Is it the best Pokemon game you can play right now? No. The sprites were off from Ken Sugimori's iconic artwork, there are several bugs and design flaws (some moves are just broken, psychic is insane), and some technical drawbacks (limited storage space in bag for example) but man did it get a lot right.
151 unique monsters to fight, train and collect. The fact that in order to complete the pokedex you needed the other version to trade with, cementing the series legacy of putting an emphasis on connecting with others.
The battle system wasn't anything revolutionary at the time but it works. The "story" can be mostly ignored. For a RPG in 1996 it is pretty solid. Releasing on the original Gameboy also helps this game stand out amongst its contemporaries, being a bright spot in the Gameboy's library.
151 unique monsters to fight, train and collect. The fact that in order to complete the pokedex you needed the other version to trade with, cementing the series legacy of putting an emphasis on connecting with others.
The battle system wasn't anything revolutionary at the time but it works. The "story" can be mostly ignored. For a RPG in 1996 it is pretty solid. Releasing on the original Gameboy also helps this game stand out amongst its contemporaries, being a bright spot in the Gameboy's library.