1st Gen Totally forgot how limited the item menu was.

So like so many I was a gen Ier in that RBY were my first Pokemon games I played (with Blue being the first one I had), and loved everything about it and been a fan ever since. Anyway, with the release of RBY on the eShop it reminded me of how when I played it again a year or so ago (I would get them on my 3DS but need to send it in for repair) it wasn't long before I realized just how limiting the item bag was.

While of course the newer gen games have spoiled us to a lot of new and much appreciated features I have to say after playing the newer games so much the ability to hold SO much more as well as having various pockets for certain types of items is such a god send but naturally back then I at least don't remember it being such an issue, probably was but for my 10 year old self (I just turned 30 as of February, boy do I feel OLLLLLLD!) it wasn't really one. But playing it recently it quickly frustrated me having such limited inventory space and scrolling through trying to find my items.

Two other much appreciated improvements were when using an HM being able to just go up to whatever it was and pressing A rather than needing to go up to it, open your Pokemon menu, scroll to your character and then activate it.

Also how in the newer games if your box was full and you captured a Pokemon it would be sent to the next box without having to switch it over whenever it's full.

Of course RBY will always have a special place in my heart and I will always have nostalgia overload but damn it is amazing to go back and see the things that have been vastly improved!:)

Yeah I mentioned in another thread how the item limitation frustrated me a bit, especially if you're like in a cave or one of Team Rocket's buildings and wanted to keep that item you found. Trying to find the item you wanted was annoying too, though since there's only twenty you can carry it didn't annoy me as much.

The total capacity is annoying, especially if you don't want to use your TMs right away. With only fifty items max in the PC and 20 in your bag, that leaves you with 70 items. There are 5 HMs that you can't get rid of, so those take up 5 slots. If you get all of the key items that you can't turn in for other things (ruling out stuff like the gold teeth, Oak's parcel, etc.), I think there are ~14 of those (tried to count from a list, but might have miscounted), so that's 19/70 item slots gone. If you wanted to keep all 50 TMs at once, that would only leave you with one flexible item slot (for poke/great/ultra/master balls for catching things, or for something else. I don't recall having major space issues when I first played, but I think I'm much more of an item hoarder now than I used to be (I used to use my TMs more during my playthrough). I try to plan my teams out in advance and use TMs as soon as possible, but it's still tight.

Protip: don't take the town map and old rod

The 20-slot single-pocket item bag and the 50-item PC storage system were among the worst things about Generation I, IMO. I always hated that I'd pick up an item only to be told that there's no more room for items, which meant I would have to rush to the PC to deposit some items, or sell some of them at a PokéMart. As for TMs, I'd amass so many in a playthrough, that I'd end up either selling some of them that I didn't want to use, or used a couple of them on Pokémon that I never use just to get rid of them.
Add to that the fact that you can never get rid of key items, even if they've become long obsolete by the time you beat the Elite Four and Blue (champion).

takeKopter said:

Protip: don't take the town map and old rod

Click to expand...

I didn't even get the Good Rod in VC Yellow, since in this gen you get the Super Rod first anyway.

Definitely one thing a guy should remember if a guy that didn't play Gen 1. This is one of the reasons Gen 1 was hated... IMO

Biggest sticking point for me when I replay Gen 1. Gen 1 is probably my favorite generation, but constantly hitting the item bag limit is ridiculous. S.S. Anne? Better hit the PC before boarding. Rocket Hideout? Again, better hit the PC. Silph Co? Ohohoho, yes. Safari Zone? Definitely. Victory Road? Say hello to your friend the PC!

I still love Gen 1, but it's annoying.

Ugh, the further back I went in playing, the more troublesome it'd be. I would have prolly sold Thunderbolt or Bubblebeam TMs in order to keep the venture going. Now, I'd deposit any Key Items and TMs that weren't Teleport/Whirlwind/Take Down. Until Cerulean Cave, I'd never think about using Escape Ropes. (If I was underleveled for Mewtwo's Turf, then I'd train @ Cinnabar Lab or E4.) For some reason, I'd deposit my Nuggets, a way to prove that I can boost quick cash w/out Nuggets. Quite interesting how our strategies change w/ time.

If you got Dig or Teleport, Escape Ropes are Pokemon Mart trade-in material. Most TM's can be sold or traded in too while the rest can be stored via PC if you can't hold off on picking them up. Status and Stat items are usually sell bait if you're persistent in healing at Pokemon Centers. Potions can come in handy but honestly aren't needed if you do enough grinding beforehand.

What is annoying is why the S.S Ticket is still in your possession after the boat departs. You'd think that once the boat leaves that the item would vanish from your inventory. I do agree though that the storage capacity is rather wanting.

Yeah the capacity limit was annoying at times, but it honestly is one of the things I also found enjoyable in RBY. It really taught you how to manage your items, only carrying the items you really need. I usually only carried Medicine, Poke Balls, and a few HMs with me. I also only saved useful TMs, useless HMs, and a few rare items (Such as nuggets and stones) in the PC.

It's always interesting to see how vastly many features have improved in the series when comparing them to the 1st generations, but I still find the older Gen 1 features pretty playable.

I would sell a bunch of things once I get to the Elite 4 Pokemon Center. Then once I sell them, i'd go crazy buying revives and full restores. Lol. But.....yeah, the PC is annoying as heck. Agreed all.