forth across the cable," he told TIME Asia in 1999. Development ran for six years and pushed Game Freak to near-collapse -- staff numbers shrank, salaries went unpaid for stretches, and Tajiri reportedly drew no income during the final phase. Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto became a crucial advocate, keeping the project alive when it might otherwise have ended.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Pokémon Red and Green are Japan-exclusive. The international releases were Pokémon Red and Blue (1998 North America, 1999 Europe), based on the revised Japanese Blue version. Green version is the rarer of the two Japanese originals and is often sought by collectors. All versions require a Game Boy or compatible hardware to play.
Maintenance Tips
Pokémon Red and Green use a CR2025 3V coin battery for save data. Battery life is typically 10–20 years, meaning many original cartridges from 1996 have depleted batteries. Symptoms: save data erases when power is removed, or the game cannot save at all. Battery replacement requires opening the cartridge with a 3.8 mm Game Boy security bit and soldering a new CR2025. The circuit board contacts should be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol before reassembly. Japanese-market cartridges use the DMG-APAJ-JPN (Red) and DMG-APCJ-JPN (Green) board labels.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Pokémon Red and Green copies regularly.
Will my Pokémon Red or Green save still be there, or has the battery died?
For a cartridge from 1996, the most likely answer is that the battery has died or is close to it. Red and Green save to SRAM kept alive by a CR2025 coin cell, which typically lasts 10 to 20 years. Many original cartridges passed that threshold years ago. The sign: saves erase when you switch off, or the game refuses to save entirely. Replacing the battery requires opening the cartridge with a 3.8mm security bit and soldering in a new CR2025. Buy from a seller who has confirmed saves hold; if the listing says nothing about testing, ask before you buy.
Can I play a Japanese Pokémon Red or Green on my Game Boy outside Japan?
Yes. The original Game Boy has no region lock — the cartridge runs on any Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance, anywhere in the world. The game text is entirely in Japanese, which matters for menus, dialogue, and Pokémon names, but the core mechanics are the same as in the international versions.
Why do Red and Green need two copies to complete the Pokédex, and how do the Japanese versions differ from the international ones?
Red and Green each contain species absent from the other version. To collect all 151 Pokémon you need to trade between both games using a Game Boy Link Cable — and some Pokémon (Gengar, Alakazam, and others) only evolve through trading, so the cable is required regardless. The international releases — Pokémon Red and Blue (1998) — are not straight translations. They are based on a revised Japanese release (Pokémon Blue, 1996) that corrected many bugs and used improved sprite graphics. The Japanese Red and Green are the unrevised originals, with their early sprites and more numerous glitches intact — which is part of what makes them of interest to collectors.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Pokémon Red and Green
A short checklist for buying a used Game Boy cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Good news — Game Boy is region-free
Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges are not region-locked, so a Japanese copy plays on any Game Boy worldwide.
Just confirm the hardware family — original GB, Color, or Advance — matches the cartridge.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
See what it's selling for on eBay →Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Pokémon Red and Green sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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