Pokémon Red
Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version are 1996 role-playing video games (RPGs) developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments of the Pokémon video game series and were first released in Japan as Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green, followed by the special edition Pocket Monsters Blue later that year. The games were released internationally in 1998 and 1999 as Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, while an enhanced version, Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition, was released in Japan in 1998 and in other regions in 1999 and 2000.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 1996
- Developer
- Game Freak
- Platforms
- 1 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 27 February 1996 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Game Freak |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Platforms | Game Boy |
| Genres | Role-Playing |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q25536523, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Pokémon Red? How long to beat it
Total play time for Pokémon Red is about 97.7 hours to do everything, and around 25.9 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 25.9h | 584 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 43.4h | 376 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 97.7h | 196 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Pokémon Red sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Pokémon Red lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 53ahead of 9% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 5ahead of 63% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Pokémon Red
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Pokémon Red appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Pokémon Red qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Pokémon Red
What platforms is Pokémon Red on?
Pokémon Red is available on Game Boy. It first released in 1996.
Who made Pokémon Red?
Pokémon Red was developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo.
How long does it take to beat Pokémon Red?
about 25.9 hours for the main story, 43.4 hours with the main extras, 97.7 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.