The original Pokémon Red and Green games were released for the Game Boy in Japan. Nintendo’s monochrome handheld provided the hardware foundation for the franchise’s first adventure and its revolutionary player-to-player trading system.
The Game Boy was important because it was portable and included a communication link port. Satoshi Tajiri imagined players exchanging creatures between connected systems, turning the console’s technical limitation into Pokémon’s defining social feature. The Game Link Cable allowed players to trade Pokémon and battle one another.
The games did not require the later Game Boy Color, although they could also be played on compatible newer hardware. Pokémon Gold and Silver, the second-generation games, were designed for the Game Boy Color and added features such as color graphics and a day-and-night cycle.
Another common confusion concerns the overseas versions. International players received Pokémon Red and Blue, not the Japanese Red and Green pair. Despite the version-name difference, all four games belong to the first generation and introduced the original Kanto adventure.