Pokemon LeafGreen Version

"LeafGreen proves that Pokemon is still going strong."

Since the late 90's, Pokemon has reached the peak of popularity and plunged into RPG peril in a matter of years. Although not as popular as it was years ago, Pokemon remains a big enough hit to garner a remake in the form of FireRed and LeafGreen.

Pokemon's story is not anything nearly remotely close to RPG epics like Final Fantasy. It mostly simplifies the story for all ages. As a strapping young teen in the quiet land of Pallet Town of the Kanto region, you aspire to be a Pokemon master. You gain assistance from the local Pokemon expert, Professor Oak, who gives you your first Pokemon from a choice of three along with a Pokedex. The Pokedex is a log of all 151 Pokemon that exist in the land of Kanto. Also, Oak's grandson becomes your greatest rival in the game. Equipped with a party pokemon and perseverance, you travel through the land of Kanto to capture all 151 Pokemon, defeat the eight Gym Trainers, and challenge Kanto's greatest Pokemon trainers, the Elite Four. What? No amnesia-afflicted main character? No damsel in distress? Pokemon doesn't rely on complex storyline to grab an audience, making it very accessible as an RPG.

Pokemon's battle system is nothing like any other RPG (except the other Pokemon RPGs). The first main difference is the party system. In other RPGs, you get a select number of party members and can only select from certain characters. Pokemon allows you to select from 151 different monsters. Even better is customizable moves, stats, items, and many more factors. You aren't stuck with a certain party member. If you don't like the monster, get rid of it and find something better. The versatility and diversity in the party system makes Pokemon extremely difficult to replay the same way twice.

The second difference is how you obtain the party members. PokeBalls are the “weapon” of choice. To obtain a party member (Pokemon), you must first encounter it in the wild. That means that nearly any random battle can turn into a opportunity to increase the party. After weakening the opponent with damage, status, or other abilities, the player can use a PokeBall to attempt to catch the Pokemon. If successful, congratulations! You have a new Pokemon and party member.

The third major difference is the rock-paper-scissors type listings. Each Pokemon has a type (either Fire, Water, Grass, Ground, Flying, among many others). Each type is weak to another type, or resistant to another type. Different attacks follow the type. Increasing stats powers up moves and skills. Quite a lot to deal with, huh? Well, yes, but soon it becomes logic. Like, Water does more damage against Fire Pokemon. Once the player understands the type weaknesses and resistance, the game goes by pretty smoothly. Pokemon remains as an accessible, but deep RPG experience.

As far as the stat-tracking RPG elements of LeafGreen go, they are rock-solid. A select group of statistics measure a Pokemon's strength. Attack and Defense for physical attacks, Special Attack and Special Defense for special attacks, HP for stamina, Speed for when a Pokemon attacks, and PP for skill stamina. Also, each Pokemon has an ability, a built-in technique (like in Ruby and Sapphire) that can do one of a variety of things, whether defense against status effects or healing during specific weather conditions. Status effects like Sleep or Paralysis add even more depth to gameplay, along with weather and abilities. Evolution is a Pokemon's way of leveling up to a stronger form with new stats and such. Pokemon adds new, but surprisingly logical twists to the RPG formula meaning that gameplay has very few dull moments.

Now, LeafGreen is a remake of Pokemon Blue for the GameBoy. That means that there's a few new upgrades to the game. First of all, there's the graphics and audio. They're a huge improvement, of course, but still lack the brilliant and bold colors of Ruby and Sapphire or the original scores from Ruby and Sapphire. Second, LeafGreen picks up the TM's from Ruby and Sapphire. An interesting trick is that TM's from Red and Blue can now be learned by talking to certain characters in game. It's a good way of keeping the tradition and not oversaturating the game with new moves. Another new addition is the inclusion of Teachy TV, a help screen where newcomers can learn the basics of Pokemon. This is great for newcomers, but for anyone who has been playing the Pokemon RPGs since Red and Blue, it will become either forgettable or a nuisance. Personally, it was forgettable for me.

As far as the main quest goes, it's practically the same. Same opponents, same Pokemon, same design. If you remember the path through a dungeon from Red or Blue, congratulations. LeafGreen will be a breeze. It's great that the game stays true to its roots, but the exploration concepts of LeafGreen may make some Pokemaniacs a bit bored. However, there are some new islands to explore to make it feel less stale, along with a packed-in wireless adapter for trading, battling, and talking without a GBA link cable. Connections with Pokemon Colosseum and Ruby and Sapphire round out the package with hundreds of Pokemon to choose from. Overall, Pokemon LeafGreen does tend to focus too much of its energy toward newcomers of the series, but has enough of the famous traditions to keep Pokemaniacs satisfied.

Pros
+ Combat is still deep and versatile
+ Hundreds of choices for the party
+ Better graphics
+ A few new areas
+ Wireless multiplayer

Cons
- Not as many side quest options as Ruby and Sapphire
- Game design is practically the same
- Too much emphasis on newcomers to Pokemon

Pokemon is deception. It tricks you into thinking that the game is strictly limited with appeal only for the young, but also hides an incredibly complex RPG system. The depth and diversity of combat remains a lasting appeal for either hardcore or casual RPG fans and replaying the game to change up your roster is fun. Raising Pokemon to be fighting fit is still fun and collecting all of the Pokemon is still a major replay for the series. Though not as comprehensive as Ruby and Sapphire, and definitely not as comprehensive as Gold, Silver, and Crystal, LeafGreen remakes the Pokemon world with improvements without forgetting about the Red/Blue basics. The combat is still solid. The customization is still great. The gameplay is still fun. Although it can get a little slow and shallow at times, LeafGreen is still a solid Pokemon RPG.

Final Verdict: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/14/06