Pokemon FireRed Version

""It's not very effective...""

Introduction
So, we finally get a game to catch the pokemon that should have been included with Ruby/Sapphire, which for marketing/screwing us over reasons, were not. Apparently Nintendo thinks they’re doing us a favor, so they’ll just re-use the blockbuster green/red/blue/yellow game with some enhancements instead of creating a new world. Uh, yay?

Storyline (4)- No different than red/blue/yellow storyline, with the exception you may now play as a girl (but this doesn’t have an actual effect on the storyline itself.) You receive your first pokemon from the so called, “Authority” on Pokemon, Professor Oak, choosing between fire type Hitokage/Charmander, grass/poison type Fushigidane/Bulbasaur, and water type Zenigame/Squirtle. After you receive your first pokemon, you engage with a battle with your rival, then begin your quest to become the world’s best pokemon trainer and complete your pokedex, since Professor Oak is too out of shape to do it himself. To reach your goal, you must train and compete against all sorts of trainers, including the 8 gym leaders throughout the world of Kanto, and finally confront the Elite Four who wield powerful monsters. Of course, by the time you reach them, more than likely your own monsters will be over saturated which brings me to..

Gameplay (5)- Been there, done that. Without the originality factor in Pokemon Flame, this game is pretty dull. Basically unchanged, except with the advance generation tradition, pokemon have natures like sassy, naughty, bashful, ect. Can hold items, have their own abilities that effects battle like Purin’s ability that puts pokemon into the “mellow mellow” status upon contact, infatuating the opponent (Assuming it’s the opposite gender) making it unable to strike occasionally, or Pikachu’s “Static” which occasionally paralyzes upon contact, sharply reducing opponent’s speed and sometimes forbidding them to make a move. For those who have played Ruby or Sapphire, this is nothing new, but it is new for the pokemon not included in Ruby/Sapphire.

What bothers me the most is not the gameplay itself, it’s the fact that Nintendo did not try to add any true new elements to the game.

There are a few new touches such as highlighting your pokemon’s move in yellow if half of it’s PP (Power points) is used up, then red when it’s completely gone, your pokemon jumps up and down indicating how much health is has on the status screen, pictures for every item in the game, little gimmicks like that which do not actually make a significance to the game itself.

One word, people: Originality.

This game has already been done. It’s been done in the red, green/blue then remade in yellow. We’ve even saw it again in pokemon Gold, Silver, and the remake of Crystal. Why the hell are we playing through it AGAIN?! They should of at least made an entire new world instead of re-using the old one. Forget the nostalgia, this is a matter of being lazy or not. Guess which side Nintendo took? If Red/Blue/Yellow/Green was never released, then this would be the best pokemon game to date easily, but since it’s not, it’s inexcusable.

Battles have been butchered. I started with Hitokage thinking it would be challenging, only to find out at lv 13 it learns steel/metal claw, an attack that proves to be quite potent when fighting against the normally difficult first gym. Turns out I wouldn’t even need metal claw, since the AI of the computer is so terrible. For example, when fighting Takeshi, the first gym leader whose strongest pokemon is Iwakku/Onix, you would think he would command it to “rock tomb” the hell out of my Hitokage, but instead, he has it constantly use “bind.” The AI is totally random and a big disappointment, if I do recall correctly, even G/S had decent AI, especially Crystal in the battle tower, but this- this is inexcusable for a game on a 32-bit console. For shame, Nintendo.

So I’m always having a Team Rocket’s Zubatto (I think you can guess which pokemon that is) attack with the ghost type move, “astonish” against my normal type Purin making it a punching bag for pound. YAWN… a little competition would be nice, it gets to the point when battling trainers is just a chore for experience fodder.

And lastly, what really, really brings down gameplay is the dialogue. Good God, ever heard of trying, Nintendo!? People are in the same places and say the same things as the first Red/Green version, (Hell, even the singing Purin in the pokemon center and the stubborn Yadoran/Slowbro who refuses to listen to it’s trainer are still there!! From the “Oh Daddy, catch me a Pikachu!” to “What a shame, you would of made a fine Team Rocket member too..” the text is almost ripped straight from the original. I have the green version, and the text is virtually unchanged, only a few minor differences take place, I am very interested to see how the English version of this game plays out. It makes me sick that Nintendo didn’t bother to have some new text in the game, or even bother to paraphrase what characters originally said for the sake of veterans of the first pokemon games.

Graphics (6)- Graphics are a mix bag. While some pokemon sprites look very good, others look downright awful, and I’m not impressed that Nintendo ripped out the same sprites for many of the pokemon in Ruby/Sapphire and re-used them, and I’m really getting fed up seeing the same back sprites of pokemon in battle. You would think they would re-design some of them… well, at least the color’s bight and crisp. Kanto has never looked any better, and the majority of the out of battle sprites are brand new. The game boasts some nice graphical details too, like Mt. Moon ‘s craters, which is rather a nice touch. The NPC sprites are also re-drawn, but not for the better. They’re out of proportion and look downright horrid. The female character’s head is way too big, but on the other hand, when she throws out the poke ball in battle, the animation is very smooth and well done.

Pokemon attack animations are ripped directly from Ruby and Sapphire, which is more of a disappointment than a bad thing. This game just screams of Nintendo’s lack of effort and desire for more money. I’m truly disillusioned with them, and why they did not bother to create a completely different game is beyond my knowledge. They didn’t even have to create new pokemon, just a new world, with new sprites would have been great- but of course, that would require effort on Nintendo’s part…

Music/Sound (2): Ignominy. Sheer Ignominy. If you thought that the Red/Green’s music was terrible back in the day, it doesn’t improve with these horrible remixes. Sure the nostalgia effect is there, until you turn the sound off your Gameboy Advance because you can no longer tolerate the high pitched screeching music in the game. A few tracks sound pretty good, particularly the gym leader battles, and the pokemon center music is no longer as aggravating as it was in the earlier games, which is a big plus, but almost all the other tracks have been absolutely butchered!! Did I mention there are several tracks taken directly from Ruby/Sapphire game? *Cough* slackers *Cough*

Sound effects are completely ripped from Ruby/Sapphire; In other words, the highly generic “boom/slap/biff/zap!” noises. Still, they’re aren’t bad, just not an improvement on Ruby/Sapphire.

Replay(2)- Unless you’re some kind of person with an ungodly attention span, chances are, especially if you’re a veteran of the original game(s), you’re not going to want to replay this, since most of us started the old pokemon games over for fun. If you’re new, then it’s a possibility.

Value(10)- Like the other pokemon games, this is one of the game’s strongest points. If you manage to capture all pokemon, it still doesn’t end there. Raising your pokemon to lv 100, capturing pokemon with the perfect nature, perfect ability, creating your ultimate team is always something enjoyable to do this game has to offer. Also, this game has a battle tower, a place where you can brush up on your battling skills, plus you can always go head-to-head with a friend.

You may now complete your pokedex by trading with Ruby/Sapphire version. You may also battle with them too. That’s a big plus. Also, if you’re planning on buying Pokemon Coliseum, this game is also compatible with it.

Bottom Line: This game is a must have for any die-hard pokemon fan, or anyone new to the series, but if you weren’t too crazy about Red/Yellow/Blue or Green, you should think over before making a purchase.

Pros-
You can all of the beloved pokemon who didn’t make an appearance in Ruby/Sapphire
Compatible with Coliseum, and Ruby/Sapphire
Lots of flashy features
7 new islands

Cons-
How many times have we been through this game?
Flashy features are not significant to the actual game
7 new islands are the ONLY new area from the old games
Terrible music
Many re-used pokemon sprites
Same text
Trainers, items, everything is located in the same place as the old games

Storyline-4
Gameplay-5
Graphics-6
Music/Sound-2
Value- 10

Overall Average- 5

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/04