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GBA

Japan

Pokémon: Leaf Green & Fire Red

by Ben Kosmina - April 9, 2004, 6:43 am EDT

7

A blast from the past with a modern look and feel.

The original Pokémon Red and Green first came out in 1995. And here we are in 2004, doing a complete 360 and winding up back where we started. Leaf Green and Fire Red are map for map remakes of the original Game Boy games. While the graphics and interface have been jazzed up to be more pleasing to the eye and to reflect the ease of use that Ruby and Sapphire have, the basic story and premise of the games is the same as it was nine years ago. You start off in Pallet Town, head off into the tall grass, and get stopped by Professor Oak, who will escort you to his lab and give you the choice of Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. Then you'll have your first of many meetings with your snotty rival (I named mine after a friend who sent me 'Gigli' for Christmas. You can't get a worse rival than that.), then you’re off on your Pokémon journey to collect eight badges and face off against the Elite Four.

All the classic locations are here -- Viridian Forest, Mt. Moon, Vermillion City, Pokémon Tower, Cycling Road, the Safari Zone, Cinnabar Island, and the Seafoam Islands. In terms of the actual layout of the game, very, very little has changed at all. Pokémon veterans will feel right at home here. Even the familiar faces from the old games are there. From that crazy old man who is lying down unconscious in the middle of the road with the woman who says that he needs coffee to the Safari Warden who is missing his gold teeth and can't speak. That kid who says that shorts are comfy and easy to wear is probably still there, too. And of course, what would Pokémon be without Team Rocket? Naturally they're here, causing trouble in their black jumpsuits.

A very strange feature of Pokémon Leaf Green is that it is definitely aimed at Pokémon newbies. By default, using the L and R Buttons opens up a help menu that you can check at almost any time. (The menus seem to change as you change locations.) Later, you're also given a tutorial video player that explains the basics of Pokémon capture and battling in more detail, which you can view any time after you receive it. A neat little feature is that when you load your save file, you're given a short recap of the four most recent events that you've done, such as earning the Boulder Badge, spending money at the shop, capturing Snorlax, or whatever it is. While it's neat the first few times, you'll probably find that you'll want to skip it later. It doesn't look like you can turn the flashbacks off, but you can skip them by pressing B during their playback.

Additional new features for Leaf Green include the Voice Checker, which allows you to replay conversations with any major characters you've encountered. Although this feature is pretty useless for me in Japanese, I'm sure it'll be quite useful when the English version comes around. There's also a pager-style item that you can use when you're near trainers you've already battled. This item allows you to re-battle them for additional experience and cash, but it will only activate trainers who are on the screen at the same time as you. Even then, there's a chance that they might not want to battle. You can't just keep using the pager over and over either -- you need to walk 100 steps after you've used it before you can use it again.

While the game is definitely an improvement graphically from Pokémon Red and Blue, it's certainly not pushing the Game Boy Advance's limits. The graphic style is identical to Ruby and Sapphire. There are still nice touches like footsteps in the sand and reflections, but colour graphics are simply not enough to make an improvement. With Graphics like Golden Sun’s in the first run of GBA games, Pokémon's blatantly obvious tile-based graphic engine is a major disappointment. At least in Pokémon Crystal (on the Game Boy Color), the Pokémon were animated when you encountered them. No such luck here.

Sound is a vast improvement over the Game Boy's sound chip. We're now treated to actual instruments (even though they're probably just MIDI, but hey) in the game's many songs. The Pokémon don't speak, but it's unrealistic to expect to have 350+ Pokémon vocal cries on the GBA. Still, one can dream. One thing that I hadn't noticed before is that your Pokémon's cry now changes pitch depending on how injured they are. If they're at full health, the cry will be at normal pitch, but have them nearly dead fainted and their cry will be a much lower pitch. Also, when you use your bicycle, you hear a bicycle bell ringing! Now that's a leap forward.

As usual, control in Pokémon is top notch. It's hardly rocket science to understand that you move your character with the Control Pad and perform actions with A, and that A accepts menu options and B cancels them. As with Ruby/Sapphire, menus have been optimized for neatness and ease of use. The TMs and Berries now automatically get stored in their own special cases. The TM Case is very handy, as it gives you a detailed description of what the TM or HM does. You also now get the running shoes, which were introduced in Ruby/Sapphire. However, one thing confuses me with the shoes -- you can't use them everywhere. I understand why you can't ride your bike indoors...but shoes? There's no good reason for forcing the player to slow down.

While Fire Red/Leaf Green is essentially a direct remake of the older games, there are a few new areas to explore. You can first access them once you beat Gym Leader Blaine. Bill will ask you if you'll accompany him to the Mystery Islands, and you'll be escorted via ferry. You'll only be given access to four islands at first, but once you defeat the Elite Four and have enough Pokémon in your Pokédex, you'll be able to access islands five through seven. These islands have all sorts of new things to explore. You'll be able to catch Johto Pokémon, and have access to a Move Deleter, a Relearner, and a Breeding Centre. Wireless Mini-Games are also available for play on the Mystery Islands. Here, you're after a Ruby and a Sapphire. Once collected, these two jewels will allow you to transfer Pokémon between Ruby, Sapphire, and Colosseum as well. However, this side quest feels as though it's only there to hinder your cross-version Pokémon transfer.

For those who are curious, I've managed to transfer Pokémon over from my Japanese version of Leaf Green to my Australian version of Ruby without any problems, as well as transferring them back again. The only difference is because I named my Pokémon using the English alphabet in Leaf Green, the letters are much larger than they are in the English version. If you transfer English Pokémon over to Leaf Green, their names will be shortened to the first five letters only. But this can be fixed by bringing them back to an English version again where they'll get their full name back.

There are also different options for the wireless adaptor. Aside from the standard trading and battling, you can also enter a chat room and type in things using a cursor and an alphabet. It's pretty cumbersome, but it's a neat idea to be able to talk to other players with wireless adaptors through the game. A couple of mini-games are also playable with the wireless adaptor, though they must first be unlocked. There's a skipping game where two Venusaur are using vines as skipping ropes and you have to time your jumps. In the other, you control Dodrio and make sure that it eats the most falling purple berries, while avoiding the green ones. Finally, there's the unlockable JoySpot feature, which allows players to get news if they go to a store with a JoySpot unit.

Pokémon Leaf Green is...well, additions and visual upgrade aside; it's the exact same game as it was nine years ago. It was definitely a blast to visit Kanto and see Meowth again, but I'm not sure that a remake was the right way to bring the old and most-loved Pokémon back. The Mystery Islands are good to explore, but does it really justify remaking Pokémon, especially when all the other versions are so similar? I guess I was expecting a more clever way of bringing the 'missing' Pokémon to everyone rather than a remake. I'd recommend these versions to new Pokémon fans when they come out locally, due to all the in-game help. When it comes down to it though, I'd rather have a new, more inventive game than a remake.

A big thanks to Serebii.net for their extensive information on Leaf Green and Fire Red, including the new additions to the game. You can order Pokémon Leaf Green and Fire Red from our partners at Video Game Depot.

Score

Graphics Sound Control Gameplay Lastability Final
6 7.5 7 8 7 7
Graphics
6

Hooray, it's in colour! It also looks identical to Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. But we all know that the GBA is capable of so much more. For a Nintendo game, this just doesn't cut it.

Sound
7.5

Improved soundtrack, but not much else stands out. Sound effects are too similar to the older Game Boy versions, or merely adequate. There are certainly a lot of unique Pokémon cries, and the subtle effect of the cry changing pitch at lower health levels is a nice touch.

Control
7

Incredibly user-friendly, even in Japanese. Controls are basic and easy to learn, and if you're still having trouble, there are tutorials to hone your skills. The biggest problem is that there are certain rooms where you can't use the running shoes, when there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to.

Gameplay
8

Gameplay for Fire Red/Leaf Green is just as good as it ever was. The revised controls and additional help make it even easier for new players to get into the swing of things. The strategy required to build up your ideal team of Pokémon and constantly keeping a balance of different types helps keep you interested in trying assorted monsters.

Lastability
7

Well, there's the Mystery Islands to explore after you've beaten the Elite Four. You can also challenge the Elite Four again, and this time they have Johto Pokémon instead. Or you could attempt Battle Tower which seems to be all the rage in these newer versions of Pokémon. Failing that, you could collect every single Pokémon. But there are over 350 of them, and it's becoming quite repetitive. 150 was okay, 250 I could handle...but nearly 400? Forget it. And there's no guarantee that you'll be able to use the Pokémon you collect on the versions made for Nintendo's next systems.

Final
7

When people were questioning Miyamoto about how to get the old Pokémon, he answered with something like, "Oh, we've got something special." Remaking the older games? That's pretty underwhelming. Where's the MMORPG or at the very least, a new adventure? Still, it's not as though Fire Red/Leaf Green is of poor quality. It's just...more of the same.

Summary

Pros
  • Battle Pager is a godsend for when you're low on cash
  • Bicycle bells!
  • Ideal for all two of you who are new to the Pokémon franchise
  • Running shoes from Ruby/Sapphire are included
Cons
  • Graphics are merely adequate.
  • Much more could have been added.
  • Running shoes cannot be used everywhere.
  • The pointless fetch-quest you must go through to unlock trading with Ruby, Sapphire, and Colosseum
Review Page 2: Conclusion

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GBA

Game Profile

Genre RPG
Developer Game Freak
Players1 - 4

Worldwide Releases

na: Pokémon: Leaf Green & Fire Red
Release Sep 07, 2004
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Pokémon: Leaf Green & Fire Red
Release Jan 29, 2004
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: Pokémon: Leaf Green & Fire Red
Release Oct 01, 2004
PublisherNintendo
Rating3+
aus: Pokémon: Leaf Green & Fire Red
Release Sep 23, 2004
PublisherNintendo
RatingParental Guidance
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