'Red and Blue were lessons in expertly crafted RPG adventure games, Fire Red and Leaf Green buffed them to a shine'

User Rating: 8.5 | Pokemon FireRed Version GBA
Everyone knows about the Pokemon craze that hit the world like an enraged Snorlax back in 1996. Schools were flooded with Pokemon cards, living rooms were filled with the sound of sweet Jigglypuff melodies and most people's free time consisted of hunting in tall grass for Weedles and AA batteries to replace the ones they had burnt out the night before on an all night Gameboy session.

Pokemon Fire Red and its counterpart Pokemon Leaf green are the 2004 remakes of the 1996 red and blue releases that launched Pokemon into the videogame limelight. These remakes add wonderfully colourful updated visuals, remixed soundtracks as well as an additional in-game region not found in the original releases.

While receiving very positive reviews all-round upon the remakes' release back in 2004 some critics were unimpressed with the quality of the visuals and sound, citing that they were unimpressive given the competition at the time. I feel that the balance between updating and staying true to the original titles was struck perfectly here.

With regards to the visuals, the character models for each and every Pokemon have been given a new lick of paint and they look fantastic. The same can be said for the game's environments and setting, which are each instantly recognisable from the original with nice visuals tweaks, texture changes and the like.

The sound can be a little bit more of a love/hate subject. While all the original tracks are alive and well here in all their chirpy up beat charm, with their new arrangements really make the most of the upgraded hardware, the Pokemon noises and other sound effects haven't exactly received the same treatment.

Personally I feel that the Pokemon noises sounding almost identical to those in the original games is an interesting throwback, however others may view it as sloppy and uninventive by the creators. Either way though, it's far from the most important element of the game and certainly won't distract away from the rest of the game's inherent quality.

The gameplay is as great as it ever was. Like in the originals, these remakes focus on you as the 'Poketrainer' travelling the world, catching Pokemon, levelling them up, battling other trainers and gym leaders in an attempt to become the Pokemon master (all while filling up your Pokedex for Professor Oak of course).

While Pokemon has always seemed pretty simple and basic on the surface, anyone who has played it for an extended period of time will realise that there is plenty of complexity lying within the games' turn based battles.

Higher levels and stats won't necessarily see a Pokemon achieve victory in battle. Effectiveness of elemental attacks, status effects and the number of Pokemon you are up against are all factors that often need to be taken in to consideration. Other light RPG elements such as weighing up what items you have in your inventory and certain items that can be handed to your Pokemon to hold and alter their attributes also keep things tactically interesting.

It's testament to the original Pokemon formula that this game holds up so well today. Levelling up your Pokemon never feels like a chore, due to the bevy of moves they are likely to learn, waiting for them to evolve is as exciting as ever and mastering the aforementioned strategic use of 'pokemon types' is still a good challenge in battle.

Despite appearing childish on the surface in both its concept and appearance, the original game managed to appeal to children and adults alike, mainly due to the combination of its pick up and play nature, longevity and hidden depths, as well as the fact that simply put, Red and Blue were lessons in expertly crafted RPG adventure games, Fire Red and Leaf Green buffed them to a shine.

To cut a long story short, the originals were masterpieces, and they still are. These remakes feature everything that made the original great combined with a solid presentation overhaul. If Pokemon, well crafted RPG titles or handheld gaming has ever appealed to you, you should check out the definitive Pokemon games to eat up your time, they are super effecti… brilliant.