LogFAQs > #975874983

Random opinion on each town while I train Pokemon to help me lay siege to Kanto.

New Bark Town: They made the song too slow and also the stairs in the player's house are on the left instead of the right. Lyra and Pikablu are here forcing tutorials on me now. Hmm. I used to beat the league a lot so this was always where I'd plan what to do next and review how fast something was levelling up after skipping through the credits.

Cherrygrove City: In this game you can see that the Mystic Water is actually a necklace. I used to like thinking that the guy just scooped up a quarter pint of water and handed it to you. I have a weirdly vivid memory of a screenshot where the Pokemart had SHOP written on it instead of MART. I think it was either in the enclosed instruction book or on the back of the box.
He's not really a citizen of Cherrygrove but you gotta feel bad for Mr Pokemon. His first of its kind egg discovery has been downgraded to him predictably getting excited about another egg. Weird name.

Violet City: You know how when games are in pixels, sometimes your brain gets busy imagining what the places are actually meant to look like? This place was a big one of those for me. There was a lot of space and clusters of trees round the side. Seemed like a nice, chill place.

Azalea Town: This place always felt cramped to me. There's the well way over on the right then every other building is compressed into a small rectangle on the left. If you lose to the rival it becomes apparent what a small box he's got you trapped in. Bugsy was curiously unhelpful when it came to team rocket.

Goldenrod City: I like this place a lot. It doesn't seem real. In a good way. Pink brick road, golden buildings, a one-off theme, uncharacteristically modern landmarks you wouldn't find anywhere else in Johto, the fact you go there to beat the Gym and then the game calls you back there later for the radio tower takeover. I get a real city that doesn't sleep vibe. At night all the lights come on and I think because of that I can only really imagine this place at dusk or dawn at most, never in the dead of night.

Ecruteak City: I used to not care for Ecruteak City. For some reason I always through it was lame the let you climb Tin Tower where every floor looks the same, but they don't let you go deeper into sub-levels of the Burned Tower. Feels weird that such a quiet, traditional town is just a short walk away from Goldenrod. It's nice, but it's not exciting or anything.

Olivine City: Even though Cianwood was a short surf away, this always felt like it was the end of the world map. The "Man, if those rocks weren't inconveniently lined up, I wonder where I could surf to if I held down long enough." area. It's where you get on the SS Aqua to Kanto as well, so that feeds into it. The zigzag shape of town and the beach/lighthouse off to the sides make it feel really spacious. Gym Leader does more than stand in a gym and wait for you. I usually call the song the Violet City theme, but I think it works best here. Really comfy place.

Cianwood City: Feels like an afterthought. Everything you'd want to do is all condensed into one area. Fight Chuck, get Fly, see Suicune and fight Eusine, get Shuckle. All in a few minutes. In this game there's a route to the Safari Zone. Maybe it'd feel a bit more lively if the Safari Zone was on the west part of town rather than there being a route between them.

Mahogany Town: I didn't know what to make of this place for a while, but at this point it feels like a place where nobody settles down. Only buildings are a Pokemon centre, an unconventional shop which doubles as a villain lair and a gym I'm surprised they built there. You'd think Pryce would do something about the Rockets coming and going. Feels like a small rest stop built built to make the walk to Blackthorn easier.

Blackthorn City: What a bunch of dorks. A dragon gym where half the trainers have Horseas and Seadras? Full of lava and fast spinning platforms? Old dudes in a temple you need Whirlpool to access asking you basic questions about Pokemon?
If you can't fly and you want to go on holiday, you can choose between walking a lap of Johto and returning through the ice cave (Which is confirmed to be a dangerous place considering a kimono girl gets stuck in the remake) or not returning because it's a one way system.
I do like that Clair refuses to give you the badge though and tries to make things difficult. All while wearing that cape.
Good place, high concentration of very traditional weirdoes getting up to who-knows-what in a remote area. Maybe they put something in the water supply.
I wonder if they exile people by pushing them off the ledge at the bottom of town.