By Theresa Afful

If you are an old-school fan of Pokémon, you might know of the RPG games FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version which was released on January 19th, 2004 on the Gameboy. The 2004 remake was of the 1996 RPG Pokémon Red and Green developed by Game Freak. The game was finally released onto both the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2 for $19.99 after 30 years of its release back in 1996. Ever since its release, fans have like me been going wild playing the games for up to 80 hours.  

I played the game for a month. While I was playing, I found myself getting addicted. The gameplay and the competitiveness drew me in. I often talk about how I’m not a Pokémon fan but after having my first real encounter, my mind has been changed. 

The game starts you off by allowing you to name your character – and naming your rival. Once you’ve finished that, you have to head to the Professor’s lab to go get a Pokémon. While there, you meet your rival, who is the Professor’s grandson – and he’s also there to get his own pocket monster. Once you both choose your Pokémon, you enter a battle to learn the controls and what to do during a battle. After the rival loses (leaving the lab fuming, which is satisfying to see), you progress through the tutorial and gain your first Poké Balls. You continue moving around the map fighting different wild beasts, and other rivals, all the time gaining XP and leveling up to make your cute being stronger. You will keep encountering the Professor’s grandson as he also has leveled up – and he has returned to show you that he is superior. 

The artwork of the game is very old school, though it fits the game well. It would have been amazing if they updated it to match that of the time. But keeping it the same was also a smart idea. I enjoy the pixelated look the game has to it. It gives off this indie vibe which I’m totally here for. I wish they could’ve also changed the background a bit to be more detailed or at least animated the characters during a fight so they aren’t doing the same thing over and over again. Yet I understand why they would want to keep things similar to keep the nostalgia that most fans gravitate toward. 

The design is simplistic and doesn’t stand out much. The map isn’t very vibrant, which is good for my eyes … but it’s also very basic and boring. A little splash of color in the map would have made it very interesting as most of the color in the map is just green and blue. The tutorial is easily understandable and sticks to your brain – meaning you don’t have to go back to the main menu or try to remember what it taught you. The game logic isn’t hard to comprehend. All you have to do is catch a Pokémon, train them and then go against other people’s pocket monsters strategically in order to win. It isn’t only about being the strongest; it’s about using what you have to beat an enemy that is stronger while preserving your health and stamina for the next fight. 

There isn’t much of a story for this game. It’s more about a quest for you to play where you interact with many different characters and learn new info that would help you catch different ones as you explore the map. Those early devs made it so people are given the chance to choose how they want to play. They could either, as the saying goes “catch ’em all,” or defeat all eight Gym Leaders, challenge the Elite Four, and become Champion. 

The soundtrack isn’t anything special; it reminds of the sounds in the Tetris game. Honestly, there wasn’t much to play soundtrack-wise back in the day. Every now and then the music helps the battle feel more intense. But I would be able to play the game in silence and it wouldn’t change my play. I know it sounds like I’m hating, but it doesn’t really require over the top background music while players are going against Charizard. A little music goes a long way. So it works.

The controls aren’t that hard to remember; they are always listed in the menu while you load into the game. And you don’t need a joystick to walk. All you require is the arrows on the joy con and buttons on the Switch. 

If you’re a Pokémon fan, please don’t come after me for my nitpicks. But if you aren’t, then give the game a try. Pokémon FireRed is one of those games you really can’t knock until you try. I have become super addicted to the nostalgic play. I’m always hunting down looking for the rarest Pokémon to add to my collection. It’s abecome n obsession.

If you’ve been wanting to get into the Pokémon game and didn’t know how to, I would recommend buying Pokémon FireRed. The game’s controls aren’t too difficult to the point where you would be overwhelmed and the graphics aren’t all over the place. It is the perfect game for beginners to play and as you gain more knowledge and experience about the Pokémon world, you could expand your horizons to bigger and more complex games in the series. The game’s storyline is super straightforward and adaptive so you can play however you want. The game is a good strategy offering that allows you to adapt and create new battle plans to win and prove yourself. I never saw myself playing the Pokémon series but after this, I might start searching for more to play, maybe even the most recent Z-A!

Bronx resident and NYVGCC intern Theresa Afful is starting her second year of high school after graduating Mott Hall III middle school.

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