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Pokemon PureBlue

Original game : Pokémon: Blue Version

Platform : GB

Author : Vortiene

Release date : 25 January 2024

Category : Complete

Patch version : 2.5.5

Modifications : G, S, L, T, P, O

Downloads : 7146

ROM Information

Database match: Pokemon - Blue Version (USA, Europe) (SGB Enhanced)
Database: No-Intro: Game Boy/Color (v. 20210227-015730)
File/ROM SHA-1: D7037C83E1AE5B39BDE3C30787637BA1D4C48CE2
File/ROM CRC32: D6DA8A1A

Hack description

This is a purist's enhancement of Pokémon Red/Blue/Green. The goal is to enhance the original games for excellent replayability without bringing in mechanics, moves, sprites, visuals, type matchups, or Pokémon that were introduced in later games. Version 2.0 is based on the disassembly and has hundreds of new fixes/optional features!
- It makes the bulk of the 151 original Pokémon all more obtainable and usable in the early game, with better movesets and more balanced stats.
- Many moves in the game were rebalanced or modified. When the author says "rebalanced", it means "the useless things were made more useful!"
- There are more bug, poison, and ghost type moves available. The focus is on getting a useful set of moves available for every single Pokémon in the game.
- Front sprites were updated to be just about the best set of sprites from Red/Green/Blue/Spaceworld 1997 overall.
- All 151 Pokémon are obtainable in all versions of this hack.
- HMs are deletable anytime you like and new code to prevent softlocks by deleting them was introduced.
- Some pokemon have additional types, for example, Ninetales is now FIRE/GHOST instead of FIRE. If you don't like specific type changes, you can change any specific pokemon or all of them back to normal type-wise at an NPC in indigo plateau route 23.
- Many small quality-of-life tweaks and bugfixes were made.
- Game bugs that can be used to your own advantage (like the leech seed/toxic bug, the hyper beam no recharge on faint bug, etc.) are unchanged, because they are quirks of the battle engine that you can use as your own tool.
- Mew is under the truck as expected!
- Missingno and the item duplication glitch are intact - but won't corrupt your save anymore!
- An entirely new mode for the Pokédex called the MOVEDEX was added. It shows data about moves you have seen in detail. You unlock the MOVEDEX in viridian city.
- There is an arena to rematch gym leaders and other important trainers after becoming CHAMP.
- There are multiple secret areas to be found after becoming CHAMP. Bills Garden, Team Rocket / Mewtwo lore, and more...
- Many options to enhance the game visually and mechanically were added. **(You must turn them on via the options in-game!)** Including:
- Switchable color palettes (Choose between original colors, Super Gameboy Colors, or Pokémon Yellow Colors in-game whenever you like! Works on GBC and Super Gameboy. Yes, this romhack has GBC support!)
- Optional Spaceworld 1997 Back Sprites
- Optional enhanced menu sprites/overworld icons
- Optional enhanced music (Add in cut content music like Giovanni's theme)
- Optional stereo panned audio (Similar to the Earphone1 option in Pokémon Yellow)
- Optional alternate color palette Pokémon based on region (catch differently colored Pokémon depending on where they appear in Kanto)
- Option to turn off the bicycle song (plays in cycling road still)
- Option to turn on smoother higher framerate fade animations while on the GBC
- Tweak the type matchups to be exactly like gen 1, gen 2, or a cross between them if you like directly in-game.
- Optional in-battle experience bar
- Option to give trainers some Stat EXP to their Pokémon based on level. Makes the game a little bit harder.
- Option to have the game track the PP of opponents (the original game they had infinite PP). Makes the game a little bit easier.
- If you're playing on GBC and have the palettes set to SGB or GBC mode, move animations will have colors! Surf will be blue, ember will be red, etc.
- There are a couple entirely new things added into the game to facilitate quality of life fixes. Including:
- An NPC who can permanently remove CUT trees.
- An NPC who can revive fossils for you in SAFFRON CITY so you can get fossil Pokémon a bit earlier.
- An NPC who will give you LAPRAS a bit earlier in the game.
- An NPC who will teach you how to DIG in between towns just like you can FLY in between towns.

Although there are 3 versions of this hack for Red, Blue, and Green, they only differ in title screen/intro visuals. Whatever color you like best is the one you should use!

If you want an exhaustive list of features, you can see one here: https://github.com/Vortyne/pureRGB/blob/master/FEATURES.md

v2.5.5 - Fixed a couple of bugs, see
https://github.com/Vortyne/pureRGB/releases/latest for full patch notes.

Screenshots

Contributions

ContributorType of contributionDescription
VortieneHackingCreator
Danny-E 33ProductionLarger backsprite code and EXP bar code snippets, direct advice for audio code and rgbasm/gbz80
jojobear13Productionshinpokered romhack codebase snippets, direct advice on pokemon yellow color porting
mechanicalpenProductionadvice, enhanced menu icons code snippets
pretOriginal Workpret discord and pret in general for making the pokered disassembly
LJSTARGraphicsmovedex type icons
MordGraphicserika / lt surge overworld sprites

Reviews

Top Gen1 Pokemon hackpokefanmarcel2024-04-28Version 2.5.5

One of the best Gen1 Pokemon rom hacks out there for those who enjoyed the original. Still feels like the game we played as children, but with a ton of upgrades: some updated sprites, repel re-use button, visualising TM content in the bag...

Two things which really stood out for me:

  • The postgame is arguably the best in any Gen1 rom hack, with the Battle arena but *especially* with the storyline additions which feel super authentic.
  • The Viridian school basement is a very cool idea to explain some lesser known mechanics in-game. The movedex is also a cool addition – in fact given the new moves it is almost indispensable.
  • The Pokédex area functionality differentiates between wild encounters in grass, surfing, via fishing.

Hoping for more content in a future update!

Hated Gen 1 before, this made me adore it !!honeyavis2023-11-05Version 2.5.2

So having grown up with the gen 5 and 6 games and beyond my entire life, I was pretty spoiled by the convenience and polish of the newer games, which made going back to even gen 3 a pain with no phys/spec split and single use tms. Yet, even with essentially none of these conveniences being brought into this hack, I still had some of the most fun I've ever had with a Pokemon game to date, especially with updated Pokemon and trainers, and the unbelievably useful movedex. Not having to look up a wiki for the majority of things in a gen 1 hack is something I find to be astounding and something I wish GF could take major inspiration from. Best form of Kanto yet in my opinion !!

Perhaps the best Gen 1 Experienceyusha2023-07-05Version 2.4.4

First of all I played this on a Anbernic RG35XX with the OnionOS running RetroArch.

Almost everything about this hack is a masterpiece. From the new varied wild Pokémon allowing you to access ones you couldn't before until near the end of the game, the new move sets which totally feel accurate and fresh, the small Easter eggs and post game content, as well as the difficulty balance and personal settings you can tweak in the menu. All of these features made the game feel so refreshing as a Gen 1 experience.

I had only run into a few minor bugs while playing. There were 2 different trainers that had Pokémon many times higher level than the trainers around them, which I assumed were just coded wrong. Sometimes when using an item like a potion the screen would go white until I hit some buttons. There was also unfortunately a time where my save data got corrupted when I tried to load it, but luckily I had a save state from just a few hours before. This may have been my hardware/software fault on RetroArch. Also I beat the elite four and did the item dupe glitch with the Missingno which they said was fine now, but something made the Gary sprite reappear below the Cerulean City Bridge. Also after all of this when I went swimming and ran into a battle the enemy sprite would be my Pokémon's back sprite, and my Pokémon sprite area on the screen would show my trainers back.

Other than these minor bugs and glitches this was a fantastic hack. Bill's Garden was handled so well and I loved visiting it. The post game secret areas had me absolutely jaw dropped once I figured everything out. After I beat the game I just had to make an account to write a review.

Thank you to the team for making this. You definitely breathed life into this game for an aging Pokémon fan like me.

Definitive Gen 1 ExperienceSventheD2023-01-12Version 2.3.2

Excellent game from start to finish. Lots of quality of life improvements, without breaking the Gen 1 "feel." Great attention to detail and great additions to make the game feel more complete. No late game grind, leveling up happens organically. Able to complete Gen 1 Dex with an appropriate amount of difficulty. If you enjoy Gen 1, you should definitely give this a go. Had a lot of fun, thanks!