Take a Look at How Pokemon’s Graphics Have Changed Through the Years

Over the years Pokemon has become one of the defining series in video games, and it’s actually celebrating an impressive 20th anniversary this year. Players have sunk countless hours into worlds, catching and training over 700 unique Pokemon. As such, the series has changed quite a bit leading up to its newest release Sun and Moon. Please note that not every game from the series will be featured, but all main titles and prominent spinoffs.

Pokemon had its humble beginning back on the very first Game Boy, with Pokemon Red and Blue. The game came in two different version, that provided players with different Pokemon depending on which they played. From there we also saw Yellow version, which changed up the starters from Squirtel, Charmander, and Bulbasaur to the series’ mascot Pikachu. The first games released in 1998 in North America, however they’d already been out for two years as Pokemon Red and Green version in Japan.

Pretty much immediately after release, the series gained its foothold as one of the dominant entertainment properties for children. That popularity has carried over as people grew up, and onto new generations as well.

In 2000 the most widely acclaimed Pokemon games released with Gold and Silver, which many people still believe to be the very best in the series. The games would later see a remake on the Nintendo DS as HeartGold and SoulSilver. The main series would continue to see huge and critically acclaimed entries with Ruby and Sapphire, Diamond and Pearl, Black and White, Black and White 2, and X and Y.

Of course, this is only considering the main line of games, not to mention the huge amount of spinoff titles we’ve seen over the years. Games like Pokemon Snap and Stadium were memorable in their own right on the Nintendo 64. Although not every spinoff was great as you can see with Hey You, Pikachu! Even in 2016 we’ve seen some pretty hefty spinoffs. We got the 3D fighting game Pokken Tournament and the mobile game that took the world by storm, Pokemon Go.

The series is going stronger than it almost ever has before, which is really saying something. The next entries, Sun and Moon, take players to the tropical island of Alola, where new Pokemon await and crazy Alolan forms of the original generation can also be found. Sun and Moon also change up the art style of the main series, going for a more realistic 3D approach to its world and human characters.

Pokemon Sun and Moon will be available exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS on November 18.