What were the names of the original Japanese Pokémon games released in 1996?

The original Japanese Pokémon games were Pocket Monsters Red and Green, commonly rendered in English as Pokémon Red and Green.

Game Freak developed the games for Nintendo’s Game Boy, and they were released in Japan on February 27, 1996. Their version-exclusive Pokémon encouraged players to connect two Game Boys and trade creatures, making the Link Cable an important part of the game’s design.

International players often remember Pokémon Red and Blue as the original pair because that was the version released outside Japan. However, Japan’s first pair was Red and Green. Nintendo later released an enhanced Pokémon Blue in Japan, and the international Red and Blue versions were based on that improved edition rather than directly on the original Green release.

This naming difference is especially relevant to the franchise’s 30th anniversary because the anniversary marks the Japanese launch of Red and Green, not the later international launch. The original games introduced the first-generation Pokédex, the Kanto adventure, and Pokémon’s signature collecting-and-trading structure.