Fun Pokemon Jam Sums Up the Series’ Sprawl

With the release of Pokémon: Heart Gold and its sister version Soul Silver next week, I've been doing some soul searching to see if picking up either copy is worth my time or money at this stage in my life. As a lad I spent many, many hours toiling over Pokémon: Red. My journey to Pokémon Master took several weeks, but there was mondo satisfaction in literally completing the game with all 151 (152 if you count "Missingno") creatures and leveling up my core team to 100 via rare candy item cheat glitches.

That's why UK songwriter Alex Day's "Pokémon, What Happened to You," fosters so much sentiment. A beefy title that was once possible to complete has sprawled into a far more sophisticated, but not necessarily more enjoyable franchise.

From pointing out the series' incorporation of extraneous items and competitions to Ditto's employment as a sex slave, Day's lyrics inspire nostalgia while making an argument for present-day thinking on the part of Nintendo and Game Freak. Most players past their early teens lose the patience for Pokégaming anyway, but there's still something to be said for a more comprehensible gaming experience.

Check out the music video after the jump.