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Completed PS: The First Journey & Red's Journey West

This project is complete. Any future revisions will be bug fixes or small updates.
Project Status
Completed
Project Version
10.10
The game has received a huge update! Version 10 is out now!
Please note that if you had started playing on any version below v10, your saves won't be compatible. If, however, you had already finished Oak's part, and updated shortly after having started Red's part, you may use this save:

https://mega.nz/file/wDRDzYBa#A3PMHRjDow6XKqfI-5exr8uwrThUUZfR5xFfJQRW0oo

It will start you right at the beginning of RJW. (v10 compatible)



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A swan song to the older generations who started with the originals, and a novel, thrilling, emotional story for the newer generations!!


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Experience "Generation 0" where it all began - witness Professor Oak's first journey across the Kanto Region - and after you are done, follow Red's Journey to Johto, 40 years later, in search of a very important person!
Two adventures in one! Instead of a traditional postgame, you'll get to experience a new story, throughout a challenging Johto, in the shoes of the (second) strongest Trainer in the world! Follow Red's Journey to redemption after a devastating and humiliating loss to Ethan (Gold). Witness his transformation through loneliness to maturity, as he traverses Johto together with a cast of familiar characters.

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It is the year 1957. Samuel Oak, a 20 year-old prodigy, has just returned back to his home country after spending three years in the world’s best university. With him, he brings science, technology, and the true spirit of trainerhood. On a mission to establish the first ever League in the East, Oak will have to adjust to local battling traditions, overcome bureaucratic hurdles, and introduce local uneducated Tamers to the proper way of doing things.


FIND OUT HOW IT ALL PLAYED OUT BACK IN THE 50ies! Gen 0!

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STORY
1957 Kanto is a place under heavy development. The concept of a “trainer” is relatively new – with most people who are on the creature business calling each other “Tamers”. They battle for money, they have the right to take another Tamer’s Pokemon upon winning, and they generally cause a great deal of pain to the locals.



Once Kantonians learned how to craft capsules (Pokeballs) out of Apricorns, a “creature craze” swept through the country. The rush of making easy money, putting responsibilities aside, and experiencing unprecedented freedom and strength captivated the youth. The frequent complains from seniors went unheard, students started dropping out of school, and gangs quickly formed.



In this chaotic environment, you are tasked with bringing to Kanto (and the entirety of the "Pokemon" nation)... not a ruleset, not a new way of battling, but an entire infrastructure that will eventually end up being responsible for the shaping of modern trainer conventions as we know them. Will you be able to bring law and order to the land, or will the wild environment of Kanto get you?


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FEATURES:



- Inspired by the beta versions of Red and Green, (Trainers using whips, economy based around Pokemon, early lore or concepts that got scrapped, pokemon being closer to natural organisms than wee-wee-mythological multibeings from multiverses)



- Remastered Kanto that is visually closer to how it looked back in gen 1 (hey, no nostalgia pandering here, don’t go down the genwunner route, kthxbye). For instance, Route 1 has fields on either side, not trees as in Gen 3. Kanto is much more rural, as represented in older artwork.



- Manmade items are practically non-existent, you need to make Pokeballs from Apricorns (unreal time system means you can get a ball converted relatively fast), find berries or roots, and generally be economically-minded. You can buy Pokemon but you can’t sell them.



- Establish the first Gyms and the first League, by taking down Tamer groups whose activities can sometimes be... reprehensible



- The only evolution method known is “level up” evolution. At least to those who DO know that Pokemon can even evolve in the first place…



- Many Pokemon that are known to be rare today, are ubiquitous in this era. Well, not THAT ubiquitous, but much easier to find.



- Access your “Storage Boxes” from the menu. Well, computers don't exist yet, at least in Kanto, and there is no restriction forcing teleportation upon your ...balls… if you have more than six of them. So you can simply stuff those extra mons inside your bag.



- Organize your resources carefully. Berries aside, they are limited, and losing a battle means losing a lot of money. Healing services are both rare and expensive.



- A modified HGSS soundtrack, with a couple of OG tracks in the mix, that aims to replicate the OG feeling of Kanto music in an authentic way. What would the soundtrack have sounded like back then, if it wasn’t restricted by GB’s audio hardware?



- Discover the background of various characters, from Koga to Bertha, and witness the transformation of a ragtag, loose group of Tamers into Gym Leaders.



- A heartwarming story that explains Oak’s background and his role in every future trainer’s journey
.


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CHARACTERS:


The four childhood friends:



Samuel



A 20 year-old prodigy whose intellectual prowess earned him the title of the youngest professor on earth. Returning from Unova, and now on a mission, he ventures out to open a laboratory and earn an official position in the University of Celadon. A bit grumpy and certainly not very warm. His childhood friends, who greet him upon returning, are eager to bring his heart back home.





Agatha



Agatha is a very sensitive woman whose aim is to become a nurse. Despite getting every single attempt to make Sam open up to her, shut down, she keeps going. A very giving person who borders on naivety. Always looks at the bright side of life.



John



Sam’s best (and perhaps only real) friend. He grew up with Sam’s father, whom he absolutely adored. Physically gifted, he always protected Sam from trouble, trouble that frankly, was caused in part by Sam’s social incompetency. Or perhaps, (and as counterweight to his fascination with objects) by his absolute indifference to people. John is very competitive and has an unwavering spirit. He secretly admires Sam for his intelligence, despite all his grandiose declarations that physical strength is all that matters.





Athena



Athena is a bit of a tomboy with a strong sense of adventure, and buttloads of energy. Sometimes “sense of adventure” becomes “total recklessness” and she ends up in trouble. John rescuing her all the time (yes, there’s a trend here with John) eventually got to her and she fell for him. She is the only person who can calm him down after a bad day.



=================================================================


The four childhood friends, will eventually meet again. And it’s up to Sam to decide whether fun and work can coexist, and whether those four will get to relive their childhood bliss during an adventure that will hopefully make up for the three years Sam had been away (and for Sam's obsession with studying that led to total neglect of his personal life).


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~

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~

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~

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In Red’s Journey West, you will be faced with harder (than usual) fights. If you are competent in competitive, they will be a walk in the park - otherwise, since they were designed to teach non-competitive players how to adapt to the scene, you will come out with greater confidence in your skills, as a result. So don't fret, and approach your choices with a tactical mind!

Find out the truth about Red's missing brother, and the events that transpired between Red's loss and his arrival in the West, in this emotional journey about the process of coming of age, in a time when traditional family structures have started falling apart.

On a fateful day, on the very peak of Mt. Silver, Red was dealt a decisive blow - a newcomer from Johto, with 16 badges, swept his team with ease. To someone like Red, who had never lost a battle before, it felt like the world had ended. After running away with his tail between his legs, he stumbled upon an old friend, who gave him a letter mentioning a potentially important person to Red. With purpose anew, our protagonist finally descends Route 26, and travels to Johto in search of him.

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Features:

- The game’s difficulty has been made with introducing non-competitive players to competitive tactics, in mind!

- Beta Johto content restored! Caves, routes, and a Town!

- Starters given dual typing (yeah, cliche, I know) almost all competitively “insignificant” mons buffed

- A quick-paced adventure that respects your time! Useful additions to overcome grinding

- Beta mons that got cut, in the form of corresponding later gen mons

- Secret mons for those who care about them

- more than 100 animated portraits!

- remastered and original tracks (stadium 1 and 2, colosseum, HGSS)

- L O R E


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Red
Once known as the strongest Trainer in the world, Red has been silent for the majority of his life, and most people have taken that for granted - perhaps he is just "le strong silent type", or he's been maintaining that attitude in defense against a world where battling is everyone’s only real job. Despite not showing his face to his friends and family, it looks like the latter are still looking (out) for him. Will he be able to overcome his loss and find the person he's been looking for?

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Blue
A self-proclaimed "travelling merchant", with an obvious tendency for kleptomania, and a sassy and snobby attitude, this girl is wandering Johto with an unknown purpose. She "happens" to run into the gang every now and then, and let's all hope she doesn't get to join.

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Green
The Gym Leader of Viridian, Green seems to have matured a bit after the close-call loss to Red in the Pokemon League, three years prior. His... smelling proclivity hasn't kept him away from trouble - although one could say it's exactly the fact of sniffing out things that's helped him find Red.

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Daisy
Green's older sister, and the caretaker of both Red and Green whenever Red's mom was away, she's the cheerful, wise, and strong mentor figure that Red and Green had missed growing up. She is unstoppable during a shopping-spree, and while she loves irony, she's quite tactful when she's with people. Unless that's Red or her brother, whose diapers she's helped change many a times - and that still makes them lil' babies in her view.




SCREENSHOTS:



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DOWNLOAD:



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Bugs:
  • Some item icons might show as "?", please report those.
  • Some mons are missing their cries



Community Mods:

- "Unraveled Paths" by PJ https://eeveeexpo.com/threads/4513/
A mod that gives you the option to choose between the original ending and an alternate ending. Compatible with all future versions of TFJ.

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CREDITS:


~CREDITS~
if I forgot someone PLEASE let me know immediately!

~CREDITS~


IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:


Nintendo and Gamefreak


Pokemon Essentials by:

Maruno
Poccil
Flameguru


With contributions from:

AvatarMonkeyKirby
Marin
Boushy
MiDas Mike
Brother1440
Near Fantastica
FL.
PinkMan
Genzai Kawakami
Popper
help-14
Rataime
IceGod64
SoundSpawn
Jacob O. Wobbrock
the__end
KitsuneKouta
Venom12
Lisa Anthony
Wachunga
Luka S.J.

and everyone else who helped out




~ Testing Team ~


Sandy

Ray2064

Manul

Earthescape

DemICE

Chris

SaitoHikari



~ Assistance ~

Ray - Graphics Insertion, Cry insertion

AcrylicBoredom - Cry insertion

RockyRock - Grahpics Insertion




~ Ideas ~

CocoaButterKisses

RockyRock

ArtilleryOctillery




~ Johto Dungeon Maps, Route 49, Pal Park ~

Earthescape




~ Bughunting, Feedback, Ideas ~

Skyter97

Dogboy2709

MikeCakes

Demice

Specific

Yrgulian

DilawZ08

Jingle

Alilatias

Reshad

Misfit0216

Canneon

Anty

DJ Sha'Do Umbreon

Paravoina

Ceamlyn

MMMM13

Cpt. Arroth

HeroVoltsy

Lanturn Joe

Miri33

Mariyannu

Earthescape

Erun

Coolbhupi

Chronos

FL

Pan

Ntc




~ Original FRLG maps ~

JohtoBlaziken




~ Scripts ~


Hollow Ego - Simulated/Scripted Battle

Wonsul - Storage Access from Menu

Kurotsune, Amethyst - Text Skip

FL - Unreal Time System

Luka S.J., Tenshi of War - Animated Battlers

LostSoulsDev / carmaniac, PurpleZaffre, and Golisopod User - Location Signposts

Mr. Gela, with help from Golisopod User - Namebox and Portraits

Klein Studio, Marin , edited by TrankerGolD - Fast Forward

Derxwna Kapsyla - Bicycle and surf theme permanence

GB -> Essentials, by rigbycwts, imported by Not Important to v18

Marin -> Easy Questing Interface

NuriYuri -> Fmod Audio Looping




Other snippet related:
----------------------

Vendily

Nikdie (shadow Pokemon type quadruple damage removal)

Uber Dunsparce



Eventing Tricks:
------------------

averyindahouse - Storing party


Gen 8 PBS
------------
UberDunsparce


Legends PBS
------------



====================
~ Graphics ~
======================

Portrait Bases
--------------

nephae
_64smashmaster3ds and Chocogrotto, 2000s Alola Blue (Green)


Tilesets:
---------


SirMalo's HGSS Rips for RMXP

La Pampa - Epic Adventures >

Tileset from Pokemon Epic Adventures (La Pampa)
https://pokemonworkshop.com/forum/index.php?topic=409
made available as a resource in the french dev kit and fangame community.

Associated Crediting:
Code:
Expand Collapse Copy
Alistair
Alucus
Bakura155
Bati'
Blue Beedrill
BoOmxBiG
Chimcharsfireworkd
CNickC/CNC
CrimsonTakai
Cuddlesthefatcat
Dewitty
EpicDay
Fused
Gigatom
Heavy-Metal-Lover
Hek-el-grande
Kage-No-Sensei
Kizemaru_Kurunosuke
Kymotonian/Kyledove
LaPampa
LotusKing
New-titeuf
Novus
Pokemon_Diamond
PrinceLegendario
Reck
Red-Gyrados
REMY35
Saurav
SL249
Spaceemotion
Speedialga
Stefpoke
sylver1984
ThatsSoWitty
TheEnglishKiwi
Thegreatblaid
ThePokemonChronicles
TwentyOne
UltimoSpriter
Warpras
WesleyFG
Yoh
Youri (Yuri / Nagato Yuki)
07harris/Paranoid
19dante91
27alexmad27

Akizakura16 - Interior Tileset

Kyledove - Some overworld tiles

SailorVicious - Some overworld tiles

Aveon Trainer's interiors

Heartlessdragoon (RSE Tile Rip)

RBRNNova - Tent tiles

hek-el-grande, light-pa, zerudez, phyromatical - Lava/volcanic tiles

Flurmimon - A few cave tiles

PeekyChew - Traditional Japanese Tiles

Mikenaria -HGSS Interiors

Rayquaza Dot - Some overworld tiles

ChaoticCherryCake - Truck from Public Tiles

Phyromatical - Shipwreck tiles

SailorVicious - Old Style Shipwreck


Autotiles:
-----------------

HGSS Autotiles for RMXP - Ripped by DeepBlue PacificWaves, WolfPP and SirMalo


Sprites:
----------------

Greninja and Mr. Rime

N-Kin
aXl
G.E.Z., TheAetherPlayer

ezerart
ursaluna by zerudez
Sirfitched Base

Conyjams

shadow lugia base by shadowgate31

sirfitched base by KingOFTheXRoads

noscium - drampa


All other next gen mons:
--------------------------
Falgaia,
Azria (zerudez)
KingOFTheXRoads



Trainers:
-----------
Solo993 and tebited15

joetestrikesback

DSTAR99 - Grown Red




Charsets:
------------------

Gen 4 OW Sprites by:

Neo-Spriteman

VanillaSunshine

PurpleZaffre & Maicerochico

AtomicReactor

Mighty Jetters -PMD Lapras Sprite Rip

DiegoWT - Gen 5 Chars Gen 4 Style

sonicshadowsilver

lapokefanatica



UI:
---------------------------

aki - free summary screens

zygoat - Platinum Style Battle UI



Fogs:
-----------------------------

Zuhn - cherry blossom leaves gif



Battle Backgrounds:
--------------------------

FinalArt

iametrine

carchagui

princessphoenix

Phoenix of Light92 - XY battle background rip


Other (VS sprite)
---------------

iTheRealPikachuV2



#===========================
~ Audio ~
#============================

Music:
-----------

Modified HGSS Kanto and Johto, Stadium 1 & 2, XD Gale of Darkness OST - by AenaonDusky


HGSS Midis ripped by Exabyte U

Mt. Moon Midi: Nayuki Midi Rip from RBY, modified

Surf Track Base Midi: unnamed, from khinsider.com, modified

All music edited in FL STUDIO, using FLEX, VSCO2 and Orion Vsti (all free)




"RPG Maker XP" by:
Enterbrain

Pokémon is owned by:
The Pokémon Company
Nintendo
Affiliated with Game Freak


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Questions and Miscellanous Information:


GAMEPLAY LENGTH: 6-8 hours, Oak's part, 6-9 hours Red's part

Android dark map fix as suggested by PJ:
Hold and drag the game in game library; after the menu pops up, select the "Optimize Maps" option.
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Click "ENTER" to initiate the conversion process. This may take up to 3 mins based on the game and map size.
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Click "ESCAPE" once the conversion is completed. The emulator will close abruptly, its expected.
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The game should now go from this ...
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to this!
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Q: Is this game for me?
A: If you like story-driven games with a bit of challenge here and there, then yes. The game is generally for everyone, but will probably be most enjoyed by older fans.



Q: Generation specifics?

A: Evolution: Levelup only for ALL mons no need for trading, stones etc. Gen6 mechanics, No Double Battles(well, mostly), evolutions of Kanto mons, later evos included, but baby mons not included until postgame. Psychic and Fighting types, as well as several Kanto-specific mons do not exist yet. Farfetchd is OP.


Q: Is this game complete?
A: Yes it is. Feedback greatly appreciated!

Q: What is Red's Journey West?
A: In traditional terms the "postgame" but it's an entire new game, a second part to The First Journey, playable after you finish Oak's part.



Feel free to use this version of Kanto in your game as long as you credit JohtoBlaziken and La Pampa (and their associated credit list), goes without saying.


 
Last edited:

CyberDarkWarg39

Novice
Member
Joined
May 24, 2023
Posts
38
Sorry for bumping, but the game's title has changed: It's now "The First Journey" instead of "Generation 0". We were notified that "Generation 0" is the title of an other, older fangame that has apparently gone on hiatus. We had no idea of that game's existence. It's completely unrelated to TFJ.

You should know that, by changing the game's internal title, the save folder changes too. So if you happen to update your game in the future, and you had last saved when the game was called "Gen 0", you'd need to move that save from the old "Gen 0" folder, over to "PS_The First Journey". (Saves are located under C:\Users\USERNAME\Saved Games). Sorry for the inconvenience!

You don't need to update right now, as the only thing that has changed in this version is the title.
I was wondering if there are later gens like gen 8 Pokémon in Pokémon
Sorry for bumping, but the game's title has changed: It's now "The First Journey" instead of "Generation 0". We were notified that "Generation 0" is the title of an other, older fangame that has apparently gone on hiatus. We had no idea of that game's existence. It's completely unrelated to TFJ.

You should know that, by changing the game's internal title, the save folder changes too. So if you happen to update your game in the future, and you had last saved when the game was called "Gen 0", you'd need to move that save from the old "Gen 0" folder, over to "PS_The First Journey". (Saves are located under C:\Users\USERNAME\Saved Games). Sorry for the inconvenience!

You don't need to update right now, as the only thing that has changed in this version is the title.
I was wondering if there are any later Gen Pokémon like Gen 8 in Pokémon Story: The First Journey & Red's Journey West?
 

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos
Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
I was wondering if there are later gens like gen 8 Pokémon in Pokémon

I was wondering if there are any later Gen Pokémon like Gen 8 in Pokémon Story: The First Journey & Red's Journey West?
Like the thread mentions, it's mostly generation 1, 2, and later evos. For instance, Girafarig can evolve into Farigiraf. Magmar evolves into Magmortar and so on Some mons like Greninja also exist in RJW, but we are talking about miniscule additions that are meant to fill the lost johto pokedex.
 

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos
Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
TFJRJW has been Updated to 10. 1

  • Fixed stray pixels in RJW Title screen
  • Updated Sam's battle backsprite
  • fixed mt moon tile rocks
  • fixed incorrect ball message in silph computer
  • fixed out of bounds glitch in Route 15 to 14
  • fixed a swimmers map connection spot range
  • fixed size of Tohjo cave exit event detection
  • fixed gym leaders walking about in their gyms
  • optimized various map events further
  • fixed future healing machine duplicate dialogue
  • fixed getting stuck during the first completed league scene, if you approached it from another tile
  • changed sailor mentioning 1400$ instead of 1200$
  • updated Red's battle backsprite
  • fixed various tiles
  • fixed some wonky event clerk interactions in Gold. Dept. Store
  • forced Pryce's battle to be 2v2, regardless of player having more than 1 mon
  • fixed rogue pixel in Giovanni's portrait
  • updated sailor's dialogue after story events
  • fixed Hairo Trainer sprite double pixels
  • fixed whimsicott icon pixel
  • fixed rogue pixel in Future Red's last idle portrait frame
  • reduced ilex forest dialogue
  • grammar fixes
  • fixed developer note length problems in mkxp
  • fuji leaving should work properly now
  • Balance Candies will first be given in Dragon's Palace now, instead of Goldenrod
 

JPA93

Novice
Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2022
Posts
17
Enjoyed this game very much! The writing, especially in The First Journey, blew me away. Great characters as well, I really sympathized with Agatha. :'(

Red's Journey West changed the established tone at times, but I still had a blast with it. Farfetch'd carried the run, Shuckie the last fight (adored the new form at the end, despite short screen time).

The dialogue portraits are beautiful and very well-made. I also liked the music a lot, even though it sometimes cut out randomly, which didn't always seem intentional (without using speed-up).

Some small inconsistencies in mapping (HD/half pixel tiles) and missing door animations didn't affect my experience much, if at all. I would have liked to read the full dev notes that came in the bag with Red's Journey West, but couldn't scroll past the first page of pages 2 and 3. Had several bug / error message and turn skips in the final fight that made me have to restart, as well as another error message in the second part of the same fight. Not sure what happened. Just gonna leave the error log here, in case it helps:
=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:43:25 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: TypeError
Message: no implicit conversion from nil to integer

Backtrace:
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:137:in `[]'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:137:in `pbEnemyShouldWithdrawEx?'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:217:in `pbChooseMoves'
156:PokeBattle_AI:67:in `pbDefaultChooseEnemyCommand'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:200:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `loop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:183:in `pbCommandPhase'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:320:in `pbBattleLoop'
060:PBDebug:6:in `logonerr'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:43:26 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: NameError
Message: undefined local variable or method `b' for #<PokeBattle_Battle:0x115e4380>

Backtrace:
147:Battle_Action_Switching:248:in `pbMessageOnRecall'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:57:in `pbAttackPhaseSwitch'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:51:in `each'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:51:in `pbAttackPhaseSwitch'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:183:in `pbAttackPhase'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:323:in `pbBattleLoop'
060:PBDebug:6:in `logonerr'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:323:in `pbBattleLoop'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:308:in `loop'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:308:in `pbBattleLoop'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:43:33 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: TypeError
Message: no implicit conversion from nil to integer

Backtrace:
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:137:in `[]'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:137:in `pbEnemyShouldWithdrawEx?'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:217:in `pbChooseMoves'
156:PokeBattle_AI:67:in `pbDefaultChooseEnemyCommand'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:200:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `loop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:183:in `pbCommandPhase'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:320:in `pbBattleLoop'
060:PBDebug:6:in `logonerr'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:43:33 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: NameError
Message: undefined local variable or method `b' for #<PokeBattle_Battle:0x115e4380>

Backtrace:
147:Battle_Action_Switching:248:in `pbMessageOnRecall'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:57:in `pbAttackPhaseSwitch'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:51:in `each'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:51:in `pbAttackPhaseSwitch'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:183:in `pbAttackPhase'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:323:in `pbBattleLoop'
060:PBDebug:6:in `logonerr'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:323:in `pbBattleLoop'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:308:in `loop'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:308:in `pbBattleLoop'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:43:45 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: TypeError
Message: no implicit conversion from nil to integer

Backtrace:
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:137:in `[]'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:137:in `pbEnemyShouldWithdrawEx?'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:217:in `pbChooseMoves'
156:PokeBattle_AI:67:in `pbDefaultChooseEnemyCommand'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:200:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `loop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:183:in `pbCommandPhase'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:320:in `pbBattleLoop'
060:PBDebug:6:in `logonerr'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:43:46 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: NameError
Message: undefined local variable or method `b' for #<PokeBattle_Battle:0x115e4380>

Backtrace:
147:Battle_Action_Switching:248:in `pbMessageOnRecall'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:57:in `pbAttackPhaseSwitch'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:51:in `each'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:51:in `pbAttackPhaseSwitch'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:183:in `pbAttackPhase'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:323:in `pbBattleLoop'
060:PBDebug:6:in `logonerr'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:323:in `pbBattleLoop'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:308:in `loop'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:308:in `pbBattleLoop'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:43:51 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: TypeError
Message: no implicit conversion from nil to integer

Backtrace:
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:137:in `[]'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:137:in `pbEnemyShouldWithdrawEx?'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:217:in `pbChooseMoves'
156:PokeBattle_AI:67:in `pbDefaultChooseEnemyCommand'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:200:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `loop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:183:in `pbCommandPhase'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:320:in `pbBattleLoop'
060:PBDebug:6:in `logonerr'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:43:52 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: NameError
Message: undefined local variable or method `b' for #<PokeBattle_Battle:0x115e4380>

Backtrace:
147:Battle_Action_Switching:248:in `pbMessageOnRecall'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:57:in `pbAttackPhaseSwitch'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:51:in `each'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:51:in `pbAttackPhaseSwitch'
152:Battle_Phase_Attack:183:in `pbAttackPhase'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:323:in `pbBattleLoop'
060:PBDebug:6:in `logonerr'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:323:in `pbBattleLoop'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:308:in `loop'
144:Battle_StartAndEnd:308:in `pbBattleLoop'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:46:41 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: NameError
Message: undefined local variable or method `target' for #<PokeBattle_AI:0x118a6fd0>

Backtrace:
161:AI_Move_Utilities:79:in `pbCalcTypeModPokemon'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:119:in `pbEnemyShouldWithdrawEx?'
068:BitmapCache:392:in `each_with_index'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:93:in `each'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:93:in `each_with_index'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:93:in `pbEnemyShouldWithdrawEx?'
158:AI_Switch:6:in `_battlePalace_pbEnemyShouldWithdraw?'
178:PokeBattle_BattlePalace:216:in `_battleArena_pbEnemyShouldWithdraw?'
179:PokeBattle_BattleArena:178:in `pbEnemyShouldWithdraw?'
156:PokeBattle_AI:64:in `pbDefaultChooseEnemyCommand'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:55:21 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: NoMethodError
Message: undefined method `<' for nil:NilClass

Backtrace:
147:Battle_Action_Switching:10:in `pbCanSwitchLax?'
147:Battle_Action_Switching:43:in `pbCanSwitch?'
147:Battle_Action_Switching:104:in `pbRegisterSwitch'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:135:in `pbEnemyShouldWithdrawEx?'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:217:in `pbChooseMoves'
156:PokeBattle_AI:67:in `pbDefaultChooseEnemyCommand'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:200:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `loop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:183:in `pbCommandPhase'

=================

[Mon Aug 07 19:55:29 +0200 2023]
[Pokémon Essentials version 18.1]
Exception: NoMethodError
Message: undefined method `<' for nil:NilClass

Backtrace:
147:Battle_Action_Switching:10:in `pbCanSwitchLax?'
147:Battle_Action_Switching:43:in `pbCanSwitch?'
147:Battle_Action_Switching:104:in `pbRegisterSwitch'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:135:in `pbEnemyShouldWithdrawEx?'
316:Consistent AI for Vanilla v18:217:in `pbChooseMoves'
156:PokeBattle_AI:67:in `pbDefaultChooseEnemyCommand'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:200:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `loop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:191:in `pbCommandPhaseLoop'
151:Battle_Phase_Command:183:in `pbCommandPhase'

I'm really looking forward to playing other titles in the series, or whatever else you're working on for the future. Thank you for the game!
 

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos
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Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
Enjoyed this game very much! The writing, especially in The First Journey, blew me away. Great characters as well, I really sympathized with Agatha. :'(

Red's Journey West changed the established tone at times, but I still had a blast with it. Farfetch'd carried the run, Shuckie the last fight (adored the new form at the end, despite short screen time).

The dialogue portraits are beautiful and very well-made. I also liked the music a lot, even though it sometimes cut out randomly, which didn't always seem intentional (without using speed-up).

Some small inconsistencies in mapping (HD/half pixel tiles) and missing door animations didn't affect my experience much, if at all. I would have liked to read the full dev notes that came in the bag with Red's Journey West, but couldn't scroll past the first page of pages 2 and 3. Had several bug / error message and turn skips in the final fight that made me have to restart, as well as another error message in the second part of the same fight. Not sure what happened. Just gonna leave the error log here, in case it helps:

I'm really looking forward to playing other titles in the series, or whatever else you're working on for the future. Thank you for the game!

Thank you for playing, and for your kind words! Sorry I saw your reply this late, I was focusing on the recent jam and must have missed the notification.
As you understand, it's difficult to have to do everything for the game, and not cut corners somewhere - my main focus was music, portraits, story, and gameplay, so the minor tile issues were definitely not high on my list.

As for the dev note bug: the game runs on an old version of MKXP that makes it compatible with old hardware (if you apply the legacy exe). When I am testing, I am using the legacy exe, and these text issues only show on the MKXP exe, so I had no idea about it until someone told me. Same goes for the music problems, which are related to the audio looping scripts in concjunction with the old tilemap renderer which has memory leak issues. Thankfully, MKXP just makes the audio temporarily stop, instead of fully crashing the game.

For the same reasons, the game runs on an old version of the Essentials engine, whose battle system wasn't as polished as it is today. These errors are a pain to fix on my side, and are very infrequent for the vast majority of players (depending on move choice I guess), so unless there is outside help, I won't be focusing on them for future updates.

These issues do not show up on any of the other series' entries, particularly the non-essential ones - that means any games other than the main game, which will be updated to the newest version of the engine in the coming months. I am looking forward to your playthroughs!
My game keeps crashing after the credits for the first part ends, how can I fix this?
Please tell me the version you're on, this used to be a very old bug.
 

Netto-kun

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Aug 31, 2023
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I had never played a fan game before and I chose yours to be my first one, and I'm really loving it!

Currently I'm stuck at Diglett's Cave. I can't seem to find the hidden Diglett in order to Dugtrio let me get out at Vermilion. I tried googling it, but the guys that have playthroughs on YouTube have older versions of the game that have no overworld Diglett/Dugtrio trying to block your way after beating Athena. Please help
 

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos
Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
I had never played a fan game before and I chose yours to be my first one, and I'm really loving it!

Currently I'm stuck at Diglett's Cave. I can't seem to find the hidden Diglett in order to Dugtrio let me get out at Vermilion. I tried googling it, but the guys that have playthroughs on YouTube have older versions of the game that have no overworld Diglett/Dugtrio trying to block your way after beating Athena. Please help
Hello, thank you for your interest.
Take a look at the map below, the pink squares are diglett locations.

I will rework Diglett's cave because other players have given feedback as to it being convoluted.
 

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Netto-kun

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Hello, thank you for your interest.
Take a look at the map below, the pink squares are diglett locations.

I will rework Diglett's cave because other players have given feedback as to it being convoluted.
Thank you very much! I finally could find all Diglett and leave the cave.

I'd like to report the following bugs:
  • Lickilicky has the wrong cry (I think it's Alakazam's cry);
  • using Roost does not make the user temporarily lose the Flying-type as it's supposed to. My Pidgeot used Roost and in the same turn it got hit by an Electric-type move and it was super effective (if Roost had its intended effect, that turn it should have been a pure Normal-type, therefore having normal effectiveness).
 

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos
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Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
Thank you very much! I finally could find all Diglett and leave the cave.

I'd like to report the following bugs:
  • Lickilicky has the wrong cry (I think it's Alakazam's cry);
  • using Roost does not make the user temporarily lose the Flying-type as it's supposed to. My Pidgeot used Roost and in the same turn it got hit by an Electric-type move and it was super effective (if Roost had its intended effect, that turn it should have been a pure Normal-type, therefore having normal effectiveness).
Thank you for reporting those. If you happen to come across more bugs, it would be much easier for me if you could gather em all up in one place, and then leave them here, once you are finished with the game (as I have to monitor another thread and a discord bugreporting channel, so it's easier for me when the reports are less sporadic).
 

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos
Member
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Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
TFJ has been updated to 10.2

  • Fixed Developer Notes getting cut-off in modern hardware mode.
  • Fixed Fuji not disappearing on all respective routes
  • Changed Diglett's placement in Diglett's Cave, because it confused many players. Now it's a straightforward pseudo whack-a-mole thing
  • Fixed more instances of speedup being enabled during cutscenes
  • Fixed some more tiles
  • Fixed instances where speedup was disabled
  • Fixed various typos
  • Refined prologue text
  • Fixed Sonchou's text not changing after getting the book but not returning it
  • Toned down some of the AMAZING jokes in those parts
 

Netto-kun

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Hi there! A few more bugs:
  • Primeape in RJW is Fighting-type, however it behaves as if it were a Normal-type (weak to Fighting, normal damage from Psychic, Flying and Fairy)
  • Move Tutor in Goldenrod can't teach Night Slash to Honchkrow even though it can learn the move by leveling up
  • Move Tutor in Goldenrod can't teach Thunderbolt to Magnezone (I haven't tested if Magnemite or Magneton can be taught)
  • If the player blacks out during Red's Pikachu versus Ethan's team of legendaries, their party is not healed (your party is exactly the way it was when you finished fighting his team of 6 Mew)
  • Synchronize can burn Fire-type Pokémon and paralyze Electric-type Pokémon (I don't remember activating Synchronize in other battles, but this happened in the battle against Ethan's six Mew)

By the way, how I am supposed to defeat Ethan's Ho-oh, Lugia and other 4 Pokémon with only Pikachu? I have been trying with no success, lol

Also, is Annihilape in this game? My Primeape didn't seem to learn any Ghost-type move in order to evolve, and also didn't evolve via level up (I raised it up to Lv 100). I didn't think there was a possibility of it being in the game, but then I fought Will's Farigiraf which is also from Gen IX, which made me think "what if?".
 

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos
Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
Hi there! A few more bugs:
  • Primeape in RJW is Fighting-type, however it behaves as if it were a Normal-type (weak to Fighting, normal damage from Psychic, Flying and Fairy)
  • Move Tutor in Goldenrod can't teach Night Slash to Honchkrow even though it can learn the move by leveling up
  • Move Tutor in Goldenrod can't teach Thunderbolt to Magnezone (I haven't tested if Magnemite or Magneton can be taught)
  • If the player blacks out during Red's Pikachu versus Ethan's team of legendaries, their party is not healed (your party is exactly the way it was when you finished fighting his team of 6 Mew)
  • Synchronize can burn Fire-type Pokémon and paralyze Electric-type Pokémon (I don't remember activating Synchronize in other battles, but this happened in the battle against Ethan's six Mew)

By the way, how I am supposed to defeat Ethan's Ho-oh, Lugia and other 4 Pokémon with only Pikachu? I have been trying with no success, lol

Also, is Annihilape in this game? My Primeape didn't seem to learn any Ghost-type move in order to evolve, and also didn't evolve via level up (I raised it up to Lv 100). I didn't think there was a possibility of it being in the game, but then I fought Will's Farigiraf which is also from Gen IX, which made me think "what if?".

Thanks again for your bug report!

The reason you are struggling in the last fight is because you ditched a certain mon! heartless, man and it helped you get back on your feet earlier!
I actually forgot to include Annihilape at all.
 

Netto-kun

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Aug 31, 2023
Posts
4
Thanks again for your bug report!

The reason you are struggling in the last fight is because you ditched a certain mon! heartless, man and it helped you get back on your feet earlier!
I actually forgot to include Annihilape at all.

Wow, I would never have guessed it, hahaha I actually used Shuckie until Faulkner. And the Pokémon I caught with Jasmine's help was a Mankey that I used for the entire game. My party before the Ethan battle was Typhlosion (I absolutely loved it being Fire/Ground), Quagsire, Honchkrow, Primeape, Jynx and Magnezone. After talking to you here and seeing I would need Shuckle, I changed Jynx for it, Honchkrow for Gyarados and Magnezone for Meganium (I loved its new typing and Dino Skin ability, by the way). And I had to change Primeape for Machamp because a lot of Ethan's Pokémon had Fighting moves that knocked it out very easily because of its typing bug. Due to not having Jynx anymore I had to teach Ice Beam to my Quagsire in order to KO his Gliscor. Changing my party in order for Shuckle to fit in was really challenging, yet really fun! And Shuckle's Titan form was amazing.

Overall, I enjoyed this ride so much! I actually want a lot more of this universe, and I'm already wanting to replay TFJ! About TFJ, I felt there should have any indication that the Fuji fight was skippable, because I ended up skipping it unknowingly and I couldn't go back there after the battle on the village at Indigo Plateau (I actually had gone there looking for Fuji), because it already triggered the start of RJW. I feel like there is so much that I missed in my first play of TFJ. Congratulations and thank you for making this!

A few questions that I didn't find any answers ingame:
SPOILER ALERT

Are we going to see more of the story of the abandoned ship in the area north of the Hacienda?
Are we going to see more of the story of the two caves between Goldenrod and Olivine? I got really hooked in that part.
Is Mega Evolution available for players?
What's the deal with the green Dark/Dragon Gyarados? The Magikarp I caught in the TFJ cutscene evolved into it and I was surprised. Then, in RJW, I caught a Magikarp again but this time it evolved into regular blue Water/Flying Gyarados, but I battled a fisherman that had both.
What's the deal with that Farfetch'd evolution that Bruno and the guy at Olivine Lighthouse have? Is it available for players?
What's the deal with Pryce's Delibird?
Is Alolan Vulpix/Ninetales available for players?
Was there any hidden meaning in finding that Corsola in Tohjo Falls?


Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that if you catch a Pokémon with a full party in RJW, the game says "putting this one on the bag" just like in TFJ, it felt very weird.
 
Last edited:

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos
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Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
Overall, I enjoyed this ride so much! I actually want a lot more of this universe, and I'm already wanting to replay TFJ! About TFJ, I felt there should have any indication that the Fuji fight was skippable, because I ended up skipping it unknowingly and I couldn't go back there after the battle on the village at Indigo Plateau (I actually had gone there looking for Fuji), because it already triggered the start of RJW. I feel like there is so much that I missed in my first play of TFJ. Congratulations and thank you for making this!

Really glad you enjoyed the game! And thanks for the other stuff you pointed out, e.g. the bag message is a, well, bug.

To answer your questions in the spoilers:
- The abandoned ship story ends there. The whole picture is that a sailor was in love with a passenger who had a Pikachu, and when the ship ended up sinking, he stayed on site looking for her for many years, together with her Pikachu. He eventually left the place and settled in Viridian as the well-known drunk man. The Pikachu stayed, however, until Sam found it and caught it. Due to the harsh conditions and perhaps the electric charge of the Lighthouse, the Pikachu had become very strong. You can go back to the drunken man in Viridian, show him the Pikachu, and let him get some peace. (He still ends up being drunk many years later though). This Pikachu was given to Red as a starter many years later (mons outlive humans by a lot)

- The story of the beta caves is linked to the overall series' narrative, and you may get some more information if you play another sidegame, Time's Edge. That game takes place concurrently with the main game to which TFJ serves as a prequel. For now keep in mind that the Ore at the mention of which Sam flipped in the last cutscene, was also found in those caves. It is evident that the League desires to see this particular type of Ore destroyed. The answer as to why is shown in the final battle and scenes of Time's Edge.

- You don't have access to ME, no.

- The original inspiration behind Magikarp's evolution comes from a chinese myth, and I thought it would be more fun if its "original" form would be more dragon-like (though the design can be hit or miss). It's likely that over the years, the Gyardos species adapted to aquatic life more and changed its apperance.

- Farfecther is available, yes. You get hints as to how to evolve it in the Charcoal Guy's house in Azalea. TLDR; go to Dragon's Den and gain a level. It is a massively OP pokemon that can trivialize your run's difficulty.

- That is a special Delibird form that will be eventually connected to some events in the Main Game.

- I am not sure but I believe it should be available in Ice Path. If not I'll look into it.

- There's a whole bunch of OW encounters in RJW to reward players who explore using surf. They have set natures and abilities.
 

Newbie069

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Sep 14, 2023
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Hi there, I have played some fan games in the past, but I am having a little bit of trouble with the download. I downloaded it and it extracted, and it came out as a pdf. I'm also curious if this is its own game or if I have to patch it into a different game? sorry for tech questions I know this isn't tech support haha. Thank you for any help.
 

AenaonDogsky

Arbiter of Doggos
Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
Hi there, I have played some fan games in the past, but I am having a little bit of trouble with the download. I downloaded it and it extracted, and it came out as a pdf. I'm also curious if this is its own game or if I have to patch it into a different game? sorry for tech questions I know this isn't tech support haha. Thank you for any help.
Hello, you will need a zip program called 7zip, it's open source. Use it to extract the file, after installing it, by right clicking on it, selecting 8zip > open/extract here. Here is 7 zip.
 

AenaonDogsky

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Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
TFJRJW has been updated to 10.3

This update is a kind of hotfix update, patching a very embarrassing tile priority bug in National Park, and fixing a minor stairs bug.
 

Mr. SU

Eternal Meanderer
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Sep 17, 2023
Posts
8
Howdy Mr. Dogsky! You might remember me from the Poke-community Thread where I shared my thoughts on Fated Epistle a few months ago. I just got around to playing this game and finished up The First Journey last night and I'm taking a break from the game to let it settle on me before I get into Red's Journey West.

I gotta say, I really enjoyed this game. I didn't quite love it as much as Fated Epistle as I'm a bit biased against fanworks that riff off of pre-existing characters and I'm especially biased against some old Kanto conspiracy theories like the Kanto War.

I think there's something fascinating about how much room there is to think about with Kanto with how deliberately little world building there is compared to games that came after it. Even small innocuous one-off lines like Lt. Surge mentioning a war offhandedly (which, if he's American, doesn't it make more sense he fought in an American war like Vietnam or the gulf war than in a Japanese war?) can get people speculating. The idea is you're experiencing the world through the eyes of a child, so the gen 1 devs wanted to capture the feeling of adventure and childlike wonder they had about the world when they were children. It's funny to think about how they left such odd little details in just to make people speculate further with a sense of wonder.

At its core, this game explores the journey of 3 friends and their (failed) attempts to get through to their friend to live in the moment and enjoy life (or a really good case for why STEM majors need to take humanities classes) and an exploration of Kanto as a setting, both what it was, and what it will be.

The group dynamic of Sam and his friends is quite strong. The dialogue portraits really give a certain expressiveness to every character, the lack of Sam having one by contrast, serves to characterize him further by making him even more robotic by deliberately not having him a face during cutscenes. The whole game I was waiting for Sam to have a moment that changes him and the game teases it on multiple occasions with him sometimes having moments of weakness where the characters' words ring true enough even Sam can't always dismiss them. I particularly love the scene where Sam is getting ready to test John's battling prowess in his gym and John gives a fascinating insult of "If you see the world as only a bunch of atoms, maybe that's all you really are". They all challenge Sam's world view in their own distinct ways with enough sincerity that makes the tragedy of the ending sting all the more.

Though I gotta say... Fated Epistle features a heavily flawed male protagonist in a dysfunctional group dynamic where the girl in it absolutely loathes him (for entirely valid reasons) and The First Journey also features a heavily flawed male protagonist in a dysfunctional group dynamic where the girl in it hates him....
Do you have girl problems bro??? (Joking)

The exploration of Kanto as a setting is quite creative, mixing real life history and fictional lore along with beta concepts for generation 1. I especially love the little ways the visuals of the region are touched up on like the abundance of crops and the more rural Japanese aesthetic the houses have. One of my biggest problems with Kanto as a region is I find is aesthetic quite boring and I find the remakes accentuate it a bit further in their attempts at accuracy. The way the game switches to a more mission-based format near the end of TFJ with Saffron as the center of your base of operations was a genius way of re-contextualizing Kanto's design in a way that works for the ideas of the game itself. I especially love how different Pallet Town feels with the crops surrounding it instead of the trees.

Soooooo about that ending though...

Yes

However, it would be naive of me to only use my own personal definition of edgy. For many folks, any Pokemon game that explores ideas and emotions deeper than a puddle is "edgy" (which by definition means the Mystery Dungeon games, Black/White, X/Y, Sun/Moon and Scarlet/Violet are also edgy). For some, they have an equally ridiculous notion that only Pokemon games that explore serious and sensitive topics with poor writing are edgy while those with good writing are not (Which would make Pokemon Reborn not edgy, when that game is edgy as hell itself). My definition of "edgy" is non-pejorative and simply means anything that has an in-your-face level of earnesty and enthusiasm with avant-garde ideas, aesthetics and themes, especially if they relate to media aimed at children and teenagers.

There is simply no way one can make a narrative in which, Samuel Oak, a kind old man with a love for teaching the younger generation about the strange creatures that inhabit their world who studies the bonds between those creatures and the humans they live alongside by. A tragic super-genius in the fields of politics, technology, biology, Pokemon battling and fucking game design (in the 50's no less, irl we didn't even have that shit down till like the 80s and even then most of the games that came out back then don't hold up to modern scrutiny) who decides to fuck over his own country in a war for revenge and build a society of ignorant people he helps control from his... laboratory in the middle of nowhere? And Giovanni, a charismatic but ruthless mob boss who sees Pokemon as purely tools to make money off of, an equally tragic leader who's leading the fight against government control, and it not be edgy. No matter how well it's handled. Which it is for the most part.

The dramatic perspective shift in the Aka tribe where you shift from Sam's perspective to John's perspective to really hammer home how robotic Sam seems from John's perspective was the absolute cherry on the top to this emotional ending. The uhhhh warning about the amount of cutscenes was a bit unnecessary though, it kinda took me out of the experience when I was really in the moment right there.

Now that being said, I'm a fickle person who can't love anything without complaining about it so don't take anything here personally but

The prose is sometimes feels a bit too "internet" at times, this is something I felt in Fated Epistle at times and it irked me a bit more here where the setting is supposed to be in the 50's. This is something a lot of Pokemon fangames have a problem with but they also don't normally have good writing so it sticks out more like a sore thumb. I have a hard time pointing out specific examples but the time I felt it the most was in Athena's pre-gym battle cutscene. It's hardly a dealbreaker for a Pokemon fangame but if you ever break out into the field of indie rpgs, it'll definitely help to get an editor to keep things feeling consistent.

Another problem most fangames have is the way they often de-mystify legendary Pokemon which this game absolutely does but I can't even be mad at it with how creative and absolutely ridiculous the idea of it is for literally all history to be revisionized to include Pokemon.

And I hate to say it, but it's hard for me to take illuminati "controlling the world from the shadows"-type villains seriously when irl you can find out the assholes controlling the world by looking up who's funding each politician. That being said, it is a funny way of re-imagining the Pokemon world's mysterious lack of a government at times by just being like "they're in the shadows bro!" and putting on a tin foil hat. Maybe RJW and Fated Epistle when it's finished will sell me on them a little more, I'm particularly curious to see who and what the hell Aristea and this universe's Ghetsis are.
All in all, I have really damn complicated thoughts on this game but I love it a damn ton and I'm looking forward to playing RJW this weekend.
(I sincerely hope this game doesn't go off of the theory that you kill Blue's Raticate though, that's my least favorite Kanto theory of them all)
 

AenaonDogsky

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Dec 12, 2017
Posts
504
Howdy Mr. Dogsky! You might remember me from the Poke-community Thread where I shared my thoughts on Fated Epistle a few months ago. I just got around to playing this game and finished up The First Journey last night and I'm taking a break from the game to let it settle on me before I get into Red's Journey West.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a thorough review like this! Welcome back to the series.

gen 1 devs wanted to capture the feeling of adventure and childlike wonder
Absolutely! Hence why the lack of story isn't necessarily a bad thing, neither has it been, as it pertains to us, (players and fandevs) purposefully crafted in order for us to find out about the "lore". It was just a gameplay-focused, semi-open world game.

a really good case for why STEM majors need to take humanities classes
Haha, I chuckled at this, but jokes aside, the issue is obviously Sam himself

Fated Epistle features a heavily flawed male protagonist in a dysfunctional group dynamic where the girl in it absolutely loathes him (for entirely valid reasons) and The First Journey also features a heavily flawed male protagonist in a dysfunctional group dynamic where the girl in it hates him....
Do you have girl problems bro??? (Joking)
LOL, well here's the deal: In FE it is true that MC is being loathed, but not so much with Sam. Agatha is there till the point of no return. She becomes what you mention well after the events of TFJ have settled (so that would be when she's gotten quite older). However, you are correct that these two protagonists have something similar. They are designed to be very, very similar, but they start to diverge when MC voluntarily attempts to discard his ego. That and the fact that MC is not as intelligent as Sam.

The exploration of Kanto as a setting is quite creative, mixing real life history and fictional lore along with beta concepts for generation 1
This was the original developers' intention as well.

About the other topic:
I appreciate your input very much, not a lot of people have commented on this.

My definition of "edgy" is non-pejorative and simply means anything that has an in-your-face level of earnesty and enthusiasm with avant-garde ideas, aesthetics and themes, especially if they relate to media aimed at children and teenagers.
The latter part especially, absolutely. That's why I was so afraid how the game would turn out. However, it is true that the devs had mentioned the game was meant for everyone (so without particularly aiming for that demographic, although that is inevitable - just look at the crap kids are playing these days... Humongous Vehicle Acquisition and Dank Psyches, among others). I believe I at least managed to avoid the glaring edgy issues... hopefully.

There is simply no way one can make a narrative in which, Samuel Oak, a kind old man with a love for teaching the younger generation about the strange creatures that inhabit their world who studies the bonds between those creatures and the humans they live alongside by.
To be honest, there isn't anything to "support" this in the base sources (gen 1, and to a much lesser extent gen 2). In fact Oak was designed to be hardly approachable in gen1, very strict and old-style professor-like, even in other media. But I know what you mean 😅

game design
LMAO, well some tabletops (and that is a sketchy definition if you want to include stuff like chess) e.g. wargames, have existed since the 19th century. But as you can see Gen1 had significant game design issues 🤣🤣 so blame Oak for the mess that is Gen 1.

who decides to fuck over his own country in a war for revenge and build a society of ignorant people he helps control from his... laboratory in the middle of nowhere
Yeah I get what you mean in terms of edginess. But some stuff I want to clarify because other people have brought them up:

I do my best to have some sort of basis on the psychology of real people, as well as making sure that any hyperbole has been "approached" irl in some way. While on paper it's edgy to see something so outlandish such as this, it's pretty much feasible and in the case of Sam's actions, you would be surprised how not-hyperbolic those were, compared to irl (the reason I am mentioning this is because the original intention of Gen1 was to be pretty much parallel to our world). On another note, you have real genetic manipulation, and a war in Gen1, as well as the shady deals of a private entity (Fuji's Lab) and literal gambling machines run by the local Yakuza.

Aside from that, Sam didn't actually do the things you mentioned - in the case of the war - that was pre-planned by outside forces with whom Sam has been collaborating, and many of the lies he has spread are truths (Pokemon are real and have existed before in the west) that have been diluted to half-truths (intermarrying of native myths to Pokemon's existence in the region). The society of ignorant people isn't exactly Sam's doing either (and is more or less the result of new generations having grown up in that environment), and he doesn't really have any sort of "control" over future Trainers (apart from the battling conventions).

The uhhhh warning about the amount of cutscenes was a bit unnecessary though, it kinda took me out of the experience when I was really in the moment right there.
I see, now that I have improved the ending cutscenes, and there's quite a bit of autosaving being done, perhaps it's redundant. However some people get irritated by the long ending, so I don't really know what to do here.

As it pertains to the complaints part:

The prose is sometimes feels a bit too "internet" at times, this is something I felt in Fated Epistle at times and it irked me a bit more here where the setting is supposed to be in the 50's.
Yikes... well, that's what extended netizenship does to you. I'll take a look at Athena's pre-gym dialogue. In the meanwhile, if you can recall anything else, please hit me up.

how creative and absolutely ridiculous the idea of it is for literally all history to be revisionized to include Pokemon.
You'd be surprised at how strong of a belief japanese culture used to have in regards to mythical creatures. That coupled with animism, makes the influx of mons from the west, and the eventual transition much smoother.

And I hate to say it, but it's hard for me to take illuminati "controlling the world from the shadows"-type villains seriously when irl you can find out the assholes controlling the world by looking up who's funding each politician. That being said, it is a funny way of re-imagining the Pokemon world's mysterious lack of a government at times by just being like "they're in the shadows bro!" and putting on a tin foil hat.
There is obviously a more transparent side to any structure or mechanism, but there is also a less transparent side. Even in the more transparent side, immense accumulated (or generated) wealth, unites the participants under common goals (one being to preserve and expand said wealth). This is hardly conspiratorial, as it is a commonplace human practice, but is also not directly traceable in some cases. In the non-transparent side, there are other factors at play, who aren't necessarily confined to a rationalistic or materialistic conduct. These factors are driven by (and in turn drive) actors whose primary motivations have more of a religious flavor, than a "pragmatic" one (depends on your definition).

In the case of the Pokemon world, there are indeed far less issues than irl. (Obviously assuming we take the games more seriously than we should ,lmao). The redirection of violence to the proxy of creatures, the freedom to explore anywhere, having access to food via the help of Pokemon, etc. This semi-utopia has partly been the wish of the upper echelons pushing for it - with a lot of it being genuine belief on their part. But feudal Japan has also been an inspiration for this situation - the government is localized, and some vagabonds (let's say Team Rocket) can have big influence. Individual stars (like the pokemon trainers) can rise up the ranks and have major influence in events.

Obviously all of the above are unnecessary and a bit too much for a Pokemon game. But they are fun to make.

All in all, I have really damn complicated thoughts on this game but I love it a damn ton and I'm looking forward to playing RJW this weekend.
(I sincerely hope this game doesn't go off of the theory that you kill Blue's Raticate though, that's my least favorite Kanto theory of them all)
Thank you so much for taking the time. I am not sure how much you are going to enjoy RJW though, it's a bit more laid-back and has a chaotic energy to it, as it mirrors the new generation more. Every single bit of feedback you can gather, I'd appreciate a lot. And no, don't worry, no raticate=ded theory. Have fun!
 
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