Friends of mine on the playground used to talk about this game, but it was one of the few Pokemon games I never owned. Thanks to NSO, I finally had the chance to play it after over 20 years!
Pokemon TCG for Game Boy is the game based on the card game based on the videogame. It draws from the Base Set, Jungle and Fossil sets, giving just enough cards for a variety of decks while still keeping things simple. If you collected those as a kid, you should be very familiar with your options here. If you're not a Pokemon boomer like me, the cards' full text is recreated in-game.
Speaking of "familiar" though, this game kinda assumes you're already familiar with the rules of the Trading Card Game. There's a forced, railroaded tutorial with stacked decks to start things off, but it doesn't come close to teaching you everything, and even the game itself recommends you get hold of an irl rulebook. While I never played the TCG as a kid, I spent hours reading and absorbing the rulebooks from Theme Decks so I was able to pick this game up quickly, but if you're new, I'd highly recommend looking up the Base Set rules online.
And I do mean "Base Set rules", because the modern TCG has changed a lot, and the game uses the oldest rulings. This was before Supporters were a thing, so draw Trainers like Professor Oak, Bill and Gambler are insanely strong and you should run as many as you can. There's also the old Energy Removal and Super Energy Removal, which straight-up discard your opponent's Energy, which is so disgusting a later set introduced No Removal Gym. (Look it up, it's hilarious)
I still very much enjoy this broken Trainer meta for two reasons. One: it's an even playing field. Any cards you can use, your opponents also can. Two: it makes deck building simpler, as there's a lot of no-brainer cards no matter what deck you're running.
If you're expecting a story, look elsewhere, because this game has basically none. You just go to the 8 Gyms, sorry, CLUBS, play a childrens' card game, then challenge the Elite Fo-sorry, GRAND MASTERS and win. There's a rival, but he's encountered a lot less than Gen 1's, so I wasn't invested in him.
But the lack of an exp system means this is finally the "challenge Gyms in any order" Pokemon game you've always wanted. Winning games will give booster packs, which you can use to refine your deck or make new ones, creating a gradual difficulty curve regardless of where you start or finish. You can technically "grind" boosters by rematching opponents, but I challenged myself to beat the game without doing that.
Opponent AI is dumb as rocks, but many of them use interesting strategies, some resembling classic tournament combos like Blastoise Rain Dance, Haymaker, and Mr Mime Stall. (Ugh Mr Mime is a pain to fight)
Some may say there's a lot of RNG involved, but I find once you have enough Oak, Bill and Computer Search, you essentially make your own luck. It's always a shame when a "boss" level opponent bricks their deck and ends up an anticlimax, though.
Overall this was a really fun game to finally experience, and a great fit for an NSO title due to fitting portability and short-bursts play. And I hear its Japan-only sequel is even better!
Pokemon TCG for Game Boy is the game based on the card game based on the videogame. It draws from the Base Set, Jungle and Fossil sets, giving just enough cards for a variety of decks while still keeping things simple. If you collected those as a kid, you should be very familiar with your options here. If you're not a Pokemon boomer like me, the cards' full text is recreated in-game.
Speaking of "familiar" though, this game kinda assumes you're already familiar with the rules of the Trading Card Game. There's a forced, railroaded tutorial with stacked decks to start things off, but it doesn't come close to teaching you everything, and even the game itself recommends you get hold of an irl rulebook. While I never played the TCG as a kid, I spent hours reading and absorbing the rulebooks from Theme Decks so I was able to pick this game up quickly, but if you're new, I'd highly recommend looking up the Base Set rules online.
And I do mean "Base Set rules", because the modern TCG has changed a lot, and the game uses the oldest rulings. This was before Supporters were a thing, so draw Trainers like Professor Oak, Bill and Gambler are insanely strong and you should run as many as you can. There's also the old Energy Removal and Super Energy Removal, which straight-up discard your opponent's Energy, which is so disgusting a later set introduced No Removal Gym. (Look it up, it's hilarious)
I still very much enjoy this broken Trainer meta for two reasons. One: it's an even playing field. Any cards you can use, your opponents also can. Two: it makes deck building simpler, as there's a lot of no-brainer cards no matter what deck you're running.
If you're expecting a story, look elsewhere, because this game has basically none. You just go to the 8 Gyms, sorry, CLUBS, play a childrens' card game, then challenge the Elite Fo-sorry, GRAND MASTERS and win. There's a rival, but he's encountered a lot less than Gen 1's, so I wasn't invested in him.
But the lack of an exp system means this is finally the "challenge Gyms in any order" Pokemon game you've always wanted. Winning games will give booster packs, which you can use to refine your deck or make new ones, creating a gradual difficulty curve regardless of where you start or finish. You can technically "grind" boosters by rematching opponents, but I challenged myself to beat the game without doing that.
Opponent AI is dumb as rocks, but many of them use interesting strategies, some resembling classic tournament combos like Blastoise Rain Dance, Haymaker, and Mr Mime Stall. (Ugh Mr Mime is a pain to fight)
Some may say there's a lot of RNG involved, but I find once you have enough Oak, Bill and Computer Search, you essentially make your own luck. It's always a shame when a "boss" level opponent bricks their deck and ends up an anticlimax, though.
Overall this was a really fun game to finally experience, and a great fit for an NSO title due to fitting portability and short-bursts play. And I hear its Japan-only sequel is even better!