Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Review

There were more than just remakes of Pokémon Red and Blue when Pokémon Fire Red and Pokémon Leaf Green came out for the Game Boy Advance in 2004. They were complete remakes of the original Kanto journey, but with better graphics, more material, and the Sevii Islands added after the game. They became the only way for many players to experience Generation 1. 

In some ways, this is a great opportunity to explore Kanto. These are well-known games from one of the most famous gaming series, brought back for a new generation. On the other hand, they come as very simple ports that are basically just ROM swaps with no real improvements. You can't use visual filters, go back, save states, or trade online. 

Are Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen still very good after more than 20 years? Or do they find it hard to adapt to the way games work today?

The games were the way they were. That sense of authenticity is nice for some people. Some people feel like they missed out on a chance, especially since it cost a lot. The story stays beautifully simple. You are a young trainer in Pallet Town. You go to see Professor Oak and get your first Pokémon, which could be a Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle.

From there, it's clear what you need to do: travel Kanto, add Pokémon to your Pokédex, beat eight Gym Leaders, and face the Elite Four. Along the way, you have to deal with your enemy, who is cocky, competitive, and always one step ahead, and stop the criminal group Team Rocket.

This story isn't like a big movie plot. There are no fancy sequences. No convoluted speech. It's a simple story about coming of age. But that simplicity is part of what makes it strong over time. Each Gym Badge feels like it was won. It feels personal every time you meet a foe. I still think the path to the Elite Four is one of the best in the history of RPGs.

The Sevii Islands open up after the game is over, giving you access to important post-game material, more Pokémon, and more of the Team Rocket story. A lot of players forget how important this material was back then. It still adds a lot of depth to the main quest even now. Explore, work together, and fight strategically in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which are both turn-based RPGs at their core.

As you go from town to town, route to route, cave to cave, and ocean to ocean, you fight wild Pokémon at random.

In contrast to newer games, wild Pokémon don't show up in the overworld. To start a fight, you have to walk through tall grass. To catch Pokémon, you have to weaken them and throw Poké Balls at them. Unlike newer games, grabbing doesn't give you experience points. For training, you have to fight. The only way for your team to passively level up is to use the held-item version of the Exp.

You can only help one Pokémon at a time with Share. That means you have to actively rotate your team into the fight if you want them to be at the same level. You can only move in four directions and on a grid. In the beginning, your figure moves slowly until you get the Running Shoes and then the Bicycle. Running inside is not allowed. It has a cute, sometimes old-fashioned, feel to it.

Hidden Machines (HMs) are another important part of the game. To move forward, you have to use moves like Cut, Surf, Strength, Fly, Flash, Rock Smash, and Waterfall. Once learned, though, these moves can't be taken away until later in the game, when you reach the Move Deleter. This means that players have to either give up move slots for important team members or carry a "HM mule" Pokémon that is only used for utility jobs.

You can trade and fight, but only in your own area. Because you can't play online, it's much harder for many people to finish the Pokédex or get trade evolutions like Alakazam or Machamp.

There is a simple turn-based system for combat.

Every Pokémon has a health bar, an attack, a defense, a speed, a special attack, and a special defense. Each Pokémon can know up to four moves. How well two types work together determines how powerful they are: Water beats Fire, Electric beats Water, and so on. But Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are very different from current Pokémon games in a very important way: the split between physical and special moves is based on type, not individual moves. All moves that deal fire are unique. 

All moves of the Ghost type are physical. There's no getting around it. This makes a huge difference in how some Pokémon behave. Gengar, for example, has a very high Special Attack stat, but its Ghost-type attacks use a much lower Attack number. Gyarados has a huge Attack, but its Water moves depend on its Special Attack, which isn't very strong.

This method adds hidden depth and traps for players who aren't paying attention. Building a team means knowing more than just how to type. You need to know how to balance your stats as well.

There are environmental and dungeon-based puzzles, like finding your way through caves, using Strength to solve boulder problems, and using Cut to open shortcuts.

Some parts of the game, like Rock Tunnel without Flash, can get really boring really quickly. There are a lot of random encounters in caves, which can make you test your patience. The clarity of the strategy is what works so well. Preparation is needed for both Gym fights and Elite Four encounters. Move coverage is important. Status changes are important. There's something pure about the fighting that keeps it interesting.

The tension is what doesn't work as well these days. You can't fast-forward, stop, or save your work automatically, so mistakes cost real time. Some players like how heavy it is. For some, it's old-fashioned. The rate of experience growth is planned. Unless they have the single Exp, XP is only given to Pokémon that fight. Share this item. There is no sharing of knowledge across the whole team. This means that grinding has to be done.

Since catching Pokémon doesn't give you experience points, you can't count on it to help you level up. You have to fight. Trainers give more XP than wild Pokémon, but they don't come back after being beaten. This makes careful planning and short grinding sessions in high-yield places more likely. As a result, the development curve moves more slowly and carefully.

It helps you feel connected to your team, but compared to newer games, it can feel like a lot of work. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen looks like they were made with sprite work from the Game Boy Advance. Character models are made up of pixels, environments are made up of colorful tiles, and fight sprites look like they're from a long time ago.

The pixel art looks clear and bright. The bright color looks great after all this time. The simplicity has a classic feel to it. But this is a straight port. There are no extra effects, higher resolutions, or other visual improvements besides scaling. This may seem simple to people who are used to current 3D Pokémon games. For longtime fans, it's comfort food that hasn't been changed in any way.

One of the best things about it might be the music. The chiptune melodies are happy, catchy, and well-known. I still feel sad when I hear the Gym Leader themes, rival fight music, and the Elite Four soundtrack. There aren't many sound effects, but they work well. There's no denying that the old Pokémon fight jingles and cries are satisfying. The sound will always be classic, even if it's not very complex.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are still great examples of how to make a focused RPG. Their strength is how simple they are. Even after decades, they are still fun to play because of the strategic combat, important progression, and high replay value. But this new release makes things tricky. In their pure form, they still shine.

The prices are controversial because there is no internet trading, modern improvements, or extra features.

A lot of gamers think that these well-known classics earned more than just a simple port. Still, it's hard not to smile as you watch your team barely make it through the Elite Four while carefully planning your next move. It's still magical. The grind, the flaws, and the friction are all part of what makes something unique.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen take me back to the old Pokémon games, which were strategic, hard, and very gratifying. Whether that purity makes you feel nostalgic or out of date depends on whether you value old-fashioned challenge or modern ease more. At the end of the day, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are both great. They are classic experiences, but they are released in a controversial way. They are still worth going on, though, if you can accept them for what they are.