Gotta Catch Them All... in this enjoyable remake of the 1999 classic
When the original two Pokemon games were released, Red and Blue, or Red and Green depending on your territory, they were met with high acclaim as players got their first glimpse of the world of Pokemon. Now, six years on Leaf Green revisits the old world and once again you set off on your task to become the greatest Pokemon Master the world has ever seen.
Despite being a remake of the original games, it does come with new features that have been taken from the newer games, such as the ability to play as a boy or a girl, something that games in 1999 did not have on offer.
So anyway, you start off in the small town of Pallet, and you are soon greeted by Professor Oak, the long standing Pokemon expert. Here is where you make the choice that will affect you through the greater portion of the game.
With three Pokemon on offer, long standing players will recognise the faces of Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur. Regardless of what Pokemon you choose, the game doesn’t vary to much, it’s only subtle changes that occur. For example, the Pokemon your rival picks, will be determined by the choice you make.
Once you have your starting Pokemon you leave behind the quaint life that Pallet town has to offer and venture off, into the wide world.
By now long term players of the series will be more than familiar with the games story, but there are some new features thrown into the mix, which I’ll discuss later.
Anyway, the story for Pokemon is simple, so if you’re familiar with the series, you may want to skip the next paragraph or two.
Along the way you will encounter trainer battles which give you a prime chance to make some money, and give your team of Pokemon a bit of experience for their troubles. The eight gym leaders will also provide you with a challenge, with each one getting stronger than the last. You’ll start off against Brock, who is known for his rock Pokemon, before making your way onto Misty and all the way through to Giovanni, the leader of the eighth gym and the place you’ll be rewarded with the Earth badge.
Badges are awarded to you once you defeat a Gym Leader, so with eight gym leaders waiting to be taken on, it makes sense that there are eight badges to win.
Once you’ve collected all eight gym badges you will be granted worthy of taking on the Pokemon league, the toughest four Pokemon trainers in all the land, and although technically once you win the league, the credits roll and the game is over, well not quite.
Once you have beaten the Pokemon League, new areas are opened up to you and even more Pokemon are now available to be caught.
Along your way, you will also be challenged by your Rival, who like most big headed folk, thinks he’s god gift to Pokemon, so it will give you great pleasure smacking the proverbial sack out of him. He’ll offer you a good challenge though, and will be a fair example of how well you are progressing through the game.
Back in the day, female gamers who happened to pick up Pokemon got the raw deal, as they were forced to play as a male all throughout the game, so one feature as mentioned above is the ability to play as either a boy, or a girl, something which the game borrows from the evolution of the series, and something that works well, if not just for the cosmetic aspects of the game.
Also on the new addition list is the “Re Cap” feature that gives you a reminder of what you last did before you turned the game off during those rare times you need to sleep, or eat. It’s a nice feature, not one that you might have thought absolutely necessary, but it is one that certainly works well.
Have you ever tried a multiplayer battle using a link cable, only for your friend to jerk his handheld backward a bit, severing the connection and loosing the battle or the trade that was in progress. That’s not a problem no more, as Leaf Green introduces a wireless feature to the game, allowing for no cables to be present as you battle, trade, collect and chat, all with the help of the wireless adaptor, which its worth mentioning comes bundled with the game as a standard. Join up to thirty nine other players in the union rooms, and chat or even go for a free for all, choice is yours.
Despite being a remake of the 1999 originals, there have been some changes made to the world of Kanto and a series of new islands are waiting for you to discover and explore.
While the new features are not ground breaking, they do add enough to give the game enough extra life to keep it fresh and new.
The graphics have been updated as you would imagine which is good news if you’re a player of the originals, as you will really appreciate seeing all your favourite Pokemon and global locations in a rainbow of colours.
The graphics serve the game well, and are about as good as can be expected given the Game Boy Advances graphic capability.
Over all, Pokemon leaf Green is a solid game and one that brings back so many memories of the originals that long term fans will no doubt thoroughly enjoy it. If you are a fan of the series I do highly recommend giving the game a go, but even if you are new to the world that is Pokemon, I suggest you too, also pick up a copy as regardless of what boat you fall into, Pokemon Leaf Green is a game where you can just pick up and play, as and when you like.